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UWS Week II Preview: East Conference

05/17/2018, 7:45pm EDT
By Admin

NJ & LIRR finally kick off 2018 after last weekend's postponement

FRIDAY, MAY 18

Connecticut Fusion vs. New Jersey Copa FC
7:00 PM EDT - Farmington Sports Arena (Farmington, CT)

After a postponement last weekend, New Jersey Copa FC will finally kick off their 2018 season on Friday night, traveling north to face the Connecticut Fusion (0-1). Last Saturday's match against Long Island was called due to lightning and last season's East regular season champions have been patiently waiting for their chance to get out on the pitch. The return of veterans such as midfielder Jackie Bruno (two-time All-UWS selection), forward Jeanine Nunez (All-UWS East selection) and midfielder Camille Bowen will bolster the young club alumni from the FC Copa Academy Celeste that have joined the UWS senior team this season.

Despite being a first-year team in the league, Connecticut has deep soccer roots - specifically with JP Dellacamera and Shep Messing who are the founding directors of the Fusion and FSA FC, who own the team and the home venue. The team showed that last Friday night as they battled it out with a long-time franchise in the New England Mutiny in their inaugural match. After giving up an early goal, Connecticut equalized on a goal from forward Tori Sousa in the 19th minute. Midfielder Rachel Morrier put the home team in front with a goal in the 57th minute. Yet, the Mutiny showed their mettle and rallied for the 3-2 win. Morrier and Sousa were named to the UWS Team of the Week for their efforts.

SATURDAY, MAY 19

Long Island Rough Riders vs. Western New York Flash
5:00 PM EDT - Michael J. Tully Park (North Hempstead, NY)

The defending UWS East Conference champions have also had to wait a week to kick off their 2018 season, and will face off against the same team they hosted at home to open last season: the Western New York Flash. On Saturday, May 13, Long Island got a dagger in the heart by the defending National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) champions as time ticked off the clock when Flash defender Kaelyn Gamel headed home a corner kick from midfielder Brittany Heist to notch a vital 1-1 road draw for the visitors at Cy Donnelly Stadium. The Rough Riders opened the scoring in the 31st minute when Marist College forward Hope Quinonez beat WNY goalkeeper Megan Tock (four saves) with her shot inside the penalty area for the 1-0 lead.

The rematch a couple of weeks later was a completely different matter, as Long Island ran away with a 7-0 victory on the road at Niagara University. The Rough Riders took an early lead in the fifth minute and never looked back. 2018 returnees Morgan Santoro and Kayla Saager combined to score five goals while veteran keeper Melissa Guglielmo made four saves in the shutout. Saager scored 11 goals and seven assists and was honored as the America East Striker of the Year for Binghamton University last fall. She was also named to the United Soccer Coaches (USC) All-East Region Second Team. Santoro was a DII All-American First Team selection for Adelphi University in her senior season in 2016.

New England Mutiny vs. Rochester Lady Lancers
7:00 PM EDT - East Longmeadow H.S. (East Longmeadow, MA)

The New England Mutiny (1-0) open the home portion of their 2018 schedule in the UWS East this Saturday night after opening their season with a 3-2 win over the Connecticut Fusion last Friday night. New England was victorious in both meetings against Rochester last season. The Mutiny also opened their 2017 home schedule at ELHS with a match against Rochester, who were competing in their inaugural season. The Mutiny offense clicked from the outset, scoring five first-half goals en route to a 5-1 victory. The two teams met again on Sunday, June 11th with Rochester proving to be a much tougher opponent. Kara Shue started the scoring for the Lady Lancers in the opening minute off an assist from Taylor Wingerden but the visitors rallied for a 2-1 win.

The Mutiny will be looking to maintain their winning start to this season as they came back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Connecticut on the road. New England opened the scoring in the 7th minute when 2017 All-UWS East selection Brenna Brown scored the UWS regular season's first goal with an assist from Mutiny all-time leading scorer Kate Howarth. The Fusion came back to go ahead 2-1 early in the second half. Goals from forward Marissa Aniolowski and defender Elena Santos put New England ahead as goalkeeper Lysianne Proulx (11 saves) kept her team in the match. Proulx, Santos and Mutiny legend Meghan Schnur were named to the UWS Team of the Week for their efforts. Proulx was also named the UWS Defensive Player of the Week. 

SUNDAY, MAY 20

New York Surf vs. Western New York Flash
1:30 PM EDT - SUNY Maritime (Bronx, NY)

The New York Surf (1-0) got off to a hot start in their 2018 season opener last Saturday night, scoring just three minutes into their match against the Worcester Smiles in the eventual 1-0 road win at Foley Stadium. Maegan Doyle's corner kick found forward Furtuna Velaj who set up Salma Tarik for the game-winner. The three saves that Surf goalkeeper Jamie Block had to make were all of the vital nature to preserve the victory. Velaj and Block were named to the UWS Team of the Week for their performances in the victory.

Western New York Head Matt Waddington will have a chore in hand this weekend, as he'll have to safely navigate his roster with two back-to-back games to open the 2018 campaign. Highlighting his returnees to this season's squad is forward Carissima Cutrona, who was named to the 2017 All-UWS First Team and led the team in scoring (26 points). Defender Danielle Braun also returns to bolster his backline, as she was named to the All-UWS East Second Team for her strong play. Waddington has added strong international experience to this year's team with Georgia Allen (U-20 England), Taylor Bennett (U-18 USA) and Charlotte Williams (U-23 USA). Williams is a Third Team All-B1G player for Penn State University.

Worcester Smiles vs. Rochester Lady Lancers
5:00 PM EDT - Foley Stadium (Worcester, MA)

After giving up an early goal in their season-opening home loss to the New York Surf, the Worcester Smiles played their opponents evenly the rest of the way and carried the run of play for a significant portion of the second half. Kristina Balfoort's blast from the top of the box was parried away by Surf goalkeeper Jamie Block as the shot deflected off the crossbar. Block was called upon a second time to preserve the lead with a save from Smiles' midfielder Giana Leone. Veteran goalkeeper Brittany Henderson, who last played in the W-League in 2010 for the Long Island Rough Riders, made six saves for the Smiles. Defender Jackie Feraco was named to the UWS Team of the Week.

Rochester Lady Lancers Head Coach Sal Galvano will also have to deal with back-to-back games this weekend but will have the addition of some veteran experience to count on - both on and off the pitch. Player/assistant coach Brooke Barbuto has brought optimism to the organization as the Syracuse, NY-native comes with vast college and professional experience. After the end of her Stony Brook University career, Barbuto went on to play professional soccer for the Western New York Flash (2009-2010). Afterwards, she had stints with Haukar in Iceland and GBK & Nice Futis in Finland. In 2017, Brooke played for the Peninsula Power in Australia and won Most Valuable Player honors for NPL QLD and NPL Women's QLD. She scored 28 times in 20 matches to lead the Power to the Premiership-Championship double.

About United Women's Soccer (UWS): UWS is a national women's soccer league sanctioned by U.S. Soccer. 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.

Tag(s): News |   LI Rough Riders  New England Mutiny  New Jersey Copa FC  New York Surf  Western NY Flash  Flower City 1872  Worcester Smiles  Connecticut Fusion