WISL Men’s Soccer Playoffs Set to Begin Saturday

Tacoma Stars Reserves vs. South Sound FC
The Tacoma Stars Reserves enter the postseason as the top seed after finishing the regular season 9-3. They will host fourth-seeded South Sound FC, which finished 6-4-2, in a semifinal matchup. Tacoma swept the regular-season series, including an 11-3 win on Jan. 4 and an 8-4 victory in November.

In their most recent meeting, the Stars Reserves jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in an 8-4 win. Tacoma scored three times in the opening quarter and added three more in the second to build a 6-1 halftime advantage. Josh Szidik, Cale Spence and Cristian Fernandes led the scoring for Tacoma. The Stars extended the lead to 8-1 before South Sound responded with three late goals from Jaisen Zurfluh, Elijah Hurt and Derek Johnson.

Everett City FC vs. Bellingham United
The second semifinal features Everett City FC and Bellingham United. Bellingham finished second in the standings at 8-2-2, while Everett placed third at 6-4-2.

Their most recent meeting on Feb. 14 produced one of the highest-scoring matches of the season, ending in a 10-10 draw. Everett built a 4-1 lead in the first quarter and carried a 7-6 advantage into halftime behind a hat trick from Andrew Escalante. Everett extended the lead to 9-6 in the third before Bellingham rallied. In the fourth quarter, Bellingham scored three late goals to complete the comeback. Richard Henderson delivered the equalizer with just over a minute remaining to cap a wild, back-and-forth contest.

With explosive offenses on both sides, the semifinal rematch promises another high-scoring affair as the teams battle for a spot in the WISL championship.

WISL Championship Match
The winners of the Bellingham United vs. Everett City FC match and the contest between South Sound FC and the Tacoma Stars Reserves will play for the WISL championship on March 7. Time and location will be announced next week.