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UWS West Conference Weekend Wrap-up

05/23/2016, 3:45pm EDT
By Admin

Santa Clarita sends message to conference foes; Pride defeat in-state rival Storm

HOUSTON ACES 1, SANTA CLARITA BLUE HEAT 10

HOUSTON, TX - The home side would net the opening goal of the first-ever match in the West Conference of United Women’s Soccer (UWS) this past Saturday night at Houston Sports Park, but the visitors would run away with the scoring from there. Santa Clarita sent a statement of intent to not only Houston but to the rest of the conference as they scored four goals in the final ten minutes of the first half to propel the Blue Heat (1-0) over the Aces (0-1) by an eventual 10-1 score line.

Midfielder Marlyn Campa would score the first-ever goal in UWS West action in the 8th minute of the match for the early 1-0 lead for Houston. Ten minutes later, Santa Clarita’s forward Kodi Lavrusky would even the score at 1-1. The match would stayed tied until the 35th minute, when the flood gates opened for the Blue Heat offense until the end of the first half.

Mexican international defender Yadira Toraya would score the eventual game-winner for Santa Clarita with ten minutes left to play in the half off an assist from defender Melissa Roy. Another Blue Heat goal conceded by beleaguered Aces goalkeeper Madison Haines would follow in the next minute. What proved to be the emotional dagger for Houston was the own goal by defender Karen Torres in the 39th minute for the 4-1 score and the rout was on.

Forward Julia Hernandez would net the fifth goal of the night for the visitors in the 42nd minute and Lavrusky would get her second goal of the night in 45th minute to complete the 6-1 score going into halftime. Roy, Hernandez, Kassi Massey and Viviana Villacorta would finish the scoring in the second half for the visitors. Cal State-Northridge keeper JoJo McCaskill would get the win in net for Santa Clarita.

The Houston Aces will have this weekend’s road match at Real Salt Lake Women to quickly reverse the abject disappointment of their opening result in the UWS West. The home opener for RSL Women is this Saturday, May 28th at Davis High School Stadium (7:00 PM MST). Santa Clarita will host the Colorado Storm (0-1) on Thursday, June 2nd in their home opener at Master’s College (6:00 PM PST).

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COLORADO STORM 0, COLORADO PRIDE 1

PARKER, CO - The Colorado Storm hosted the Colorado Pride in a renewal of their in-state rivalry on Sunday afternoon at Sports Authority Field, and it was the visitors who came out with the 1-0 win in a well-contested match before over 300 fans. Former Storm goalkeeper Katie Ruff would team up with Kaylyn Smith for the fourth consecutive shutout the Pride (1-0) has managed against the Storm (0-1), making five saves combined between the two players.

Even though the Pride maintained clear possession advantage throughout the match, the wind played a major factor in the match forcing both sides to adjust runs, defensive positioning and the weight of their passes. The best chance for the Storm came in the 22nd minute when they received a direct kick 25 yards out, with the wind. Storm midfielder Alexandra Huynh drilled the ball but it was blocked by a header from the wall.

The breakthrough for the Pride occurred in the 52nd minute when newcomer Briana Rohmer scored the eventual game-winning goal. The Texas Tech forward put the ball away from eight yards out off a perfectly slotted pass from University of Northern Colorado sophomore midfielder Mariel Gutierrez. But despite the advantage in possession, the Pride were a great play or mistake away from conceding the equalizer.

It nearly happened in the 88th minute when a turnover created a Storm shot from 20 yards out that went harmlessly over net. The Pride did a nice job of pushing balls to the corner and creating chances for the insurance tally, but due to a pair of Storm injuries, the play kept going until the whistle blew in the 99th minute. The Pride out-shot the Storm by a 10-8 margin and also held the advantage in corner kicks (3-1). University of Wyoming keeper Cristina Salazar would make six saves in net for the Storm.

The Pride have two weeks to get more acquainted with playing with one another as the Storm return the favor and make the trip to Colorado College’s Washburn Field on Sunday, June 5 and a 1:00 pm MST kickoff for the Pride’s home opener. In the meantime, the Storm travel to southern California for a match against the Santa Clarita Blue Heat (1-0) on Thursday, June 2nd.

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.

UWS is managed by EDP, a leading soccer management company that runs a number of leagues and tournaments.  In addition to UWS, EDP operates youth leagues that includes an NPL league, the EDP Super Club program, the EDP Premier League and the EDP Championship League. EDP also runs EDP Futures programs for U-7’s to U-12’s and it conducts more than 20 youth tournaments, including tournaments within its EDP Cup Series and EDP Showcase Series.

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 by e-mail at Joe@UWSSoccer.com.

Tag(s): News |   Houston Aces  Colorado Pride  Colorado Storm