BOYDS, MD — The Ottawa Fury’s run at their third chance at the W-League Championship came to an end after falling 3-1 on penalty kicks to the Washington Freedom. After a scoreless ninety minutes the two sides played to two scoreless fifteen minute halves of extra time leading to the penalty shootout.
Sandiford sent the Freedom onto the final (Shane Canfield)
A goal post and a Chante Sandiford save denied the Fury a third trip to the W-League Championship game. The 2007 champion Freedom will move on to the Championship final, where they will face the reigning W-League Champions Pali Blues on Friday, August 7 in Boyds, Maryland.
Ottawa started the game off with great pace and tremendous control. Hearn, Romagnuolo and Moorwood all had chances inside the first fifteen minutes, but were unable to convert.
Jasmine Phillips, who was stellar in the Fury goal, robbed Brittany Tegeler on a breakaway and stymied here again moments later after the Freedom jumped on a Fury turnover. H
ayley Moorwood and Michelle Evans both had chances on goal, but were unable to give the Fury that much sought after first goal. The first half ended scoreless with the Fury owning most of the possession and chances.
Washington started off the second half with several chances and strong pressure, but Jasmine Phillips was there to steady the ship.
Emma Kete broke through in the 55th minute on a breakaway, but was denied by Freedom keeper Sandiford.
Both teams exchanged chances for a period of ten minutes, but both keeper stood tall. Courtney Wetzel made a great individual effort and Sandiford collapsed on the rebound ahead of an out-reached Emma Kete in the 80th minute.
Danielle Johnson recorded the last dangerous chance before the end of time that saw her header deflect just wide off the Michelle Evans corner.
As the two teams headed into extra time it was the Fury who had the best of the chances in the first stanza of extra time as both Evans and Pacheco threatened.
In the second extra time Phillips had to be sharp once again denying Germain in close and stopping a Freedom free kick with less than five minutes remaining.
Amber Hearn fired over the bar from the top of the 18-yard box with time winding down and penalty kicks on the horizon.
The Fury would shoot first in the penalty shootout with Hayley Moorwood rifling home a shot into the top right corner putting the Fury ahead. Sandra Matute pulled the Freedom even giving way to Ria Percival, the Fury’s second shooter. Percival beat Sandiford low to the left, but was denied by the post.
Kika Toulouse put the Freedom ahead 2-1 with a shot into the top corner. Courtney looked to pull the Fury even, but was robbed by Sandiford with a diving save.
Caitlin Miskel put the Freedom in the drivers seat scoring to make it 3-1 with the Fury needing to score. Chante Sandiford onced again proved to be the difference denying Michelle Evans, sending the Freedom back to the W-League Finals since they won it all in 2007 after, oddly enough, defeating the Fury.
The Fury Women’s 10th Anniversary season draws to a close with another successful year that saw them win a sixth consecutive division title and the Central Conference title, but the elusive W-League title will have to be won another day.
The Washington will look to win their second W-League title since winning in 2007, but will have to defeat the defending W-League Champions Pali Blues who have yet to lose in the W-League since joining last season.
NEWBURGH, NY — The Pali Blues Soccer Club showed why they are the defending USL W-League champions tonight at Newburgh Free Academy, defeating the Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues by a tally of 4-0.
With a well-balanced effort in every phase of the game, the Blues now advance to their second straight league championship game next weekend.
Mora tallied and set up two others in semifinal
“It took us a while to get going at the beginning of the year, but all that matters is how you end the season. It’s humbling to be around this group of girls, and I’m just happy to see them achieving this kind of success,” Blues head coach Charlie Naimo commented after the victory, sending him to his fourth W-League championship game as a coach and second straight since moving to the West Coast.
Rain poured down on the Hudson Valley for much of the day, but calm weather conditions fought their way into Newburgh to greet these two clubs with a perfect environment for playoff soccer by the time of kickoff.
Blues goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris was tested early when the Quickstrike attack was able to create some opportunities in the opening minutes of this contest, but she and her defense did well to weather that early storm.
The Blues regrouped after that early push by Hudson Valley, and they very quickly engaged a shift in the offensive momentum. They began to get off some quality shots toward their target, and their aggressive play paid dividends in the 14th minute of the match. It was then that midfielder Christen Press collected the ball on the right flank and sent a hard strike over to Jodie Taylor in the center of the field. Taylor then weaved her way through traffic until seeing her opening from more than 30 yards out, and she then launched a bomb past the outstretched arms of Quickstrike netminder Ashley Thompson to give the defending W-League champions a 1-0 advantage.
The Blues continued to display their high level of class throughout the remainder of the opening half, and Mexican National Team forward Iris Mora was able to stretch the gap to 2-0 in the 45th minute of the game. The All-Western Conference selection received a feed from Press on the right wing and capitalized on the room she was afforded by the Hudson Valley defense. From 25 yards out, she struck a powerful volley into the back of the net to give her team a two goal lead going into intermission.
The Blues kept their foot on the throttle when the second half of action got started, and Mora made the most of being given too much space once again in the 50th minute. Making a run on the right wing, she one-touched a cross to the middle of the field, and midfielder Kelley O’Hara fought off a pair of Quickstrike defenders to punch in the third Blues goal of the evening.
Hudson Valley continued to battle, and forward Angelika Johansson nearly got Quickstrike on the board when she created a one-vs-one chance for herself in the 59th minute. As soon as she saw Johansson break free, Harris came out from her post to make a spectacular diving save to stop the run and keep the slate clean.
Rewarding their goalkeeper for her efforts, the Blues made it 4-0 in the 65th minute when Mora set up a Lauren Cheney tally. From that point forward, the Blues defense buckled down to complete the shutout.
“We saw when they came out that they were motivated,” Mora said after the game. “We knew we had to stay composed and defend on both ends of the field. We played like a team and a unit out there, and I’m just so proud of all my teammates.”
The win extends the Blues unbeaten streak to 28 games and advances them to their second title appearance in as many years of existence. The Blues now await the winner of a Saturday night pairing between the Ottawa Fury and Washington Freedom.
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