One day after the men’s side kicked off its playoff run with a dominant 4-0 win over Ironside SC, the Vermont Green women’s side looked to encapsulate its inaugural season with silverware as they traveled to Interbay Stadium in Seattle, Washington, to face Salmon Bay FC in the USL W League Final.

Head Coach Abby Carchio made two changes from the lineup that secured a 1-0 victory over Ashville City SC in the Semifinals. Olivia Shippee got the start in goal behind the backline of Emma Warren, Bridget Kennedy, Elliot Forney, and Chloe Gorman. Tess Barrett, Olivia Grenda, Louisa Thomsen, and Isabel Smith formed the midfield quartet behind the attacking duo of Emily Mara and Sophie Reale.

Shippee came up big in the 12th minute when she pounced off her line to dive on a through ball sent forward before Ginny Lackey could get onto the ball and capitalize.

Bridget Kennedy nearly found the back of the net in miraculous fashion in the 28th minute. It all began when Kennedy stood over the ball for a free kick from midfield. She clipped the ball forward into the box, but failed to find a body as the ball bounced off the pitch.

Elena Milam came off her line, but misjudged the bounce as it sailed over the keeper and looked to sail goalward. Milam quickly turned around and slapped the ball out of play before the Green could take a cheeky 1-0 lead.

After a flurry of chances, Vermont finally found the breakthrough in the 40th minute as a series of passes led Tess Barrett to slot a ball forward to Emily Mara, who slotted a ball past the keeper and in to give the Green the lead. That was until the assistant’s flag immediately rose as the opening goal was scratched off the board.

Shippee was forced into action early in the second half as Samiah Shell got on a through ball forward on the right side of the box and attempted to find the upper half of the net, but Shippee got her hands to it to keep the game scoreless.

Shippee saved the day in the 60th minute when JuJu Barker had a pocket of space in the middle third and unleashed a shot goalward that forced the keeper to leap backward and tap the ball up and over the net to keep the clean sheet intact.

Vermont’s first change of the game came in the 74th minute as Lauren DeGroot replaced Sophie Reale.

They say all good things come to an end, and that was the case for Vermont Green’s playoff scoreless run in the 79th minute when Morgan Manalili advanced the ball forward before cutting it to her right foot and curling a shot to the lower-left corner and past a diving Shippee to give Salmon Bay the late lead.

Just as it looked as if Salmon Bay would hoist the USL W trophy, Louisa Thomsen kept Vermont’s season alive after a corner kick led to a headed ball downward that Vermont got onto on the right flank and lobbed in centrally. Thomsen got onto the bouncing ball and volleyed it home to level the match at one apiece in the closing minutes.

With the game level after regulation, we headed to extra time as both sides looked to capture the USL W title!

Unfortunately, Olivia Shippee was unable to continue after a shoulder injury forced her out of the match as Sydney Slusser came on in her place.

Salmon Bay nearly secured the national title in the closing seconds as a quick build-up out of the back led to the home side slotting a ball forward into the path of Maya Courtenay, who was all alone running at Slusser. Despite sending Slusser the wrong way, Courtenay failed to put the shot on target, sending it wide of the goal.

120 minutes were not enough to determine the winner, as the 2026 USL W Championship would be determined via kicks from the spot following a 1-1 draw.

Vermont got the shootout started as Neve Renwick stepped to the spot and converted with a right-footed shot down the middle. U’i Kaaihue was first for Salmon Bay and converted a right-footed shot to the bottom right corner.

Tess Barrett was next for Vermont Green and looked to send a right-footed shot to the upper-left corner, but had her effort batted away by the keeper. Maya Courtenay looked to gain the advantage in the second round with a shot down the middle, but was ultimately denied by a kick save from a diving Slusser.

Isabel Smith looked to regain the advantage for Vermont and did so by rattling the ball off the woodwork in the top-left corner and in.

Chloe Gorman looked to up the pressure on Salmon Bay in the fifth round and did so with a strike to the right side of the net. Morgan Manalili stepped to the spot needing to convert to keep Salmon Bay’s hopes alive. Despite the pressure, she converted a shot to the left side to extend the shootout.

Annie Gnidula got things going in the sixth round as she looked to give the Green the lead. Ginigula attempted to find the upper half of the net, but got under it as she sent it over the crossbar and out.

Kaya Singh stepped to the spot, looking to seal victory and the title. Singh sent a shot to the upper-left corner past a diving Slusser to seal the USL W title for Salmon Bay.

While it didn’t end the way Vermont ould have liked, Saturday’s result didn’t dampen the success of Vermont Green’s inaugural season.