Bellevue Athletic look to bounce back in UPSL play at home against 3 Cities FC
Written by Adam Race
Bellevue Athletic are set to host Tri-Cities outfit 3 Cities FC this Saturday in matchweek three of the UPSL Spring 2025 season at Bellevue College soccer field with a chance to move back into the top four of the UPSL-Washington table.
Through two games in UPSL play, Bellevue have one win and one loss, and are coming off of their first regular season loss since Spring 2024 in last week’s match against SeaGam. Bellevue had won 15 consecutive UPSL regular-season games before last weekend, and now hope to start a new undefeated streak against 3 Cities FC, the team that handed them their previous UPSL-Washington loss, a 1-0 defeat in Kennewick on the final matchday of the Spring 2024 campaign.
It’s a welcome return home to the Eastside at Bellevue will try to shake off a frustrating result against SeaGam last Saturday in Shoreline, a match in which they led 2-0 early but ended up falling 3-2 to a talented squad of UPSL newcomers. “The truth is that it was a painful loss,” said Bellevue Head Coach Mike Mata. “We started very strong, and unfortunately, we went from more to less. It serves as a learning experience, and I’m happy to give my players the experience of competing against different styles and cultures.” Bellevue will host SeaGam in the reverse fixture on June 8th, and Mata hopes the team can bring last week’s lessons throughout the season. “We’re fortunate to play against them twice this season, and I’m convinced that Bellevue will be different.”
But the focus right now for Mata’s squad is a 3 Cities team that won their opening match of the spring UPSL season 4-0 against Seattle Eagles FC in Richland. “3 Cities is a fantastic team, very talented, and with a club that always wants to win,” said Mata. “We’re preparing for an intense and difficult match, but we are convinced we have the tools to win and regain our confidence.”
Bellevue and 3 Cities are both on three points and part of a four-way tie on points for second place in the league table. The stakes are high for two clubs that both made the postseason last spring, and are looking to gain momentum and assert their position as state and regional contenders in 2025.
The game will be played at Bellevue College soccer field this Saturday, April 19th at 5 pm, and will also be available to watch via livestream at: veolive.page.link/et6k
Home Sweet Home
Bellevue Athletic returns home to the Eastside at Bellevue College soccer field this week, having won their last 10 competitive matches played in Bellevue going back to spring of 2024. The Eastside has been a fortress for the black and gold over the last year, with Bellevue going 12-2 in competitive matches at home since fall of 2024, and winning back-to-back UPSL-Washington titles in that time.
“We handpicked Bellevue College as the best home field for the program because of the special environment that can be formed there,” said Bellevue Athletic Sporting Director Anastacio Rivera. “Close proximity to the fans, a hill for tons of extra seating, top field turf, and one of the only soccer-specific pitches in the region make Bellevue College the ideal home for the beautiful game.”
Some of the clubs most iconic moments in recent memory have taken place in their home city, including hoisting the UPSL-Washington trophy in fall 2024 after defeating league rival Sharktopus 3-0 at Bellevue College, followed by a thrilling shootout victory against Beaverton the following week in the UPSL national round of 32 at Bellevue High School.
“The spacious pitch gives our talented players more room to shine and play the pass-first brand of soccer Bellevue identifies with, ” said Rivera. “We think it also gives us a big advantage as most people play on significantly smaller pitches at high school stadiums and other facilities.”
Bellevue Athletic’s last 10 competitive home matches
Date | Opponent | Result |
4/6/25 | Thurston County | W, 21-2 |
3/23/25 | United Sports FC | W, 5-1 |
12/15/24 | Beaverton FC | W (pens), 3-3 (7-6) |
12/8/24 | Sharktopus FC | W, 3-0 |
10/20/24 | 3 Cities FC | W, 3-1 |
10/13 /24 | Gala FC | W, 2-1 |
9/29/24 | FC Caliber | W, 4-1 |
9/15/24 | Dalul FC | W, 2-1 |
9/8/24 | Snohomish Sky FC | W, 3-2 |
5/19/24 | FC Caliber | W, 2-0 |
Know the Opponent: 3 Cities
3 Cities FC was founded a year ago, joining the UPSL with a mission to give a platform and opportunities to the impressive amount of soccer talent coming out of the Tri-Cities and Columbia Basin region. Despite being one of the most talent-rich regions in Washington, boasting great high school soccer programs as well as one of the best NWAC men’s soccer teams in Columbia Basin College, the Tri-Cities had long been underrepresented in the world of pre-professional and semi-pro competition. “The club was founded with the goal of giving the opportunity to local and surrounding area players who hadn’t been able to play at a higher level either after high school or college due to grades or funds,” said team owner Jose Cueva.
When 3 Cities joined the UPSL for the Spring 2024 season, they immediately became the first club in the league hailing from east of the Cascade Mountains. “Being the only club east of the mountains means everything, it means we trusted the talent around here,” said Cueva. “We trusted the process, we trusted the hard work and we trusted every player to put Tri-Cities soccer on the map.” As league newcomers in 2024, 3 Cities immediately made their presence known in the UPSL, finishing in third place during the regular season and making it to the postseason. “All of the victories were very special to us in our first spring season due to a lot of people not believing in us, people thinking we weren’t going to be good or competitive enough for the UPSL,” said Cueva. “We had so many players that didn’t think we were going to do or be anything our first season that are still playing with us now.”
In a season of outperforming expectations, 3 Cities picked up 5 wins in Spring 2025, including doing the double over Bellevue, defeating them 2-0 in Bellevue and 1-0 in Kennewick. Cuevas says that the wins over the eventual league champs were benchmark moments in their debut season. “We were very happy with both victories in spring of 2024. We were very nervous, our first game where we went to Bellevue to play them, we knew they were the team to beat, but I told the guys to play our game and what we know. Both games were a battle, they have a solid squad that we respect, and we know this Saturday is going to be another battle.”
3 Cities had a rough fall 2024, winning just one game and finishing 9th in UPSL-Washington, but have gotten off to an excellent start to the Spring with a 4-0 win over Seattle Eagles FC at home in Richland. “Our 4-0 victory at home to open up our season was great,” said Cuevas. “We had a good fan base, a lot of new fans came out to watch, and we put on a good show. The team played well and will only get stronger as the season continues and the squad bonds.”
Cuevas says the club’s goal this spring is to win the UPSL-Washington title and make an appearance in the UPSL national round of 32. As they match up with the back-to-back state champs in Bellevue, this Saturday is set to be a highly contested game between some of the best talent in the league.
Bellevue Athletic 2025 UPSL Stats
Individual: Outfield
Player | Goals | Assists | Goal Contributions | Appearances |
Tyler Hopp | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
Kenny Mansally | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
Jacen Stein | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
Kaydin Wall | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
Nii Engmann | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
Marc Pedrosa | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Scott Burkholder | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Jackson Finn | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Kiran Menezes | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Zak Khan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Austin Hill | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Brady Minor | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Miguel Guevara | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Edgar Lopez-Ramirez | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Individual: Goalkeeping
Player | Starts | Saves | Goals against | GAA | Clean Sheets |
Bruce Corrie | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2.00 | 0 |
Matt Janke | 1 | 6 | 3 | 3.00 | 0 |
Team: Overall
Bellevue | Opponents | |
Goals | 23 | 5 |
Goals per game | 11.5 | 2.5 |
Clean sheets | 0 | 0 |
UPSL Washington Standings/Schedule
Team | W-D-L | GD | Points | |
1st | United Sports FC | 2-0-0 | +9 | 6 |
2nd | 3 Cities FC | 1-0-0 | +4 | 3 |
3rd | Seattle Eagles FC | 1-0-1 | -3 | 3 |
4th | SeaGam FC | 1-0-1 | 0 | 3 |
5th | Bellevue Athletic | 1-0-1 | +18 | 3 |
6th | Gala FC | 0-1-0 | 0 | 1 |
7th | Snohomish Sky FC | 0-1-1 | -3 | 1 |
8th | Everett Jets FC | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
9th | Thurston County | 0-0-2 | -25 | 0 |
UPSL-Washington Matchday Three Schedule: |
Saturday, April 19th: Sunday, April 20th: Snohomish Sky at Everett Jets, 2 pm SeaGam FC at United Sports FC, 2 pm Thurston County at Gala FC, 3 pm |
How To Follow
Fans can follow Bellevue Athletic online at bellevueathletic.com and via social media on Instagram (@bellevueathletic), Facebook (@bellevueathletic), and YouTube (@bellevueathletic).