EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ - Its another action-packed weekend in United Women’s Soccer (UWS) and the West Conference will see some vital encounters take place. First off, the Houston Aces (1-2) will take a two-game road trip to Colorado which after its conclusion will determine if the traditional powerhouse will be a contender for the conference title this summer. After a disappointing draw in its home opener last week, the Santa Clarita Blue Heat (1-0-1) travel to Utah to face the Real Salt Lake Women (1-1) in the featured UWS West match of the weekend.

FRIDAY, JUNE 10
Colorado Storm vs. Houston Aces (7:00 PM MST)
Venue: Five Star Stadium
9360 Washington Street
Thornton, CO 80229

The two-game road trip to Colorado this weekend for Houston will certainly be a litmus test for this year’s team: are they the competitive team who battled it out to a tight 1-0 road win at Real Salt Lake? Or are they the team whose defense capitulated to both Santa Clarita and the RSL Women in two home games? Their Colombian international contingent have also been inconsistent as far as their impact as well. Friday’s match vs. the Storm (0-2-1) should give the visitors an opportunity to set their team identity in stone.

But it won’t be an easy match for the Aces, as the Storm have proven to be a solid defensive side this season, allowing only four goals in three matches vs. two strong sides in conference leader Colorado Pride (2-0) and the Blue Heat. Last week, the Storm almost walked away with two wins on their own two-game road trip. Santa Clarita leveled the score at 1-1 late in the match to get the draw while the Pride broke the hearts of their in-state rivals, netting the game-winner in extra time for the 2-1 win.

The Storm’s offense this season has been centered around their strength on set pieces. Both goals last week came off corner kicks and began via midfielder Layla Ashouri’s proficiency at serving in a quality ball for her teammates to attack. Australian defender Alexandra Huynh and former Western State Colorado University forward Sadie Stark would take advantage of Ashouri’s dead-ball prowess in the games vs. the Blue Heat and Pride, respectively.

SATURDAY, JUNE 11
Real Salt Lake Women vs. Santa Clarita Blue Heat (6:00 PM MST)
Venue: Davis High School Stadium
325 South Main Street
Kaysville, UT 84037

There are traditional rivalries throughout the UWS West, but this match may very well start a new one. Saturday’s match between Santa Clarita and Real Salt Lake will be the first-ever match between the two sides, and it should be a great one. Both sides boast experienced leaders at the top of their rosters with young & athletic core players to rely upon.

This has all the earmarks to be one cracking match, and hopefully the Real Women fans will come out in force like they did for their team’s home opener on Saturday, May 28th. Unfortunately, they had to go home that night disappointed as RSL held the run of play but couldn’t solve Houston goalkeeper Courtney Seelhorst in the 1-0 loss. The Real Women got revenge on their old adversaries last weekend, as they traveled to Houston for the rematch and the Brigham Young University duo of Elena Medeiros and Michele Vasconcelos led the offense in a 4-1 win.

That should raise a red flag for the defense of Head Coach Guilherme Mitrovitch’s side, as the Blue Heat will need to deal with the athletic & experienced RSL attack. Medeiros, Vasconcelos and BYU forward Madie Lyons are partnered in offense with their two co-captains Annie Hawkins and Colette Smith. Both co-captains have led RSL through some of their best accomplishments as an organization, and can still influence a match.

But Santa Clarita will have the return of Israeli WNT defender Diana Redman from international duty to count on, plus the defensive duo of Mexican international Yadira Toraya and former Canadian U-20 member Michelle Roy have been influential in both defense & offense. On the offensive side of the ball, Mitrovitch said that his side needed to be more clever after last week’s 1-1 draw against the Colorado Storm. This game should be a test of that resolve.

SUNDAY, JUNE 12
Colorado Pride vs. Houston Aces (4:00 PM MST)
Venue: Washburn Field
Colorado College
Colorado Springs, CO 80903

If the chance to set Houston’s team identity in this two-game road trip has a difficult start in Friday’s match against the Storm, it will prove to be an even more arduous task on Sunday when they take on the Pride. The Pride have not allowed a goal this season with thanks to UWS West Defensive Player of the Week selections Lexi Long and Beth Plentl. Long led the Pride defense in their season-opening 1-0 win over the Storm, while Plentl was instrumental on both sides of the ball last Sunday in the come-from-behind 2-1 victory over their northern rivals.

The one worry that Head Coach Richard Simonyi may have for his team so far this season is on offense. It took until the second half against a team playing in its second game in four days for them to get rolling last weekend. Goals from former Texas Tech forward Bri Rohmer and West Virginia University star Michaela Abam got the job done, but Simonyi will hope his attack will be on the front foot early in the match against the Aces.

A win over Houston will keep the Pride undefeated and more importantly, in first place in the UWS West - no matter what else happens over the weekend. Their next four matches will be against either Real Salt Lake or Santa Clarita: two of their early-season adversaries when it comes to winning the conference title and right to host the inaugural UWS National Championship held the weekend of July 30-31.

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.