Ballard Suffer First Loss of 2026, Falling 2-0 on the Road Against Snohomish United

After five undefeated matches to begin 2026, Ballard FC left Snohomish High School without any points to show for it on Wednesday night, with goals from the Leon brothers downing the defending Western Conference Champs.

The rematch of last year’s Western Conference semi-finals went the way of the hosts, who are now the only team in USL2 with an advantage in their all-time series against Ballard FC, having won two, drawn one, and lost one of four matches between the clubs..

The result leaves Ballard in third place going into another crucial road match this weekend against first-place Portland Bangers.

Ballard had their roughest first half of a match so far in 2026. Snohomish passed up a golden opportunity to take the lead in the 7th minute, when a glancing ball across the box off a corner kick sailed just beyond the head of Clarens Dollin a yard in front of the goalmouth.

Snohomish’s aggressive press would continue to cause all kinds of early problems for Ballard, and the hosts would capitalize on that pressure within 10 minutes. A Connor Lofy cross fell to the feet of Edgar Leon, whose first shot was blocked, but the rebound fell right back to him as he dispatched his second chance, 1-0. For the first time in 2026, Ballard FC trailed.

Ballard would come down the other end of the field with their first attack of the match, a corner kick leading to a blocked Dunes Nielsen effort in the 13th.

The match went end-to-end in the middle part of the first half, but the chances created by the hosts looked more dangerous, needing some key defensive interceptions and blocks from the visitors.

Aaron Leon would double the lead in the 34th minute, picking the pocket of the Ballard FC defender Tanner Dutra after a slow bounding through-ball, before dinking it over goalkeeper Stockton Short and finishing into an open net.

Aaron Leon, the Seattle University Commit, stayed hot just a couple of weeks after scoring a hat-trick in the WIAA 4A state championship game

A Clarens Dollin shot forced a chest save from Stockton Short in the 45th, and a last-second Aaron Leon free-kick struck the wall to call the first 45′ to a close. For the first time in 2026, Ballard FC entered the locker room looking for a comeback.

Ballard came out energized and pushed for a response, but a Connor Lofy shot in the 55th was the first quality look of the half for either team.

The visitors weren’t afraid to shoot from distance, but Snohomish would do well to block shots before getting to goalkeeper Kenny Pierpoint. Three consecutive Ballard corners ended in a Pierpoint claim in the 58th.

Another block in the 74th denied a Ballard shot in the box, as the hosts slowed the game down into the final 20 minutes, holding firm to their lead. Emmett Layman had a rebound chance stopped before reaching the net in the 75th as Snohomish held firm.

Ballard’s best chance to bring one back came in the 90th minute, when a deflected ball fell to the feet of Anton Hjalmarsson, but the Swede had his shot blocked at point-blank range by Kenny Pierpoint. Despite an avalanche of pressure, Snohomish would hold on to the shutout win.

Game Notes

The last time Ballard suffered a shutout loss was 7/9/25, a 1-0 road loss to the Portland Bangers.
Snohomish has now beaten Ballard in two consecutive regular-season games, the only team to do so since Capital FC beat Ballard twice in their inaugural 2022 regular season.
This week holds perhaps the most consequential stretch of games this season, with three games against top-three teams in the Northwest division all coming in the span of eight days.

Scoring Recap

9’ (SNO): Edgar Leon
34’ (SNO): Aaron Leon

Starting 11

Stockton Short, Tanner Dutra, Beto Apolinar, Jack-Ryan Jeremiah, Zach Ramsey, Luke Hammond, Elliot Spatz, Dunes Nielsen, Cianole, Nguepissi, Juan Alvarez, Omar Grey

Subs Used

Anton Hjalmarsson, Emmett Layman, Ray Mendez, Sean Sent

Written by Adam Race