WPSL Wrap Up: Week 4
Wednesday
Joy Athletic Club 2-0 Mankato United Soccer Club
Lakevillians Ashley Bennett and Brooke Quam were the key pieces in this home victory. Bennett opened the scoring in the 23rd minute with a neat shot that slid under the keeper Ella Lysne from a Quam pass. Quam doubled the lead in the 59th minute, from a Bennett assist to secure a home win for the Goats.
Minnesota Dutch Lions FC 0-2 Minnesota Thunder
Harvard commit and France U-17 international Lou Ruffien put Thunder ahead in the 25th minute and University of Northern Iowa Panther Abby OBrien (out of White Bear Lake, MN) secured the win in the 83rd minute.
Manitou FC 1-2 MN Bliss FC
St Paulite and North Dakota State Bison Loretta Wacek and Bemidji State Beaver Ella Wade, also out of the Twin Cities metro, tipped Bliss over the top against Manitou FC.
Friday
Manitou FC 0-2 Minnesota Thunder
Hastings, Minnesota's Paige Peltier got both goals for Thunder, as they climbed to second in the standings.
Saturday
St Croix Legacy 1-1 Minnesota Dutch Lions FC
A Legacy side short-handed due to Father's Day wrapped up their home slate with a hard-fought win against the Dutch Lions. The visitors have yet to win, but have drawn three times. The visitors opened the scoring in the 63rd minute through Adriana Brenengen's neat strike coming in off the right to blast it underneath Hadley Johnson in the Legacy net. However, the Winona High School kid's go ahead goal would not last as ten minutes later, Legacy attacked down their left, and Lake Elmo, MN's Amara Smith (who goes to Minnesota State -Mankato) slotted calmly past the goalie.
The last drama came in the 81st minute when a Legacy player nipped in ahead of a defender and the two collided. Free kick awarded, 30 yards out. The ball was driven in, and it went into the Dutch Lion net, but as the Legacy players headed back to the center circle for a goal, the Dutch Lions players protested and after an interlude the goal was chalked off for handball but no further action - such as a caution - was taken.
Sunday
Minnesota Thunder 2-0 Mankato United Soccer Club
Mankato United's Tea Opitz stood on her head on the Academy of Holy Angels Stardome field where she played as a kid, anchoring a defense which kept the prolific Thunder off the scoreboard for 70 minutes but in the end, Paige Peltier slotted past Opitz after a pass down the middle by Matigann Vixayvong split the defense open. The second goal was a scramble in the 83rd minute, finished off by the Minneapolis born Wisconsin Badger Kiya Gilliand from a corner kick by Paige Peltier.
MN Bliss FC 0-8 Salvo SC
There were 10 minutes on the clock when Salvo unlocked the Bliss defense, a run down the left culminated in a pass across the top of the box for Davy Mokelke to slide the ball home. An interception in midfield set up the second, again calmly slotted away by Becca Smith in the 17th minute. Bliss had a spell of possession around the 20th minute but Salvo had made it three by the 24th, through Mya Nugent. Mokelke added a fourth before half time.
Salvo salted away the victory with a fifth goal in the 53rd minute when Nugent swooped on the rebound after a spectacular close range save by Sarah Martin. It was 6-0 in the 72nd minute when an interchange down the right ended with the ball being bundled home for an own goal. The seventh goal in the 78th minute by Alma Beaton was a swallow dive from the edge of the area, dipping and swerving past Martin. The eighth went in through Ceilidh Whynott in the 85th minute.
Coming Up:
Wednesday
Joy Athletic Club v Minnesota Thunder
Saturday
Minnesota Dutch Lions FC v Mankato United Soccer Club
Sunday
Minnesota Thunder v MN Bliss FC
Manitou FC v St Croix Legacy
Salvo Soccer Club v Joy Athletic Club
WPSL Wrap Up: Week 3
Wednesday
Salvo SC 1-2 Minnesota Thunder
Thunder hold on to equal the season series with their perennial rivals. Minnesota Golden Gopher Grace Estby accounted for both goals for the visitors, 7 minutes apart from the 57th minute after a scoreless first half, connecting on balls dissecting the left of the Salvo defense. Salvo pushed further forward and secured their only goal of the game on a powerful header by Lauren Eckerle.
St Croix Legacy 2-1 MN Bliss FC
In the ninth minute, Loretta Wacek (North Dakota State Bison) was fouled in the area by Savannah Stockness and Grace Fogarty scored the penalty kick to put Bliss ahead. Tatum Trettel equalized in the 19th minute off a loose ball at the far post. CJ Fredkove scored the winner on the hour mark, blasting a free kick from just outside the penalty area into the side netting.
Saturday
Joy Athletic Club 0-1 Manitou FC
In a matchup of teams struggling for relevance this season, former Minnesota Aurora player Mandy Elton (of Cottage Grove, MN via St Catherines) made the difference in the 75th minute.
Sunday
Minnesota Thunder 5-2 St Croix Legacy
Legacy went ahead in the 11th minute, after a long ball down the middle was dispatched by Lake Elmo, MN's Amara Smith, who plays collegiate ball for MN State Mankato. The home side equalized in the 33rd minute after head tennis from a corner. The decisive blow was made by Blaine, MN's Kendall Stadden, a newly transferred North Dakota State Bison. It was still even at half time.
It took until the 58th minute before Thunder took their first lead of the match, Stadden's former team mate at Minnesota, Paige Kalal, with a free kick, 25 yards out on the left, blasted into the net. Stadden scored her second in the 72nd minute, from a cross down the left from Bella Naples. Legacy threatened to reel in their hosts, as Bella Meyer and Amara Smith setting up Kenzie Jacobson to make it 3-2 only three minutes later. The margin of victory was only inflated by late goals. Lou Ruffien (who goes to Harvard) finished off a Paige Peltier cross. One minute later, Paige Peltier turned scorer, off a Paige Kalal corner.
Mankato United 2-0 MN Bliss FC
A battle in the center of the park, Bliss had a strong claim for a penalty kick in the first half but neither team could finish a chance. In the 57th minute, a center back curls the ball in to Johnson for Mankato, her shot was blocked but Julia Fischer put the rebound in. The game was salted away in the 87th minute, Ella Huettl connected on a defensive miscue by Charlotte Li and put it through the keeper's legs. It was a night for the Mankato locals, as both Huettl and Fischer are from Mankato and playing for MN State Mankato.
Salvo SC 8-0 Minnesota Dutch Lions
The Minnesota Golden Gopher Davy Mokelke of Wayzata, MN has had a red hot start to the season and continued it, with the opening two in this rout of the curiously placed Dutch Lions (who had drawn both their previous ties this season). The third came via the St Thomas Tommie Sophia Barjesteh, from neighboring Woodbury, as she lifted a ball into the top corner from the top of the box. Dominating their right flank produced easy finishes for Ashley Thirk in the 35th minute and Avery Petty in the 38th. It was 5-0 at half time.
A close range blast into the roof of the net for Petty's second of the game in the 58th minute made it six and Sofia Englund scored the seventh on the counter in the 63rd minute. The literal last kick of the game was from Mya Nugent to notch up an eighth. Dutch Lions defense at times did not help the visitors, but Salvo were mostly lethal in their finishing and go back on top of the division.
Coming Up:
Wednesday
Joy Athletic Club v Mankato United Soccer Club
Minnesota Dutch Lions FC v Minnesota Thunder
Manitou FC v MN Bliss FC
Friday
Manitou FC v Minnesota Thunder
Saturday
St Croix Legacy v Minnesota Dutch Lions FC
Sunday
Minnesota Thunder v Mankato United Soccer Club
MN Bliss FC v Salvo SC
WPSL Wrap Up: Week 2
Wednesday
St Croix Legacy 2-1 Salvo SC
St Croix Legacy played back from the kick off to the final whistle, absorbing the much higher line of Salvo's pressure and countering. That strategy netted the go-ahead goal courtesy of a connection between two St Croix locals - a header from Concordia St Paul's Stella Nielsen connecting with ferocity on a corner in the 20th minute from CJ Fredkove, currently going to St Thomas.
Salvo, on the other hand, also seemed wedded to a strategy - high tempo, close passing despite the relentless defense of Legacy in their personal space. The first half was seen out with Sophia Barjesteh peppering corners in to the St Croix area with no finish.
The visitors equalized in the 65th minute after a cross by another Tommie, Sofia Englund was neatly tapped home by Lauren Eckerle of South Dakota State. Salvo pushed further forward, but with the literal last play of the match, CJ Fredkove got her second assist of the contest, with a searching ball down the left wing in stoppage time. Tatum Trettel tight-roped the left sideline and drove towards goal, before slotting the ball past Ayden Gagner in the Salvo net and into the far side netting. The only action left in the match was the final whistle. I think Trettel might still be running.
Friday 30th May
Mankato United SC 1-3 Salvo SC
Riley Lijewski (An Ohio State Buckeye out of River Falls, WI) scored twice - once each from open play and the penalty spot to key an easy victory for Salvo. Katelyn Beulke (out of Hugo, MN and currently a South Dakota State Jackrabbit) also scored for the metro side and Mankato United claimed a consolation from Jade Jackson (one of the many players on the roster who plays for MN State University Mankato).
Minnesota Bliss FC 3-1 Manitou FC
Mergers and co-ops are all over the youth soccer landscape, so I guess it was inevitable that they would impact the next step in the women's football pathway. Minnesota Bliss FC's predecessors and parent clubs reach across the West Metro from Plymouth, Wayzata, Shorewood, Minnetonka, Deephaven to Maple Grove and Brooklyn Park in the Northwest of the Twin Cities. MapleBrook played the Fury in WPSL last season and Tonka Fusion Elite played very successfully in UPSL W. This year, the two clubs joined up to field Bliss FC. The new venture showed a high level of cohesion in their first match, blitzing the visitors from White Bear Lake, MN with incisive passes from midfield through the center of the Manitou FC defense.
30 seconds in, North Dakota State's Loretta Wacek, out of Saint Paul, MN, broke away down the middle and slotted home the opener. An absolute blast from outside the area in the 20th minute by Bemidji State Beaver Ella Wade, who's from Rogers, MN, made it a two goal lead. Manitou's consolation was scored by Madeleine Thompson (who is still a high school student, at White Bear Lake).
Minnesota Dutch Lions FC 1-1 Joy AC
Another club to go through a change this offseason is Rochester United FC, who became the 11th side in the sprawling Dutch Lions FC organization. The home side broke the deadlock in the 45th min, with a blast from Viterbo and Brookfield, WI's Abby Mumm on the edge of the area. Brooke Nast equalized, barely 5 minutes after half time.
Sunday 1st June
Mankato United 1-1 Minnesota Dutch Lions FC
Good cross in from the left by Kiera Laney in the 24th minute, was headed firmly past the Dutch Lions keeper Anna Lundeen by Allie Hartig to put the home side ahead. Abby Mumm is two-in-two, after a wedge over Ella Lynse to equalize in the 63rd minute.
Minnesota Bliss FC 3-0 Joy AC
Driving in from the right, Ella O'Keefe (from Plymouth, MN) slotted past the Joy keeper in the 34th minute for Bliss. The hosts doubled their lead in the 48th minute, a pinball header from Loretta Wacek off a right wing corner. Wacek set up her own second, bursting down the left wing, then popping up in the box to finish the move and make it 3-0.
Minnesota Thunder 1-6 Salvo SC
Unaccountably a blowout victory for the road team. Minnesota Golden Gopher Avery Petty opened the scoring for Salvo after only 4 minutes with a volley from the top of the box past the Colorado Buffalo Brooke Goerish. South Dakota State's Katelyn Beulke then doubled the lead in the 20th minute, weaving her way down the center of the box. Another quarter hour passed, with play going from box to box but neither team scoring before Sofia Barjesteh (St Thomas), teed up and then volleyed into the top corner from the top of the Thunder box.
In the 50th minute, a Thunder ball in from the right saw the attacker in the middle miss her kick and Salvo countered clinically, Salvo's Davy Mokelke (Another Gopher) finishing it off. The fifth goal came only three minutes later, another fast break by Salvo, finished off by Elle Wildman (Iowa) after a defense splitting pass from Molly Fiedler (most recently the Head Coach of St Olaf). Another three minutes went by, and Ashley Thurk (Yet another Minnesota player) made a mazy run and finish, all the way up from right back.
Thunder's sole goal went in the hole after Vivian Rojas-Collins's (most recently Pomona), whipped cross was converted by Kendall Stadden (Former MN Golden Gopher, now a North Dakota State Bison).
All in all, an unusually large margin for Thunder to lose by, but not at all unusual a goal difference for Salvo. They don't have long at all to wait for a rematch.
Coming Up:
Wednesday
Salvo SC v Minnesota Thunder
St Croix Legacy v MN Bliss FC
Saturday
Joy Athletic Club v Manitou FC
Sunday
Minnesota Thunder v St Croix Legacy
Mankato United v MN Bliss FC
Salvo SC v Minnesota Dutch Lions
WPSL kicks off in the Land of the Lakes
Sunday 18th May
St Croix Legacy 4-3 Joy AC
In a back and forth battle, the home team finished on top courtesy of Tatum Trettel's chip of Joy Athletic Club goalie Sydney Potter in the 88th minute. Jillian Brown opened the scoring in the 10th minute for Joy, and Trettel equalized in the 35th minute. Joy went back ahead with 5 minutes left in the half.
After 15 minutes of possession by Legacy and counters by Joy, it was a Legacy counter which created the equalizer. Trettel squaring the ball to Amara Smith in the 6 yard box to make it 2-2. Smith herself then forced the ball off a Joy defender in their penalty area and then broke past Potter to make it 3-2 in the 65th minute. The patterns reasserted themselves for 17 minutes before Sophia King took matters into her own hands and drove down the Joy left before blasting it past Prates in the Legacy goal from the top of the box for the equalizer.
Finally, after scoring the fourth goal, Trettel had a chance in stoppage time to seal her hat trick but Potter pushed it away at full stretch.
Thursday 22nd May
Salvo SC 6-0 Manitou FC
Three goals in six minutes set the seal on a lethal first half display by the hosts. Riley Lijewski headed home from a corner, Elle Wildman finished a neat passage of close passes through the middle of the Manitou defense and Davy Mokelke darted in from the left wing to finish her second. Mokelke had earlier put Salvo ahead, controlling a difficult, bouncing ball into the box before volleying it home.
The second half saw both teams show moments but Salvo again showing some furious finishing, with Davy Mokelke wrapping up a hat trick from the left and Elle Wildman making it a brace from the right.
Coming Up:
Wednesday 28th May
St Croix Legacy v Salvo SC
Friday 30th May
Mankato United SC v Salvo SC
Minnesota Dutch Lions FC v Joy AC
Minnesota Bliss FC v Manitou FC
Sunday 1st June
Mankato United v Minnesota Dutch Lions FC
Minnesota Bliss FC v Joy AC
Gallery: Aurora vs Kansas City Current II Exhibition Match
Women’s Premier Soccer League
Minnesota Aurora FC hosted Kansas City Current II for a preseason exhibition match at TCO Stadium on Sunday, May 18th. Aurora came away with a 2-0 victory after goals by Weslund and Wimes. Here are our photos from the pitch!
The North no longer, WPSL does the hokey-pokey
The clubs and structure for the 2025 WPSL season have been announced.
With the departure of Sioux Falls City and Dakota Fusion (at least for now), the WPSL has taken the opportunity to reorganize (what was) the Northern Conference.
The Northern Conference has steadily grown while remaining an outlier until the point where last season, 10 teams competed for 1 playoff spot. Instead, 2025 will see the debut of the North Lakes Conference. To make the new conference, the Lake Michigan division shifts over from the Midwest Conference, and the remaining teams from the Northern Conference make up the Land of Lakes division.
Come playoff time, the winners of the two divisions will play a Conference Championship for a single spot in the Central Playoffs.
The returning teams in the Land of Lakes division
Salvo SC, who play at University of Northwestern in Roseville, MN, finished second in the North last season and are perennial challengers for a playoff berth.
Prior to Sioux Falls City's emergence, Richfield-based Minnesota Thunder provided a duopoly with Salvo but have consistently declined a playoff spot as a matter of club policy.
Joy Athletic Club are the NPSL arm of the St. Paul-based "free play" non-profit, who have thus far not challenged for a playoff spot.
White Bear Lake's Manitou FC finished the season with one win.
MapleBrook Fury are now MN Bliss , as part of a partnership with the UPSL's Tonka Fusion Elite. Formerly challengers, they endured a 2-2-5 season.
The eastern border of the Twin Cities metro (and the Wisconsin border) brings Stillwater, MN based St Croix Legacy.
Outside of the Metro, there remains Mankato United (who were challengers in the era of Jenny Vetter, but no longer) and Minnesota Dutch Lions (who were previously Rochester United FC)
Small Market, Grand Designs - Sioux Falls City looking to expand
Sioux Falls City's jump to USL-W is an expansion in every sense, as an energized Sporting Director Joe De May told us this evening.
I think when the ownership group started out they had grand designs at that time... Things have evolved and the women's sports landscape has really kind of taken off exponentially.
While WPSL PRO was "right in front of" the club and WPSL "has been a great platform for us, there's a lot of things from the USLW perspective that align a little bit better with what we try to do on our end." That included the ears of sponsors pricking up more at the prospect of D1 as opposed to D3.
The club sees viable expansion models from the men's side, most clearly with Minneapolis City. The top of their organizational pyramid would be a USL Super League professional team, with a professional reserve side in the WPSL PRO and a pre-professional team at the USL-W level.
The WPSL has a clause in its membership manual allowing for a two year "pause", which City are going to take advantage of, before re-opening that branch to "provide that level for those players who, are primarily focused more on their college development, and that's probably going to be the end of their competitive soccer careers."
The more teams, the more opportunities women have to play, but more clubs at more levels offers people a better chance of finding their level instead of warming the bench at a higher level.
How can you provide those players with those opportunities to play at a high level? But still be in a pro environment as well. So we think there's a place for both leagues.
Sioux Falls City is riding a wave but, like a well-coached team on the pitch, its shape remains.
I think it can be adaptable, flexible, but as long as you're keeping your core values and your main priorities at the core, then you're okay. You know, it's when you start bending your core values (that problems occur).
It is both a compressed and a fluid timeline, with a hopeful professional presence from South Dakota by 2027. With the Professional League Standards as they currently are written, division 1 women's leagues need 75% of their teams in TV markets of 750,000 - which Sioux Falls is not. Super League's got eight teams, but they have two teams that are underneath that 750,000 so they're right at the 75%.
We're cheering for more big cities to join because even if we were already in 2025 to do that, unless they had another big city join the league to offset another small market club like us coming on board, we couldn't do it.
De May is firm in his resolve that the club expands according to its needs rather than because of a league, with every league a possible destination for their sides. He is however, also insistent that they have an ongoing and healthy relationship with WPSL.
We just think that both leagues have something to offer and we're trying to navigate that the way through that to make it happen and At this point, we felt we needed to make the jump to USLW to do that with clearly stating to WPSL, hey, our intention is not to leave you.
In fact, De May foresees some professional reserve teams in the WPSL PRO.
I think that's a very sustainable path for the league. We envision ourselves taking part in that.
We will be watching. Stay tuned to our coverage.
Sioux Falls shows up strong in WPSL Post Season awards
Sioux Falls City FC had an unbeaten regular season and won a third successive Franchise of the Year award in the Northern Conference. Goalkeeper Cambell Fischer and forward Mia Mullenmeister won defensive and offensive players of the year in the conference. Fischer comes from the Sioux Falls metro and plays at the University of South Dakota. Mullenmeister, from the home of the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD is playing further afield at Utah State.
They were joined by team mates Jordan Tenpas (From Orange County, California and now playing at Washburn University, having transferred from Minot State) and Katharina Oelschlager (From Nordrhein-Westfalen in Germany and playing at Florida Gulf Coast) as All Region selections.
That XI also sees a hat trick of three-time selections from the University of Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro, in Paige Kalal (MN Thunder), Molly Fiedler and Khyah Harper (Salvo). Notre Dame players Olivia Bohl and Izzy Engle (Both also from the Twin Cities metro and Thunder), Jordyn Jeffers and Avery Murdzek (Both Wisconsinites for St Croix Legacy) round out the selection. Jeffers plays for Ball State and Murdzek plays for South Dakota State.
WPSL Central Playoff Gallery
Union KC 1-2 FC Pride
This weekend, the WPSL Central Playoffs took place. Read our recap here and check out our full gallery below. All photos by Sonja K Abbott.
WPSL Central Playoff Spotlight
The #1 team in the country, Sioux Falls City FC, hosted the Central Region’s playoffs over the weekend, with the winners of the Heartland, Midwest and Mountain Conferences all joining the North’s best with the heat index hitting over 100 degrees on both days.
Saturday
(National Ranking/Regional Ranking)
#1/1 Sioux Falls City v FC Pride
The first chance of the game came in the tenth minute through Sioux Falls City’s Mia Mullenmeister. The Pride goalkeeper Abby Jenkins cleans her out, no penalty was called. You be the judge:
NO CALL! @SiouxFallsCity fans (and players, and coaches) probably would want a PK call there.
Great press leads to a super dangerous counter attack chance for City but no whistle on the aggressive keeper move, there. pic.twitter.com/klsKzo9W7e
— Equal Time Soccer (@EqualTimeSoccer) July 13, 2024
Shortly after the first water break, in the nineteenth minute, Kayla Budish put the visitors ahead with a calm finish past Cambell Fischer. The team from Indiana would then proceed to control play through the remainder of the first half and the Aquawomen went in to the locker room up 1-0.
The second half began with City on the front foot and it was their turn to look expectantly at the referee in the penalty area. While they had no luck on that occasion, the hosts’ pressure was incessant and after a couple of corners the ball found its way into the Pride net, only to be ruled out with the referee pointing to his hand and then to the penalty spot. Jordan Tenpas made the reprieve for Pride temporary, hammering home the penalty kick equalizer.
Kayla Budish continued to produce chances for the visitors, including hitting the post, but it was City who went ahead. Hailee Christensen firing a laser from just outside the penalty area, across the goalkeeper and into the far post in the eightieth minute.
Both sides would again have chances but it was Pride who scored with the last kick of regulation, in the fifth minute of stoppage time, with Budish again on the end of a powerful free kick from fractionally outside the right corner of the penalty area.
She would complete her hat trick on a solo counter in the 108th minute but it was City’s turn to snatch a last-gasp equalizer, Mia Mullenmeister finishing off a free kick in the 120th.
And so it went to “kicks from the mark”, or a penalty shootout as it is usually called, with Lulu Moreno unfortunately the player to miss for Sioux Falls – ending a perfect season in the most imperfect way.
FINAL | SFCFC 3-3 PRIDE (ADV PKs)
What. A. @WPSL. Game!@FCPRIDESOCCER & @SiouxFallsCity battle all the way through 90 min, extra time, PKs (all 10 below). Pride advances!
SFCFC
✅Tenpas
✅Fujii
✅Olsen
✅Bosch
❌MorenoPRIDE
✅Budish
✅Fishel
✅Swingle
✅Kelly
✅Dunaway pic.twitter.com/0UQezsZTl2— Equal Time Soccer (@EqualTimeSoccer) July 14, 2024
Speaking to us after the match, FC Pride head coach Jamie Gilbert spoke warmly of the contest:
One of the best games I’ve been involved with. I thought we’d won it, but obviously they scored in the last second but yeah, incredible game.
Very, very good advertisement for the league. It’s an incredible environment here in Sioux Falls, what the club have done here is fantastic. It was an incredible environment to play in. It’s a game I probably won’t forget for a while.
#7/5 Colorado Pride v #15/7 Union KC
Somehow, the second straight upset of this matchday struggled to reach the heights of the breathless first match, with the Heartland Conference winners holding off late pressure from Mountain Conference winners Colorado Pride.
Union started the game on the front foot and after 9 mins of constant pressure, Adriana Benassi made it 1-0 on the counter. And then, just minutes after Pride had a chance to tie it up, Kate Gibson brokeaway to make it 2-0.
Things got more interesting after the break, Megan Davies benefiting from the high press to make it 2-1 with barely two minutes on the second half clock. There followed a period of end-to-end action, with Adriana Benassi poking home her second from a long diagonal which was squared into the middle to make it 3-1 but Nicole Ray slotting home a long pass into the left back berth for Pride’s second only 3 minutes later.
The last twenty minutes were marked by chances not taken by the Coloradans, with the keeper’s leg and the crossbar intervening.
The game nearly had a grandstand finish, but Union KC held on.
Sunday – WPSL Central Championship
After a back and forth opening half hour, it was Breece Bass breaking the offside trap in the 32nd minute to put Pride ahead.
Union Kansas City finished the half on top, but were unable to equalise.
Gracey Dunaway cannoned the ball off the crossbar in the 51st minute as Pride continued to push forward in search of the decisive blow. Their closest effort came in the 67th minute when a Summer Fishel corner in the 67th minute found the post via an effort on goal from Caroline Kelly..
Adriana Benassi whipped a ball over for Union KC. Then, in the 75th minute, they struck the crossbar with an audacious 27 yard free kick. It would take another 10 minutes before Gigi Meer would score for Union, but unfortunately for them, Tatum Coleman had scored the second for Pride just three minutes earlier.
We spoke to Pride Head Coach Jamie Gilbert again following his team’s victory:
A different game than last night. A lot less drama. We did what we had to do in very, very hot conditions after a very good team W last night. Respect to our opponents and we’re looking forward to Oklahoma.
Check out our full photo gallery here
And so it is on to Stillwater, OK for the Pride. They will play South champion (and defending WPSL champion) Charlotte Eagles. East champions Clarkstown face California Storm in the other semifinal. Both those matches are on Friday, with the Final on Sunday.
WPSL Central Playoff Preview
The #1 team in the country, Sioux Falls City FC, host the Central Region's playoffs over the weekend.
Saturday
(National Ranking/Regional Ranking)
#1/1 Sioux Falls City v FC Pride
Sioux Falls City's Katharina Oelschlager leads the deepest and most prolific attack in the region, while Cambell Fischer has only conceded 1 goal as a starting goalie all season. On the other hand, FC Pride finished the season with a record of 6-1-4 (W-D-L), while scoring the same number of goals as the division's top team, FC Dayton. Pride moved on to South Dakota with a road victory against the previously undefeated Lake Michigan Division winners FC Milwaukee Torrent.
#7/5 Colorado Pride v #15/7 Union KC
Colo Pride were a high-scoring winner of the Rockies Division of the Mountain Conference, knocking in 38. Bello Omowunmi, with 13 goals and Abby Stassi with 6, have been the biggest contributors. Union KC (8-1-1) won the Heartland Conference and thus a spot in the playoffs but are middle of the pack in scoring and in goal difference across the region.
WPSL Central Region Playoffs Preview
Playoffs! In the Northland!
As part of the planned rotation between regions, it has long been known that the Northern Conference's winners this year would not only seal that conference's only spot in the playoffs, but would also host the Central Regional finals. This year there is only one Conference Championship in the Central Region.
FC Pride (who finished third in the Gateway) play Lake Michigan winners Milwaukee Torrent for the Midwest Conference on Sunday for a place in Sioux Falls.
Sioux Falls City in the Northern Conference and the Heartland division winners Union KC are spared that extra game, Rockies division winners Colorado Pride have won the Mountain Conference's spot in the Central Region's final four.
I will be investigating how clubs qualified for the postseason without winning their conference.
WPSL Spotlight: St Croix Legacy v Sioux Falls City
Sioux Falls City FC completed their perfect season with a win over St Croix Legacy. The winning goal came from Taylor Thomas. The other results from this round are covered here
WPSL Wrap-Up: Week 8
The battle for the North was all set up for a showdown on Friday, albeit with an unexpectedly tight result in Maple Grove.
Wednesday
St Croix Legacy 1-0 Mankato United
This was a Spotlight Match of the week, full gallery here.
Minnesota Thunder 11-2 Rochester United
Caroline Bailey scored a hat trick, Kiya Gilliand scored two and Vesna Dennison, Taylor Heimerl, Paige Peltier, Paige Kalal, Izzy Engle and Allison Flies all scored once for Thunder. Kylie Miranto and Sydney Tucker scored for the Lions.
MapleBrook Fury 0-1 Salvo SC
A penalty kick from the prolific Khyah Harper kept Salvo's season perfect.
Friday
Dakota Fusion 0-4 Joy Athletic Club
A strong second half by the Goats, yet another defeat for Fusion. Brooke Quam scored twice, Ashley Bennett and
Sioux Falls City 1-0 Salvo SC
Mia Bosch sealed the Conference title, and hosting rights for the playoffs, with a winner in the 60th minute, from a Mia Mullenmeister pass and off a despairing Ayden Gagner in the Salvo net.
Saturday
Mankato United 5-0 Manitou FC
Jadyn Chee, Kelsey Heller, Lucy Weninger, Ava Stanchina and Marit Klagge all scored for United.
Sunday
Dakota Fusion 0-2 Rochester United
Rochester United travelled to Fargo with only 11 players but matched up with a team who rostered only 12.
A back and forth opening few minutes marked by few chances, often only just missed by both sides.
Right on half time, a free kick for Rochester, bounced high over the Fusion keeper Quinn Carter but was somehow scrambled clear.
Fusion’s Sarah Burgum, missed a chance, over the crossbar, from inside the 6 yard box and only ten minutes later, Rochester United had a two run lead. Sydney Tucker benefited from a long ball down the middle which bounced free of the Fusion offside trap, slotting past a disgruntled Carter. Two minutes later, Kylie Mirango made it 2-0 to the visitors, slapping home a ball which found her in the six yard box from a midfield free kick.
Fusion finished the game on the front foot but failed to spoil the clean sheet. With that result, the team from Fargo-Moorhead head to MapleBrook next week hoping for a two win season but with the chance for a transformatory three-win season gone by the way.
Joy Athletic Club 1-0 MapleBrook Fury
Ashley Bennett scored the winner in the Goats last game of the season. Ben VanWyk has a full Spotlight gallery here
St Croix Legacy 0-1 Sioux Falls City
Taylor Thomas's early strike is enough to give the Northern Conference Champions a perfect regular season. Jason Morales Ortiz has the Spotlight coverage here.
Coming Up:
Sunday July 7th:
MapleBrook Fury v Dakota Fusion
WPSL Spotlight: Joy Athletic Club v MapleBrook Fury
Ben VanWyk brings our WPSL spotlight to the match up of MapleBrook Fury and Joy Athletic.
The rest of the week’s coverage, including multiple other Spotlights, will be published soon.
