Two rounds of the USL W League playoffs are done and dusted with the Conference rounds finished and now the National rounds are ahead. With their home site unavailable the overall #1 seed Minnesota Aurora traveled to Pittsburgh for the second consecutive year and won the Conference for the second straight season. But that did not happen without some fierce challenges from the two clubs they faced. While only one team could win the weekend, three of the four clubs came out looking extremely strong.
Conference Semi-Finals
Minnesota Aurora 2–0 Union FC Macomb
Union FC Macomb won the Great Lakes Division to advance to the USLW playoffs for the first time in club history. While the club's first playoff match did not go their way they gave Minnesota Aurora a run for their money. Used to scoring early in matches, Aurora had to wait until near the end of the first half to score. Late in a tough fought second half Jelena Zbiljic doubled Aurora's lead to secure the #1 seed their first playoff win of 2026.
Pittsburgh Riveters 5–0 Racing Louisville USLW
From the opening whistle to the final one, the second semi-final was dominated by one team and one team only. Pittsburgh Riveters used their home pitch, crowd, and a lot of mistakes from Racing Lou to smash the visitors for their first ever playoff win. The star of the match was teenage sensation and Riverhounds Academy player Anna Korney, who at just 16 years old scored a brace on Louisville. Three other players for the Riverhounds scored as well, but the night belonged to Korney.
Conference Final
Minnesota Aurora 2–1 Pittsburgh Riveters
Sunday ended with easily the toughest match of the season for both clubs, but also one of the best matches of the entire playoff weekend. The star on Sunday night was Riveters goalkeeper Lexi Grundler who did everything but stand on her head at F.N.B. Stadium. When Aurora was able to break in for a clean shot Grundler saved basically everything that came her way. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh the second goal from Aurora came at the worst time as Gracie Dunaway scored right at the edge of stoppage time to win the match.
Up Next, National Playoffs:
From 16 clubs down to just four it's time for the National Semi-Finals on Saturday, 11 July. The top seed and now 14-0 Minnesota Aurora will have to travel to Seattle to play Salmon Bay FC (Western Conference) in the "Western" Final. Overall #1 seed Aurora is the only club who will have to travel for both of the first two weekends of the playoffs as all three other clubs hosted their first two rounds of the USL W League playoffs.
On the other Eastern Conference champion Vermont Green hosts Southern Conference champion Asheville City in the "Eastern" Final. Vermont Green women are in their first season in the league and have had an incredible run both on and off the pitch. Packed crowds at Virtue Field in Burlington, VT have turned their home ground into a fortress. The atmosphere in Vermont will make for a hostile environment for Asheville.
Vermont Green vs Asheville City kicks off at 6:00pm CT (7:00pm local) while Salmon Bay vs Minnesota Aurora will kick off at 9:30pm CT (7:30pm local). Both matches and the entire USLW Playoffs can be watched on SportsEngine Play.
