Four teams. Three matches. Two divisions. One Conference Finalist. Read up on all four clubs going into this big weekend of soccer.
The four teams will play at Interbay Stadium this weekend with the Western Conference quarterfinals on Friday, July 18th followed be the semifinals on Sunday, July 20th. The first quarterfinal will be played at 2pm between Snohomish United and Utah United, and it will be followed at 7:30pm as hosts Ballard FC take on the Colorado Storm.
The winners of Friday’s matches will then play at 2pm on Sunday for a chance to make the Western Conference Final. Tickets are still available for all three matches, and fans can purchase single-match tickets or save money by getting all three in a ticket bundle. Matches are expected to sell out before Friday so get your tickets now!
Above is a look at the bracket for the three playoff matches at Interbay Stadium this weekend. Now let’s meet the four teams.
Ballard FC
Ballard FC have had a remarkable start to life as a USL 2 club, making the playoffs in all four seasons, and winning it all in 2023. Now, the hosts are coming off their third straight Northwest Division Title and will be looking to go on another deep playoff run. This season, Ballard FC finished 9-2-3 (W-L-T), topping the division standings, and conceding the third fewest goals in the nation with only seven allowed. In addition to a lockdown defense, the home side has a high-octane attack, finishing in the top ten for goals scored nationwide with 36.
Ballard FC fans will be hoping the team takes full advantage of playing at home this weekend. The club is 22-5-2 (W-L-T) in all competitions at Interbay Stadium with a 4-1 playoff record. That one playoff loss came last year as Ballard FC was surprisingly bounced by Project 51O in the first round. Head Coach James Riley’s side will look to to create some happier playoff memories in 2025, but will need to turn their recent form around to do so. After going undefeated for the first 12 matches of the 2025 USL 2 season, Ballard FC finished with two straight losses, including one to fellow playoff side, Snohomish United. To bounce back, they northwest division winners will look to their deep roster to put together a winning performance.
Fans can read more about the talented 2025 roster that constantly gives Coach Riley selection headaches, but he will highlight a few names: the attack is led by the University of Washington trio Richie Aman, Joe Dale, and Charlie Kosakoff. Aman has been a constant threat on the left flank, drawing fouls and creating goalscoring opportunities for teammates like Dale and Kosakoff who have seven goals combined.
Defensively, the Seattle University trio of Andre Philibbosian, Luke Hammond, and Charlie Lanphier have helped keep the sheets clean all year. Philibbosian has been the cover in front of the backline as a defensive midfielder, while Hammond brings both defense and attack on the left side, and Lanphier has been cleaning up anything that gets through, acting as a true modern goalkeeper. These six players are not the only local college stars on a roster that includes two other current or former players from Seattle University, five additional University of Washington huskies, and five from Seattle Pacific University as well. Now, let’s meet their opponents.
Colorado Storm
Although this is not the first time that Ballard FC has hosted the Mountain Division, 2025 will be the first time that either the Storm or Utah United travel to Seattle.
The Colorado Storm are in their inaugural USL 2 season after their USL W League side were finalists in 2024. This year, the Storm finished in second place of the Mountain Division with 22 points from 12 matches, ending the regular season with a 7-4-1 (W-L-T) record. The Storm narrowly finished in a playoff spot as third-placed Albion SC also had 22 points but the Storm had the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The new side scored 29 goals this season while only conceding 14, giving them a positive 15 goal difference. A big part of those 29 goals was Oluwatobi Osifodunrin who scored nine goals and got one assist in just 885 minutes, meaning he’s averaging just over a goal contribution per 90 minutes. The Ballard backline, led by co-captain Christian Engmann, will look to shut down Osifodunrin in order to keep the Storm attack quiet.
Like Ballard FC, the Colorado Storm utilize a lot of local college talent with in-state players from the University of Denver, Colorado State, Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS), Colorado Christian, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and Regis University. Now let’s preview Friday’s opening match.
Snohomish United
Joining Ballard FC as playoff representatives for the Northwest Division is Snohomish United. Snohomish will take on Utah United in the other quarterfinal at 2pm on Friday, July 18th. Snohomish United finished the season with 26 points from 14 matches, securing second place in the division with a 8-4-2 (W-L-T) record.
Snohomish needed a 2-1 win against Ballard FC on the final day of the season in order to clinch their playoff spot ahead of Lane United. The two goalscorers from that match, University of Washington’s Connor Lofy and Portland commit Aaron Leon have been some of Snohomish’s top attackers all year long. Alongside them in attack are two former Ballard FC players, Declan McGlynn and Eric Lagos, who both appeared in the 2023 USL 2 National Final victory for Ballard.
In defense, the husky foursome of goalkeeper Jadon Bowton and defenders Egor Akulov, Zack Meier, and Carter Gay have been immense and helped the Snohomish side win a lot of close matches this season. Five of the club’s eight wins have been by just one goal as they have been great in close matches all season long. Just like Colorado Storm, Snohomish United have made the first playoff appearance in their inaugural season. Now let’s meet our final team and fellow playoff debutants, Utah United.
Utah United
Utah United are the 2025 Mountain Division winners after racking up 25 points from 12 matches with a 8-3-1 (W-L-T) record. Going into their first USL 2 playoff run, Utah United will aim to emulate the success of their USL W side who are hosting the national final this weekend.
Utah’s strength lies in their defense which has only allowed nine goals all season, less than a goal per match and they will look to shutout Snohomish this Friday to book their spot in the Conference quarterfinal. With six clean sheets this season, Utah shut their opponents out in half of their matches in 2025 with goalkeeper Roark Looney in net for the majority of those clean sheets.
On the other side of the pitch, Utah Tech’s Samir Cuevas and Oregon State’s Alejandro Silva lead the team in scoring with four goals each and will look to add to their tallies this weekend. Cuevas was Second Team All-WAC in 2024 while Silva received All-WAC honors in 2022 and 2023 for Utah Valley University before transferring to Oregon State.
This is Utah United’s second season in USL 2 and will be looking for their first playoff win on Friday.
This weekend will be full of playoff soccer at Interbay Stadium. Don’t miss it. Get your tickets now before they are gone.
BFC Match Details
Gates: Gates open at 6pm! We recommend arriving early to enjoy the food and beer offerings, watch the players warm up, beat the hassle of traffic and parking, and to enjoy all of the prematch festivities. Also, the first 150 fans will get the above match poster FREE.
Food Vendors: Beyond the thrilling soccer action, Saturday’s match will feature an array of food vendors, including KOTTU, Fry Bread, and Mainstay Provisions. Also, before you head to Pagliacci Pitch, you can take advantage of the Pagliacci Pizza BOGO slice deal on game days. Just show your ticket at any Pagliacci location (except UW) and get two slices for the price of one. Outside food is not allowed in the venue except for Pagliacci Pizza.
Ballard Food Bank: We also encourage fans to support the community by bringing donations for the Ballard food bank.
Beer Garden The Bridges United Foundation Beer Garden is back at Interbay Stadium this season. Unlike at Memorial last season, fans will be able to watch the match from the beer garden. The beer garden proudly serves Reuben’s Brews and this year will feature a second service station and the Orgullo Ajeno Tequila Zone.
Transportation: Parking is extremely limited. We highly recommend alternative forms of transportation, including biking as we will have the Wombi Bike Parking area available at every home match this year. Please also consider riding King County Metro on game day, where youth through age 18 always ride free! Check out transit mode in Google Maps, the TripPlanner.kingcounty.gov website, or an app like OneBusAway.
Live Stream: Can’t make it to the match? All Ballard FC matches will be streamed on SportsEngine Play. The stream for the match this Friday can be found HERE.
Written by Max Dresbach
