The USL W Northwest Division Rundown

On Saturday, June 6th, Salmon Bay FC hosted the Portland Cherry Bombs at Interbay Stadium in the first stanza of a double-header day in Seattle. Morgan Manalili scored early into the second half to give the home side, Salmon Bay FC, a 1-0 lead. Tessa French equalized for the visitors from Oregon, who would end up stealing a point on the road.

Salmon Bay FC have since followed that up with a home win over FC Olympia and are on a four game unbeaten run. Despite this, both West Seattle Rhodies and Snohomish United top the table on 18 and 19 points respectively. However, should Salmon Bay FC come down to Lents Park on Sunday, June 14th for the reverse fixture and get all three points, they could end up joint top of the table.

Snohomish, on 19 points, have a superior goal differential, outscoring opponents 21-0 in their last four games, and face bottom of the table Tacoma Galaxy at home this weekend.

West Seattle Rhodies, blasted 0-7 on the road last week by Snohomish, are at home this weekend to Bigfoot FC and look to regain momentum in the division. They go away to Salmon Bay FC next week - so getting a result at home is imperative for them.

FC Olympia lost on the road Friday night to Salmon Bay FC and have to turn around and host Tacoma Galaxy on Sunday - after that they just have three games left and close the season out hosting Portland. They’ve had a rocky season after having won the division in 2025.

Portland Cherry Bombs will host Salmon Bay tomorrow and if they have any hope of making a run at the playoffs, that may have to start now; they will host powerhouse Snohomish next Friday before going on a three game away run. There will be one final game at home after that. There is an extreme heat warning for the Portland area for Sunday, June 14th - the heat can make things uncomfortable and frustrations turn into combative actions - we’ll see how this one plays out.

USL W League Northwest Division Standings (as of 06/13/26)

West Seattle Rhodies (18pts / 7mp / +9gd)
Snohomish United (19pts / 8mp / +24gd)
Salmon Bay FC (16pts / 7mp / +21gd)
FC Olympia (7pts / 8mp / -17gd)
Portland Cherry Bombs (5pts / 6mp / -6gd)
Bigfoot FC (4pts / 7mp / -23gd)
Tacoma Galaxy (2pts / 7mp / -8gd)

USL League 2 Northwest Division Rundown

When Portland Bangers FC visited Ballard FC last weekend, they were ranked 6th and 10th in the nation and the Bangers were on top of the division. An expanded Interbay Stadium was sold out and filled to the brim with Seattlites’ anti-Portland chants audible through the stream. Alexander Notzka scored early to give the hosts a lead - Portland’s coach Jorge Villafana stuck to his game plan but couldn’t crack the Ballard defense.

Juan Alvarez Rodriguez doubled Ballard’s lead in the 61st. Tate Richards pulled on back for Portland in the 83rd and just when they had hope, substitute Anton Hjalmarsson sealed the win with a 90th minute goal.

Since that game, however, Ballard went to Snohomish to suffer their first loss of the season, 0-2. Snohomish started off the season with an away loss to Portland Bangers, but have since rattled off 5 successive wins, home or away, doesn’t matter - Snohomish have outscored their opponents 16 to 5 and should they win on Sunday, could either overtake Portland for first or solidify second place in the division (depending on how that game in Portland goes).

Midlakes are holding onto the fumes of a playoff spot but need the teams above them to struggle to achieve that goal. They are away to FC Olympia in a week and get some rest while Oly have to play away to Bigfoot FC between now and next Saturday. West Seattle Junction have been hit or miss this year, with a big 4-0 win to open the season at home but struggling on the road - unfortunately for them, they are away to Snohomish, who have made a habit of scoring loads of goals.

Bigfoot are in an interesting situation - they have only played 5 games and while four of those have been pretty bad losses, the schedule offers them some hope. If they can get a home win vs FC Olympia and maybe get some points on the table, it could inject them with confidence when they go on the road to Ballard on Thursday the 18th.

USL W League Northwest Division Standings (as of 06/13/26)

Portland Bangers (18pts / 7mp / +7gd)
Snohomish United (15pts / 6mp / +10gd)
Ballard FC (13pts / 6mp / +6gd)
Tacoma Stars (11pts / 8mp / +1gd)
Midlakes United (10pts / 8mp / +2gd)
West Seattle Junction (7pts / 6mp / +3gd)
FC Olympia (6pts / 10mp / -16gd)
Bigfoot FC (1pt / 5mp / -13gd)

- by Josh Duder