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UWS Week VII Preview: West Conference

06/23/2017, 5:30pm EDT
By Admin

Its do-or-die for the Real Salt Lake Women this weekend

METUCHEN, NJ - As Week VII action kicks off this weekend in the West Conference, the race for the title has evolved into a one-team contest. The defending United Women’s Soccer (UWS) champion Santa Clarita Blue Heat are undefeated, and with a road win over conference contender Real Salt Lake on Saturday, they can take one step closer to clinching the West title. All Santa Clarita needs to do to re-capture the conference crown is reach six wins.

SATURDAY, JUNE 24

Real Salt Lake Women vs. Santa Clarita Blue Heat
7:00 PM MDT - Utah Valley Univ. (Orem, UT)

With two games remaining in the regular season, all that the Real Salt Lake Women (3-2-1 West) can do in their effort to capture the conference crown is win both contests and hope. That begins on Saturday night in their home finale when they host conference leaders Santa Clarita Blue Heat (4-0 West) at Clyde Field on the campus of Utah Valley University. This match will be at least an opportunity for the RSL Women to avenge their road loss to Santa Clarita that occurred on Sunday, June 4th. Blue Heat veteran Kodi Lavrusky would net the only goal of the match in the 56th minute while goalkeeper Jojo McCaskill would get the shutout in goal (three saves).

Last Saturday at Calgary, Real Salt Lake were held scoreless again through a combination of bad luck in front of goal and a staunch display by the Foothills Women’s FC defense. Calgary would also have their chances for the win, but a nine-save performance from 2016 UWS Goalkeeper of the Year Rebecca Ritchie saved the point for the visitors. Meanwhile in Santa Clarita, the Blue Heat would notch their third consecutive 1-0 win, this time over a solid Houston Aces (1-3 West) side. As time ticked off the clock, Venezuelan international Deyna Castellanos notched her first goal of the year on a penalty kick and Santa Clarita held on for the victory.

SUNDAY, JUNE 25

Calgary Foothills Women’s FC vs. So Cal Crush FC
4:00 PM MDT - Calgary Soccer Centre (Calgary, AB)

In their final match of a three-game homestand, Calgary Foothills Women’s FC (1-2-1 West) host fellow West Conference newcomer So Cal Crush FC (1-3 West) in the first matchup between the two teams this season. After a scoreless draw against Real Salt Lake last weekend, Calgary is still looking for their first home win of 2017. It was a frustrating game against the RSL Women, as the CFWFC offense was unable to put away a number of high-quality scoring chances. Goalkeeper Emily Burns was the player of the match for the home side, making six saves.

Last Sunday, Houston shook off the disappointment of Saturday’s loss to Santa Clarita and scored three first half goals en route to a 4-0 win over So Cal Crush FC. Stefany Castano got the victory in goal for the Aces while Crush FC’s Adriana Maldonado made 12 saves in the loss. It was the third straight loss for So Cal since their season-opening 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake - all at home. Calgary should look to pressure the Crush FC defense early in the match, as So Cal hasn’t been able to respond from early deficits this season and it has affected their offense. Sunday’s visitors to Calgary haven’t scored a goal in their last three games.

About United Women’s Soccer (UWS): UWS is a national women’s soccer league sanctioned by U.S. Soccer through the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA). UWS is a professionally operated league created for teams that meet high minimum standards. The season runs from May until the end of July, culminating in a National Championship match. The UWS player pool is comprised of college players, aspiring & former professionals and international stars. You can follow UWS on social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Media can contact UWS Director of Communications Jorma Kansanen by e-mail at Press@UWSSoccer.com. You can visit the league’s official website at UWSSoccer.com. Interested team applicants can contact League Commissioner Joe Ferrara, Jr. by e-mail at Joe@UWSSoccer.com.

Tag(s): News |   Real Salt Lake  Santa Clarita Blue Heat  Foothills WFC  So Cal Crush