NEW ENGLAND MUTINY 4, NEW YORK MAGIC 0

EAST LONGMEADOW, MA - New England Mutiny forward Kate Howarth took over top spot on the team’s all-time scoring charts in Sunday afternoon’s 4-0 win over the New York Magic (0-7-1). The three-goal performance put the team captain on the top (42 goals, 13 assists, 97 points) and also kept her team in the hunt for a spot in the East Final (Tuesday, July 18). The top two teams in the conference will battle it out for the automatic berth into the United Women’s Soccer National Championship (July 21-22) and New England is still in the mix alongside the New York Surf, Long Island and Lancaster. New Jersey has already qualified as the first team in the conference final.

It only took three minutes for Howarth to tie former Mutiny star and current University of Miami Head Coach Mary-Frances Monroe (36 goals, 21 assists, 93 points) at the top of the team’s scoring chart. The former Hurricane tallied the game-winning goal off an assist from forward Abby Sotomayor - her fifth of the season. In the 20th minute, Howarth took the all-time mark for herself, breaking in on the New York goal and slotting her shot past goalkeeper Sierra Bonham for the 2-0 lead. Three minutes later, defender Brittany Champagne went coast-to-coast and notched her first goal of the season for the 3-0 score. In the 56th minute, midfielder Sharlotte Pernice sent in Howarth on a breakaway for the final tally in the 4-0 victory.

NEW YORK MAGIC 0, NEW YORK SURF 5

BROOKLYN, NY - The New York Surf (5-2-2 East) kept their hopes up of earning a spot in the 2017 East Final on Saturday night at Poly Prep Country Day School, earning a 5-0 road win over the New York Magic and sweeping the season series in the local derby. Two goals each from forward Erica Murphy and midfielder Corinna Ferrante powered the Surf offense while goalkeeper Colleen Hickey made four saves in the victory. Magic goalkeeper Sierra Bonham made six saves in the loss as the hosts were out-shot by a 11-4 margin. 

Ferrante opened the scoring in the fifth minute, as she converted on a rebound from a shot by forward Furtuna Velaj. The game would be interrupted at halftime by a lightning delay and remained at 1-0 in the Surf’s favor all the way up until the 72nd minute of play, when Murphy notched the first of two straight goals in two minutes off another rebound from a Velaj shot. Ferrante followed Murphy’s two goals with her second tally of the game in the 75th minute. Midfielder Faith Daley finished the scoring on the night in 80th minute with her unassisted goal.

NEW JERSEY COPA FC 1, NEW ENGLAND MUTINY 0

HOLMDEL, NJ - New Jersey Copa FC (7-1-1 East) booked a spot in the 2017 East Final on Saturday afternoon at Saint John Vianney High School, as 2016 UWS Player of the Year Krystyna Freda tallied the game’s lone goal in a 1-0 win over the New England Mutiny. The defending conference champions will have an opportunity on Tuesday, July 18th to make it back-to-back titles when the top two teams in the East face off for the automatic berth into the 2017 UWS National Championship (July 21-22). At this juncture, it is still to be determined who the second team will be and who will host the conference final, but NJCFC lead the race to host with one game remaining in the regular season.

The Mutiny started the match brightly as forward Brenna Brown had a 1v1 with Copa goalkeeper Kristyn Shea (three saves) but she deflected away Brown’s opportunity with a kick save. In the 22nd minute, New Jersey defender Rebecca Raber cleared a ball out of her half but the New England defense misjudged the flight of the ball and Freda jumped on the bouncing ball, beating Gabby Arruda (one save) to it and chipping her shot over the Mutiny keeper for the 1-0 lead. New England had another scoring chance four minutes after Freda’s goal, but captain Kate Howarth could not tuck her shot under the crossbar on a 1v1 breakaway. The Mutiny made a late push for a equalizer to no avail.

LANCASTER INFERNO 4, ROCHESTER LADY LANCERS 2

MILLERSVILLE, PA - The Lancaster Inferno (4-4 East) guaranteed themselves a winning record at home on Saturday afternoon, scoring three first half goals en route to a 4-2 victory over the Rochester Lady Lancers (0-9-1 East) at Pucillo Field. A three-goal performance from leading scorer Haley Crawford led the Inferno offense on the day, as the hosts were on the attack from the outset. Kelly O'Brien (three saves) went all 90 minutes in goal for Lancaster while Rochester goalkeeper Caitie Broderick finished off her season with five saves in this match (59 total saves). The Inferno have not yet been mathematically eliminated from taking on New Jersey in the UWS East Final (July 18).

The Inferno opened the scoring in the 19th minute of play, as defender Liz Wenger sent midfielder Tesa McKibben in on a breakaway that she converted for the 1-0 lead. The game was delayed by lightning midway through the first half, but after play resumed, Lancaster picked up where they left off. Crawford tallied her first goal in the 39th minute, firing her shot in the top right corner off an assist from McKibben. The James Madison forward broke in on goal just before halftime to make the score 3-0. Lady Lancers midfielder Macaylah Arieno got the visitors on the score board in the 68th minute. The teams exchanged late tallies for the final 4-2 score, with Crawford putting the Inferno back up by three goals.

LONG ISLAND ROUGH RIDERS 5, ROCHESTER LADY LANCERS 1

SOUTH HUNTINGTON, NY - The Long Island Rough Riders (5-1-1 East) got back in the win column in impressive fashion last Friday afternoon, as two goals apiece from forward Morgan Santoro and forward Erica Modena powered the hosts to a 5-1 win over the Rochester Lady Lancers at Saint Anthony’s High School. The prior weekend, Long Island dropped their first contest of the season to conference leaders New Jersey. But that result has not hurt the Rough Riders, as the victory over Rochester keeps them right in the mix for the second spot in the East Final - and an opportunity to win the season series against Copa, as the two teams have split their two games in 2017.

Santoro got Long Island on the score board early in this match, converting on a cross from Modena in the second minute. In the 29th minute, the Adelphi star tallied the eventual game-winner on a through ball from midfielder Taylor Elliott. In first half injury time, midfielder Sofia Sanchez made it a 3-0 game on an assist from defender Taylor Groth as both teams went into halftime. Modena tallied both goals for the Rough Riders in the second half in the 58th & 78th minutes before the Lady Lancers got on the score sheet in the 88th minute via Taylor Wingerden’s third goal of the year. Rochester goalkeeper Caitie Broderick (eight saves) picked up the loss while Melissa Guglielmo and Shannon Robinson made two total saves.

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 UWSPress@gmail.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.