WPSL Central Region Playoffs Review
Saturday
St Croix Legacy 3-1 Union KC
Both these teams have tight-knit rosters of players who have played through their local club before matriculating. Legacy's players are largely at colleges across the upper Midwest. However, a sizeable number are just outside the Stillwater area at schools elsewhere in the Twin Cities Metro, whence they return in Summer to play WPSL football. Marisa Bonilla has the longest journey home, from Gainesville in Florida.
Union's players largely come from the smaller Kansas City Metro to spread out across the broader Midwest, with Caroline Carter the most further afield in Hawaii.
The match kick off was delayed an hour by heavy rain but it didn't take St Croix long to break through. In the 6th minute, Hastings MN's Bella Meier chipped a ball over the Union defense into the right channel, and the shot by Stillwater's Brooke Nelson was parried into the path of Amara Smith - the second leading goalscorer out of Lake Elmo, MN.
Smith and Meyer linked up again in the 28th minute, Amara Smith drove in from the left but couldn't find an opening. Bella Meier took on the ball and blasted it into the side netting from the top of the box. Union had a few chances to score, but headers were off target from in-close.
Around the hour mark, the deficit was halved by Union as a deflected cross into the right channel was met by Reece Birch, slicing the ball past Johnson. In the 77th minute, Nelson drove down the St Croix right and her deflected shot was dispatched by Cici Emery out of Mahtomedi, MN to make it 3-1.
Oklahoma City FC 3-0 Austin Rise FC
OKC's roster are all from the surrounding area, except for Oklahoma Sooner Kiki Smith, who's from Ahwatukee, AZ, and Plant City, Florida's Chloe Murphy. Rise have the most diverse roster in this tournament, from Puerto Rico to Japan via Texas.
The match was a comfortable home win, dominance in possession capped by set piece execution - two goals from corners in the first half through Hannah Voskuhl from Edmund, OK and Sabrina Guzman from Oklahoma City, OK and a blast on the rebound from a saved shot in the middle of the second half from fellow Oklahoma Citian Jenna Munson. The fate of the visitors was summed up when an Austin Rise penalty kick was saved by Norman, OK's Callie Sullivan.
Sunday
Central Region Final - Oklahoma City FC 1-2 St Croix Legacy
The home team Scissortails dominated possession in the first half, but Legacy took the lead after Minneapolis's Wren van de Walker on the counter attack in the fourth minute clipped the ball into the path of Amara Smith, who chipped the keeper Callie Sullivan. The visitors would finish the half with only two shots on target, but also saw a strong appeal for a penalty kick turned down.
Around the hour mark, Jenna Munson drove into the Legacy box and Edmund, OK's Lydia Viets provided the finishing touch on the equalizer. The drama was nowhere near over, as Amara Smith continued to drive the Legacy forward. In the 82nd minute, Smith connected on a counter attack and streaked away from Hannah Voskuhl. Norman, OK's Elle Abbey, who played the enforcer the entire game, took her down. Abbey received her marching orders for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity. Only three minutes later, Brooke Nelson drove in, but Sami Guzman took her down and Amara Smith spun the PK into the side-netting, just beyond Sullivan. And so it was that Oklahoma City FC's only defeat of the season comes in the Central Region Final.
St Croix Executive Director Nathan Klonecki was full of admiration:
Again, the players just keep coming up big everytime. Amara Smith basically took it upon herself to score today and they had no answers to stop her. The rest of the team just worked hard and did their role to the best of their ability.
Marcos Rodriguez - Coach
Coming Up:
The Central Champions St Croix Legacy return to Central Oklahoma, 90 mins drive from OKC at Oklahoma State University and face the Eastern Champions Sporting CT at 6pm on Friday.
The Western Champions (and defending champions) California Storm play the Southern Champions Chattanooga FC at 8:15pm on Friday
The WPSL Championship is at 7pm on Sunday.
WPSL Central Regionals Preview
The hosting assignment is rotated across the Conferences, and this year falls with the Midwest Conference, whose winners (in epic fashion) were Oklahoma City FC.
That means a bumper diet of football in the state, first on July 12 and 13th at OKCFC's home, a half hour West of Oklahoma City in Mustang, OK.
Sean Jones co-owns Oklahoma City FC with his wife, Penny. He spoke to us today about the prospects of the hosts:
We have a very young but very talented group of young women who have worked extremely hard for their success on the field this season. They have overcome some adversity on getting to this point and based on this season, I would say that if we play well, we will be competitive in every game we play here on out.
I do believe we have not only very talented, hardworking players, but as they demonstrated in the Conference Championship, they have a great deal of “grit” and determination. I also believe that we have one of the best coaching and administrative staff’s in the league and they work extremely well together which has resulted in a group that has come together in a very short period of time and are truly a “TEAM”.
I truly believe that we have a very good opportunity in front of us if we play well, however we know that at this point in the season, every team is very competitive and there should be some great games this weekend!
Joining them from the Midwest Conference are a wildcard team, Union KC, who were selected after both Mountain Conference qualifiers opted out of postseason play. We last saw UKC last year, when they lost in the semis to FC Pride.
Director of Coaching Dan Naidu spoke to us as the games approached:
We’re grateful for the opportunity to compete in the WPSL playoffs for the 2nd year in a row. The team has grown stronger every week—playing with purpose, unity, and resilience. We believe in our ability to compete with the best and are excited for the challenge ahead.
Austin Rise FC make the 400-mile trip north, having sealed the one-division Lone Star Conference with a 7-1-2 record and a goal difference of +10.
Co-Founder Bethany Cyrtmus-Davaul had this to say about her club:
Capturing back‑to‑back Lonestar Conference titles is a testament to this squad’s unwavering fight and belief. We bounced back from two late-season losses but the coaches and players stepped up and showed their real character with a dramatic 3–2 win on the road to solidify the conference championship. Now, with that momentum behind us, we’re returning to the Regional Playoffs and will head to Oklahoma City full of confidence and ready for an excellent weekend ahead!
St Croix has taken their place at the Central Regional table for the first time following a penalty shootout win, which capped a spectacular performance by Stillwater, MN's Pomona Pitzer Sagehen Hadley Johnson in goal for the Legacy. They also did so without the trailblazing Tatum Trettel, who had contributed the most goals during the club's regular season run.
Speaking to us after training this week, Executive Director Nathan Klonecki told us they have been studying film:
From what we have found, they are going to be a difficult opponent. We knew all these teams at this level and at this moment in playoffs.We always come in to a game understanding it is going to be difficult. Some of our players are not able to attend but that was the same situation when we went to Milwaukee.We have the mindset that the next player up. We know we will come and compete.
Saturday
5:30pm - St Croix Legacy v Union KC
8:00pm - Oklahoma City FC v Austin Rise FC
Sunday
7:00pm - Central Region Final
Coming Up:
The host site of the WPSL Championships, Neal Patterson Stadium at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK is only a 90 minute ride from OKC. However, since there is a week between these two rounds, the teams all return home to the ordinary lives that players at this level have to balance across the Central Region before the winners essentially reprise their road trips.