EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ - The second weekend of action in the East Conference of United Women’s Soccer (UWS) culminated with two intense matches on Sunday. The New England Mutiny (2-0) traveled south to face the Lancaster Inferno (0-1) and took the early lead in the UWS East race with a dramatic 3-2 win. New Jersey Copa F.C. (1-1-1) faced off once again with the Long Island Rough Riders (1-0-1) and battled it out to a 1-1 draw after their first win of the season the day before against the TSF Academy Valkyries (0-1).
The Mutiny were led by the omnipotent performance of team captain Kate Howarth, who tallied two goals and an assist which puts her in the lead in conference scoring (4g, 1a). Copa went 1-0-1 over the two games they played this past weekend, with thanks to a fantastic turn in net from goalkeeper Kristyn Shea who was responsible for positive results in both contests. For their efforts, Howarth is named the UWS East Offensive Player of the Week while Shea garners Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Howarth started the scoring on Sunday for New England, as she assisted on Liana Hinds’ goal in the 38th minute of the match. The team captain would be a one-woman offense against Lancaster, hitting the post in the 22nd minute and than sending her shot over the cross bar in the 33rd minute. The former Boston Breaker would net the go-ahead goal in the 49th minute and the game-winning goal in the 72nd minute. Combined with her two goals in the season-opening win over New York (0-1) and Kate now leads the East in scoring.
Shea started both matches in goal for New Jersey this weekend, getting the win on Saturday vs. TSF Academy and the draw against Long Island. The race in the UWS East looks to be a tough one this season, so not dropping points has kept Copa in the conference title race. On Sunday with the game tied at 1-1 late in the match, the Providence College keeper (nine saves) came up with a pair of big stops that kept the Rough Riders from getting the important road win. After sharing time in net with fellow keeper Christiana Ogunsami in NJCFC’s first two games this season, she played the full 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw.
Both Jeanine Nunez (two goals and assist for Copa in two games) and Lancaster’s Katherine Hackos (two goals vs. Mutiny) shared Honorable Mention UWS East Offensive honors this past weekend. Long Island’s goalkeeper Melissa Guglielmo and New England’s defender Allyson Swaby receive Honorable Mention honors on the defensive side of the ball.
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.