WPSL Central: Regional XI
Khyah Harper, Salvo's hottest attacking player at the moment is not a shock, but comes to the postseason with a track record at the University of Minnesota and with Salvo. She is joined by club mates Ansley Atkinson, Lauren Eckerle and breakthrough highschooler Ayden Gagner in goal. At the other end of the experience range, FC Milwaukee Torrent's goalie Mikki Easter (joined by Kelli Swenson) and Kaylin Williams (joined by Aya Saiki) from KC Courage also received a nod.
Alyssa Glover, Sophia Nguyen and Hannah Gallegos of Colorado Rapids were named to the team.
WPSL Central: Regional Finals Review
How it works:
At this stage, the Conference winners face each other in a central location of Wauwatosa, WI. For more on how the Conferences were won, see here
Semi-Finals
Colorado Rapids Women (Mountain) 1-0 KC Courage (Heartland)
Last year's national runner-up faced a club returning to WPSL after a spell in UWS. Rahael Akaety made the first notable contribution to the game, curling a shot wide from the right for Courage in the second minute. Annest hit a Rapids free kick up and over from the top of the penalty arc a minute later. The Rapids goalkeeper took a big risk in coming out of her area for a ball, but Courage were unable to capitalize on her being out of position. Rapids were hitting hard and fast, whereas Courage were choosing to build up more methodically. Slowly, Rapids moved into a position of strength for ten minutes but could not capitalize, with the best chance coming about when the ball pinballed around the six yard box but ended up with the keeper. In the thirty-third minute, a Rapids player went down in the area after a strong slide tackle, but a corner was given. A minute later, Glover countered but her shot was saved well by the sliding feet of the Courage keeper rushing out. The half ended with a Courage attacker seemingly shouldered off the ball in the area, but the referee gave a goalkick.
There was a frantic start to the second half. Courage with a free kick on the left side, 20 yards out on the left. The ball drifts into the box but no shot on goal. Courage with a spell of pressure for ten minutes. Rapids' Silverman on the counter, closed down. In the last five minutes, Rapids upped the pressure and had a great chance on goal in the eighty-fourth minute but the Rapids free kick drifts harmlessly past a sliding attacker.
In the ninety-seventh minute, there was a heavy collision between the Rapids goalie and an onrushing Courage attacker. Both are ok, but there was no goal. In the one-hundred and first minute, Silverman is taken down in the box but only a Rapids corner was called. The deciding goal came in the one-hundred and twelfth minute, when a corner was whipped into the near post from the left wing and Marie Annest leapt up and header the ball past the hands of the keeper in the aerial challenge.
FC Milwaukee Torrent (Midwest) 0-0 AET (6-7 on PKs) Salvo Soccer Club (North)
Torrent were knocked out in the Divisional Round last year, whereas Salvo were beaten in the Regional Semis.
Salvo dominated the first half, with Mikki Easter providing several highlight reel saves from Khyah Harper in particular. Sophia Boman hammered a long ball towards goal in first half stoppage time but again Easter was equal to it. The hosts only had a handful of chances in the first half.
Salvo finally got the ball in the net in the fiftieth minute, but it was ruled offside. Torrent finally got some purchase in the game, and had a chance in the center of the box in the fifty-third minute. In the fifty-seventh minute, Maddy Celerek took a ball to the chest but almost immediately was down the other end with a shot on goal. Salvo's best chance came in the sixty-sixth minute, when Harper twisted and turned her defender but the shot was saved. Two minutes later, Alexa Maletis ran in on a recycled ball from a Torrent corner but skews her shot wide from the edge of the area. In the seventy-seventh minute, Leyla Kelbel of Torrent passed directly to Harper but Torrent escape. Both teams had chances before Torrent finished regulation on top, pressing for a last minute steal of a win. Instead, it went to Extra Time. In the first half of Extra Time, the pattern was the same and Harper remained a threat to the Torrent defense but was unable to break through. In the second half of ET, play understandably got scrappy and Salvo had a chance right across the six yard box but no one was around to finish it.
In the end, it took sudden death penalties in a shootout to separate the two sides. Ayden Gagner with a save for Salvo and a subsequent winner by Bella Meier.
Final
Colorado Rapids Women 0-2 Salvo SC
In a relatively even game, Khyah Harper broke through for Salvo in the 61st minute, something she unaccountably failed to do the previous day, with an assist from Meredith Haakenson, blasting home from twenty yards out, having dribbled into position. The same combination also accounted for the second goal, Harper hammering a ball past the keeper into the far side of the net from the right only five minutes later.
Salvo move on to represent the Central in the WPSL National Semifinals in Stillwater, OK on Saturday.
Stay tuned for our coverage of that event.
WPSL Central Playoffs: Divisional Round Review
How it works:
At this stage, the divisional winners face each other. Don't see Heartland or North? That's because those conferences only have one division, so the regular season champion is the Conference champion and goes through to the next round. Or at least, they do if they don't withdraw (see below).
Colorado Rapids Women 5-1 Utah Avalanche for the Mountain Conference in Denver, Colorado
Rapids got off to a scorching start, Alyssa Glover sliding in to finish a mazy run by ... with only two minutes on the clock. Marianna Annest made it 2-0 with a PK in the eighth minute. The third goal came in the twenty-ninth minute, Sophia Nguyen slotting in at the near post after a long ball forward met her in stride in the penalty area.
It would remain 3-0 until the fifty-sixth minute when a long cross from the right was met by the diving head of Camryn Macmillan, who sent a looping ball back past the keeper at the far post. Callie Blaylock made it 4-1 in the seventy-first minute, with a long distance snap shot which seemed to catch the Rapids keeper off-guard. Glover scored again in the seventy-ninth minute to make it 5-1, blasting a shot from the top of the area after a perfectly placed pass.
FC Milwaukee Torrent 3-2 Columbus Eagles FC (AET) for the Midwest Conference crown in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
Columbus made the nine-hour road trip on the day of the game and arrived in Milwaukee around three hours before kick-off, with only two available subs (not including our woman to watch Abby Townsend) - in a league where substitutions are unlimited.
Lola Wojcik provided an early test of Celeste Sloma in the Eagles net but was unable to break through. In the fifteenth minute, Alexa Maletis played through Sophia Balistreri but the shot was sent wide by Sloma. Eagles were playing slow-slow-quick-quick-slow and the quick came through some audacious shot attempts, the first of which was Lacee Bethea trying to chip Mikki Easter in the Torrent goal, but it went wide in the seventeenth minute. Even as the Eagles had the stronger chances it was Torrent who went ahead through a penalty kick in the twenty-fifth minute, after a foul on Elsi Twombly, with the aggrieved party taking the shot herself. Columbus still did not stop attacking and had a chance to level it in the 29th minute but the ball was comfortably caught by Mikki Easter in the Torrent goal.
Instead, it was Torrent increasing their lead - also from the penalty spot - as Lainey Higgins was fouled in the back and stepped up to also score her penalty kick. At that point it seemed that everything Columbus could throw at the challenge was going to founder on the rocks of a Torrent defense that had not conceded a goal at home this season but the Eagles kept trying, with Tori Haggitt and Lacee Bethea both missing chances before half time.
Torrent would come out of half time with an apparent desire to drive in a nail, but a chance in the forty-sixth minute was saved by Sloma. Eagles then had a chance put wide and Maletis slashed a shot wide in the fifty-fifth minute.
Columbus finally made a dent in the deficit only four minutes later, as Victoria Kevdzija on a one-two with Lacee Bethea unleashed a shot from twenty-two yards out into the bottom corner of the net to stun the Torrent players and fans. The Eagles continued to attack and they found their equalizer in the seventy-second minute, as Bethea pounced on a rebound from a save.
The last fifteen minutes of the half saw the Eagles dominate possession, seemingly looking to settle the result without Extra Time, and Sydney Worthy hammered a shot against the crossbar and away from danger but neither side could find a break through and we went on to an extra 30 minutes.
Extra Time opened with the Eagles still applying the pressure and Torrent on the counter-attack, however the best chance in the first half of ET was a shot from Twombly, deflected over.
The Torrent would not have to wait much longer for a breakthrough, however, as they burst out of the blocks from kick off in the second half of ET and Alexa Maletis side-footed the ball into the net within 30 seconds of the restart.
It was at this point that the wind finally left the wings of the Eagles as they took a series of long range shots on goal, perhaps in the hope of duplicating the momentum shift of regulation time.
Coming Up
The winners of these two matches will join Salvo (representing the North Conference) and KC Courage (Heartland champions) in the Central Region semifinals on Saturday July 15th in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
Northern winners Minnesota Thunder declined their invite because of player availability.
Salvo lost narrowly in the regional semi-finals last year, although this year, they avoid facing the #1 seeded Rapids until a potential Regional Final. Courage were in UWS. Torrent lost (in less than ideal circumstances) to KC Current II.
Image: WPSL
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
UWS Week 7: Preview
Wednesday:
Corktown AFC vs Midwest United - 6:30pm - The Corner Ballpark, Detroit, MI - Eleven Sports
Facing the leaders of the division in 4-0-1 MUFC, Corktown would join Detroit City on points with a win but they will face a difficult match against a squad who scored 12 last time out.
Thursday:
FC Wichita vs KC Courage - 7pm - Stryker Sports Complex, Wichita, KS - Eleven Sports
Central division leading KCC make the trip to 1-1-0 Wichita.
Saturday:
Gretna Elite vs Springfield Demize - 3pm - Papillion Landing, Papillion, NE - No Announced Stream
The 1-1-1 hosts face a team at 0-3-0 trying to avoid another demise.
St Louis Scott Gallagher vs KC Courage - 4pm - World Wide Technology Soccer Park - Fenton, MO - Eleven Sports
SLSG will be hoping to put pressure on KCC with a win.
Lansing United vs Corktown AFC - 7pm - East Lansing Soccer Complex, East Lansing, MI - Eleven Sports
The hosts are 2-4-1 heading into this match, with a Corktown club which played on Thursday but which has a deep roster.
Detroit City FC vs Midwest United - 7:30pm - Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI - YouTube
Trips to Keyworth are never easy but Midwest United make the short trip on red hot form.
Indiana Elite vs Ladies Steel City - 4pm - Trinity Sports Park, Noblesville, IN - No Stream Announced
The 1-6-0 Steel City team could be reeling after giving up 6 last week but they had strong moments against MSC Peoria to build on when they face their fellow strugglers in Indiana.
Chicago Mustangs vs Chicago KICS - 6pm - Commissioner's Park, Naperville, IL - No Stream Announced
This Chicago derby sees the Mustangs rolling along with a perfect 6 from 6 matches played and it will be a tough match up, although KICS present an ever-present goal threat through Barnes.
MSC Peoria vs Muskegon Risers - 7pm - Eastside Centre, East Peoria, IL - Eleven Sports
This interdivisional match sees an MSC side which won 6-2 in the last week meeting a Muskegon squad with a goal difference of -22, rooted to the base of their division.
Sunday:
Indiana Elite vs Chicago Mustangs - 4pm - Trinity Sports Park, Noblesville, IN - No Stream Announced
This match could be another blowout win for the dominant Mustangs, facing a winless Elite side in Indiana.
UWS Week 6: Recap
Saturday:
Springfield Demize 0 vs Gretna Elite 7 4pm - Lake Country Soccer Cooper Stadium, Springfield, MO - No Stream Announced
Four goals by Lindsey Prokop highlighted this offensive explosion, Raabe, Stoneburner and Childers also tallied goals. The result vaults the Elite into second place with a record of 1-1-1. Demize falls to 0-3 on the season.
Chicago Mustangs 10 vs Indiana Elite 0 6pm - Knoch Park, Naperville, IL - No Stream Announced
The perfect Mustangs put ten past the Elite to continue their respective starts to the season. Chicago is now 5-0-0 and Indiana is now 0-4.
FC Wichita 0 vs St Louis Scott Gallagher 2 7pm - Stryker Sports Complex, Wichita, KS - Eleven Sports
In a highly unusual occurrence, SLSG took the away win with their only goals coming through two penalties. One just before half time and another just before the conclusion of the match. Lynn and Klein were the players to finish off the PKs.
Muskegon Risers 1 vs Lansing United 5 7pm - Kehren Stadium, Muskegon, MI - Eleven Sports
Risers continued their wretched defensive season, conceding 5 to Lansing United, whose goals came from Buck, Evans, Telemaque and Stinson. Muskegon's sole goal was scored by Selvius.
Detroit City FC 1 vs Corktown AFC 2 7pm - Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI - YouTube
Corktown gained a measure of revenge for their defeat at The Corner Ballpark when they made the short trip to Keyworth Stadium and left with all three points. Forbes tallied for DCFC. Schupbach had the decisive two goals for the visitors. The season series is now tied, but Detroit City are still ahead in the standings.
MSC Peoria 0 vs Chicago KICS 1 7pm - Eastside Centre, East Peoria, IL - Eleven Sports
A Barnes winner took Chicago KICS over MSC Peoria in stoppage time at the end of the game, in what were MSC's first dropped points of the season.
Sunday:
KC Courage 1 vs Gretna Elite 0 2pm - Kansas City Kansas Community College, Kansas City, KS - No Stream Announced
A surprisingly tight game was decided by an Emily Key goal in the first half. Courage move to 3-1-1 on the season.
Midwest United 12 vs Indiana Elite 0 7pm - Aquinas College, E Grand Rapids, MI - Eleven Sports
Midwest United burnt a path through Indiana, with goals from Bennett, Corby, Dziuba, Hollingsworth, Labadie, Shenk and doubles from Crum, Currie and Dean.
Chicago KICS 1 vs Chicago Mustangs 2 7pm - De La Salle Institute, Chicago, IL - Eleven Sports
KICS kept it close and tied the game through Barnes after a defensive slip had allowed Mustangs to take the lead, but in the end the Mustangs stay perfect.
Monday:
Ladies Steel City 2 vs MSC Peoria 6 7:30pm - DuPage Medical Group Field, Joliet, IL - First half YouTube and Second half YouTube
The hosts took the lead in the 11th minute after a floated free kick by Stepniak from the left wing went over everyone, including the MSC goalkeeper, and into the net. The MSC equalizer came in the 16th minute, off the rebound on a quick counter right through the heart of the home defense. The go ahead goal by MSC's Gomez came in the same fashion in the 32nd minute. Steel City team equalized in the 49th through Knutte, with a shot swept across the goalkeeper from close range. The 3-2 lead for MSC came from a flicked header over the goalkeeper on a throw in in the 63rd minute. The margin increased to 4-2 on a left wing cross, headed with authority into the net. The score became 5-2 on a Stephens finish from another incisive cross in the 82nd minute, with a sixth goal within a minute after pinball in the box the coup de grace.
UWS, Week 6: Preview
Saturday:
Springfield Demize vs Gretna Elite 4pm - Lake Country Soccer Cooper Stadium, Springfield, MO - No Stream Announced
A Springfield team which is 0-2 on the young season looks to defend home field against a fellow struggler in Gretna Elite.
Chicago Mustangs vs Indiana Elite 6pm - Knoch Park, Naperville, IL - No Stream Announced
An unbeaten, division leading Mustangs squad plays host to a win-less Indiana Elite team, in what should be an easy win for the home team.
FC Wichita vs St Louis Scott Gallagher 7pm - Stryker Sports Complex, Wichita, KS - Eleven Sports
With 3 points each, this looks to be an even matchup in the midsection of the Central Conference as these two teams try to put some pressure on the KC Courage.
Muskegon Risers vs Lansing United 7pm - Kehren Stadium, Muskegon, MI - Eleven Sports
Defence will be the aim for Muskegon, who enter this match with a -18 goal difference, and they may have a chance to sneak some points against a LanU side which only has 1 point more.
Detroit City FC vs Corktown AFC 7pm - Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI - YouTube
In what is already becoming a spicy rivalry, Corktown AFC make the short trip to Keyworth to face the division leading Rouge and Gold - who are 4-1 on the season, with a goal difference of +17, compared to the Corktown record of 2-2 with a goal difference of +4.
MSC Peoria vs Chicago KICS 7pm - Eastside Centre, East Peoria, IL - Eleven Sports
Two pretenders to the throne meet in East Peoria with hopes of making a run for the division's top spot. MSC is undefeated at 2-0-0, whereas the visitors have dropped two games.
Sunday:
KC Courage vs Gretna Elite 2pm - Kansas City Kansas Community College, Kansas City, KS - No Stream Announced
Central Division leaders KC Courage match up against a struggling Gretna side. The Courage are 2-1-1 on the season, without running away at the top of the division, but should have enough quality to get past Gretna.
Midwest United vs Indiana Elite 7pm - Aquinas College, E Grand Rapids, MI - Eleven Sports
A Midwest United team pushing Detroit City in the Midwest North play host to an Indiana Elite side struggling in the Midwest South standings.
Monday:
Ladies Steel City vs MSC Peoria 7:30pm - DuPage Medical Group Field, Joliet, IL - No Stream Announced
An MSC team contending for top spot in their division faces a 1-4 Steel City squad.
*Note – All Times CDT
United Women's Soccer, Week 5: Recap
Thursday:
Springfield Demize, 0 vs KC Courage, 3 : 7 PM - Cooper Stadium at Lake Country Soccer, Springfield, MO - Eleven Sports
The first of two games on the week for both sides, KC Courage headed down to Southern Missouri to face the rechristened Springfield Demize (formerly Lady Demize). The trip from Kansas City to Springfield did nothing to dissuade the Courage as they took a three goal away victory with all three goals scored by different players.
Friday:
Chicago Mustangs, 2 vs Lansing United, 0 : 5 PM - Commissioners Park, Naperville, IL - No Stream Announced
Another match with the teams both playing their first of two on the weekend, the outdoor Women's side of the Chicago Mustangs hosted Lansing United in a Midwest North vs South match. The trip for Lansing didn't prove to be worth much in points as Chicago took a two goal win to secure another three points.
Midwest United, 4 vs Corktown AFC, 2 : 6 PM - Aquinas College Athletic Field, Grand Rapids, MI - Eleven Sports
Detroit's "only women's club" headed west across the state to do battle in the all-Michigan, Midwest-North. Corktown looked to be running away with the match, scoring two unanswered goals inside the first half hour. Midwest United answered back with two goals before the end of the half and two more in the second 45' to earn a nice comeback victory at home.
Saturday:
KC Courage, 1 vs St. Louis Scott Gallagher, 0 : 4 PM - Bourke Field at Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO - Eleven Sports
The second match of the week for KC Courage and first of two in a row for SLSG. Both sides needed to have the utmost fitness to get through the full 90 minutes with KC having already played this week and SLSG having a match the next day. What we got was a banger of a match with Courage's Caroline Kelly scoring the lone and game winning goal in the 89th minute.
Chicago Mustangs, 4 vs Ladies Steel City, 0 : 6 PM - Nike Sports Complex, Naperville, IL - No Stream Announced
Ladies Steel City looked to spoil Chicago's second match of the week and the Mustangs perfect opportunity to take a total of six points on the week. That was not to be for the visitors from Joliet as the Mustangs ran away with a four goals all by different scorers in a route of their Chicagoland rivals. The Mustangs now have 9 points through 3 matches and sit atop the Midwest-South.
Indiana Elite, 1 vs Chicago Kics, 2 : 6 PM - Trinity Sports Park, Noblesville, IN - No Stream Announced
Taking the place of Indiana Union for the 2021 UWS season, Indiana Elite played their first match in United Women's Soccer against the Chicago Kics, another UWS expansion side. The Kics managed a one goal away victory to give them their second win of the season and hand Elite a loss in their first ever match in the league.
Muskegon Risers, 0 vs Detroit City FC, 10 : 6 PM - Kehren Stadium, Muskegon, MI - Eleven Sports
Detroit came back from last weeks 3-1 away loss to the Chicago Mustangs in dominating fashion. Le Rouge took a large 7-0 lead into the half-time break, scoring so many in such quick succession their matchday Twitter had a hard time keeping up. DCFC added another three goals in the second half including a brace from Melanie Forbes.
Sunday:
Lansing United, 5 vs Chicago Kics, 1 : 1 PM - Eastern High School Stadium, Lansing, MI - Eleven Sports
After a big win in Indiana on Saturday night, the Kics trekked north to face Lansing United for both teams second match of the weekend. The Kics jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a sixth minute goal> Lansing drew even in the 27th before taking the lead just two minutes later en route to a big 5-1 win at home.
Indiana Elite, 1 vs MSC Peoria, 2 : 6 PM - Trinity Sports Park, Noblesville, IN - No Stream Announced
Indiana Elite hosted MSC Peoria for Elite's second of two home matches on the weekend. Though a valiant effort was made by the hosts, it would be MSC Peoria winning 2-1 at the final whistle.
St. Louis Scott Gallagher, 4 vs Springfield Demize, 0 : 7 PM - World Wide Technology Soccer Park, Fenton, MO - Eleven Sports
The final match of the weekend for the UWS Central, the two Missouri sides took to the pitch in the final of a triangular week which also saw them both face KC Courage. After a loss for each side they both looked to take their first three points of 2021. Those three points would go to St. Louis after they defeated Springfield 4-0 in their first of two clashes in 2021.
*Note – All Times CDT
United Women's Soccer Week 4, Where to Watch
Friday:
Springfield Demize vs KC Courage: 4 PM - Cooper Stadium, Springfield, MO - MyCujoo
Lansing United vs Midwest United: 6 PM - East Lansing Soccer Complex, East Lansing, MI - MyCujoo
Saturday:
Muskegon Risers vs Ladies Steel City FC: 6 PM - Monsignor Kehren Stadium, Muskegon, MI - MyCujoo
Detroit City FC vs Chicago Mustangs: 6 PM - Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI - MyCujoo
Sunday:
MSC Peoria vs Indiana Elite: 7 PM - EastSide Centre, Peoria, IL - MyCujoo
*Note – All Times CDT
Where to Watch: UWS Week 3
UWS Week 3:
Saturday:
KC Courage vs FC Wichita: 4 PM - Zarda Multisport Complex at Avila University, Kansas City, MO - MyCujoo
Muskegon Risers vs Midwest United: 6 PM - Kehren Stadium, Muskegon, MN - MyCujoo
Sunday:
Lansing United vs Detroit City:1 PM - East Lansing Soccer Complex, East Lansing, MI - MyCujoo
Corktown AFC vs MSC Peoria: 4:45 PM - The Corner Ballpark, Detroit, MI - MyCujoo
Chicago Kics vs Ladies Steel City FC: 7 PM - De La Salle Institute, Chicago, IL - MyCujoo