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2019 UWS Postseason Update

07/09/2019, 7:00pm EDT
By UWS PR

Conference playoffs kick off Thursday; UWS Quarterfinal this weekend


JDN Photography

UWS EAST CONFERENCE

The 2019 regular season in United Women's Soccer (UWS) concluded on Monday night with the Worcester Smiles (0-10-0) hosting the Connecticut Fusion (8-0-2). While Connecticut completed their undefeated campaign in the UWS East via a 3-0 win, the result did not vault the Fusion over the New England Mutiny (8-0-2) for the regular season title as their final placement in the standings went to the league tiebreak procedure. Connecticut (+21 goal differential) not only needed the win but had to make up the difference in goal differential (+23 for New England) due to the 1-1 draw between the two sides earlier in the season. With that, New England nabbed first-place and the No. 1 seed going into this weekend's East playoffs. The Mutiny will host fourth-place Long Island Rough Riders (5-5-0) this Friday, July 12th at Lusitano Stadium (7:30 PM kickoff). Connecticut will host third-place Lancaster Inferno (7-3-0) on the same night at Farmington Sports Arena (7:00 PM kickoff). The winners of the semifinals will face off on Sunday at the highest remaining seed for the automatic berth into the UWS National Championship (July 19-21).

UWS MIDWEST CONFERENCE

It was an exciting Sunday in the UWS Midwest as it took until the final day of the regular season for the final two spots in the conference playoffs to be decided. The Michigan Legends (3-5-2) did what they needed to do and handed first-place Lansing United (8-1-1) their first loss of 2019 via an impressive 4-2 win. However, the Detroit Sun (4-6-0) matched that feat and notched their first shutout of the season in a 3-0 victory over visiting Grand Rapids FC (3-5-2). The result vaulted Detroit into third-place in the final standings and the Sun will now travel to face second-place Indiana Union (7-2-1) this Thursday, July 11 at the Grand Park Event Center (6:30 kickoff). Grand Rapids took fourth-place over Michigan via their 1-0-1 record over the Legends this season and will travel to face Lansing on Thursday night at the East Lansing Soccer Complex (7:00 PM kickoff). The winners of the semifinals will face off on Sunday at the highest remaining seed for the automatic berth into the UWS National Championship (July 19-21).

UWS WEST CONFERENCE

The UWS West also went down to the final weekend of the regular season to determine their conference champion who gets the automatic berth into the UWS National Championship (July 19-21). The action started on Saturday as the Santa Clarita Blue Heat (5-1-2) hosted LA Galaxy OC (5-2-1) in an important match for both sides as they each needed a win to stay in the title hunt. Penelope Hocking put Santa Clarita up 1-0 in the 75th minute but Los Angeles' Jenna Nighswonger tied the match in stoppage time for the 1-1 draw to knock the Blue Heat out of both conference and Wild Card contention. LAGOC had to wait their title fate until Sunday as Calgary Foothills WFC (6-1-1) faced off with the Colorado Pride (0-8-0) in their home finale. Calgary took care of business and grabbed their second-straight West crown with both hands via a 6-0 win. Foothills WFC took the third automatic berth into the UWS National Championship (July 19-21) while LA had to wait until Monday for the league's Competition Committee to render their final decision regarding who will be this season's Wild Card entry.

WILD CARD ENTRY & UWS NATIONAL QUARTERFINAL

The Houston Aces (6-0-0) were dominant in the UWS Southwest this season but when it came to their prospective opponent in the UWS National Quarterfinal game, they may have faced a familiar opponent. The San Antonio Athenians (3-3-0) were in the running for consideration for the Wild Card entry into the UWS playoffs but only if they could pull off a victory in their 2019 finale on the road at FC Austin Elite (3-3-0). In front of an impressive home crowd of 1,200+ at Bold Stadium, FC Austin spoiled San Antonio's postseason plans via a 3-1 win and finished in second-place (via goal differential because each team defeated each other in the regular season) with a .500 record in a four-team conference. Therefore, the league's Competition Committee on Monday awarded LA Galaxy OC (5-2-1) the Wild Card entry as the second-place finisher from the UWS West. LAGOC will host Houston this Saturday, July 13 at the Orange County Great Park (6:00 PM kickoff) in a UWS Quarterfinal game. The winner of that match will go on to the UWS National Championship (July 19-21) as the fourth and final team.

Thursday, July 11

UWS Midwest Semifinals

#1 Lansing United vs. #4 Grand Rapids FC
7:00 PM EDT | East Lansing Soccer Complex | MyCujoo

#2 Indiana Union vs. #3 Detroit Sun
6:30 PM EDT | Grand Park Event Center | MyCujoo

Friday, July 12

UWS East Semifinals

#2 Connecticut Fusion vs. #3 Lancaster Inferno
7:00 PM EDT | Farmington Sports Arena | MyCujoo

#1 New England Mutiny vs. #4 Long Island Rough Riders
7:30 PM EDT | Lusitano Stadium | MyCujoo

Saturday, July 13

UWS National Quarterfinal

LA Galaxy OC vs. Houston Aces
6:00 PM PDT | Orange County Great Park | MyCujoo

Sunday, July 14

UWS East Final (TBD)

UWS Midwest Final (TBD)

Tag(s): News |   New England Mutiny  Indiana Union  Foothills WFC