SEATTLE, WA - The USLW league final, between Salmon Bay FC and Vermont Green, broke the Interbay Stadium attendance record, packing 2096 fans into its cozy confines. The shade above in the tree-lined sidewalk made the walk to the single-entry gate comfortable and while it was reportedly only 73°F outside, once you got onto the metal stands or down by the pitch, it felt a lot hotter.

The stadium fits snuggly between a park, a golf range, and some condos in the cute neighborhood of Queen Anne in Seattle. If you live nearby, which seemingly most fans did, then mass transit is a cinch and you don’t have to worry about parking. But for the uninitiated, Vermont fans, and few other out of towners, parking is scarce

Salmon Bay FC made this peaceful palace an absolute fortress this season; winning the northwest division with 29 points and a +27 goal differential, they repelled all challengers during their playoff run. Three of their four postseason matches went to added on extra time and into penalties; earning two clean sheets and allowing only one goal in the run of play - the fish gave up a silly penalty in the Minnesota Aurora game.

Vermont Green and their fantastic cross-country followers had a more circuitous route to the final; going on the road to defeat a tremendous Rough Riders side, 3-0. Green then went on to shut out eagle FC 2-0 and Asheville city SC 1-0 in the Conference Final, giving up zero goals in the playoffs. As a matter of fact, Vermont only allowed six goals all season, and Olivia Shippee was massive, with a league high 34 saves.

All match previews which expected a cagey, low-scoring final, would be partially correct. There were exciting moments in the first half, as Emily Mara fought for every ball and seemed to be everywhere. Pre-match lineups showed coach Abby Carchio putting Vermont in a 4-4-2 and we expected them to be more direct. However, we got to see great one and two-touch sequences as they tried to move the ball on the ground as well.

Coho Head Coach Malia Arrant looked more set up in a 4-4-3 with Jourdyn Curran shielding the back four. While only one yellow card was issued in the first half, Curran, Menti, and Barker had their hands full with Mara - the visiting Vermont fans were baying for more cards with every tough tackle.

The two sides went into the half mostly even statistically – Salmon Bay had 3 shots to Vermont’s 4, they were even with 1 shot on target each, 2 corners each; Coho had 7 fouls to Green’s 3 and Vermont was caught offside once. The second half carried over the back-and-forth nature of the first stanza, but we felt an uptick in pressing, counter-pressing, and contact… whether called as fouls or not.

The thought process seemed to shift from “not losing” to “pushing to win.” The second half saw 3 of the 5 yellows, both goals, and Vermont made 3 of their 4 subs during this period. The homeside also made impact changes; the biggest shift was bringing on super sub Morgan Manalili, who looked dangerous, with two opportunities before she struck pay dirt in the 78th.

After saving one shot by quick shot maestro Manalili, Sippee sent it deep into Salmon Bay’s half. The ball was retrieved by Curran, who moves it up the far flank to Kaaihue. U’i sends a leading pass into the path of Manalili right down the central channel. She gets to the top of the D to snap a low shot through two defenders and past the unsighted Olivia Shippee. The fish are up,1-0, at home, with just over 10 minutes to go.

Salmon Bay aren’t resting on a 1 goal lead. Kaaihue cuts in from the left to ping a shot with her right foot off the crossbar in the 80th. Two minutes later, a low hard cross comes in from the corner and U’i has a flick on goal. Shippee is doing everything she can to keep Green in this Final. On an ensuing shot, Olivia Shippee stretches out completely to snatch the ball out of the air, but lands hard; it looks like a separated shoulder, and she subs out for Sydney Slusser.

Slusser is a solid keeper in her own right, but coming on at a critical moment in a league final is a massive test of character – one which she aces. Vermont Green do not quit, their fans yell encouragement to keep fighting, waving flags and bellowing their chants. Six minutes of stoppage time has been given.

Emily Mara continues to be a menace fighting, scrapping, and giving everything. A corner is earned by Green in the 93rd - 20 of the 21 players on the pitch have loaded into the box and while Salmon Bay clears, it's not far enough and the ball is popped high, back into the mixer. Earlier, Anna Menti was subbed off and this is the moment where that might hurt. Instead of attacking the ball in the air, it bounces in the box and Luisa Thompson gets a rip at it, equalizing for the away side, deep into stopping time.

You can feel the collective groan as the crowd realizes this win has just now become the third overtime game, out of four, this post season. The two 15 minute halves gives us a few good moments – none better than Maya Courtenay’s near winner in the 121st minute, which from nearly everyone’s vantage, looked in. It was just wide right. With just minutes left, coach Arrant subbed off defenders to load up on strikers, heading into penalties.

The teams had to choose between two options, kicking into the sun or keepers facing the sun - they chose the latter. The classical data says that the team who goes first in penalty shoot outs will win 60.5% of the time and Vermont Green’s Neve Renwick goes first… and scores first.

1-0 Vermont
1-1 U’i Kaaihue equalizes for Salmon Bay
1-1 It stays on ones as Tess Barret’s effort is saved by Milam
1-1 The fish blow the advantage as Maya Courtenay goes middle and is saved
2-1 Vermont regain the lead with Isobel Smith’s unstopable upper-v shot
2-2 Ameera Hussen brings the home side back even with a strong hit down the middle
3-2 Grenda converts a great shot to the right side of the goal for Green
3-3 Jodi Ulkekul’s shot is just over Slusser’s mits to draw even again
4-3 The veteran Chloe Gorman slots home a shot to give Vermont the lead again
4-4 Morgan Manalili goes to the left and Slusser goes right
4-4 Anne Gniduca is the first one to go over the frame and the look on her face is devestating
4-5 16-yo Kaya Singh, who didn’t play all season, steps up and wins the USL W League title for Salmon Bay FC with a confident strike

The league closes out its fifth season with its fifth different winner and while this super intense season is too short, we can look fondly toward the future where we may see these women plying their trade in the USL Super league, NWSL, or abroad.

written by Joshua Duder
photos by Jay Ortiz