Ballard FC dismantle Colorado Storm in USL2 playoff opener
Ballard FC opened their 2025 playoff run with a resounding win against Colorado Storm in front of a sellout crowd at Interbay Stadium on Friday night. Coming off two straight losses to end the season, Ballard FC head coach James Riley fielded a first-choice starting 11, taking no chances in this win-or-go-home playoff format. The match went pretty much according to script, with the visitors coming out fast, hoping for an early chance, and hanging on as long as they could. In the end, Ballard’s experience and depth were just too much for Colorado.
While new to USL2 play, the Storm are a long-tenured club with a deep history in the state of Colorado. They compete in the five-team Mountain Division and earned their way to the Western Conference playoffs with a second-place finish, earning 22 points in 12 matches.
From the opening whistle, the match had the feeling of a high-stakes playoff tilt, with both sides attacking every loose ball and going hard into challenges. Much of the first 15 minutes were played in Colorado’s end, with Ballard counter-pressing and winning several dangerous set pieces, with Charlie Kosakoff finding himself in front of goal for several half-chances early on.
Ballard’s first real chance came in the 28th minute when Joe Dale beat his defender on the baseline and got a right-footed shot off at close range, but it fell right to the keeper.
Moments later, Ballard opened the scoring when Richie Aman broke open the right side of the Colorado defense and found Joe Dale at the top of the six, who slotted it home cleanly.
After the opener, it was all Ballard for the rest of the night. Their press kept resulting in turnovers in the center of the park, and they were able to carry the ball into the Colorado box several times, but the final quality wasn’t enough to find the second goal before half.
The Storm managed one last push before the end of added time, with the last action of the first half being a shot the was pulled well wide of keeper Stockton Short, who had little to do in the first half.
Brisco nearly opened the second half scoring after the Colorado defense bungled a clearance, but his shot sailed wide.
Then, seconds later, Ballard notched their second, assisted by Joe Dale and scored by Rafi Otero.
And they wouldn’t stop there. Colorado’s defense completely dissolved after the second goal, and less than a minute later, Ballard got their third when Richie Aman found a rebounded shot and slipped it to Kosakoff for his second on the night.
Ballard made five subs in the 69th minute with an eye on a fast turnaround to Sunday’s semifinal.
Nii Engmann scored on a towering header off a corner in the 73rd minute, rising well above his defender and firing it past the keeper.
Their fifth and sixth goals came from corners as well, with Omar Grey and Nii Engmann each getting on the end of great service from the corner.
Despite a fast turnaround to Sunday’s semifinal, Riley said he didn’t expect a lot of rotation unless something comes up in the training room. The team will go right into recovery mode to prepare for a warm, mid-afternoon match on two days’ rest. Everyone came off the pitch in good condition and he was able to get many of his top starters off with 20 minutes to play.
Overall this quarterfinal was a physical, and well-played affair. Colorado just found themselves outmatched by the more battle-tested Ballard squad on their home ground.
In the first quarterfinal of the day, Snohomish United defeated Mountain Division winner Utah United 2-0.
Ballard FC will face off against Snohomish United in the semifinal on Sunday at 2 PM at Interbay Stadium. Limited tickets are available at goballardfc.com.