ARENA SOCCER 2025-26 SEASON REVIEW PART 1: WISL-M

Bellingham United captured their fifth WISL Championship on March 7th, 2026 at the Tacoma Soccer Center

By Delorean Fleetwood

Tacoma, WA: The 2025-26 Arena Soccer season concluded on April 27th, 2026 at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, CA, giving the sport one of the finest campaigns it’s seen in years. But, it all started in the Cascadia region with the greatest semipro arena soccer league in the world: The Western Indoor Soccer League. The Pacific Northwest based league out of the Evergreen State of Washington completed its 11th season overall on March 7th, 2026 after beginning with a 3-1 Tacoma Stars Reserves win at home, November 1st, 2025 against Everett City FC.

Seven teams played 12 games during the 2025-26 WISL-M regular season.

While the WISL has been well known in the Pacific Northwest for over a decade now, what isn’t as widely known is that, like with the WMLIS and MASLW, the WISL also has a women’s league that competes under the same umbrella (We’ll cover the WISL-W on Wednesday, May 13th). For now, the WISL-M competed in their 11th season overall (due to COVID, the league did not compete in 2021-22) since forming on June 20, 2014.

The Tacoma Stars Reserves (6) and Bellingham United (5) have combined to win all 11 WISL Championships.

Since the league’s inception, only two teams have taken home the hardware at the end of the season, the Tacoma Stars Reserves and Bellingham United. Safe to say, to quote the late ABC broadcaster Keith Jackson, “these two teams really don’t like each other” is accurate for these two competitors. Tacoma won it all in the league’s first season back in 2014-15. Bellingham countered, winning the next three from 2015-16 to 2017-18. Tacoma would counter with a win the following season in 2018-19. Bellingham would reclaim the throne in 2019-20. Tacoma would win the title back in 2020-21 before things shut down the following season. This might have been the upper hand they needed, as Tacoma would continue to dominate the WISL for the next half decade. They wouldn’t relinquish the crown for the next three years, defeating Everett City in 2022-23 and winning rematches with Bellingham the following two seasons in 2023-24 and last season, giving them a four year (technically five) winning streak in the WISL.

Who was winning the WISL this season? Only time would tell.

RISING STARS

The Stars would capture the regular season crown with a solid 9-3 record on the year. They outscored their opponents 76-40 for a +36 goal differential. Their power play was at 26%, while the penalty kill was at 81%. They had the 4th best offense in the WISL while conceding the fewest goals in the league, giving them the best defense. They would play each team in the WISL twice during the regular season. Once each at home and on the road. Their three losses during the regular season was arguably the most concerning stat line. Two of them? Both to Bellingham. Bellingham soundly (no pun intended to the locals) beat Tacoma back on November 22nd, 2025 by a score of 7-1. The rematch on February 7th, 2026 at the Bellingham Sportsplex was closer, nearly resulting in OT, as the Stars trimmed a three goal deficit down to just one in the final minutes before falling 7-6. The other defeat came at the hands of Everett City FC 8-5 on December 20th, 2025, at Arena Sports Mill Creek, giving the Stars an unexpected lump of coal in their stockings.

Josh Szidik’s talent was unstoppable during his tenure with the Stars Reserves

Josh Szidik is an up and coming star in this sport and he showcased every bit of that with the Stars during the course of the regular season, leading the team in goals (12) and points scored (12G-4A-16PTS) averaging 1.5 points a game. The former Berea College standout will likely find himself on an MASL roster on a more permanent basis soon (he has already spent time with the St. Louis Ambush and tore up the M2 ranks with their reserves team a few seasons ago). Aside from Szidik, Tacoma had seven other players who scored at least five goals during the season. Isidro Prado-Huerta (7G-1A-8PTS) was a force to be reckoned with, while Mark Lee (3G-6A-9PTS) was the primary playmaker leading the team in assists on a team that featured seven players with at least 9 points on the year, including Luis Chavez (8G-3A-11PTS), AJ Nitzel (6G-5A-11PTS), Cris Lozano (5G-5A-10PTS), Itamar Bastos (5G-4A-9PTS), and Alan Barragan (5G-4A-9PTS). Tony Pena would backstop the WISL’s best defense during the season at goalkeeper.

DO I RING ANY BELLS YET?

Player/Coach Richard Henderson was named Coach of the Year while leading the WISL in assists and was second in the WISL in scoring.

Bellingham United was every bit as capable as the Stars Reserves were during the regular season, as they only finished a single point back of Tacoma in the regular season standings, despite sweeping the season series vs the Stars. Bellingham would go 8-2-2 during the regular season (YES, the WISL does indeed have TIES during their regular season). Bellingham got served a massive wakeup call with a season opening 10-5 loss to South Sound FC on November 8th, 2025 at Jarzynka Memorial Field House. Bellingham beating Tacoma 7-1 the following week, may have been the moment that would define their season. Bellingham, however, would also receive a lump of coal in their stockings come December 20th, 2025, when a visit to the Bremerton Sports Center handed them a 4-3 loss at the hands of the Oly-Pen Force. With the new year in full force, Bellingham faced only two small speed bumps in the form of ties prior to the postseason. A January 24th, 2026 3-3 come from behind tie with the Snohomish Sky at the Snohomish Sports Dome and a 10-10 affair at Arena Sports Mill Creek on Valentine’s Day, 2026. Bellingham came back from a two goal fourth quarter deficit in each of those games, proving they are never truly out of a match until the very bitter end. This resilient nature would be what defined their 2025-26 season.

Christian Caro was among six Bellingham players who logged at least 10 points, including five who had at least 12 points.

Bellingham had the best offense during the regular season while recording the second best defense, outscoring the opposition 89-59 for a +30 goal differential. They would go 43% on the power play while having a woeful 59% on the penalty kill. Six Bellingham players would score at least 10 points during the season (five scored at least 12, while three scored at least 15), led by the WISL’s top playmaker and Coach of the Year, Richard Henderson (10G-14A-24PTS), who was also second in the WISL in scoring, Christian Caro (8G-7A-15PTS), James Salisbury (8G-7A-15PTS), Ivan Colin (10G-2A-12PTS), who tied for the team lead in goals, Judah Straight (8G-4A-12PTS), and Joar Tidblom (7G-3A-10PTS) round out the WISL’s best attack in 2025-26. Riley Liddle and Josh McBain backstopped the Hammers in goalkeeper for the second best defense in the WISL for 2025-26.

ROAD TO THE WISL FINALS

Seven teams would compete for the WISL Champions Trophy in the 2025-26 season.

The 2025-26 Western Indoor Soccer League season began with the aforementioned 3-1 Tacoma win over Everett on November 1st, 2025. The regular season spanned fourteen weeks, ending on February 21st, 2026. Seven teams competed during the regular season in 2025-26. Teams would play a 12 game schedule, playing each other twice, once at home and once on the road. The teams and their home arenas are as follows:

TACOMA STARS RESERVES (Tacoma Soccer Center, Tacoma, WA)
BELLINGHAM UNITED (Bellingham Sportsplex, Bellingham, WA)
EVERETT CITY FC (Arena Sports Mill Creek, Mill Creek, WA)
SOUTH SOUND FC (Jarzynka Memorial Fieldhouse at PenMet Parks Recreation Center, Gig Harbor, WA)
OLY-PEN FORCE (Bremerton Sports Center, Bremerton, WA)
SNOHOMISH SKY (Snohomish Sports Dome, Snohomish, WA)
VANCOUVER STORM (Clark County Indoor Sports Center, Vancouver, WA)

The 2025-26 WISL season features five teams in the Seattle metro area, with one located in Bellingham and one in Vancouver.

All games during the season were played on Saturdays in their respective arenas. The top four teams would qualify for the 2026 WISL Playoffs. Semi-Finals would take place on February 28th, while the 2026 WISL Championship would be played on March 7th, 2026, ending the four month 2025-26 WISL campaign, it’s 11th in league history. The top four teams that qualified for the postseason were Tacoma, Bellingham, Everett, and South Sound. Tacoma (9-3-0-27PTS) and Bellingham (8-2-2-26PTS) would snag the top two seeds, securing home playoff games for the WISL Semi-Finals, while Everett (6-4-2-20PTS) and South Sound (6-4-2-20PTS) would grab the three and four seeds respectively rounding out the playoff field. Oly-Pen (5th at 4-8), Snohomish (6th at 3-7-2), and Vancouver (7th at 2-10) missed the postseason in 2025-26.

The 2026 WISL Playoffs had arguably their most competitive field to date.

Everett had the third best offense and defense in the league, outscoring teams 83-66 for a +17 goal differential. They posted a 28% power play with a stingy 83% on the penalty kill. Five players would post double digit points, led by Adan Fernandez (14G-6A-20PTS), who would finish fourth in the WISL in scoring and second in goals, while Andrew Escalante (12G-7A-19PTS, fifth in the WISL in scoring, fifth in goals and fourth in assists), John Magnus (7G-5A-12PTS), Fernando Tavares (7G-3A-10PTS), and Victor Aguilar (6G-4A-10PTS) paced the Everett attack while Noe Betancourt Cruz (1G-6A-7PTS) provided much needed playmaking abilities. Eric Ibanez and Michael Herrera backstopped the third best defense in the WISL at goalkeeper. Fernandez and Escalante were one of the best one-two scoring punches in the WISL during the regular season.

Adan Fernandez and Andrew Escalante proved to be one of the best 1-2 scoring punches in the WISL during the 2025-26 season.

South Sound FC was led by none other than 2026 WISL Player of the Year, Craig Johnson. Johnson led the WISL in goals, scoring, and was third in assists (17G-8A-25PTS). Pacing the South Sound attack with five double digit point scorers alongside Johnson were: Team Owner himself, Derek Johnson (13G-5A-18PTS, fourth in the WISL in goals), Jaisen Zurfluh (8G-5A-13PTS), Ryan Griffith (6G-6A-12PTS), and Nate Boatright (3G-7A-10PTS). South had the second best offense in the WISL and fourth best defense, outscoring their opponents 85-67 for a +18 goal differential. They went 38% on the power play with a 62% penalty kill. As Johnson&Johnson go, so does South Sound FC. Brandon Limes backstopped the fourth best defense in the WISL at goalkeeper.

The high powered attack of Craig and Derek Johnson rivaled that of Adan Fernandez and Andrew Escalante of Everett City FC.

Everett and South Sound both tied for third with a 6-4-2 record during the regular season, but who won the tie breaker? Everett took down South Sound at Jarzynka Memorial Fieldhouse back on November 22nd, 2025 with a 7-3 win, but secured the three seed and the tiebreaker overall after a 6-6 tie at Arena Sports Mill Creek on February 7th, 2026, going 1-0-1 against South Sound, securing four points out of a possible six.

In case anyone was wondering what the stat lines were for the best scoring duos in those games, look no further. The November 22nd game at South Sound saw Everett’s Adan Fernandez dominate (3G-1A-4PTS) while Andrew Escalante had a great game as well (2G-0A-2PTS), however, South Sound saw Craig Johnson get shutout with Derek collecting just one assist in the 7-3 Everett win. The February 7th game at Arena Sports Mill Creek saw Craig Johnson score just once while DEREK was shutout in this contest. However, BOTH Fernandez AND Escalante were shut out in this contest as well, denying us the opportunity to see these two high scoring duos trade blows in both matchups. Overall, the stat sheet in both matchups were underwhelming, minus Fernandez’s four point performance and in the first meeting.

With that in our rear view mirror, the 2026 WISL Playoffs are next.

2026 WISL SEMI-FINALS

The WISL Semi-Finals took place on February 28th with Tacoma(1) vs. South Sound(4) and Bellingham(2) vs. Everett(3).

At the Tacoma Soccer Center, The Stars would score just 90 seconds into the game with Luis Chavez feeding Andres Zuluaga for the early 1-0 lead. With 9:12 remaining, Diego Hernandez would double Tacoma’s lead on a feed from Rainier Schlekewey. South Sound would make it 2-1 just 70 seconds later as Collin Labranche would score on an assist from Craig Johnson. That would be the last score of the entire first half, despite five separate man advantages, three for Everett and two for Tacoma, during a hard fought first half. That would change in the second half, as Tacoma would restore their two goal lead 2:45 into the third from Gil De La Cruz, assisted by Diego Hernandez. Chavez would get a sixth foul blue card putting South Sound on the power play. Craig Johnson, assisted by Jaisen Zurfluh, would score with 9:35 remaining in the third to trim the lead to 3-2. Everett, however, would see Pierre Vargas get blue carded for HIS 6th foul. Tacoma would capitalize on it with a strike from Josh Szidik, assisted by Cris Lozano. With 4:22 remaining in the third quarter, Tacoma led 4-2. The score would hold heading into the final period. Tacoma would score twice in 57 seconds to start the fourth quarter. First, just 99 seconds into the period, it was AJ Nitzel from Mark Lee. Then, it was Rainer Schlekewey from Gil De La Cruz. Tacoma now led 6-2 with 12:24 to go in the game. Nitzel would score his second goal of the contest with just 5:47 remaining from Rainier Schlekewey, who led all scorers in the game (1G-2A-3PTS), effectively giving Tacoma a 7-2 lead. South Sound would get one back on the power play with 3:39 to go, unassisted by Ryan Griffith after Tacoma’s Amos Freiheit would commit his 6th foul, drawing a blue card. That would be the final goal of the contest, as the Tacoma Stars Reserves would win 7-3 to advance to their 9th WISL Finals and 8th straight. Tacoma has only failed to make the Finals in 2015-16 and 2016-17, when Bellingham defeated Olympic Force in both matchups.

Bellingham might have pulled off one the greatest performances in WISL HISTORY with their Semi-Final win against Everett. They not only won, but they SHUTOUT Everett City 8-0 at the Bellingham Sportsplex. Joar Tidblom would score twice in the first with 8:05 and 1:27 remaining, assisted both times by Richard Henderson, to give the Hammers a 2-0 lead heading into the second. The player/coach would make it a hat trick of assists in the first half, after he assisted on a Christian Caro goal with 7:32 remaining. Tidblom would score with 4:52 to go, giving him a first half hat trick. Judah Straight would make it 5-0 with 2:27 remaining, unassisted. The third quarter would see Caro score his second, securing him a brace, with 4:48 to go in the 3rd quarter as Bellingham lead 6-0 going into the fourth. The final two tallies would come from Miles Tennant with 10:42 to go and Edward Longhurst with 9:48 remaining in the contest, both unassisted. Tempers began to flare in the fourth, as the game continued to get out of hand for Everett. By the end, three separate players were given red cards (though there was only three seconds left) and Bellingham received one as well, ending an exhilarating night for Bellingham and crushing defeat for Everett, as the all too familiar matchup of Tacoma vs Bellingham, marking the 8th time in WISL Finals history that these two teams would meet in the Final.

2026 WISL FINAL

For the 8th time in the WISL’S 11 seasons, the Tacoma Stars Reserves will square off against Bellingham United in the Final.

The Tacoma Soccer Center was packed with Bellingham United faithful who made the trip down south on I-5 to see their beloved Hammers end a four year winning streak to the Stars. While the Stars did have home field advantage once again, they didn’t have the friendly confines of the accesso Showare Center for their grand finale. Last year (as is the custom in situations such as this, when they host a WISL Final), they hosted a double header. The WISL Final was the first game, while the MASL Tacoma Stars would play a regular season home game to cap off the double header. The Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds, who are the other tenant in the building, (the Tacoma Stars play their home games here as well. The LFL/X-League’s Seattle Mist, later Thunder, also played here at one point) had a scheduled home game against the Tri-City Americans that same day, thus moving the game to the Tacoma Soccer Center for this year’s edition of the Final.

The Stars would open the scoring with 8:04 to go in the first as AJ Nitzel continued his strong postseason play on an assist from Rainier Schlekewey, continuing HIS strong play in the playoffs. Christian Caro would dish to Elliott Rains who scored just 49 seconds later after Tacoma fell asleep on the counter attack, giving the Hammers an easy 2 on 0 break, resulting in the tying goal. 2:01 later, Richard Henderson would assist to Joar Tidblom for the third time in the postseason (all in the first period, ironically) giving Bellingham the lead for good. 52 seconds later, after Tacoma continued to commit self inflicted mistakes, Bellingham doubled the lead to 3-1, as Thomas Watson scored unassisted. After Coach Skyler Roehr called timeout to calm his troops down, Bellingham would score just 20 seconds later, adding further insult to injury and aiding the jubilant crowd of Hammer faithful, who saw their trip to Tacoma turn into a memorable one, with Ivan Colin’s marker. Bellingham led 4-1 after one quarter. Those three goals in 72 seconds set the tone for the 2026 WISL Final. With just 4:50 to go in the 2nd quarter, Judah Straight, assisted by Julian Herring, made it 5-1. Tacoma would get that one back 15 seconds later, unassisted, from Cris Lozano. Judah Straight would make it a 2nd quarter brace with 1:27 to go in the half, as Bellingham led 6-2 heading into the locker room. After the third quarter saw no one break the ice, Bellingham would make it 7-2 with just 11:06 remaining. Christian Caro would score unassisted. Tacoma would get a golden opportunity as Bellingham would commit a reckless tackle, drawing a blue card, but would see a sixth foul call just three seconds into the initial power play, giving Tacoma a 5 on 3 advantage. Two goals could massively change this game, even with only five minutes remaining. Tacoma would do just that. Gil De La Cruz would score on the first one with 5:05 remaining from Nitzel. The second came with 4:31 remaining as Josh Szidik would score off a feed from Andres Zuluaga to make it 7-4. Bellingham would ice the game as Watson secured a brace when he scored his second with just 45 seconds to go, giving Bellingham the 8-4 victory, winning their first WISL Championship since 2019-20, nearly six years since their last triumph. Thomas Watson and Judah Straight scored twice while Christian Caro had a goal and assist giving Bellingham three players with two points on the night. Tacoma was led by AJ Nitzel’s two points (1G-1A-2PTS) in the loss. Bellingham’s adversity came through in the end.

Bellingham United defeated the Tacoma Stars Reserves 8-4 to win the 2026 Western Indoor Soccer League Championship.

Congratulations to Bellingham United on bringing home the hardware in 2026. As someone who filmed and witnessed the entire affair, your fanbase was rabid and made themselves known early on. I look forward to cheering on and covering the Western Indoor Soccer League next season in 26-27.

I had the privilege of holding the WISL Championship Trophy after the game.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 26-27

The recent announcement of the Olympia, Washington based Oly Town Artesians is a welcome sight for the league as this would not only give the league eight teams for the upcoming season, but would see the return of one of the core teams and organizations of the Western Indoor Soccer League’s history.

This diagram from MASL 3 back in 2020 shows the regional plans for the future growth of M3. “Pacific North” is in the WISL’s footprint. Whether the WISL will become a Pacific Northwest or Pacific North Division for the MASL3 in the further remains to be seen. Either way, it’s the best region in the world.

While there have been a handful of unsubstantiated rumors of the WISL merging into the MASL 3 to form a Northwest Division (based off league plans for teams and regions that was released in 2020), the Western Indoor Soccer League will continue to provide the Evergreen State of Washington and Cascadia Region of the United States with the best semipro indoor soccer league and play in the world come 2026-27.

I will see you all next season. I’ll see YOU at the next game.