Four teams. Four division winners. Three Matches. Two Conference Champions. One National 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 Conference Finals on Friday, July 25th followed be the national semifinals on Sunday, July 27th. The Central Conference Final will be played at 2pm between Minneapolis City SC and the Flint City Bucks, and it will be followed by the Western Conference Final at 7:30pm as hosts Ballard FC take on the Ventura County Fusion.
The winners of Friday’s matches will then play at 5:30pm on Sunday for a chance to make the National Semifinal. 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 is having a remarkably similar season to 2022 and 2023 as the back-to-back-to-back Northwest Division Champions are squaring off against the Ventura County Fusion in the Western Conference Final for the third time in four seasons. After losing in the first round of the playoffs in 2024, Ballard FC are back on another playoff run and looking to win the second conference title.
Khai Brisco, Christian Engmann, and Joe Dale were all there in Flint two years ago when Ballard FC came back from behind to defeat the Fusion and win the Western Conference Championship in extra time. That trio will be looking to get their hands on the trophy again alongside plenty of new faces.
Ballard’s postseason route to the conference final started with a dominant 6-0 win over the Colorado Storm in the opening round before a narrow 2-1 victory in the conference semifinal against Snohomish United. Sunday’s win over Snohomish was a fierce battle as the home side got their revenge on a Snohomish team that had been a thorn in their side all season long.
Now, let’s meet their opponents.
Ventura County Fusion
The Ventura County Fusion head into the Conference Final looking for revenge after losing to Ballard in 2023. The year before, the Fusion knocked Ballard FC out of the playoffs with a 1-0 win en route to the national championship. It looked like the same thing would happen again in 2023 as Ventura had a 2-0 lead over Ballard with less than 10 minutes to play. But then the script flipped. Stas Korzeniowski scored two late goals to force extra time and then completed his hat-trick in extra time. Charlie Gaffney added an insurance goal that Ballard would need as they won 4-3 after 120 minutes.
Marley Edwards is one of the few familiar faces who was part of Ventura’s team in 2022 and 2023 and will look to cause problems for the Ballard backline. The forward was Second Team All-Big West this past season at CSUN and has been a key part of the Fusion attack for four summers now. This season, there is one former Fusion player suiting up for Ballard FC as midfielder Beto Apolinar will look to get the better of his former team on Friday night.
The Fusion are two-time national champions and one of the historic USL 2 clubs. However, the newer Ballard FC has quickly created a budding rivalry as the two clubs battle for Western Conference supremacy.
After clinching the Southwest Division Title in the regular season, Ventura narrowly defeated San Juan SC 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs before beating divisional foe, FC Tucson, on Sunday 2-0.
Now let’s preview the Central Conference Clubs.
Flint City Bucks
We start with the most successful club in USL 2 history, the Flint City Bucks, who have the most national titles across the entire league with four of them. Flint’s most recent title came in 2019, the first year the league switched its name over to USL League Two.
Should Flint and Ballard both win on Friday, it would set up a repeat of the 2023 National Semifinal where Ballard FC won 1-0 from a Taketo Onodera thunderbolt from outside the box. Flint are not just one of the winningest clubs in the league, they also have been a talent factory. The most recent Mac Hermann winner, Ohio State’s Michael Adedokun, played for the Bucks in 2023 before joining the Buckeyes.
Similarly to the Fusion, Ballard also have a former Buck on their roster as Omar Yehya made a midseason transfer from Flint to Ballard.
After winning the Great Lakes Division, Flint narrowly defeated Steel City FC 4-3 as the Pittsburgh team got an early lead before the Bucks mounted their comeback. Then in the second round things were a bit more comfortable as Flint defeated Fort Wayne FC 2-0.
Let’s check in on our fourth and final club coming to Seattle this weekend.
Minneapolis City SC
Minneapolis City SC joined USL 2 in 2022, at the same time as Ballard FC, after winning three National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) North Conference Championships. Before joining USL 2, Minneapolis City qualified for the Open Cup in 2018, becoming the first amateur team from Minnesota to do so.
The Crows are the only team in this pod who are yet to win a USL 2 National Title but they did win their first Heartland Division title this season, narrowly edging out Sueño FC on goal difference. Minneapolis City has had quite the run to the conference final, needing penalties in the first round against 2024 national finalists, Peoria City. Daniel Sessler saved two penalties while the Crows were perfect from the spot to advance.
Then in the second round, Minneapolis City had a much easier time as they defeated Sueño FC 2-0 with two first half goals.
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. There will be happy hour in the Beer Garden from 6-7pm as all beer and margaritas are $2 off! Also, the first 150 fans will get the above match poster FREE.
Food Vendors: Beyond the thrilling soccer action, Friday’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 non-perishable food and hygiene product donations for the Ballard food bank.
Beer Garden The Bridges United Foundation Beer Garden is back at Interbay Stadium this season. The beer garden proudly serves Reuben’s Brews and this year will feature a second service station and the Orgullo Ajeno Tequila Zone serving regular and spicy margaritas.
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
