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NPSL postseason preview: What to watch for in soccer district tournament

Published 1:56 pm Wednesday, May 6, 2026

By Benjamin Ray

Tahoma’s Dean Jordan avoids three Auburn Riverside defenders. Ben Ray / The Reporter
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Tahoma’s Dean Jordan avoids three Auburn Riverside defenders. Ben Ray / The Reporter

Tahoma’s Dean Jordan avoids three Auburn Riverside defenders. Ben Ray / The Reporter
Bryan Rodriguez-Pena gets a high five after scoring White River’s fifth goal of the game. Ben Ray / The Mirror
Shukri Shukurov’s late goal pushes Decatur past the Titans. Ben Ray / The Mirror

With the high school boys soccer regular season coming to a close in the NPSL, here are some of the storylines to look out for as the district tournaments begin this weekend, May 9, in South King County.

Can records keep improving?

Since 2022, records in the opening round of the district have improved every year. 4A NPSL was 5-0 last season, while 3A NPSL teams were 3-3. That is a long way from when the 3A NPSL was 1-3 back in 2022 while 4A teams were 2-3.

The quality of teams, especially at the 3A level, seems to be incredibly deep. The addition of Enumclaw and White River has increased the level of play along with the emergence of Decatur and even Federal Way, which might not be in the playoffs this season, but has wins over Kent-Meridian and Auburn Mountainview.

Auburn Mountainview magic formula tested once more?

Over the last two seasons, there hasn’t been a team that has been as overlooked as the Lions. After one run to the final four, that can be seen as a fluke. But a second run, the next season, that deems neither run a fluke. Despite losing college players, they continue to lead from the front.

This year the Lions haven’t skipped a beat and have been on top of the table since week one. Under new management this season, Donovan Gleason has the Lions in a position to be feared as they finish the regular season on 37 points.

Stadium Tigers’ dominance remains

After finishing in second behind Tahoma last season, Stadium has been far and away one of the best teams in the state in 2026. The Tigers have just one blemish and a hiccup this season as they have won 12 of 14 games. A draw with Mount Rainier and a loss to Kennedy are the differences between 14-0 and 12-1-1 where the Tigers reside now.

In terms of the playoffs, Stadium has reached the state tournament four times since 2018, but has only won one game in the state tournament since 2012.

Tahoma consistency prevails

There aren’t many soccer programs that have played with and displayed the consistency that Tahoma has shown on the pitch. The Bears over the past three season have accumulated 96 points. The next closest is Stadium with 80 points over that span.

Tahoma has made the state tournament four consecutive times, but have had early exits the past two seasons. Their last run was back in 2023 when the Bears took fourth.

White River’s late surge

Since March 25, White River has a case to be one of the hottest teams in the NPSL. Over their past 11 games since that date, the Hornets have lost just once (Decatur 2-0, April 3). Across those 11 games, the Hornets have won eight, including a seven game win streak. The Hornets started with a playoff battle for the final spot, and now there is a chance they have leapfrogged Enumclaw to the No. 4 spot in the NPSL and could surpass Kent-Meridian in the standings.

The Hornets over this last month and change had scored goals at a high clip as well. In the two games against Decatur, the Hornets scored zero and one goal, but in the other nine games, the Hornets scored more than two goals on five different occasions. The defending has been exceptional too, with three clean sheets along the way and no opponent scoring more than two goals since that 6-0 loss to Enumclaw.

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