Bellevue Athletic Roll Past SeaGam 3-0 to Advance to State Finals
Bellevue Athletic took the rubber match against Seagam FC on Saturday at Bellevue High School, ending the season of the league debutants and booking themselves a place in their third straight UPSL state final.
Goals from Nick Rivera, Nii Engmann, and Liam Raney, paired with a stellar defensive effort, gave Bellevue their biggest result of the season in front of a loud Bellevue Memorial Stadium crowd.
Not only did Bellevue continue to stay hot on the attack, scoring three goals for the sixth consecutive match, but also kept their fifth shutout of the season despite facing a lethal SeaGam attacking front that has averaged three goals per game in 2025.
BAFC went into the do-or-die elimination game missing a few key pieces, including leading scorer Owen Gortner, starting goalkeeper Matt Janke, and team captain Scott Burkholder. Despite those notable absences, they were able to showcase their deep roster and pick up a convincing playoff win against the only UPSL team to beat them this year.
The Eastside Boys have a chance at a state three-peat on Saturday, the 28th, as they take on Seattle Eagles FC in the UPSL-Washington Final back at Bellevue High School.
Match Recap
The first half of the match was largely controlled by the visitors, with the majority of possession taking place in Bellevue’s defensive third.
The first big chance of the match came for SeaGam in the 12th minute. SeaGam’s Badou Ngum intercepted a pass and threaded a through ball towards Nuha Ceesay running in behind, but Bellevue goalkeeper Keegan Brennan reacted quickly to sweep it away. On the ensuing rebound, Babucarr Cham took a shot from the top of the box, which was blocked by Eyal Shechtman before reaching the goalkeeper.
Bellevue’s backline would once again come to the rescue in the 25th minute when Cham received a well-weighted pass from Ceesay and had a shot from about 10 yards out, but this time Dane Rogers was able to throw himself into the path of the shot.
Despite receiving significant pressure in the opening stages of the match, Bellevue was able to get out on the counterattack to create chances, finally breaking through in the 30th minute. Marc Pedrosa picked up the ball in the midfield and found Cameron Yriondo on the wing. Yriondo drove towards the endline and put a ball on the deck across the middle, which was narrowly missed by a sliding Tylor Hopp before rolling into the path of an onrushing Nick Rivera, who blasted into the back of the net to make it 1-0.
For Rivera, it was his third goal of the season in the first start of the campaign, and Yriondo picked up his second assist of the campaign, both coming against SeaGam. The strike also continued Bellevue’s streak of scoring first in every UPSL match of 2025.
Bellevue had a chance to double their advantage just a minute later when a driving run from Miguel Guevara freed up space in the box, with Guevara’s cross finding the head of an unmarked Marc Pedrosa, but the midfielder was unable to direct his effort on net.
Both teams would have a couple of half-chances in the remainder of the first 45, but would go into the break with Bellevue holding on to a 1-0 lead despite spending much of the period on the back foot.
The second half began on a much more even footing, with both teams battling for the advantage in the midfield, and more clear-cut chances going the way of the hosts. The second half would also see the introduction of several pieces of Bellevue’s postseason reinforcements from off the bench. Ballard FC players Isaac Ketcham, Nii Engmann, and Kaydin Wall would come in for the second 45, and the latter two would immediately make an impact.
In the 67th minute, Engmann and Wall would combine near midfield, giving Wall space to run down the right wing. The former Western Washington man would then whip a cross to the top of the six-yard box, and Engmann was able to stretch out a leg and redirect the ball into the far bottom corner before sprinting to the bench to celebrate the lead-doubler.
Engmann has made a habit of scoring in the playoffs in black and gold, adding another Bellevue Memorial Stadium strike to his list of clutch contributions. Wall’s assist was his fourth of the season, tying him for the most on the squad in 2025.
SeaGam would have their best chance to respond in the 69th minute, when an Essa Jallow cross was directed on net by Muhamed Trawally, but hit another SeaGam player a couple of yards from the goal line before being cleared by Dane Rogers.
Bellevue would find their final piece of insurance just moments later in the 73rd, when a corner kick from Edgar Lopez Ramirez found Liam Raney at the far post, who side-footed in his first goal of the campaign to put the game out of reach.
Bellevue would hold on for their fifth shutout of the season, and their third consecutive State Final Berth.
Post-Match Comments
Head Coach Mike Mata wore his emotions on his sleeve post-match, hyping up the crowd and holding his Bellevue Athletic scarf high. “It’s amazing, it’s a dream,” said Mata. “Reaching a final with a club that we love is the result of the good effort of everyone from the front office to the players.”
Mata used a heavily rotated squad of players, some of whom had not played for Bellevue in weeks or months, and spoke to the depth of his team with great pride. “The most important thing is the whole squad, not just the starters or the 20 that we have brought. It speaks to the beauty of our roster and its depth. The effort these guys have been putting into practice and the improvement every week has been incredible, and I’m very proud of them.”
Two of the goal scorers in the match, Nii Engmann and Liam Raney, were substitutes, with Engmann having not appeared for Bellevue since the first half of the season and Raney coming back from a couple of weeks without playing time. “Getting two players on from the bench and both of them scoring a goal is very rewarding as a coach,” said Mata. “Everybody who is here is ready to go and ready to improve the team.”
Nick Rivera, a day-one member of Bellevue Athletic, picked up the first-half game-winning goal in his first start of the year, marking his 17th and perhaps most important goal in Black and Gold. “It means a whole lot, it feels amazing,” said Rivera. “I saw the ball come across the keeper and realized there was nobody there, and realized ‘this is my chance.’” Nick is a member of the Rivera family, the club founders, and has been with the team every step of the way, making his winner all the more special as Bellevue advanced to yet another final.
Dane Rogers put in a big defensive performance at center back, contributing key blocks and clearances as Bellevue became just the second team to shut out SeaGam in 2025. “Everyone worked really hard, we all communicated and fought it out until the end,” said Rogers. “We knew this was going to be a battle, so I’m really proud of everybody.” Rogers had to leave Bellevue’s last match against SeaGam with a first-half injury, and played with a chip on his shoulder Saturday en route to the shutout. “It means a lot to me, this is postseason now, so it’s do-or-die.”
Striker Nii Engmann came up with one of his biggest showings of the campaign Saturday as he scored Bellevue’s second goal just minutes after coming on. Engmann also had big perfroamces in the Fall 2024 postseason, and spoke postgame about the mentality which has helped him perform in high-pressure matches: “It’s just that extra little switch that you have to flip when it’s playoff time, push all the chips to the middle of the table,” said Engmann “I trust every single guy on the field behind me, so that gives me the freedom to just play and to go get it.”
When asked about the chance at a third straight state title next week, the message from Engmann was clear: “Job’s not done. Two is great, but it’s not enough. I’ll say the same thing about three after next week.”
Bellevue will face Seattle Eagles back at Bellevue College Saturday, the 28th, at 7 pm with the UPSL-Washington Championship on the line.