WPSL Wrap Up: Week 7/8
This Week
Wednesday
Manitou FC 0-1 Salvo
Katherine Jones struck the deciding blow, a rocket from twenty yards out, to give Salvo a win.
St Louis Scott Gallagher 2-0 Sunflower State FC
After a short trip across Missouri, from the Kansas border to the Illinois border, the visitors returned home with nothing to show for their neat passing, albeit with no end product. SLSG went ahead in the twenty-seventh minute, a free kick curled from twenty yards out past the Sunflower keeper and into the top corner of the net by Hannah Larson. Aubrey Mister leant a deserved gloss to the performance by bursting away from a Sunflower State attack on the edge of her own area and sprinting all the way down the other end to score.
Thursday
Kansas City Scott Gallagher 3-0 AFC Columbia
Keegan Good (who also picked up an assist) in the first half, Monica Brauner and Abby Hanson in the second half on the scoresheet for KCSG.
Friday
St Croix Legacy 7-0 Dakota Fusion
St Croix took the lead when Fusion keeper Quinn Carter came out to the edge of her area to sweep a ball clear but only succeeded in clearing the ball to Clare Cater, who chipped it past her and into the net in the fifteenth minute. In the forty-third minute, Carter once more came out to a long ball and the defender and goalie collided with an onrushing attacker, Anna Wagner, who tapped it in. Jenna Hallen put a shot on target and it was deflected home on an attempted goal line clearance for 3-0 in the fifty-ninth minute. Madison Gaffney hammered home the fourth goal of the game from outside the area off the near post in the sixty-third minute. Cater claimed her second only two minutes later, passing a ball from the left back position into the left hand side netting past Carter. Wagner connected on another long ball in behind to pick up her second of the day, and number six overall. Jordyn Jeffers made it 7-0 in the seventy-sixth minute, blasting a ball home from outside the area.
Sioux Falls City 3-0 Manitou FC
After devolving into SFC attack versus Manitou defense, Lourdes Moreno put City ahead in the fortieth minute, picking up a pass from McKenna Lehman before slotting the ball inside the near post from the top of the area. At half time, Barbie Castellanos was withdrawn because the referee identified that Sioux Falls City had played the first half with one too many player on their bench (and thus, in a league with unlimited re-entry, playing).
City made it 2-0 in the fifty-fourth minute as Kaylie Rock wrapped her foot around a ball at the top of the penalty box and drove it into the bottom left hand corner of the net. Rylee Haldeman basically scored a mirror image in the seventy-first minute, off a Jozy Bardsley pass. This game was the last ever competitive match for South Dakotan Hailee Fischer in net for Sioux Falls City.
Midwest Muskrats 0-4 Milwaukee Torrent
Torrent secured their Divisional title and a spot in the playoffs with a routine win over a struggling Muskrat team. Lainey Higgins opened the scoring with a free kick 22 yards out from goal, hammered into the roof of the net. Another firmly struck shot made it 2-0 from Adrianna Alberts. It was 3-0 just before the half as Camryn Ries slotted home.
Sofia Miranda completed the win with a nutmeg of the goalkeeper at her near post in the sixtieth minute.
KICS fall in this match and thus miss out on a chance to play the Torrent in what would have essentially been a play-in scenario, and is now academic. Hallie Peak and Reegan Hess got the goals for Raptors. Katelyn Robinson got the sole goal for the visitors.
It took Salvo until midway through the first half to break through but it was mostly a matter of the home side getting their rhythm and Katelyn Beulke eventually provided the pass from the right for Meredith Haakenson to tap home. In the thirty-sixth minute, Khyah Harper provided the finish on the break, striking firmly past the Rochester keeper.
The third goal came from an Emily Heslin free kick, 30 yards out on the right wing, tapped home by Harper after a close control in the six yard box in the fiftieth minute. A cross from the right was converted by Madison Ishaug in the fifty-fifth minute for 4-0. The fifth and final goal was a tap in by Loretta Wacek after a goalmouth scramble.
Saturday
Columbus Eagles 9-0 FC Spirit
Alivia Milesky, Gabi Hollar and two goals from Victoria Kevdzija in the opening half-hour put the Eagles well on the way to a spot in the playoffs. Lacey Bethea found Sydney Worthy for 5-0 in the 37th minute.
It was 6-0 early in the second half as Haley Miller tapped home. Bethea curled one into the top left corner of the goal from the edge of the area in the sixty-fifth minute. Annalise Grammel set up Katie Cox in the eighty-eighth minute for the eighth goal. Cox made it 9-0 in the ninetieth minute, flicking the ball home from short range.
Sunflower State FC 3-0 Lou Fusz
A backheeled pass by Mackenzie DiMarco across the top of the area led to a howitzer from Thayline Teixeira for a 1-0 lead to Sunflower in the twenty-fifth minute. Then there was some late action, with goals in the eighty-ninth and ninety-second minutes from Renee Berak and DiMarco respectively.
KC Courage 6-1 Kansas City Scott Gallagher
KC Courage secured the win and the playoff spot on the birthday of Courage coach Candice Fabry.
Having slowly racheted up the pressure, Courage went ahead in the seventeenth minute through Raheal Akaety's close range finish. KCSG had a solid chance in the twenty-fifth minute, but the keeper smothered it. KCC had a strong shout for a PK turned down in the thirty-second minute. They made it 2-0 in first half stoppage time, Courtney Claassen nearly breaking the net after a succession of chances in the area.
Kaira Houser scored the fourth goal on the break in the fifty-fifth minute. Another breakaway five minutes later by Addison Steiner made it four. It was 5-0 after Akaety headed home following head tennis from a short corner on the right in the sixty-fifth minute. KCSG got one back in the seventy-eighth minute as Caroline Carter connected on a left wing cross, pounding it back across the keeper. Another counter attack goal, this time by Houser , made it 6-1 in second half stoppage time.
Dayton Dutch Lions 0-6 FC Dayton
FC Dayton opened the derby scoring in the seventeenth minute, as an FCD attacker was body checked in the penalty area. Laney Huber converted the PK. Huber doubled the lead three minutes later, finishing a flowing move which started in their own penalty area. In the forty-third minute, Natalie Hegg finished off a rebound to make it 3-0.
Diana Benigno kickstarted the second half for FCD in a big way, rocketing a ball into the roof of the net from 25 yards out. Another PK was called in the fifty-eighth minute, as another attack was brought to an abrupt halt in the area, but the DDL keeper stepped up and stopped it. Alisa Arthur made it 5-0 on the hour mark, sweeping home from the middle of the area after a midfield interception. Abbi Maier completed the rout in the seventieth minute, blasting home from the edge of the area.
Sunday
Milwaukee Torrent 5-0 Chicago KICS
This match ended up not being the divisional showdown that it was looking like it would be, but Torrent decided to go into their home playoff match swinging. Adrianna Alberts opened the scoring in the eleventh minute, lobbing the goalkeeper from twenty yards out, like a golfer with a wedge. Katie Swenson from thirty-five yards out lasered a shot over the goalkeeper in the forty-fifth minute, to make it 2-0.
Greta Hanson scored the third goal, dribbling through contact and benefiting from a deflection off the keeper back into her path, in the seventieth minute. Lola Wojcik made it 4-0 in the seventy-ninth minute, dribbling through the middle before tapping home, falling down, from the penalty spot. Liesel Odden completed the scoring in the eighty-second minute, from seven yards out in the middle.
Quad Cities Rush 2-2 Iowa Raptors
Rush and Raptors play to a tie. Emily Bollman picked up both goals for Quad Cities, one from a PK and one from a Colleen Rumpza assist. Brynn Jacobi set up both Raptors goals, with Alexis Vasquez and Madisyn Hunt providing the finishes.
Wednesday 7/5
Sunflower State FC 0-2 Kansas City Scott Gallagher
This game was goal less through the first half, but Reiss Wood broke the deadlock in the seventy-fifth minute. A neat exchange of close passes led to a shot from just outside the penalty arc, swept inside the left-hand post. A ball in from the left was tapped home by Kate Gibson to make it 2-0 in the eighty-third minute, a harsh reflection of a relatively equal game.
Saturday
AFC Columbia 0-2 Lou Fusz
Lou Fusz scored the opening goal of the game through Emily Gaebe, in the seventh minute, who spun around and volleyed the ball into the goal from the top of the penalty area after a right wing corner was recycled and a first shot was blocked. Solid defending from AFCC held the visitors to one more goal, an eighty-seventh minute own goal.
Coming Up - Playoffs:
They start tonight, so strap in.
This is the only time of year when we pay attention to the Mountain Conference.
Colorado Rapids Women will play Utah Avalanche for the Mountain Conference, in a repeat of last year's mountain mash. 7pm MT kickoff.
FC Milwaukee Torrent will play Columbus Eagles FC for the Midwest Conference crown. 7pm CT kickoff.
For more on these match-ups, go here
The Heartland winners KC Courage gets a bye as winner of a conference with no divisions. Northern winners Minnesota Thunder have declined their invite because of player availability, so someone else will get their bye (since the North also only has one division).
WPSL Wrap Up: Week 6
This Week
Wednesday
Rochester United 0-9 Minnesota Thunder
The North's leaders got off to a storming start, with Paige Kalal converting an Olimpico from the left after only ninety seconds. Thunder continued to press but United had a chance to equalize in the eleventh minute, Samara Nunn seizing on a lax back pass towards the keeper but she was unable to control the shot and it blazed high. Kaitlyn MacBean made it 2-0 in the nineteenth minute with a delicate ball across the goal and off the inside of the far post following neat buildup down the left. The hosts had their own moments of composed possession and passing, without really threatening the goal. Kendall Stadden belted Thunder into a three goal lead in the forty-third minute, from the middle of the box on the left side across into the top right hand corner of the Rochester net.
MacBean made the score 4-0 early in the second half and then Paige Peltier headed the ball home from a corner in the fifty-eighth minute to make it 5-0. She repeated the trick only a minute later. Taylor Heimerl volleyed the seventh goal in the sixty-second minute, off a searching cross from the right to the top of the box. Stadden picked up her second of the game in the eighty-fifth minute, turning into a shot from the top of the box. Stadden then completed her hat trick with the last kick of the game, a firmly placed shot, also from the top of the penalty area.
Thursday
Kansas City Scott Gallagher 0-2 KC Courage
A free kick from deep in midfield was allowed to bounce and skip its way past the KCSG keeper for Aya Saiki to make it 1-0 in the 35th minute. Courage made it 2-0 through Gail Logan, tapping home from close range in the 42nd minute after a long, raking ball down the right wing resulted in a scramble for possession.
Friday
Dayton Dutch Lions 0-3 FC Pride
For a Dayton Dutch Lions side who only have one point all season, the game couldn't really have begun much worse. In the seventeenth minute, a Pride attacker was dragged back, inches from the penalty area. Paige Miller finished off the free kick, round the wall and into the bottom left corner and the defender, Suzy Hayes was given a red card for denial of a goal scoring opportunity. In the twenty-fifth minute, the lead was doubled after a cross from right on the endline was tapped home by Miller.
The game entered a lengthy injury break midway through the second half, which saw extensive treatment on the pitch-side running track and the eventual departure of an injured Dutch Lion, Tenley Mcnutt, in an ambulance.
Eleven versus ten is a tough assignment under the best circumstances, but a 37+ minute delay and the departure of an injured player always tends to make such restarts somber and tense affairs. The clock kept running, which will make any references to time in the remainder of this piece look very odd.
Pride scored their third goal in the ninety-fifth minute, Dana Fish with the smart finish from close in. The clock read 122 minutes when the referee blew for full time. My thanks to Brian at Gem City Sports Network for his assistance keeping track of this most unusual of games.
Mankato United 1-5 Rochester United
The Highway 14 Cup comprehensively went the way of the visitors. Sienna Latta opened the scoring in the seventeenth minute, the last player to make contact after Rochester United's fifth corner pinballed around the box. Mankato called for a handball on Latta's control, but it was denied. RU dominated possession but were unable to widen the score margin until first half stoppage time. Briana Johnson clipped a right wing pass home at the near post. Another right wing pass only a minute later was finished by Franciele Cupertino for 3-0 almost immediately before half-time.
Abby Rieff claimed Mankato's only goal early in the second half, off an Olivia Thoen pass. Latta got a gift in the fifty-second minute as the ball deflected right into her path on the goal line. She tapped home for 4-1. MUSC pushed their opposition more in the second half, but it was Rochester United who found the finishing touch - in the eighty sixth minute through Samara Nunn.
MapleBrook Fury 1-1 Joy Athletic Club
Paige Goaley broke the deadlock for the home team in the thirty-third minute, volleying home from the top of the box. Joy found their equalizer in the eighty-third minute from Aliviah McClinton.
Sioux Falls City 2-1 Dakota Fusion
A 2-1 hammering, with the home side dominating possession and Quinn Carter in the Fusion goal arguably the player of the match. Juni Ejere opened the scoring for City in the seventh minute, taking on a defender successfully on the left before placing the ball past the diving Carter into the bottom right corner. Ejere turned provider in the seventeenth minute, setting up a tap in from Rylee Haldeman, who beat a sliding defender to the goal. Blayke Hurley halved the deficit in the forty-second minute, a snap shot going through the hands of Hailee Fischer.
Ejere hammered a ball in the sixty-fifth minute but Carter tipped it on to the crossbar, in the best chance City had in the second half. Chloe Allen also hit the outside post in the eighty-sixth minute and Barbie Castellanos had a late shout for a PK turned down.
Saturday
AFC Columbia 0-6 Kansas City Scott Gallagher
With 31 goals conceded in their first six matches, Columbia made a surprisingly robust start to this match. However, KCSG broke through in the forty-third minute - Monica Brauner dribbling through the defense in the penalty area before slotting the ball home from midway in the box.
The visitors doubled their lead in the fiftieth minute, Adriana Benassi powering one home from the edge of the penalty area. The third goal, in the sixty-third minute, was a spinning shot from the top of the box which snuck inside of the left hand post through traffic by Kate Gibson . In the seventy-fifth minute, it was 4-0 as Gibson drove one past the diving keeper from the outer edge of the box. It was 5-0 in the eighty-sixth minute after Hailey Palmer finished off a neat exchange of passes into the penalty area. The final goal came in the 90th minute , Palmer finishing smartly from a pass into the area.
Sunflower State FC 1-3 St Louis Scott Gallagher
Mackenzie DiMarco opened the scoring for Sunflower, slotting home after a break down the left in the eighth minute. SLSG equalized from a left wing corner in the sixteenth minute, tapped home at close range by Leah Selm . The go-ahead goal for the visitors was struck with fury from just outside the area by Izzy Patterson in the 60th minute. Seven minutes later it was 3-1 after the Sunflower goalkeeper misjudged a long ball and Hannah Larson tapped into the empty net.
Midwest Muskrats 2-2 Iowa Raptors
A turnover in midfield and a through pass down the left wing set up Kelly Schaffer to chip the ball into the roof of the Raptors net for a 1-0 Muskrat lead. The equalizer came in the fourteenth minute after a ball was blasted into the hands of a Muskrat defender from close range for a PK to be harshly awarded. The equalizer was converted from the spot by Jessica Reinhardt. Raptors took the lead in the twenty-first minute in almost the same fashion as the Schaffer goal, Eliza Evans the scorer. Olivia Shaw spun the equalizer in the twenty-sixth minute over the goalkeeper from 30 yards out.
Quad Cities Rush 3-0 Chicago KICS
Emily Bollman broke the deadlock for the struggling QC Rush and it was 1-0 heading into the half time break. The match entered a lightning delay in the eighty-seventh minute. Bollman finished the game with two goals and the other goal was scored by Colleen Rumpza. Once again, Allison Mirimanian racked up the saves in goal for Rush. We believe this is Rush's first win in the WPSL (in their second season), and it puts a spanner in KICS' season, where they are fighting with Milwaukee Torrent on 12 points for the one playoff berth from the Lake Michigan division of the Midwest Conference.
Sunday
Dakota Fusion 0-11 Minnesota Thunder
I was gonna say "it brings me no joy" to report another hammering of Fusion, but that's not true. The truth is, there were no howlers by Fusion in this game, only spotless football by Thunder.
The scoring began in the third minute, after relentless pressure from kick off resulted in a shot in at the near post by Kaitlyn MacBean. Two minutes later, a pass centrally was finished by Paige Peltier from close range. Fusion had a good chance in the fifteenth minute but the counter attack shot did not go in. At the other end, Quinn Carter once again stopped a few shots, but the vast offensive pressure of possession remained with Thunder. In the nineteenth minute, Peltier grabbed her second on a tap in after MacBean broke away and set her up. MacBean had another good chance to add to the score, but the ball across the six yard box was not finished. Carter stopped a MacBean chance at point blank in the twenty-sixth. Taylor Heimerl (the 2022-23 Gatorade Minnesota Girls Soccer Player of the Year) made it 4-0 in the twenty-eighth minute, a curler from the right back spot into the goal. Only four minutes later, a Kalal corner from the right was scored by MacBean to make it five.
In the fourty-eighth minute, MacBean scored number six (and her hat trick) from a PK after a hard challenge on the edge of the area. Peltier secured her hat trick with a finish from the top of the area after a defensive clearance dropped to her, in the fiftieth minute. In the fifty-seventh minute, Morgan Bachelor connected with a Kalal cross and put it into her own net (although the match report credits MacBean with her fourth, so we'll go with that). In the eightieth minute, MacBean spun on the top of the area and made it 9-0. After a Fusion attack, MacBean led a counter and slotted home her sixth in the eighty-fourth minute. Finally, in the eighty-seventh minute, MacBean headed home a Kalal corner from the right for her seventh.
A final note on Kaitlyn MacBean: Having begun her Summer scoring for MN Aurora in USL W League, she now has the most goals in the entire 131 team WPSL, with 13 goals overall and 6 assists. In my years of watching games at this level, I cannot recall another player scoring goals in different amateur leagues in the same season.
Mankato United 0-4 Salvo
Salvo dominated possession in the torrential rain of Mankato but only scored once in the first half, Khyah Harper cleaning up a rebound in the middle of the box with seven minutes on the clock.
Harper hit the ball firmly from around the penalty spot early in the second half, down off the underside of the crossbar to make it two. Ansley Atkinson drove the ball into the box and powered it home in the sixty-first minute for a 3-0 scoreline. Ava Stanchina had a chance for United on the break but the snap shot went wide. Atkinson took a deep free kick and curled it into the goal for the fourth goal in the eighty-third minute.
MapleBrook Fury 0-1 Sioux Falls City
Sioux Falls take all three from a challenging road trip, McKenna Lehman with a blazing strike from the top of the area into the top right hand corner of the goal in the thirty-third minute.
Lainey Huber led a counter attack for Dayton and took the goal herself, after only six minutes. Dara Russo made it 2-0 with a strike from the edge of the area in the fifteenth minute, FCD having intercepted the ball from Abby Townsend in midfield. Townsend cut in from the right wing and answered back immediately. Abby Townsend came steaming down the right wing in the twenty-fifth minute and crossed the ball teasingly onto the foot of Amy King. Kylee Simmons went right back up the other end and made it 3-2 with a blazing shot from the left hand edge of the penalty area. Gaby Hollar hit the post for the Eagles.
Hollar equalized from a sizzling cross into the six yard box by Townsend early in the second half. Nicki Cox almost immediately put Columbus on top. Townsend made it 5-3, pounding the ball in at the near post from a Cox pass through the defense. Huber got the fourth for FCD but they could not escape their first loss of the season.
Milwaukee Torrent 6-0 Iowa Raptors
Alexa Maletis finished a Maddy Celarek cross into the six yard box to make it 1-0 to the Torrent in the seventh minute. Elsi Twombly scored the second goal in the nineteenth minute, off a Lainey Higgins pass down the middle. Twombly scored again, two minutes later with a towering header from a right wing corner. Raptors had a shout for a PK but the referee instead gave a free kick right on the right edge of the area and it went over the goal. Sofia Miranda made it 4-0 in the thirty-fifth minute, blasting home from close range.
Lauren Hernandez scored the fifth goal, in the fifty-fifth minute, via a substantial deflection from a defender. Alexa Maletis scored off a rebound with virtually the last kick of the match.
Tuesday
Joy Athletic Club 1-6 Mankato United
Only fifty-five seconds into the match, Ella Huettl made it 1-0 to the visitors as she connected on a pass from the left wing. Dare Kroeten had a chance for Joy in the thirteenth minute, but the cross-shot failed to be either. Another left wing cross in the twenty-first minute was deflected via an attempted interception in the six yard box for Huettl to pick up her second goal of the match. It was 3-0 in the thirty-second minute as center-back Libby Spangler connected with a ball played back to her, more than forty yards from goal, chipping the goalkeeper and settling in the top left corner of the net. In first half stoppage time, it was Madeline Hobbs's turn to join the scoring, volleying the ball home after a quick throw-in sprung an attack down the right wing and the pass was drawn into the middle of the box.
An Ella Bryant shot was parried up and away by Mackenzie Rath in the United goal in the fifty-third minute, but the corner came to nothing. Ten minutes later, a counter attack set up Annelise Winch for the fifth goal. Jessica Bartz was called for a PK in the seventy-third minute on a mis-timed slide tackle, and Aubrey Bahl converted it to make the score 6-0. Joy would have their own shout for a PK but a handball was unsuccessfully argued for. Mankato had a final flourish denied them in second half stoppage time as a header was flagged offside. Going the other way, Samantha Mcgurgan blasted the ball off the underside of the crossbar and Kroeten was able to tap the ball in.
Coming Up
Tonight
Minnesota Thunder v MapleBrook Fury - 7pm CT
Rochester United v St Croix Legacy - 7pm CT
Manitou FC v Salvo - 7pm CT
St Louis Scott Gallagher v Sunflower State FC - 7pm CT
Thursday
Kansas City Scott Gallagher v AFC Columbia - 7:30pm CT
Friday
St Croix Legacy v Dakota Fusion - 4pm CT
Sioux Falls City v Manitou FC - 6pm CT
Midwest Muskrats v Milwaukee Torrent - 7pm CT
Iowa Raptors v Chicago KICS - 7pm CT
Salvo v Rochester United - 7pm CT
Saturday
Columbus Eagles v FC Spirit - 12pm ET
Sunflower State FC v Lou Fusz - 2pm CT
KC Courage v Kansas City Scott Gallagher - 2pm CT
Dayton Dutch Lions v FC Dayton - 3pm ET
Sunday
Milwaukee Torrent v Chicago KICS - 3pm CT
Quad Cities Rush v Iowa Raptors - 7pm CT
And now for something completely different...
https://twitter.com/Lights_Football/status/1669745556481093638?t=-ctu5FEbkKCX4Mo6Cl4aVw&s=19
WPSL Wrap Up: Week 5
This Week
Wednesday
Joy 1-8 Minnesota Thunder
On a day when most others canceled due to Canadian wildfire smoke, the visitors got off the bus from Plymouth wearing their hitting shoes and Paige Peltier made it 1-0 within the opening two minutes. Peltier then doubled the lead in the tenth minute, curling the ball beyond the Joy keeper from close range off a Kaitlyn MacBean pass. MacBean added a goal herself in the 21st, tapping home on the rebound after a save. It was 4-0 in the thirty-seventh minute as a firmly hit shot cannoned off the left hand post but the rebound fell to Taylor Heimerl. It was 5-0 as Kendall Stadden sniped one home in the forty-third minute. A left wing corner was headed home by Sofia Cabellero in first half stoppage time to make it 6.
Joy made it 6-1 in the fiftieth minute, Dara Kroeten with a blast from twenty yards out. Just before the hour mark, Peltier took another close range shot from a recycled corner and netted her hat trick. A header by Stadden from a corner made it 8-1 in the eighty-third minute.
KC Scott Gallagher 4-1 Sunflower State
Sunflower State took a third minute lead on the road after a left wing cross was met by Renee Brock, but unfortunately for them, that would be the high point of the match. KCSG equalized in the eleventh minute through Jordyn Wilson, taking on the entire Sunflower defense before slotting home from midway through the penalty area. A bullet header from the top of the box by Calynn Harbert from a right wing corner put KCSG ahead in the twenty-second minute. Kate Gibson got onto the end of a very long free kick punted from midfield to make it 3-1 just before the half.
The only goal of the second half came in the fifty-fourth minute, when KCSG broke from a defensive corner and out sprinted the Sunflower defense for Wilson to pick up her second of the match.
St Louis Scott Gallagher 4-1 Lou Fusz
The St. Louis derby went the way of Scott Gallagher again. SLSG's first goal of the day was scored after eleven minutes through Jessica Larsen. The lead was doubled when Brionna Halverson lofted the ball into the top left hand corner of the net on the dribble. Katie Hauck made it 3-0. Lou Fusz got on the scoreboard in the fortieth minute after an attacker took advantage of an interception in midfield to turn and face her defender before placing the ball with precision and power into the side netting on the far post. The last goal came in the fifty-fifth minute as Ashley Martinez blasted home from the top of the box after a scramble where the visitors just could not clear the ball.
Thursday
Mankato United 1-3 St Croix Legacy
On the pristine pitch at Bethany Lutheran, Kato and St Croix went in search of their second win. Legacy opened the scoring on the counter attack, Anna Wagner smashing a ball into the top left hand corner of the goal while running full speed to her right along the top of the United box. Both sides had possession but it was St Croix who were the most threatening. The lead was doubled on another clinical attack in the forty-first minute, Laney Murdzek passed down the gut of the Mankato defense and Lauren Heinsch finished from close in.
Late in the second half, Mankato broke through with Ava Stanchina curling a ball from the right back berth across the goalkeeper into the far post. Laney Murdzek made it 3-1 in the ninetieth minute, as a free kick from 20 yards out went through the hands of the Mankato keeper.
Friday
Minnesota Thunder 3-1 Sioux Falls City
A much closer match than the eventual scoreline suggests, Minnesota Thunder nonetheless continue their red-hot start to the season. After a back and forth opening twenty minutes, it was the home side who made the breakthrough. Kaitlyn MacBean rose to head home from 6 yards out after a scramble in the box. City got their sole tally of the match on a blistering free kick from Lety Bonifacio from right on the edge of the penalty arc in the thirty-third minute. City also hit the crossbar before the two sides retired for half time.
The second half began with City still threatening, with a ball fizzing across the goal in the fiftieth minute. After another period of even possession, Thunder put their foot on the accelerator and accumulated a bunch of corners. In the fifty-eighth minute, the home side went back ahead - Megan Nemec scoring from a long, acute angle. Thunder continued to colonize the corner flag and Maddie Poor made it 3-1 with a volley from the edge of the area after a corner was headed out. See more of this match with our photo gallery
Midwest Muskrats 4-0 Quad Cities Rush
Muskrats eventually won, but it took a deflection and a save before Kailyn Smith knocked the ball home from close range to put the hosts ahead. Smith bundled home a second as a corner went all the way to the back post in the fiftieth minute. Kelly Schaffer made it 3-0, five minutes later, intercepting an attempted pass along the backline. In the seventy-ninth minute, Olivia Hernandez picked up the fourth goal - sliding the ball past the keeper and a covering defender.
Iowa Raptors 2-6 Milwaukee Torrent
Torrent fell behind 2-0 to the hosts before scoring six unanswered, with braces for Lainey Higgins, Elsie Twombly and Sydnee Sagal.
Dayton Dutch Lions 3-3 FC Spirit
A snap shot from just outside the area in the eighth minute by Addie Erslan put DDL ahead. Patient build up led to the equalizer, Katelyn Cavanaugh slid home under the advancing keeper. The Lions re-established their lead in the twentieth minute as Carley Groh slotted home in the break.
Spirit once more tied the game on a free kick absolutely obliterated from just ten yards out by Ella Hamner. With two minutes of stoppage time elapsed, a speculative effort by FC Spirit's Claudia Melgar somehow fooled the DDL keeper and saw the goalie flap at the ball as it went past. The Lions had one final effort to equalize and did so on the break, Erslan claiming her second of the day.
Saturday
Chicago KICS 8-0 Quad Cities Rush
After a relatively open first quarter of an hour, it increasingly became a battle of KICS offense versus the sweeper keeping of Allison Mirimanian. Josie Bieda broke through in the eighteenth minute, on the counter after an interception in midfield. They doubled their lead only four minutes later, Bieda connecting on a lightning counter after a defensive goal kick. A long diagonal ball to the right hand top of the box was received by Caroline Lyman , who beat the onrushing goalie to the ball and lifted it over for 3-0 in the 31st minute. Rush conceded five corners to none and had zero shots on target in the first half.
KICS took their lead even further in the forty-eighth minute, Karli Ferguson tapping home from close in. Ferguson scored her second in the fifty-fifth minute, winding her way through three defenders before beating Mirimanian to the far post. A deflected shot by Ella Skelton made it 6-0 in the fifty-eighth. Alexis Parker adder her name to the scoresheet with a close range finish from a right wing run, only two minutes later. Parker got her second in the sixty-fourth minute, to make it 8-0.
Dakota Fusion 1-14 Salvo
The visitors got off to a flier in Moorhead, Khyah Harper eviscerating a ball into the top right hand corner of Quinn Carter's net in the second minute, after a run down the right. K. Harper doubled the lead in the ninth minute in very similar fashion. Katelyn Beulke made it 3-0 just two minutes later, with a bullet header off a right wing cross. A long shot cannoned off the crossbar and off Carter before it was dispatched by Beulke. Meredith Haakenson then followed up a minute later with Salvo's fifth goal, on a close range finish. Mason Kimbal smuggled the goal in for Fusion from a corner in the twenty-eighth minute. Madison Ishaug made it 6-1 with a close range finish from a left wing pass in the thirty-fifth minute. Loretta Wacek scored number 7 in a similar fashion in the thirty-seventh minute. Harper grabbed her hat trick in the thirty-eighth minute, also from in close. Sophia Boman finished for the ninth goal IN THE FIRST HALF.
Another close range finish in the fifty-fifth minute was Wacek's second of the game. Two minutes later, Boman unleashed a shot from twenty yards out for her second of the game. Ella Conger scored number twelve, off the underside of the crossbar in the sixty-third minute. Conger then scored with yet another close finish, in the eighty-fifth minute and she completed her hat trick in similar fashion just a minute later.
Pride opened the scoring in the sixteenth minute, with Paige Miller finishing from close in after a run and a defensive miscue. A long shot in the twenty-first minute by Dana Fish wrong-footed the Eagles keeper for 2-0. Caroline Kelley cleaned up after a free kick from eighteen yards out was saved in first half stoppage time. Fish chipped the keeper for 4-0. A close range finish in the ninetieth minute by Celeste Sloma spoiled the Pride clean sheet.
AFC Columbia 0-3 Sunflower State
Sunflower took all three against the struggling CoMO. The goals came from Sofia Hughes, Jessica Baker and Jaylie Hicklin.
FC Dayton 7-0 FC Spirit
No contest in the Gem City, as Madelyn Mozeleski, Lainey Huber, and Jenna Hallbeck claimed goals and Megan Smith and Dara Russo claimed braces. Hallbeck and Huber also claimed assists, along with Maddie Thiss, Heidi Orloff and two from Ava Hall.
Lou Fusz Athletic 1-3 KC Scott Gallagher
Lou Fusz went ahead on the break after only five minutes as Maggie Illig scored but KCSG equalized in the twenty-eighth, through Keegan Good , connecting with a long ball upfield. The visitors then went ahead in first half stoppage time, Good pinging the ball off the inside of the post from the edge of the area.
KCSG extended their lead just before the hour mark when Good lofted a ball past the diving keeper into the roof of the net from the top of the box for her hat trick.
Sunday
St Louis Scott Gallagher 4-2 AFC Columbia
Early start, early finish as this 11am kick off was called at the 70 minute mark due to lightning.
Hannah Larson opened the scoring for Scott Gallagher in the tenth minute. Jessica Larson then made it 2-0 from inside the area. AFC Columbia halved the deficit before SLSG scored a third to go into the half. Both sides scored in the first portion of the second half but the players left the field and did not return.
St Croix Legacy 1-0 Manitou FC
St Croix took all three points with a seventy-fifth minute winner, Marisa Bonilla with the sliding finish from her seat after a long ball in from the right wing to the six yard box by Avery Murdzek.
Lou Fusz Athletic 1-5 KC Courage
Courage opened the scoring in the thirteenth min, Addison Steiner blasting a ball home from twenty yards out. The visitors doubled their lead with a 25 yard screamer in the thirty-second from Aya Saiki. Lou Fusz halved the deficit in the forty-fourth minute, Emily Gaebe slotting home on the run from the right wing.
Courage scored again in the 53rd through Rahael Akaety and again in the 57th, lifting the ball into the side netting on the far post while running away from goal on the right. It was 5-1 in the 75th minute, Abigail Small with another bomb from deep in midfield.
Columbus Eagles 8-0 Dayton Dutch Lions
Twenty minutes of goalless football and pressure by the Eagles were ended by Nikki Cox, who chipped the ball in from an acute angle. It was a 1-0 hammering but Gabrielle Hollar hammered a shot from just outside the box off the post, and the rebound fell to Abby Townsend to make it a two goal lead. A soft clearance in second half stoppage time by the Dayton goalkeeper fell to Avery Schone, who blasted the ball back the way it came.
Victoria Kevdzija delivered a right wing corner all the way onto the head of Alivia Milesky on the goal-line to make it 4-0. Another in-swinging corner from Kevdzija was headed home five minutes later, this time by Townsend for her second. Goal number six in the sixty-seventh minute was an Olimpico by Kevdzija from the right wing. Sydney Worthy scored the seventh goal from a defense splitting pass from Tori Haggit. Townsend secured her hat trick in the ninetieth minute, belting the ball past the keeper at her near post from the top of the area.
Sioux Falls City 3-0 Rochester United
City went for a stroll in the Sioux Falls sunshine. After ten minutes of incessant pressure, it was an interception in midfield which sprung Juni Ejere to make it 1-0, Mckenna Lehman with the through-ball. Barbie Castellanos made it two in the twentieth minute, from a Rylee Haldeman cross tipped by the Rochester keeper. City's third goal came in the thirty-third minute as Kaylie Rock slotted in at the near post from a Kendra Park pass.
Chicago KICS 2-1 Milwaukee Torrent
After an end-to-end match, KICS took control of this Lake Michigan derby in the fifty-eighth minute, McKenna Shaw connecting with a right wing cross from Josie Bieda, chesting it down and slotting it home. The margin was doubled eight minutes later when Megan Hutchison volleyed home a left wing corner from Ebba Costow. Torrent scored in second half stoppage time, Elsi Twombly blasting a goal from the top of the box. The result marks the first lost points of a previously 3-0-0 Torrent squad and the first goals that the Wisconsinites had conceded. It also puts KICS on top of the division, albeit having played a game more.
Mankato United 0-1 MapleBrook Fury
Paige Goaley scored the only goal off a Morgan Barnette assist, with the ball squirming free from the grasp of the Mankato goalkeeper into the net.
Tuesday
Joy 1-0 Dakota Fusion
Although it was an end to end opening twenty-five minutes prior to the game's first hydration break, Fusion tested the gloves of the Joy keeper more. After the break, the Goats had more substantial pressure on the visitors' goal but the first half finished scoreless.
The deadlock was broken in the fifty-fifth minute as a shot was palmed directly into the path of Sophie Pawlyshyn, who supplied the easy finish. Both sides had chances before the game's second hydration break in the seventieth minute, but it remained 1-0. Despite a furious few minutes of last ditch attacking from Fusion, the visitors lacked a cutting edge and failed to score.
Coming Up
Tonight
Rochester United v Minnesota Thunder - 7pm CT
Thursday
Kansas City Scott Gallagher v KC Courage - 7pm CT
Friday
Mankato United v Rochester United - 7pm CT
MapleBrook Fury v Joy Athletic Club - 7pm CT
Sioux Falls City v Dakota Fusion - 7pm CT
Saturday
Sunflower State FC v St Louis Scott Gallagher - 4:30pm CT
Midwest Muskrats v Iowa Raptors - 5pm CT
Quad Cities Rush v Chicago KICS - 5pm CT
Sunday
Milwaukee Torrent v Iowa Raptors - 3pm CT
Dakota Fusion v Minnesota Thunder - 3pm CT
Mankato United v Salvo - 5pm CT
MapleBrook Fury v Sioux Falls City - 6pm CT
Columbus Eagles v FC Dayton - 8pm ET
Tuesday
Joy Athletic Club v Mankato United - 7pm CT
WPSL Wrap Up: Week 4
This Week
Wednesday
FC Spirit 3-1 Dayton Dutch Lions
Claudia Melgar opened the scoring in the thirteenth minute for Spirit. Ella Hamner doubled the score in the thirty-sixth minute. Carley Groh halved the deficit for DDL in the sixty-third minute but Hope Lensing connected to a long free kick in the seventy-eighth minute to settle it.
Minnesota Thunder 5-1 Mankato United
Thunder went ahead in the eighteenth minute, Paige Peltier scrambling home a ball which had pinballed around the box following a corner. Mankato equalized in the twenty-fifth minute when Lucy Weninger chipped the Thunder goalkeeper from forty yards out. A right wing Paige Kalal corner was headed in by Grace Estby to re-establish the Thunder lead in the 63rd minute, the lead was extended further only three minutes later when Kaitlyn MacBean dribbled inside from the left and placed it snugly inside the far post. Four minutes after that, Madeleine Poor slotted home from close range, following a drive down the left by Estby. Neat passing between the gridiron hashes was finished by Kendall Stadden.
Rochester United 0-3 Manitou FC
Manitou took the lead in the seventeenth minute when Allyson Hamski blasted the ball through the hands of the Rochester goalkeeper from the top of the box. A long ball up field was misjudged by the defense and as defender and goalkeeper recovered, Nicole Moore rolled the ball into an empty net. Another long ball in the ninetieth minute saw Denise Hamdan outpace the defense and make it 3-0.
Thursday
Kansas City Scott Gallagher 2-1 St Louis Scott Gallagher
Kansas City won the second Scott Gallagher derby, on the back of goals from Adriana Benassi and Caroline Carter. The visitors had a goal from Ashley Martinez.
Lou Fusz Athletic 6-0 AFC Columbia
Three goals in the first half and three in the second for the home side. No hat-tricks but three players scored twice (Lyndsey Heckel, Nina Preusser, Emily Gaebe).
Friday
Chicago KICS 1-0 Midwest Muskrats
KICS took the lead in the 27th minute, Josie Bieda with the calm finish from close in after a scramble in the six yard box. It turned out to be the decider.
Mankato United 0-2 Sioux Falls City
One way traffic for the visitors, seeking their first win after two draws to start the season. City broke through in the sixtieth minute through Barbie Castellanos, finishing after an initial shot was blocked on the line. Kaylie Rock doubled the lead five minutes later, scrambling home from inside the six yard box.
Rochester United 2-1 Dakota Fusion
After chances for both sides, it was the home side who broke through in the thirty-third minute, a firm pass between the gridiron hashes set Samara Nunn free to glide into the penalty area, she was able to finish it despite fierce pressure from a back tracking defender. The second goal came about when Sienna Latta took a pot shot from the edge of the box and it was spilled into her own net by the Fusion goalie. Fusion halved the deficit on the hour mark when Kadyn Sharpe cut inside and unleashed a ferocious shot from 20 yards out over the United keeper. In the end, however, the visitors were unable to make their late pressure count.
Milwaukee Torrent 6-0 Quad Cities Rush
Elsi Twombly opened the scoring from close range in the third minute and Rush goalie Allison Mirimanian kept the game close in the face of relatively constant Torrent pressure. Unfortunately for the visitors, they lacked an outlet to relieve some pressure and threaten a positive result. With twenty minutes on the clock, Alexa Melitis on the high press, forced the turnover and passed the ball across the area for the easy finish for Leyla Kelbel to make it 2-0. It was 3-0 in the twenty-third minute as Mirimanian dropped a corner and Lola Wojcik tapped it home. The fourth goal came after Lainey Higgins finished off the smooth pass between the gridiron hashes by Wojcik underneath Mirimanian.
In the sixty-seventh minute, Torrent scored their first of the second half as a left wing corner by Maletis deflected in off a Twombly header. The last goal of the game came in the seventy-ninth minute, when Higgins played a pass in towards Miranda Sofia and saw it bounce over the attacker and into the net.
A few times, Torrent employed eight-woman substitutions, taking advantage of the league's unlimited substitutions with re-entry allowed.
Minnesota Thunder 7-2 St Croix Legacy
It's not far from Stillwater to Plymouth, but it will be a long bus ride home. Thunder broke through in the fourteenth minute, Paige Kalal with a snapshot from the top of the box. The equalizer came off a period of sustained pressure from St. Croix culminated in a Claire Cater cross/shot being dropped by the Thunder keeper and tapped home by Olivia Knoepfle in the thirty-first minute. Parity would only last two minutes, however, as a cross from the right by Kalal was converted by Caroline Bailey on the half turn at the top of the penalty area.
A left wing corner from Kalal on fifty-three minutes was headed home on the back post by Paige Peltier for a 3-1 lead. A free kick from 45 yards out was blasted home by Avery Murdzek to make it 3-2 only two minutes later. Straight up the other end and another Kalal corner was headed home at the far post, this time by Kaitlyn MacBean for a 4-2 scoreline. The game then entered a twenty minute spell where neither team scored, before Thunder scored a late flurry to give the final scoreline an appearance which scarcely reflected the match overall. The fifth goal came as a Andrea Barth cross in the seventy-seventh minute hit the post and was then finished off by Sofia Caballero. It was 6-2 in the eighty-fifth minute, as Bailey got her second from close range, volleyed into the roof of the net. The final goal of the game came in the eighty-ninth minute, Kendall Stadden scoring off her own rebound after a good run down the right.
FC Dayton 5-0 Dayton Dutch Lions
A double from Dara Russo and single goals from Diana Benigno, Kylee Simmons and Lauren Bastian gave FCD a comfortable win against their cross-town rivals.
Saturday
FC Spirit 0-3 FC Pride
Madison Swingle, Addy Joiner and Paige Miller had the goals as Pride picked up the win on the road.
Courage opened their account in the sixth minute Riley Smith fed through by a neat exchange in midfield. Their lead was doubled in the thirty-first minute as Aya Saiki finished off a rebound on the right from an initial save of a hard-struck left sided shot. It was only three minutes before the third goal came, this time a leaping header by Saiki from a right wing corner. It was 4-0 in the fiftieth minute, Smith adding a second after the ball was passed across the area.
MapleBrook Fury 0-0 Manitou FC
There are 27 miles between the two sides, but on this occasion no goals and a point each were taken home.
Sunday
St Louis Scott Gallagher 0-0 KC Courage
A goal less first half saw a relatively even match, with the best chances going the way of Courage - notably a free kick from just outside the penalty area in the 33rd minute, which was comfortably saved. The closest to the deadlock being broken was in the 71st minute, as SLSG flicked home a searching cross from the left but it was ruled out. In the eighty-fifth minute, KCC missed a golden opportunity to steal a win when an incisive move down the middle saw a shot skew wide.
Quad Cities Rush 1-1 Midwest Muskrats
Abigail Glackin finished off Ellie Whiteman's assist for Rush's first point of the season. Stephanie Perretta scored for the Scrats.
FC Spirit 2-4 FC Dayton
Dayton opened the scoring in the twelfth minute as a shot from the right was parried into the path of Dara Russo, who nearly broke the crossbar with her finish. Four minutes later, Kennedy Neighbors equalized for Spirit from a break.
The deadlock lasted until the fifty-eighth minute when a long ball down the left wing was slotted home by Russo but surrendered again, Claudia Melgar converting a PK in the sixty-first minute for Spirit - smashed into the top right hand corner. Spirit hit the crossbar in the seventy-second minute with a rasping drive. Good goalkeeping by both sides kept it tied until the eighty-second minute, when Kylee Simmons took a speculative, long range shot along the ground and it hit the diving Spirit keeper and went in. Eight minutes later, the match was finally salted away as Heidi Orloff finished off a counter attack from midfield with a calm finish across the goalie. Russo completed her hat trick just before the end.
Dakota Fusion 0-1 Mankato United
Fusion remain rooted to the basement of the North and Mankato claim their first win of the season. The deciding goal from today's match came when Isabelle Ohlmann connected to a long ball lofted into the left back spot, with only seven minutes played.
Sioux Falls City 2-0 St Croix Legacy
City had the best of the opening few mins, and could have gone ahead when Rylee Haldeman's shot from the top of the box was acrobatically tipped around the top of the goal by Hadley Johnson in the Legacy net. The home side went ahead in the forty-third minute after a touchline cross from the left by Haldeman was whipped onto the waiting foot of Kaylie Rock. The second goal came in the sixty-sixth minute as Kendra Park chipped the St Croix keeper from the edge of the area and the ball bounced down off the underside of the crossbar.
A ding-dong battle at De La Salle. After a back and forth opening fifteen minutes, Raptors opened the scoring, Reegan Hess finishing off a close exchange of passes down the gut of the KICS defense. The home side equalized two minutes later, Karli Ferguson capitalizing on poor goalkeeping to squeeze the ball in at the near post from a right wing run. Raptors retook the lead in the twenty-fifth minute, a curling drive from Jessica Reinhardt just outside the penalty area past the KICS keeper, who was patrolling her six yard box. Only a minute later, Raptors notched what would be the decisive goal, taking advantage of an under hit goal kick to quickly play the ball around the KICS defense and make it 3-1. Hallie Peak had the finish. The home side made it close again in the fiftieth minute , Josie Bieda launching a shot from 25 yards out past the helpless Raptors keeper. Despite applying some pressure late on, KICS were unable to get an equalizer.
Becca Smith set up Meredith Haakenson in the sixteenth minute, for the close range finish. Sofia Boman went on a blistering run down the right side and ripped the ball into the far side netting to make it 2-0 only three minutes later. Khyah Harper tracked down a route 1 pass from Emily Heslin at the half way line and slotted home from an acute angle for 3-0 with fifty-one minutes on the clock. Harper blasted in her second from 20 yards out in the fifty-third minute to make it four. Harper then added an assist for number five, finished off at close range by Katelyn Beulke in the sixtieth minute. It was 6-0 in the seventy-first minute after a ball rolled slowly in after Sadie Harper challenged a defender and the ball clattered off the two and into the net.
Playoff Crystal Ball
With half the season in the books and the WPSL only entering single teams from each division (and one each from the North and the Heartland that only have one division) into the playoffs, the following teams are in position to earn a spot in the Central Division playoffs right now:
FC Milwaukee Torrent (Lake Michigan leaders) v FC Dayton (National Road leaders) for the Midwest Conference crown.
Colorado Rapids Women (Rockies leaders) v Utah Avalanche (Wasatch leaders) for the Mountain Conference., in a repeat of last year's mountain mash.
Heartland winners KC Courage and Northern winners Minnesota Thunder get byes as winners of conferences with no divisions.
Coming Up
Wednesday
Joy v Minnesota Thunder - 4pm CT
KC Scott Gallagher v Sunflower State - 7pm CT
St Louis Scott Gallagher v Lou Fusz - 7pm CT
Salvo v MapleBrook Fury - 8pm CT
Thursday
Mankato United v St Croix Legacy - 7pm CT
Friday
Minnesota Thunder v Sioux Falls City - 6pm CT
Midwest Muskrats v Quad Cities Rush - 7pm CT
Iowa Raptors v Milwaukee Torrent - 7pm CT
Dayton Dutch Lions v FC Spirit - 8pm CT
Saturday
Chicago KICS v Quad Cities Rush - 12pm CT
Dakota Fusion v Salvo - 2pm CT
AFC Columbia v Sunflower State - 3pm CT
FC Pride v Columbus Eagles - 3pm CT
FC Dayton v FC Spirit - 3pm CT
Lou Fusz Athletic v KC Scott Gallagher - 5pm CT
Sunday
St Louis Scott Gallagher v AFC Columbia - 11am CT
St Croix Legacy v Manitou FC - 2pm CT
Lou Fusz Athletic v KC Courage - 2pm CT
Columbus Eagles v Dayton Dutch Lions - 2pm CT
Sioux Falls City v Rochester United - 4pm CT
Chicago KICS v Milwaukee Torrent - 5pm CT
Mankato United v MapleBrook Fury - 5pm CT
Tuesday
Joy v Dakota Fusion - 7pm CT
WPSL Wrap Up: Week 3
This Week
Wednesday
KC Courage 1-1 Sunflower State FC
Having lost narrowly to their neighbors in their home match, Sunflower State went ahead with the last kick of the first half, when Lexie Ruf broke away from midfield and slotted calmly past the onrushing keeper. Courage had a good chance at the start of the second half, but the ball was saved for a corner - which subsequently came to nothing. In the 53rd minute, Sunflower had a free kick from 20 yards out but were unable to capitalize. With only eight minutes left, Courage got the equalizer, Jaycie Johnson chipping it over the goalkeeper after a defense splitting pass at the top of the area from Raheal Akaety.
Iowa Raptors 3-1 Quad Cities Rush
Alexis Vasquez, Jessica Reinhart and Camille Landphair scored for Raptors. Emily Bollman claimed the consolation for Rush.
Manitou FC 2-4 Minnesota Thunder
Thunder broke the deadlock emphatically in the forty-ninth minute as Paige Kalal drove in from the right and unleashed a shot from the edge of the box, into the far side netting. The lead was doubled in the fifty-second minute as a ball was crossed in from close to the touchline on the right, headed in by Caroline Bailey. The exhibition of fire-power continued in the fifty-sixth minute, Paige Peltier blasting the ball past the Manitou keeper from 30 yards out. Thunder also rattled the crossbar in the sixty-second minute, although the ball stayed out. Manitou were the beneficiaries of a goalkeeping mistake in the seventy-second minute, as Thunder's goalie rushed out of her area but was beaten to the ball by Denise Hamdan who chipped the ball back past her into the unguarded net. It was 3-2 in the eighty-fifth minute as the Thunder goalkeeper again misjudged a ball into her area and Hamdan tapped it home. It was 4-2 in stoppage time at the end of the game, as Kalal side-footed home from the edge of the penalty area.
Thursday
FC Pride 3-0 FC Spirit
A lung-busting run down the left by Abby Lynch was squared to Paige Miller, who tapped home to put the home team ahead after only 9 minutes. A left wing corner in the fifty-third minute was played short to Samantha King who dribbled down the endline and blasted in at the near post. Addy Joiner picked up the third goal, on a Samantha King assist.
Friday
Manitou FC 2-0 Dakota Fusion FC
A ball recycled from a corner in the seventy-fifth minute was pumped back into the box and the high bouncing ball was missed by everyone but Denise Hamdan who walked the ball in. Manitou made the match safe with the last kick of play, tracking down and battling for a ball down the left, with the runner, Sarah Strating winning a challenge and finishing.
MapleBrook Fury 3-4 Rochester United FC
The visitors opened the scoring through Maysa Walters in the fourth minute, a daisy-cutting rasper from 30 yards out, past the Fury keeper. They then put together a passage of play where they looked untroubled but failed to increase their lead, and it was MapleBrook who equalized in the thirty-fifth minute after an interception in midfield and a straightforward pass to set Izzy Smith on goal, slotting home from an acute angle into the net. However, Rochester came right back with a defense splitting pass and goal of their own through Franciele Cupertino. The pendulum swung the way of the home side once more in the thirty-sixth minute as another direct pass through the heart of the United defense saw defenders frozen, appealing for offside, only to see Smith finish it off for her second goal and tie the game.
The second half started like the first, with Rochester United on the front foot and going ahead again in the forty-ninth minute as Samara Nunn received a dinked ball in from the left and shot past the Fury keeper. The visitors then went further ahead through Walters's second goal of the game in the seventy-first minute, a beautifully flighted free kick from 30 yards out on the right wing all the way through and over the goalkeeper into the left side netting. MapleBrook had a chance to halve the deficit in the seventy-sixth minute but a PK was scuffed into the waiting knees of a sliding Rochester goalie. When the third goal did come, in the eighty-third minute by Kaitlynn Delveaux off a corner, it was too late for Fury to rally any more.
Sioux Falls City 0-0 Joy Athletic Club
Since you are reading this, the chances are you are au fait with the complaints about there not being enough scoring in football (weirdly, even an accusation levelled by hockey fans). To indulge that would be to miss out on entertaining fayre like this match, which included multiple chances on goal and an ambitious overhead kick. It also thoroughly devalues defense and defenders, which after all make up ~ half of the team. Finally, it seems appropriate on a day when City posted this:
https://twitter.com/SiouxFallsCity/status/1664783963393519618?s=20
An inefficient but eventually successful night for Salvo, with two goals in as many minutes settling this local derby. The first goal, in the seventy-seventh minute saw Sophia Boman square a ball for Ansley Atkinson to tap home. The second goal came as Boman cut in from the left and volleyed the ball past the St. Croix goalkeeper.
Lou Fusz Athletic 2-2 St Louis Scott Gallagher
A misplayed header by a defender set the scene, but Hannah Larson settled the ball and switched it to her other foot before firing SLSG into the lead in the fourth minute. The home side equalized just after half time, with a long cross-field pass by Scott Gallagher intercepted by Emily Gaebe, who out-sprinted the defense and slotted home. SLSG retook the lead in the 57th minute, Aubrey Mister unleashing a ferocious shot which crashed down off the crossbar and went in. Logan Racine snatched a point for the home side in this St. Louis derby, finishing off a free kick when SLSG made several unsuccessful attempts to clear.
Saturday
Courage got into an early lead after Riley Smith bundled the ball home from close range, bouncing over the keeper. The home side went up two in the twelfth minute when Addison Steiner blasted a ball from 35 yards out. In the thirtieth minute, it was 3-0, as a ball was pumped into the area and Courtney Claassen beat the keeper to the bouncing ball. In the thirty-fifth minute, Kaira Houser slid the ball inside of a defender and smashed the ball into the top corner from 20 yards out to make it a four-goal first half margin. A neat interchange down the left was finished off by Claassen in the sixtieth minute for five. Another firmly hit shot from the edge of the area in the sixty-fifth minute by Miyako Hallier made it 6-0.
Iowa Raptors 1-3 Midwest Muskrats
Alexis Vasquez scored for the Raptors. Muskrats won with goals from Bridget Sherman, Olivia Hernandez and an own goal.
Lou Fusz Athletic 3-1 Sunflower State FC
Sunflower took the lead in the 24th minute, Mackenzie DiMarco outpacing the defense in trademark fashion. Lou Fusz equalized with a hard, lofted shot into the roof of the net only four minutes later from Emily Gaebe . The home side then took the lead with a solo run from Margaret Duggan ending with a hard shot into the far side netting. It was 3-1 after Gaebe scored her second of the match.
Dayton Dutch Lions 0-6 Columbus Eagles
Nikki Cox opened the scoring for the visitors in the opening two minutes, capitalizing on a cross from the left. It was 2-0 after Katie Cox converted a free kick in the seventh minute, lifting the ball from just behind the D of the penalty area into the top right hand corner of the Dutch Lions goal. The home side had their first shot on goal shortly after, but could not score. The third goal came from Victoria Kevdzija in the fifteenth minute, volleying into the top corner after a driven shot by Abby Townsend was stopped by the keeper. It was Townsend who then turned scorer in the twentieth minute as another shot on goal snuck under the Dayton keeper's dive. The fifth goal was a neatly flicked header from the penalty spot by Gabrielle Hollar from a short cross just after half time. The last goal of the match, blasted in from the right wing, 30 yards out, into the top left hand corner of the goal - with 60 minutes on the clock. When the match entered a weather delay, play did not resume.
Alaina Huber claimed a hat trick, and Alisa Arthur, Marlee Taylor and Jenna Hallbeck also scored as Dayton vault to the top of their division. Addy Joiner scored for Pride.
Sunday
St Louis Scott Gallagher 2-0 Kansas City Scott Gallagher
An unsurprising victory for the senior club in the Scott Gallagher system. SLSG opened the scoring in the 30th minute, Izzy Patterson poking past a despairing KC keeper. It was 2-0 in first half stoppage time as Abby Miller redirected a cross from the right, past the keeper.
Quad Cities Rush 0-7 Milwaukee Torrent
Continuing their red-hot goalscoring form, Torrent notched a big road win. Layla Kelbel picked up a hat trick and Elsi Twombly a brace, as well as Alexa Maletis and Lauren Hernandez also scoring.
Dakota Fusion 0-6 MapleBrook Fury
The visitors broke the deadlock in the tenth minute, Paige Goaley sweeping home from a corner which pinballed around the six yard box. (Goaley plays her collegiate soccer just over the river at North Dakota State in Fargo) Fusion had a chance to equalize in the thirteenth minute, but the pass across the penalty area did not find a home boot. MapleBrook had a strong call for a penalty not given in the thirty-eighth minute after a player was seemingly taken down. Morgan Barnette scored on a flukey sequence with a bouncing ball just beating the Fusion keeper on it's way through the penalty area. A lightning delay caused an hour-long delay to the second half but MapleBrook came back on the pitch hungry for more goals and scored a third goal in auspicious circumstances in the forty-seventh minute, as a corner was punched into her own net by Quinn Carter. It was 4-0 in the sixty-seventh as a PK was awarded and dispatched by Alyssa Marceau. The fifth goal came via a long, direct free kick up field which was flicked on by Barnette and past Carter in the seventy-fifth minute. In the eighty third minute, Goaley hit the post from Fury's second PK of the day and then hit the post from a recycled shot, before Barnette finished it off for her hat trick*. It is a strange thing to say of a blowout loss, but Carter had multiple great saves and on another day could have kept the match closer.
* Morgan Barnette has been credited with a goal, where I have noted a Carter own goal, giving her an extraordinary four in one match.
A last minute winner for Allyson Hamski was the difference for the team from White Bear Lake.
It took until the second half, and an own goal at that, to break the deadlock between these sides - although Eagles more than deserved their lead. The lead was doubled on a neat interchange of close passes in the penalty area, finished by Avery Schone. Victoria Kevdzija scored number three on the day off a defense splitting pass. Gabrielle Hollar completed the scoring, drifting inside from the left before blasting the ball into the net.
Minnesota Thunder 1-1 Salvo SC
After a back and forth opening to the match, Salvo's Meredith Haakenson struck first in the 9th minute, slotting home from close range. The visitors had a good chance to go up two in the twenty-sixth minute but a lung-busting run down the right terminated at the feet of a defender. Thunder equalized in the seventy-fifth minute, a Paige Kalal corner headed in by Paige Peltier. Thunder put pressure on the Salvo goal, but ultimately these two contenders both claim a point.
Tuesday
Midwest Muskrats 1-3 Chicago KICS
From the Southside to the South Shore and a bit further south, the KICS took all three from their road trip to St John, IN with goals from Josie Bieda, Ebba Costow and Isabella Cook. The Scrats' solo goal came from Olivia Shaw.
Coming Up
Tonight
FC Spirit v Dayton Dutch Lions - 6pm CT
Minnesota Thunder v Mankato United - 7pm CT
Rochester United v Manitou FC - 7pm CT
Thursday
Kansas City Scott Gallagher v St Louis Scott Gallagher - 4pm CT
Lou Fusz Athletic v AFC Columbia - 7:30pm CT
Friday
Chicago KICS v Midwest Muskrats - 6pm CT
Mankato United v Sioux Falls City - 6pm CT
Rochester United v Dakota Fusion - 6pm CT
Milwaukee Torrent v Quad Cities Rush - 7pm CT
Minnesota Thunder v St Croix Legacy - 7pm CT
FC Dayton v Dayton Dutch Lions - 7pm CT
Saturday
FC Spirit v FC Pride - 2pm CT
AFC Columbia v KC Courage - 3pm CT
MapleBrook Fury v Manitou FC - 8pm CT
Sunday
St Louis Scott Gallagher v KC Courage - 2pm CT
Quad Cities Rush v Midwest Muskrats - 3pm CT
FC Spirit v FC Dayton - 3pm CT
Dakota Fusion v Mankato United - 4pm CT
Sioux Falls City v St Croix Legacy - 4pm CT
Chicago KICS v Iowa Raptors - 5pm CT
Salvo v Joy - 7pm CT
USL League Two: Week 10 Recap
The final week of USL League Two play before the playoffs was a jam packed one with a total of 13 scheduled matches to finish out the season. Five matches were played on Wednesday with four of the five having implications on the playoff race.
Wednesday:
Toledo Villa FC 1 vs Flint City Bucks 5 : University of Toledo, Toledo, OH - Eleven Sports
Kings Hammer 3 vs Fort Wayne FC 1 : Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH - No Announced Stream
South Bend Lions 4 vs Dayton Dutch Lions 1 : TCU School Field, South Bend, IN - No Announced Stream
Grand Rapids FC 3 vs Oakland County FC 2 : Midwest United FC Soccer Complex, Grand Rapids, MI - No Announced Stream
Des Moines Menace 4 vs Chicago FC United 0 : Valley Stadium, West Des Moines, IA - CISN
Wednesday's win by Des Moines Menace secured them the Heartland Division title and the first seed out of the division with Chicago FC United guaranteed the second seed from the division. In the Great Lakes none of the teams in the playoff race lost, continuing that chase. While South Bend defeated the winless Dutch Lions in a match that really didn't have a ton on the line.
Friday and Saturday had another combined six matches but this time with only three really counting towards anything in the playoff race.
Friday:
Kings Hammer 3 vs Dayton Dutch Lions 2 : Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH - No Announced Stream
Saturday:
Chicago FC United 3 vs FC Wichita 0 : Bridgeview Sports Dome, Bridgeview, IL - No Announced Stream
Dayton Dutch Lions 1 vs Grand Rapids FC 6 : Dayton Outpatient Center Stadium, West Carrolton, OH - No Announced Stream
Flint City Bucks 4 vs Oakland County FC 0 : Atwood Stadium at Kettering University, Flint, MI - Eleven Sports
Green Bay Voyageurs 3 vs Kaw Valley FC 0 : Capital Park, Ashwaubenon, WI - Eleven Sports
Des Moines Menace 5 vs St Louis Scott Gallagher 1 : Valley Stadium, East Des Moines, IA - CISN
Saturday again saw no surprises with Kings Hammer, Grand Rapids FC, and Flint City all winning their matches as they all went after the second and third playoff spots in the Great Lakes Division. In the Heartland Division there was a major change though, both FC Wichita and Kaw Valley FC would forfeit their matches to Green Bay and Chicago respectively.
While those two matches are still listed on the schedule as 3-0 forfeits the teams did play each other in a friendly match that was not listed on the league website. The Voyageurs would end the season on a down note, falling to playoff bound Chicago FC United in that match.
Sunday:
Kings Hammer 2 vs South Bend Lions 2 : Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH - No Stream Announced
Fort Wayne FC 1 vs Kalamazoo FC 4 : Bishop Dwenger High School, Fort Wayne, IN - No Announced Stream
With Kings Hammer having clinched their playoff spot earlier in the week the only thing up for grabs was the rights to the Great Lakes Division title. KZFC would take that crown off a 4-1 away win over Fort Wayne FC dashing the hopes of Flint City Bucks taking the championship.
WPSL Central Region Week 9: Recap
Tuesday:
Bavarian Soccer Club 2 vs FC Milwaukee Torrent 0 : Heartland Value Fund Stadium, Glendale, WI - No Stream Announced
The opening match of the week was the WPSL's Milwaukee Derby with the Women's sides of Bavarians and Torrent facing each other. The hosting Bavarians came away with a clean sheet victory at home to take the season series with Torrent.
Wednesday:
Chicago Dutch Lions 1 vs Chicago Red Stars Reserves 1 : Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex, Lisle, IL - Eleven Sports
One of the many battles of Chicago's saw the Dutch Lions host the powerful Red Stars Reserves side. RSR struck first early in the second half but CDL drew the match even later on in the half. For the second time this season RSR has dropped points, this time only dropping two rather than three.
FC Pride 8 vs St. Louis Lions 0 : Pride Performance Center, Indianapolis, IN - No Stream Announced
The season has not been kind to St. Louis who entered the match with an 0-0-8 record and being outscored 38 GA to 6 GF. FC Pride on the other hand was chasing a conference championship. This match was very kind to the hosting Pride but not to the Lions who were shut down badly on the road in their second to last match of the season.
Rochester United FC 1 vs Fire SC 98 1 : Spartan Field at Mayo High School, Rochester, MN - Eleven Sports
A match where points were on the line but not much else other than pride and experience. After a hard fought match it was Rochester who walked away with a win/
Saturday:
Green Bay Glory 0 vs Bavarian Soccer Club 1 : Capital Credit Union Park, Ashwaubenon, WI - Eleven Sports
Green Bay has had a tough go of things in 2021 so far. While they haven't won a match a lot of them have been very competitive. This was no exception as the Glory held strong but still allowed a lone goal for Bavarians to win.
St. Louis Lions 0 vs Lady Victory FC 5 : Tony Glavin Soccer Complex, Fenton, MO - No Stream Announced
The Lions final match of the 2021 season saw them face Lady Victory FC from the other side of the St. Louis area. Just days before the match it was moved from the Tony Glavin Soccer Complex in Fenton to the Lou Fusz Soccer Complex in St. Louis. Before starting it also endured a rain delay and then finally kicked off with a late start. Lady Victory cruised to a big win over St. Louis in the hosts final match of 2021.
Dayton Dutch Lions 3 vs FC Pride 1 : Dayton Outpatient Center Stadium, West Carrolton, OH - Gem City Sports Network
Dayton is sitting at the middle of the table in the Midwest while FC Pride sits near the top. In a stunning upset the Dutch Lions defeated FC Pride in Dayton setting Pride back pretty heavily in a year with no playoffs.
Dakota Fusion 1 vs Salvo SC 10 : Jim Gotta Stadium, Moorhead, MN - Magnitude Sports
Fusion's hopes for a win, a lone win on the season were dashed by Salvo SC. Salvo fired well salvos at Fusion all evening in Moorhead and left back to the Twin Cities with a blowout victory.
Chicago Red Stars Reserves 1 vs FC Milwaukee Torrent 1 : Evergreen Bank Group Athletic Field, Oak Brook, IL - Eleven Sports
After dropping points against the Dutch Lions earlier in the week with a draw it's something Red Stars Reserves wanted to avoid in their second match of the week. However the Torrent were able to hold their own against RSR and come out with a point on a misty Chicago night.
Fire & Ice SC 1 vs Cincinnati Sirens 0 : Althoff Catholic High School Stadium, Belleville, IL - Eleven Sports
In order to stay in the race for the Midwestern Conference, Fire & Ice needed to defeat Cincinnati. And they did that in a very close match.
Sunday:
Fire & Ice SC 2 vs Lady Victory FC 4 : Althoff Catholic High School Stadium, Belleville, IL - Eleven Sports
Another one that Fire & Ice needed to win to keep pace with the division leaders. This was not meant to be as Lady Victory FC ran away with a massive 4-2 win over Fire & Ice. This win puts Lady Victory up over FC Pride by 5 points with two matches left on the season.
Columbus Eagles 0 vs Dayton Dutch Lions 4 : Bernlohr Stadium at Capital University, Bexley, OH - Eleven Sports
This was the final match of the WPSL season for Columbus and the penultimate match of 2021 for the Dutch Lions. Columbus did not go out on a strong note as the Dutch Lions shut down and shut out the Eagles in suburban Columbus.
USL League Two Week 9: Recap
Tuesday:
Flint City Bucks 2 vs South Bend Lions 1 : Atwood Stadium at Kettering University, Flint, MI - Eleven Sports
Flint City opened the first of their two matches sitting a few points back from second place in the Division. Matthew Fearnley got the Bucks off to a great start in the first half. South Bend's Milo Yosef drew the match even in the 56th minute but Noah Jensen close up the match with a late goal to give the home Bucks a 2-1 win.
FC Wichita 2 vs Kaw Valley FC 4 : Stryker Sports Complex, Wichita, KS - Eleven Sports
A Kansas clash between Wichita and Kaw Valley would be FC Wichita's final home match of 2021. This would not be Wichita's night and a combined six goals from three goal scorers later Kaw Valley left with a win. However both teams had major highlights as Wichita's Kevin Black scored a brace only one upped by Kaw Valley's Alessandro Salvadego who scored a Hat Trick.
Wednesday:
Kalamazoo FC 1 vs Oakland County FC 1 : Mayors Riverfront Park Football Stadium, Kalamazoo, MI - Eleven Sports
A pivotal match for Kalamazoo as they pursue a division title, it didn't end the way KZFC wanted, though could have been worse. OCFC's Alexander Dalou scored just 17 minutes into the match. Kalamazoo only got back at them with their lone goal by Josep Martinez in the 56th to force a draw.
Grand Rapids FC 6 vs Toledo Villa 0 : Midwest United Soccer Complex, Grand Rapids. MI - Eleven Sports
Grand Rapids who is also pursuing one of the three playoff spots helped their case pretty heavily last Wednesday night at home. On the back of four Farai Mutatu goals GRFC cruised to a massive 6-0 beating of Toledo Villa and extended their win streak to three straight.
Chicago FC United 2 vs Des Moines Menace 0 : Bridgeview Dome, Bridgeview, IL - No Stream Announced
Both teams entered the match on Wednesday unbeaten but only one team would end up leaving that way. Chicago FC United would be the team leaving unbeaten as Diego Gutierrez and Derek Waleffe each scored for Chicago en route to an upset win over Des Moines to not only break their unbeaten streak but also get closer to winning the Heartland.
Thursday:
Kaw Valley FC 2 vs St. Louis Scott Gallagher 6 : Rock Chalk Park, Lawrence, KS - Eleven Sports
Coming off a win earlier in the week against FC Wichita, Kaw Valley had momentum but not rest on their side heading into their final home game at Rock Chalk Park this year. After going into the half with a 2 - 3 scoreline in favour of SLSG, the visitors were able to pull away in the second half with three unanswered goals.
Friday:
Toledo Villa 2 vs Grand Rapids FC 5 : Paul Hotmer Soccer Field, Toledo, OH - Eleven Sports
A rematch of the two sides on Toledo's home after just one day off was the case for this. While the scoreline changed the match result did not. Grand Rapids stormed out of the gate with back to back goals by Adam Knight before Toledo's Savio Adams put Villa on the board. In the second half Grand Rapids managed two more goals before Villa scored again but GRFC had Ryan DeBois out one final one in for a blowout win. The loss sent Toledo's losing streak to four games and their winless streak to six, while Grand Rapids extended their winning streak to four.
Dayton Dutch Lions 2 vs Oakland County FC 5 : Dayton Outpatient Center Stadium, Dayton, OH - Gem City Sports Network
The Dutch Lions have had a relatively awful season in 2021 sitting at 0-1-9 (0 points) and sadly it did not get better on Friday. A 3-2 score at the half was initially positive however Oakland County scored two in the second half to wrap up their route of Dayton.
Green Bay Voyageurs vs FC Wichita: 7 PM - Capital Credit Union Park, Ashwaubenon, WI - Eleven Sports
Saturday:
South Bend Lions 4 vs Fort Wayne FC 1 : TCU School Field, South Bend, IN - No Stream Announced
A battle of two Indiana sides for the second time this season and just like the first the winning team stayed the same. With the score one all just after half time, the Lions scored three straight to blow out the future USL League One side.
Kaw Valley FC 2 vs St. Louis Scott Gallagher 3 : Swope Soccer Village, Kansas City, MO - Eleven Sports
Another rematch from a match played earlier this week, instead of it being Kansas vs Missouri it was two Missouri sides as Kaw Valley hosted their final home match at Sporting KC's Swope Soccer Village. This match was much more competitive as the teams ended with just a one goal difference on the final scoreline.
Sunday:
Oakland County FC 1 vs Flint City Bucks 4 : 4 PM - Clawson Stadium, Clawson, MI - No Stream Announced
The last match of the weekend pitted Oakland County against Flint City in the first of two matches the sides will play against each other in a week. After Oakland County's August Hunter scored early to give the home side the lead, the Bucks scored four unanswered to give them a huge and much needed win.
*Note All Times CT
USL League Two: Week 10 Preview
Wednesday:
Toledo Villa FC vs Flint City Bucks - 5:30pm - University of Toledo, Toledo, OH - Eleven Sports
Against the 3-6-4 Villa, Flint City will be looking for an easy match to keep up their playoff positioning in the Great Lakes division.
Kings Hammer vs Fort Wayne FC - 6pm - Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH - No Announced Stream
Kings Hammer will need a win to keep up their playoff spot, but should have an easy ride against a Fort Wayne side with only 1 win all season.
South Bend Lions vs Dayton Dutch Lions - 6pm - TCU School Field, South Bend, IN - No Announced Stream
This matchup of declawed lions sees a South Bend club at 4-5-3 face a basement dwelling Dayton side with a record of 0-10-1.
Grand Rapids FC vs Oakland County FC - 6pm - Midwest United FC Soccer Complex, Grand Rapids, MI - No Announced Stream
Grand Rapids will be looking for a win against a team around them in the table to bolster their playoff quest.
Des Moines Menace vs Chicago FC United - 6pm - Valley Stadium, West Des Moines, IA - CISN
The Class of the Heartland meet again, with the Menace looking to maintain their top spot against a CFCU team who could vault above them with a win.
Friday:
Kings Hammer vs Dayton Dutch Lions - 9am - Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH - No Announced Stream
Kings Hammer should gain an easy win to bolster their playoff positioning against a Dayton side struggling for points.
Dayton Dutch Lions vs Grand Rapids FC - 6pm - DOC Stadium, West Carrolton, OH - No Announced Stream
GRFC looking to push for a playoff spot against a struggling Dayton Dutch Lions squad.
Saturday:
Chicago FC United vs FC Wichita - 2pm - Bridgeview Sports Dome, Bridgeview, IL - No Announced Stream
Chicago looking to push for the top playoff seed against a pointless Wichita squad.
Flint City Bucks vs Oakland County FC - 6:30pm - Kettering's Atwood Stadium, Flint, MI - Eleven Sports
Flint City will be hoping they can solidify their playoff spot against an OCFC team just out of contention.
Green Bay Voyageurs vs Kaw Valley FC - 7pm - Capital Park, Ashwaubenon, WI - Eleven Sports
4-7-0 Kaw Valley travel to 1-7-2 Green Bay with late season pride and fitness on the line.
Des Moines Menace vs St Louis Scott Gallagher - 7pm - Valley Stadium, East Des Moines, IA - CISN
The Menace will look to push on against a St Louis squad who pushed hard but will just miss out on the playoffs this season.
Sunday:
Kings Hammer vs South Bend Lions - 3pm - Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH - No Stream Announced
Kings Hammer will be looking to solidify playoff positioning against a lower third South Bend Lions squad.
Fort Wayne FC vs Kalamazoo FC - 5pm - Bishop Dwenger High School, Fort Wayne, IN - No Announced Stream
Great Lakes leading Kzoo will be looking to build their goal difference and solidify top spot.
WPSL Central Region Week 9: Preview
Tuesday:
Bavarian Soccer Club vs FC Milwaukee Torrent: 7 PM - Heartland Value Fund Stadium, Glendale, WI - No Stream Announced
While neither team technically in Milwaukee this is a match between to sides from MKE and second match in the Milwaukee Derby should prove to be as exciting as ever. Bavarian SC (2-2-1, 8 points) host the Torrent (3-2-2, 11 points) at Heartland Value Fund Stadium at Bavarian Soccer Park. Currently Bavarian SC are 2-1-0 with a major win over Red Stars Reserves in their last three matches. Torrent meanwhile are also sitting at 2-1-0 with wins over Chicago Dutch Lions and Chicago City, the draw between the two sides falls within both teams last three.
Wednesday:
Chicago Dutch Lions vs Chicago Red Stars Reserves: 6 PM - Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex, Lisle, IL - Eleven Sports
Red Stars Reserves dominance has been shown to not be as much as previously thought. With their 1-0 loss to Bavarians and BSC's 1-1 draw with the Chicago Dutch Lions this looks to be a very formidable opponent for RSR. RSR does hold a game in hand and a four point advantage over the Dutch Lions. Staying in title contention will require a win as a draw, while would technically keep CDL mathematically in the chase, will effectively end the chance. However this will take a lot of work for the Dutch Lions to knock down the mighty Red Stars Reserves after CDL lost 4-0 to RSR in their season opener.
FC Pride vs St. Louis Lions: 7 PM - Pride Performance Center, Indianapolis, IN - No Stream Announced
Unlike the Northern Conference who played just an 8 game schedule with the same amount of teams the Midwestern Conference has a 12 match slate and full double round robin. This means almost everyone in the Midwestern Conference is within range of taking the title, currently the top spot is owned by Lady Victory. However an FC Pride win will snag that spot from Lady Victory, at least for a bit. While for the Lions this match is another attempt to get win number one in 2021.
Rochester United FC vs Fire SC 98: 7 PM - Spartan Field at Mayo High School, Rochester, MN - Eleven Sports
With the Northern Conference title being between MapleBrook and the Minnesota Thunder this match is really just for pride and playing time for both sides. RUFC should be able to handle the Thunder fairly easily in the Lions final match of 2021.
Saturday:
Green Bay Glory vs Bavarian Soccer Club: 1 PM - Capital Credit Union Park, Ashwaubenon, WI - Eleven Sports
Green Bay has a tough match on their hands against Bavarians on Saturday afternoon. The 0-1-6 (1 point) Glory host the 3-2-1 (11 points) Bavarian SC in the first match of a home and home series between the teams. While Glory cannot shoot for the division title they'll look to earn only their second set of points in 2021. Bavarians on the other hand have four games left and 12 possible points, more than anyone else in the conference. With that they have a great chance at unseating RSR from the top spot in the conference over the next few matches.
St. Louis Lions vs Lady Victory FC: 2 PM - Tony Glavin Soccer Complex, Fenton, MO - No Stream Announced
Lady Victory sits second in the Midwestern Conference just a point back from FC Pride who currently hold the lead in the conference. With five matches to play for Lady Victory the Midwestern Conference championship is up for the taking. The host Lions on the other hand are still looking to get their first win or even points of the season, entering this afternoon at 0-0-9.
Dayton Dutch Lions vs FC Pride: 3:30 PM - Dayton Outpatient Center Stadium, West Carrolton, OH - Gem City Sports Network
Dayton is out of the race for the conference title at this point with a record of 2-3-4 (9 points) with three matches to play. On the other hand FC Pride leads the conference by one point with three matches left. A win is not only imperative to FC Pride but also very necessary to keep themselves in the face as Lady Victory has two games in hand over Pride.
Dakota Fusion vs Salvo SC: 5:00 PM - Jim Gotta Stadium, Moorhead, MN - Magnitude Sports
The Northern Conference inches ever closer to the close of their 2021 season and with no playoffs and the division title race at least partially decided this is more or less a friendly that happens to have points on the line. The Fusion women will want to claim points and avoid finishing 0-0-8 this season while Salvo will try to redeem themselves after a 2-1 loss to MapleBrook.
Chicago Red Stars Reserves vs FC Milwaukee Torrent: 7 PM - Evergreen Bank Group Athletic Field, Oak Brook, IL - Eleven Sports
RSR are very much showing they are not an unbeatable juggernaut like most season. With a loss to Bavarians and the Dutch Lions forcing a draw RSR have dropped four points this year, making the Lake Michigan Conference ripe for the taking. With a win the Torrent women would tie RSR on points at the top of the conference and both sides enter with an identical 1-1-1 run of form in their last three.
Fire & Ice SC vs Cincinnati Sirens: 7 PM - Althoff Catholic High School Stadium, Belleville, IL - Eleven Sports
Back in the Midwestern Conference again and another match with pretty huge implications for the table. The Sirens are also a single point back of FC Pride and also have two games in hand, the only loss the Sirens have been dealt was against Lady Victory in their last outing. Fire & Ice are even on matches with FC Pride but are 5-1-3 with 16 points. A loss would put a massive dent in the trophy hopes of Fire & Ice while it wouldn't be a massive issue to the Sirens. On the other hand a win will possibly get the Sirens to the top of the standings.
Sunday:
Fire & Ice SC vs Lady Victory FC: 2 PM - Althoff Catholic High School Stadium, Belleville, IL - Eleven Sports
After both sides won on Saturday they came into another big match regarding the Midwestern Conference title. Just a two point difference between the sides showed the title was still up for grabs. Fire & Ice will 100% need to win to stay in the title race as they have one match left. Anything less and Lady Victory inches closer to a Conference Championship and Fire & Ice's hopes are dashed.
Columbus Eagles vs Dayton Dutch Lions: 2 PM - Bernlohr Stadium at Capital University, Bexley, OH - Eleven Sports
Another Midwestern Conference match between two sides closer to the bottom of the table. Neither side can challenge for the conference title so this is a battle for price, experience, and Ohio.
* All Times CT
USL League Two Week 9: Preview
Tuesday:
Flint City Bucks vs South Bend Lions: 6:30 PM - Atwood Stadium at Kettering University, Flint, MI - Eleven Sports
Four points back from second place in the division, Flint City has a test on their hands as we head towards the end of the season. The Bucks have been 2-0-1 in their last three matches and want to keep that run of form going. South Bend has gone 1-1-1 in their last three and is sitting outside the playoff race at this point but could make it harder for the Bucks to earn their spot.
FC Wichita vs Kaw Valley FC: 7 PM - Stryker Sports Complex, Wichita, KS - Eleven Sports
In a division dominated by Des Moines and Chicago the winless FC Wichita host Kaw Valley FC in a Battle of the Sunflower State on Tuesday night. Wichita will want to earn their first points of the season on home turf against their rival from the East. However this is a match of pride and state supremacy as both sides are out of the running for the playoffs.
Wednesday:
Kalamazoo FC vs Oakland County FC: 6 PM - Mayors Riverfront Park Football Stadium, Kalamazoo, MI - Eleven Sports
Another rivalry match on a Wednesday night. Kalamazoo FC has already guaranteed themselves a playoff spot for 2021 but a win over mid-table Oakland County can bring them closer to a division title. Look for Oakland County to bring their A-Game on Wednesday night as a win will help immensely in attempting to earn a seat at the playoff table, while a loss brings those odds to slim.
Grand Rapids FC vs Toledo Villa: 6 PM - Midwest United Soccer Complex, Grand Rapids. MI - Eleven Sports
Mid-table sides face off with the winner earning a better shot towards the 2021 USL League Two playoffs. Both teams sit just outside the three spots the Great Lakes Division gets but neither is completely out of the race yet. This is the first match of a home and home series between the sides over this week.
Chicago FC United vs Des Moines Menace: 6 PM - Bridgeview Dome, Bridgeview, IL - No Stream Announced
Both teams have just three matches left on the season and Des Moines has already clinched a spot in the playoffs for this season. The question now is can the visiting Chicago FC United side take down the dominate Menace they face in Bridgeview. The two teams have goal differentials of +19 (DSM) and +21 (CHI) so look for this match to be one of the best games of the USL League Two calendar.
Thursday:
Kaw Valley FC vs St. Louis Scott Gallagher: 7:30 PM - Rock Chalk Park, Lawrence, KS - Eleven Sports
After defeating Wichita on the road on Tuesday Kaw Valley returned home to face St. Louis Scott Gallagher. While Kaw Valley only had one day of rest SLSG had an entire week coming off their loss to Chicago FC United. This match however will have no implication on the remainder of the season except for final divisional placing as Des Moines and Chicago have already punched their postseason tickets.
Friday:
Toledo Villa vs Grand Rapids FC: 5 PM - Paul Hotmer Soccer Field, Toledo, OH - Eleven Sports
Mid table sides Toledo and Grand Rapids face off with Grand Rapids looking to inch closer to a playoff spot. GRFC has three matches to play and can jump as high as second place as Kalamazoo FC has already clinched their way into the playoffs with more points than Grand Rapids can achieve. Home side Toledo will have their season finish after their final two games as Wednesday's loss to Grand Rapids knocked them out of contention.
Dayton Dutch Lions vs Oakland County FC: 6 PM - Dayton Outpatient Center Stadium, Dayton, OH - Gem City Sports Network
Lowly Dayton hosts mid table Oakland County in the Dutch Lions penultimate home match of the season. DDL at 0-1-9 with one point on the season have four matches left to gain their first win of the season, something they look increasingly capable of doing after drawing Fort Wayne 2-2 on Sunday. OCFC is looking for a playoff push as with also having four matches left they are not out of the race yet and can also mathematically take first place in the Great Lakes.
Green Bay Voyageurs vs FC Wichita: 7 PM - Capital Credit Union Park, Ashwaubenon, WI - Eleven Sports
While this match is the bottom two teams in the Heartland this could very much prove to be an exciting match to watch. Last Friday the teams went to a 1-0 scoreline with Green Bay taking their first set of three points in 2021. Both sides will be looking to intensely take the win and with Green Bay looking to sweep the season series while Wichita is just looking to strike their first win before ending the season next Saturday against Chicago FC United.
Saturday:
South Bend Lions vs Fort Wayne FC: 6 PM - TCU School Field, South Bend, IN - No Stream Announced
Two of the bottom three sides in the Great Lakes division play one of the two matches on Saturday night. South Bend (3-3-5, 12 points) hosts Fort Wayne (1-5-5, 8 points) in the second go around between the Indiana expansion sides. Last time out the Lions got the best of Fort Wayne, winning 3-1 on the road.
Kaw Valley FC vs St. Louis Scott Gallagher: 7:30 PM - Swope Soccer Village, Kansas City, MO - Eleven Sports
After hosting a game earlier this week in Kansas, Kaw Valley FC heads to Sporting KC's Swope Soccer Village in Missouri to host St. Louis Scott Gallagher in each teams penultimate match of 2021. SLSG has already clinched the season series with a 2-1 win (June 16th) and 6-2 win (July 1st) this season. Both sides enter with a 2-0-1 record in their last three matches.
Sunday:
Oakland County FC vs Flint City Bucks: 4 PM - Clawson Stadium, Clawson, MI - No Stream Announced
The lone match on Sunday wraps up League Two action this weekend as Flint City travels to Oakland County. Both teams are in the playoff race for the three spots in the Great Lakes division, however the Bucks are the ones sitting in a spot at this time. Both sides need a win as it will push the Bucks closer to locking up a spot while one will bring OCFC closer to getting into one.
*Note All Times CT
USL League Two Week 7: Recap
Wednesday:
Green Bay Voyageurs 1 vs Chicago FC United 1 - 5pm - SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview, IL - No Stream Announced
Chicago FC United remain undefeated due to a Gutierrez equalizer in the 71st minute, after the visitors had threatened to take all three points through a Briggs goal in the 49th.
Kings Hammer 0 vs South Bend Lions 0 - 7pm - TCU School Field, South Bend, IN - No Announced Stream
A goalless draw was nonetheless not without controversy as a late goal was disallowed.
Flint City Bucks 0 vs Kalamazoo FC 1 - 7pm - Mayor's Riverfront Park, Kalamazoo, MI - Eleven Sports PPV
De Lacio was the difference in the 88th minute for Kalamazoo, stealing 3 points and building the team's margin at the top of the Great Lakes Division.
FC Wichita 0 vs Des Moines Menace 6 - 7pm - Valley Stadium, West Des Moines, IA - CISN
Des Moines continue their run of perfection with a dismantling of a FC Wichita who go to 0-5 on the season. The first goal came as early as the 2nd minute through Nil Ayats, James Thomas doubled the lead after 13. Matters were made immeasurably more difficult for the winless visitors when they were reduced to 10 men in the 23rd minute, the referee deeming that the defender had denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity. The third goal came only two minutes later through Alberto Suarez. Ayats scored again in the 28th. Sebastian Andreassen scored number 5 in the 35th minute and the last goal came in the 63rd, as the Menace looked invincible.
Kaw Valley FC 1 vs St Louis Scott Gallagher 2 - 7pm - World Wide Technology Soccer Park, Fenton, MO - No Announced Stream
SLSG opened the scoring in the 23rd minute through Goddard, Bruch added to his earlier assist to make it 2-0 in the 50th minute and Kaw Valley got their tally only 4 minutes later through Meehan but could not score further. The home side extend their unbeaten run to 5 matches, without gaining any ground on the teams ahead of them.
Friday:
Fort Wayne FC 1 vs Kalamazoo FC 1 - 6:45pm - Mayor's Riverfront Park, Kalamazoo, MI - Eleven Sports PPV
Fort Wayne opened the scoring through Sammy Sarver in the tenth minute but division-leading Kalamazoo levelled the score with a penalty in the 78th minute.
Dayton Dutch Lions 2 vs Oakland County FC 3 - 7pm - Clawson Stadium, Clawson, MI - No Announced Stream
Oakland County claimed all three points with goals from Shannon, Steinwascher and Buca. DDL kept it close with goals from Stans and Erlandson.
FC Wichita 0 vs Des Moines Menace 1 - 7pm - Valley Stadium, West Des Moines, IA - CISN
Zyan Andrade scored the only goal, off a rebound in the 25th minute, as the Menace stay perfect.
Chicago FC United 7 vs Kaw Valley FC 1 - 7:30pm - Rock Chalk Park, Lawrence, KS - Eleven Sports
A hat trick from Wintermeyer, two from Gutierrez and a one from Sullivan saw undefeated CFCU romp to victory away at the University of Kansas. Salvadego scored for Kaw Valley, who also saw a red card in the 68th minute, at which point it was already 6-1.
Saturday:
South Bend Lions 3 vs Toledo Villa 0 - 7pm - The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH - Eleven Sports PPV
In a nice piece of symmetry, three goals for the Lions bring them three points and a record of 3-3-3.
Green Bay Voyageurs 1 vs St Louis Scott Gallagher 4 - 7pm - World Wide Technology Soccer Park, Fenton, MO - No Announced Stream
Goals from Klein in the 35th minute, Kraus in the 83rd and a double from Lynn (37 and 67 respectively) saw SLSG past the Voyageurs of Green Bay, although the GBV goal in the 55th minute from Stephenson had threatened to make it more competitive at 2-1.
Chicago FC United 2 vs FC Wichita 1 - 7pm - Stryker Sports Complex, Wichita, KS - Eleven Sports
Goals from Chris Sullivan in the 17th minute and Andrew Akindele in the 49th minute lift the away side up over FCW.
Sunday:
Oakland County FC 2 vs Kings Hammer 3 - 4pm - Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH - No Announced Stream
Oakland County FC led this match for most of the first half, the lead coming through a Buca goal in the tenth minute, but a failure to close out the half would seem costly as they conceded an equalizer in the 42nd minute to Robinson and would not regain the lead the rest of the match. Further Kings Hammer tallies came from Erhardt and Ennin before Hooks scored in the 90th minute to make the score more respectable.
Grand Rapids FC 1 vs Kalamazoo FC 2 - 5:30pm - Mayor's Riverfront Park, Kalamazoo, MI - Eleven Sports PPV
Two Banuelos goals, in the 25th and 45 minutes took the division leading Kzoo FC up over their neighbors. Matty Cornish had the Grand Rapids goal.
Flint City Bucks 3 vs Fort Wayne FC 0 - 6pm - Bishop Dwenger High School, Fort Wayne, IN - Eleven Sports PPV
In what I'm going to call the Battle of the Water Crests, it would be those unusual creatures - the waterborne Bucks who would prevail with goals from Amadou Cisse and a brace from Jacob Erlandson.
WPSL Central Region Week 6: Recap
Wednesday:
Mankato United 2 vs Rochester United 0 - 7pm- Bethany Lutheran College, Mankato, MN - Eleven Sports
Mankato took the inaugural Highway 14 Derby with goals from McKenna Buisman off the high press and half-time substitute Dakota Wendell after the ball had shot upwards and around like a pinball.
Cincinnati Sirens 3 vs Dayton Dutch Lions 1 - 7pm - Lakota West High School, Liberty Township, OH - No Announced Stream
Goals from Hueber from the penalty spot and Donovan and Renie from open play brought the Sirens back from a 1-0 deficit and secured their undefeated record for another match.
Fire and Ice 2 vs St Louis Lions 0 - 7pm - Althoff Catholic High School, Belleville, IL, Eleven Sports
The first St Louis Derby went the way of the elemental squad, with the goals for Fire and Ice coming from a goalkeeping error just before half time and Breece with a driven shot back across the keeper from a left sided cross. The margin would have been even greater were it not for the Lions goalkeeper, who must be getting her work in for a 0-4 club.
Thursday :
Minnesota Thunder 3 vs Salvo SC 1 - 7:45pm - Academy of Holy Angels StarDome, Richfield, MN - Eleven Sports
It took Thunder until the 39th minute to break the deadlock, when a cross field pass was taken back across the Salvo keeper by Morgan Turner. The lead was doubled shortly after half time and the home side's third came in the 56th minute, on the second chance. Salvo spoiled the clean sheet when Anderson scored in the 64th minute, but in the end Thunder get revenge for their only dropped points of the season so far.
Friday:
Fire SC 98 6 vs Dakota Fusion FC 0 - 7pm - Centennial High School Stadium, Circle Pines, MN - Eleven Sports
The Fire were up 3-0 at the half, with two goals from Sara Wendt (one from a header from a right wing cross, and one from a defensive miscue) and another from Lexi Larson. The home team then pulled away as Wendt secured her hat trick in the 63rd minute and Anna Breffle (in the 80th) and Erin Becker (in the 85th) added late goals.
Mankato United 1 vs MapleBrook Fury 3 - 7pm - Bethany Lutheran College, Mankato, MN - Eleven Sports
Mankato took the lead in the 5th minute through Kenna Buisman, bursting down the left wing. It remained 1-0 at half time. The Fury kept things close and accelerated through the second half before a furious few minutes saw them snatch victory. The equalizer came in the 78th minute after Claire Odmark (highlighted by the club's owner in our previous chat) beat a Mankato defender into the box and she was felled. The penalty was subsequently dispatched by Odmark herself. The visitors went ahead in the 82nd minute from a corner, which beat the goalkeeper to the spot and was headed in by Kyra Sosinski. The clinching goal came in the 90th minute as Maille Mathis chipped the goalkeeper from the left edge of the penalty area.
Milwaukee Bavarian SC 1 vs Chicago Red Stars Reserves 0 - 7pm - Bavarian Soccer Club, Glendale, WI - No Announced Stream
In one of the surprises of the season, the women's expansion team of the amateur soccer behemoth pulled out a 1-0 win against the professional juggernaut of CRS Reserves. The goal came through Alex Campana.
Saturday:
Chicago Dutch Lions 2 vs Milwaukee Torrent 3 - 6pm - Benedictine University, Lisle, IL - Eleven Sports
Chicago Dutch Lions took the lead on the road in the 16th minute but Elsi Twombly equalised for the Torrent just before half time. CDL went ahead again the 50th minute but Jelena Sever made it 2-2 in the 57th minute from the penalty spot, and then 3-2 from open play in the 73rd minute for the win.
Cincinnati Sirens 2 vs FC Pride 0 - 7pm - Lakota West High School, Liberty Township, OH - No Announced Stream
Morgan White and Makala Woods picked up the goals for a perfect Sirens squad on top of the Midwestern Division.
Dayton Dutch Lions 6 vs St Louis Lions 0 - 7pm - West Carrolton High School, Dayton, OH - No Announced Stream
DDL FC opened the scoring after only 5 minutes through a St Louis own goal from a Huber cross. Marcella Cash scored in the 24th and thus it remained through half time. Anuci scored shortly after the half. Jenssen scored number 4 in the 52nd minute. Huber added a goal to her earlier assist in the 83rd minute and another in the 90th minute, with another St Louis own goal in the 83rd minute.
Fire and Ice 6 vs Columbus Eagles 0 - 7pm - Althoff Catholic High School, Belleville, IL - Eleven Sports
Doubles from Olivia Smith and Sarah Foley added to solo shots from Sofia Hernandez and Mackenzie Litzs for the blowout of the winless Eagles.
Sunday:
Salvo SC vs MapleBrook Fury - 3pm - Reynolds Field, Roseville, MN - No Announced Stream
This game was suspended due to lightning at 1-1 in the 50th minute, with the remainder of the match to be rescheduled. The Salvo goal was scored by Khyah Harper and the equalizer was in the 37th minute.
Mankato United 9 vs Dakota Fusion 1 - 5pm - Bethany Lutheran College, Mankato, MN - Eleven Sports
Danielle Tazic opened the scoring in the 5th minute for the home team but pretty constant pressure from Mankato failed to secure further goals, prior to a Hallie Thompson equalizer in the 31st minute from 20 yards out, just past the Kato keeper. It was just before halftime at Mankato United finally made their superiority count, after busted defense at a corner left Dakota Wendell open to slot the ball home from the top of the six yard box. The second half started as rapidly for Kato as the first had, with Tazic repeating her trick within 50 seconds of the restart, from a Wendell cross. Wendell was again the benefactor of fortune in the 51st and 54th minutes as she scored off two charge downs of Emily Soukup in goal for the Fusion. Ironically, the margin could have been even larger, were it not for the efforts of Soukup, who is graduating from high school in Moorhead and joining Minnesota State Mankato in the fall. Abigail Hoisington made it 6-1 in the 63rd minute. Cassidy Joyce made it 7-1 before Tazic completed her own hat trick in the 82nd minute with a close range blast into the top right corner. Scoring was completed through a PK in the 87th minute.
Fire SC 98 0 vs Minnesota Thunder 1 - 7pm - Centennial High School Stadium, Circle Pines, MN - No Announced Stream
It took until the 80th minute for the red hot division leading Thunder to break the deadlock against a Fire side fresh off a strong performance against Dakota Fusion, and there would be no further scoring.
Dayton Dutch Lions 1 vs Lady Victory 4 - 4:30pm - West Carrolton High School, Dayton, OH - No Announced Stream
Goals in the 23rd, 25th and 35th minutes led Victory to a lead. Second half goals came in the 58th from Dayton and the 60th from Victory for the win.
St Louis Lions 2 vs Columbus Eagles 3 - 5pm - Tony Glavin Soccer Complex, Cottleville, MO - No Announced Stream
Columbus win the battle of the basement, claiming all three points in the 87th minute after a back and forth match.
USL League Two, Week 7: Preview
Wednesday:
Green Bay Voyageurs vs Chicago FC United- 5pm - SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview, IL - No Stream Announced
Undefeated CFCU host the winless Voyageurs in what should be an easy win for the home team.
Kings Hammer vs South Bend Lions - 7pm - TCU School Field, South Bend, IN - No Announced Stream
The 4-1-2 KHFC face a 2-3-2 Lions squad in a match which could boil down to how well the South Bend defense limit the hosts' offence.
Flint City Bucks vs Kalamazoo FC - 7pm - Mayor's Riverfront Park, Kalamazoo, MI - Eleven Sports PPV
Division leading Kzoo host an FCB squad which has had an up and down start to the season.
FC Wichita vs Des Moines Menace - 7pm - Valley Stadium, West Des Moines, IA - CISN
Des Moines continue to strive for perfection, against a winless Wichita squad, and should be able to continue their hot start.
Kaw Valley FC vs St Louis Scott Gallagher - 7pm - World Wide Technology Soccer Park, Fenton, MO - No Announced Stream
Two teams from the congested midsection of the Heartland face off in Fenton.
Friday:
Fort Wayne FC vs Kalamazoo FC - 6:45pm - Mayor's Riverfront Park, Kalamazoo, MI - Eleven Sports PPV
Kzoo hope to continue their division leading start against 1-4 FWFC in the Great Lakes Division.
Dayton Dutch Lions vs Oakland County FC - 7pm - Clawson Stadium, Clawson, MI - No Announced Stream
Despite their intermittent start to the season, OCFC should have little trouble against 0-7 DDL.
FC Wichita vs Des Moines Menace - 7pm - Valley Stadium, West Des Moines, IA - No Announced Stream
Des Moines look to continue their perfect record against Wichita.
Chicago FC United vs Kaw Valley FC - 7:30pm - Rock Chalk Park, Lawrence, KS - Eleven Sports
CFCU look to apply pressure on Des Moines above them in the table.
Saturday:
South Bend Lions vs Toledo Villa - 7pm - The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH - Eleven Sports PPV
Toledo enter the week in third and will be hoping to apply pressure to the teams above them against a hit and miss Lions squad.
Green Bay Voyageurs vs St Louis Scott Gallagher - 7pm - World Wide Technology Soccer Park, Fenton, MO - No Announced Stream
SLSG will be hoping for an easy ride against a Voyageurs team with only 1 point in the season.
Chicago FC United vs FC Wichita - 7pm - Stryker Sports Complex, Wichita, KS - Eleven Sports
CFCU look to regain momentum after their first loss of the season recently.
Sunday:
Oakland County FC vs Kings Hammer - 4pm - Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH - No Announced Stream
Kings Hammer will be hoping that 3 points against OCFC can vault them up the table.
Grand Rapids FC vs Kalamazoo FC - 5:30pm - Mayor's Riverfront Park, Kalamazoo, MI - Eleven Sports
Depending on results earlier in the week, Kzoo could enter this match with a commanding lead on top of the division.
Flint City Bucks vs Fort Wayne FC - 6pm - Bishop Dwenger High School, Fort Wayne, IN - Eleven Sports
Flint City are lurking in fourth in the table and could gain a better position with three points against the 1-4-3 FWFC
WPSL Central Region, Week 6: Preview
Wednesday:
Mankato United vs Rochester United - 7pm- Bethany Lutheran College, Mankato, MN - Eleven Sports
Unbeaten Rochester took a tie against Kato at their home and the visitors enter the match unbeaten on the season, having tied their last three matches. Mankato will look to rediscover some momentum, with their only win of the season a 7-2 drubbing of Fire SC 98 to open the season.
Cincinnati Sirens vs Dayton Dutch Lions - 7pm - Lakota West High School, Liberty Township, OH - No Announced Stream
The unbeaten Sirens will expect their fourth victory from four against a club who are only 1-3-1 on the season.
Fire and Ice vs St Louis Lions - 7pm - Althoff Catholic High School, Belleville, IL, Eleven Sports
An up and down season for the hosts is still preferable to the 3 straight losses for the Lions to open theirs and they will expect their form to continue.
Thursday :
Minnesota Thunder vs Salvo SC - 7:45pm - Academy of Holy Angels StarDome, Richfield, MN - Eleven Sports
The surprise package of this Central season so far, Thunder have so far proven the value in a youth pipeline approach to WPSL play. Having won their last three matches, they will enter play against perennial threat Salvo with plenty of confidence although the league leaders did drop the corresponding fixture 2-1 to their neighbors.
Friday:
Fire SC vs Dakota Fusion FC - 7pm - Centennial High School Stadium, Circle Pines, MN - Eleven Sports
Fire and Fusion have both been on the receiving end of some ugly results early in their seasons so this basement battle could really show whether those results are indicative of deeper malaise.
Mankato United vs MapleBrook Fury - 7pm - Bethany Lutheran College, Mankato, MN - Eleven Sports
MapleBrook have managed a 1-1 draw with second placed Rochester and a 4-1 win over struggling Fire SC so it will be interesting to see where a match against third placed Mankato registers. The home side sit third, with a game in hand on the two teams above them and will be hoping they can punish a possibly rusty Fury squad.
Milwaukee Bavarian SC vs Chicago Red Stars Reserves - 7pm - Bavarian Soccer Club, Glendale, WI - No Announced Stream
Even though this match is at the friendly confines of the Bavarian Soccer Club, expect another win for the juggernaut that is Chicago Red Stars Reserves. That said, BSC limited the damage to just one goal when the two sides met recently.
Saturday:
Chicago City SC vs Green Bay Glory - 4pm - Chicago Hope Lions Complex, Chicago, IL - Eleven Sports
Green Bay come into Chicago 0-4 on the season and will be hoping for better results against a CCSC squad which is 1-2.
Chicago Dutch Lions vs Milwaukee Torrent - 6pm - Benedictine University, Lisle, IL - No Announced Stream
Second placed CDL face a hungry Torrent squad who are only a point behind them in the standings.
Cincinnati Sirens vs FC Pride - 7pm - Lakota West High School, Liberty Township, OH - No Announced Stream
The undefeated Sirens play host to the table topping FC Pride, who are 4-1-1 on the season, raising the prospect of a very good game.
Dayton Dutch Lions vs St Louis Lions - 7pm - West Carrolton High School, Dayton, OH - No Announced Stream
Dayton will need to get to grips defensively but they face a St Louis squad with no wins at the time of publication and a -15 goal difference.
Fire and Ice vs Columbus Eagles - 7pm - Althoff Catholic High School, Belleville, IL - Eleven Sports
This match pairs two teams with unappetizing starts to their seasons, so this will be a litmus test of their direction.
Sunday:
Salvo SC vs MapleBrook Fury - 3pm - Reynolds Field, Roseville, MN - No Announced Stream
Salvo should win this battle of the Twin Cities, but MapleBrook's stop start season so far makes it difficult to rule out any result.
Mankato United vs Dakota Fusion - 5pm - Bethany Lutheran College, Mankato, MN - Eleven Sports
Having sought to exorcise demons against Rochester, Kato will face a Fusion squad which has had a slow start to their own season and the hosts should expect an easy win.
Fire SC 98 vs Minnesota Thunder - 7pm - Seafoam Stadium at Concordia University, St Paul, MN - Eleven Sports
Rolling into the week top of the division, Thunder should dispatch the struggling Fire without much difficulty.
Chicago City SC vs Milwaukee Bavarian - 5pm - Chicago Hope Lions Complex, Chicago, IL - Eleven Sports
With one win against their name, and playing host, CCSC will be hoping to deepen the gloom of a winless Bavarian squad fresh off a match against the Red Stars Reserves.
Dayton Dutch Lions vs Lady Victory - 4:30pm - West Carrolton High School, Dayton, OH - No Announced Stream
Lady Victory, on 4-1 for the season, will fully expect to beat a DDL squad with only one win to their name.
St Louis Lions vs Columbus Eagles - 5pm - Tony Glavin Soccer Complex, Cottleville, MO - No Announced Stream
This matchup of leaky defences and sputtering offences could well end up a goalless draw.