After winning a USL W League National Title in her second season, head coach Malia Arrant will return to Salmon Bay FC for the 2027 season after signing a contract extension earlier this week.
The 2026 USL W League Western Conference Coach of the Year is writing another chapter in her Salmon Bay story, expanding on an already illustrious Seattle Soccer career. When she arrived as Salmon Bay FC head coach in 2025, Arrant brought over 25 years of local soccer experience to the club as a player, coach, and club director.
Now she will forever be known as Salmon Bay FC’s first-ever head coach. In the team’s inaugural season, Arrant coached the best defense in the nation, and things only got better in year two as she led the team to a first playoff berth, first NW Division Title, first Western Conference Title, and first National Title.
In addition to winning trophies with Salmon Bay, Arrant serves as the CEO of PacNW, where she works with and coaches some of the top talent all across the greater Seattle area. Throughout her coaching career, Arrant has helped develop and coach dozens of players who have gone on to play at top collegiate programs and sign professional contracts. Arrant now gets to see that player pipeline come full circle as several of her PacNW alumni have joined her at Salmon Bay FC over the past two seasons, helping her win a National Title after she helped them advance in their collegiate careers.
Arrant is not only focused on player development with PacNW though. Nine players coached by Arrant at Salmon Bay FC have gone on to sign professional contracts or play with their National Team since the 2025 season. Two players, Keeley Dockter and Elena Milam, have become the first Salmon Bay FC alumni to sign NWSL contracts, with both signing short-term contracts with Seattle Reign FC during the 2026 season. The number of Salmon Sisters coached by Arrant that make it to the pros will only continue to grow, and fans can keep up to date with these players on the club’s alumni page as well as social media (@salmonbayfc).
Heading into 2027, expectations are high for Arrant and the Salmon Sisters. Seven months out from the start of the season, the 2026 Western Conference Organization of the Year already has more season ticket holders for 2027 than they did for all of the 2026 season. Fans are eager to see their favorite team back at Pagliacci Pitch as earlier this week, Salmon Bay FC and Ballard FC reached 1,000 season ticket holders across both clubs for 2027, an accomplishment achieved six months earlier than last offseason.
Last year, Salmon Bay FC fans broke the Interbay Stadium attendance record as more than 2,000 fans attended the USL W National Final. With the fans waiting impatiently for another summer of Salmon Bay soccer, Arrant cannot wait to be back in front of them, remarking that “it was incredible to play in front of such a passionate fan base all season long, and the crowd for the National Final was special. The entire coaching staff is working hard to make sure that the fans are rewarded with more championship-caliber soccer next May.”
Arrant’s all-time record across all competitions for Salmon Bay FC is 20-2-5 (W-L-D) and she will look to keep her winning ways going as the team looks to go back-to-back in 2027. The defending champs have their head coach back.
Fans can join the fast-growing community of Salmon Bay super fans by purchasing season tickets today before season ticket prices increase on November 1st.
Written by Max Dresbach
(Photography by Marissa Lordahl/Salmon Bay FC) 
(Photography by Marissa Lordahl/Salmon Bay FC) 
(Photography by Marissa Lordahl/Salmon Bay FC) 
(Photography by Marissa Lordahl/Salmon Bay FC) 
(Photography by Marissa Lordahl/Salmon Bay FC) 
(Photography by Marissa Lordahl/Salmon Bay FC) 
(Photography by Marissa Lordahl/Salmon Bay FC) 
(Photography by Marissa Lordahl/Salmon Bay FC)
