Official Schedule: Central Conference Opening Round (10) Laval Comets at (8) Toronto Lady Lynx [07/21, 3:30 PM EST] Central Conference Semi-Finals (in Buffalo) (2) Buffalo Flash vs Winner of TOR/LAV [07/24, 5:30 PM EST] (4) Ottawa Fury vs (7) Chicago Red Eleven [07/24, 8:00 PM EST] Central Conference Final (in Buffalo) Winner of BUF/TOR/LAV vs Winner of OTT/CHI [07/25, 6:00 PM EST] Eastern Conference Semi-Finals (in Atlanta) (3) Washington Freedom Futures vs (11) Charlotte Lady Eagles [07/23, 5:30 PM EST] (5) Atlanta Silverbacks vs (9) New Jersey Wildcats [07/23, 7:30 PM EST] Eastern Conference Final (in Atlanta) Winner of WSH/CHA vs Winner of ATL/NJ [07/24, 7:30 PM EST] Western Conference Final (12) Pali Blues at (6) Vancouver Whitecaps [07/24, 7 PM EST] W-League Semi-Finals (in Santa Clarita) Semi-Final #1 [07/29, 8 PM EST] Semi-Final #2 [07/29, 11 PM EST] W-League Third Place Game (in Santa Clarita) Loser of SF1 vs Loser of SF2 [07/31, 6:30 PM EST] W-League Final (in Santa Clarita) Winner of SF1 vs Winner of SF2 [07/31, 10 PM EST]
Now that Pali is in the playoffs I wouldn't count out their chances of defending their title. As for Vancouver, they were missing many regulars in the last game against Seattle: Robinson, Schmidt, Booth, Sweeney, Lam-Feist. The club has not said anything so far about whether these players are gone for the remainder of the season.
count 'em out????? we will win the league! guaranteed. what a season this has been. up and down emotionally. but its all up to us now.
First off, Toronto beat Laval in the poor, stranded mid-week game, 2-0 to book a date with the Buffalo Flash on Saturday. OK, details of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. I'm not sure anything could top the infamous 6-5 game of a few years ago, but this match was pretty close. I missed about the first fifteen minutes of the Freedom-Lady Eagles game but all in all, the first half was nothing to write home about as both teams looked to pace themselves in the heat. The clouds began to roll in for the second half and the action heated up in turn. Washington scored first on a cross-shot from the right wing by Meghan Lenczyk that flew over Whitehead's head and into the goal. It looked like Washington were going to hold on, but Charlotte brought on Megan Bellingham, who may be built like a bowling ball but has pretty good skill on the ball and tortured tired legs going forward. The Lady Eagles would equalize when Jess Rostedt plowed forward and Futures keeper Yewande Balogun was indecisive in coming off her line, letting Rostedt slot it across to Bellingham to walk it in and send it to extra time. Both teams had their moments in extra time, but the Freedom Futures again looked to be on their way to victory when Fortuna Velaj (who for my money should have started) knocked in a shot that had rebounded off the post. But Washington made a critical error, leaving Bellingham in too much space at the edge of the area, and the super sub buried a shot with one of the last kicks of extra time. Charlotte prevailed on penalties 6-5 (after eight shooters). I wonder if things would have ended differently if Omolyn Davis, who was a force going forward for Washington, hadn't been injured late on. It looked pretty bad too, as she was still being helped around after the match had ended. Atlanta dropped the hammer on New Jersey in the nightcap, with a crushing 5-1 win. The back line of Powell, Minnix, Brooks, and Corless combined with Pollock and Garman in holding roles shut prolific Kylee Rossi down. I don't think New Jersey's other big scorer Jessica Fuccello played, and it showed in the paucity of the Wildcat attack. At the other end, the golden trio playing behind a lone striker of Frierson, Tomlinson, and Newfield sliced the visitors to shreds. Frierson's first was a rocket from the right side which was punched into the net by the keeper. Tomlinson broke into the box and slid it across for another Frierson goal to put Atlanta up 2-0. A soft penalty for handball gave New Jersey a lifeline, but Angela DeSumma missed wide. After that it was pretty much curtains. Tomlinson latched onto a ball from Newfield across the face of goal to make it 3-0. Newfield hit a scorcher from distance from a Frierson assist to make it 4-0. Lissette Brandao grabbed a consolation with a shot from inside the area off a corner. But Kay Harbrueger would strike last for the rampant Silverbacks with a volley from Newfield's assist to finish the scoring and give Atlanta a comprehensive 5-1 win. Makes you wonder how good Hudson Valley is considering both of their division-mates got dumped out of the playoffs at the first hurdle. Also, a handful of the players from the Atlanta Beat, including Tobin Heath, Angie Kerr, Rebecca Nolin, and Mami Yamaguchi were at the match rooting on ex-teammate Blakely Mattern who's playing with the Charlotte Lady Eagles. I'm going to hazard a guess and say that that's not going to improve relations between the Beat and the Silverbacks. Atlanta vs Charlotte Part IV tomorrow night for the Eastern Conference title and a trip to California and the Final Four. Two teams who just plain don't like each other on a summer Saturday night, what could be better?
Atlanta beats Charlotte 1-0 off a header from a corner by Bailey Powell. Horrifically officiated, with the crew apparently ignorant of the offsides rule, shirt tugging being a foul, and the concept of consistency. Not exactly an instant classic either after yesterday's matches, but as a Silverback supporter, I'm not complaining with the outcome. Vancouver finally drives a long overdue final nail in Pali's coffin with a 2-1 victory in Canada to advance. Also, attendance of 1,712 at a W-League game. WPS are you watching? Buffalo and Ottawa both hold serve to advance to the final tomorrow in Buffalo. For those keeping track, the semi-finals should shake out thusly... W-League Semi-Finals (in Santa Clarita) (5) Atlanta Silverbacks vs (2) Buffalo Flash OR (4) Ottawa Fury [07/29, 8 PM EST] (6) Vancouver Whitecaps vs (1) Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues [07/29, 11 PM EST]
So much for that. Congrats to Vancouver, though I'll be rooting for a first-time team to win the championship. Can't say I much care which one, though I'd be happy to see the Lady Blues redeem the honor of the Northeast Division.
Whitecaps game report of the Western Conference final with links to video highlights and post-game interviews: http://www.whitecapsfc.com/women/schedule/2010_07_24_v_Pali_Blues.aspx A few articles on players: Siobhan Chamberlain: http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/...oalie_100723/20100723?hub=BritishColumbiaHome Kaylyn Kyle: http://www.whitecapsfc.com/archive/feature07231002.aspx Martina Franko: http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver/sports/article/585102--mom-on-soccer-pitch-prepares-for-playoffs
Taken from the Buffalo Flash website. Buffalo Flash 1 Ottawa Fury 0 - Buffalo advances to the W-League Final Four. Winning goal was scored by Kelly Parker - 20 minutes into the game - Pamela Tajorner with the shutout - only faced two shots on goal. The Flash face the Atlanta Silverbacks in the semifinals on Thursday evening at 8:00 pm ET. Should the Flash win, they will play in the championship final on Saturday evening - 10:00 pm ET - LIVE on Fox Soccer Channel. Go Flash! Win One For Buffalo! LB...
Whitecaps reveal that they will be missing Robinson and likely Tancredi for the championship tournament. Lang is injured and also unlikely. http://www.whitecapsfc.com/women/schedule/2010_07_29_v_Hudson_Valley_Lady_Blues.aspx
Welcome to the age-old W-League vs. University scheduling struggle. It's absurd. These ladies get top-notch training all summer and play with future pros, but instead of having them play in meaningful North American Championships, college coaches want them back a week earlier to run sprints and 'bond with the team.' Let's get real.
Whitecaps twitter feed is reporting a 3-1 victory over Hudson Valley (but that might be a mistake because they only reported two Vancouver goals).
So much for the Northeast Division.... Interesting that the only two undefeated teams have remained so - but who will fall?
Naturally disappointed with last night... Buffalo v. Vancouver is a heavyweight match-up. Shutting down Buffalo's Smith and Bouquete's combo is key for Vancouver, while the Whitecaps' Schmidt will be key. Hopefully we see a good match Saturday night that helps interest in the W-League grow....
Well that statement "Win One For Buffalo" meant win a championship not just winning that one semifinal match We've had enough final appearances as a city without bringing home the trophy - LOL! Heres a link to the press release on the semifinal win over Atlanta - taken from the BuffaloFlash website - http://www.buffaloflashsoccer.com/index.cfm?template=news&news_id=4461 Kudos to local station WGRZ for mentioning the final score on one of their newscasts last night via their bottom line. (The score was correct - 3-1) Unfortunately a boo to the Buffalo News who just printed the score in their newspaper today. (No writeup at all) And they couldn't get that right - listed was Buffalo 3 - Atlanta 131. You only knew that Buffalo actually won the semifinal was 1) Buffalo was listed first and 2) because they printed next game - Saturday - Championship Game - below it. Well Go Flash! - I'll be watching LIVE via Fox Soccer Channel! LB...
I knew where you were coming from, LB. You and I are both on the same page - I want the Flash to win this in the worst way. And, I think that Vancouver will be a good opponent....and hopefully will push the ladies to play their best game of the year tomorrow night. Can't wait for 10:00pm Saturday! Aaron
Buffalo probably should be favored but maybe the game will be like that championship when Vancouver beat a highly skilled New Jersey Wildcats team in penalty kicks. It would be nice to see Kelly Parker finally win a W-League title considering how close she's come over the years. She was on the losing side in 2006 when Vancouver won.