Friday, June 8

Fort Wayne Gryphons vs. Lansing United

7:00 PM EDT – Warrior Field at Indiana Tech University (Fort Wayne, IN)

Lansing United enters Week V action in a perfect spot in the Midwest conference standings. Jason Crist’s team has garnered seven points (2-0-1) through three contests and come into a two-match weekend knowing that picking up maximum points this week can vault them into first place. Friday’s match at Fort Wayne wraps up a four-match road trip to start the season and not only is the team getting goals (nine from seven different players), they are keeping their opponents at bay with only four goals allowed on the season. And they backed up those stats with a momentum boosting victory last week as they put five past Indy Premier, including Anna Stinson recording the fastest goal scored in UWS history in just 18 seconds after the opening kickoff. Keep an eye out for in-form midfielder Riko Sagara, as she was named to the UWS Team of the Week for Week IV after posting a pair of assists in that victory over Indy.

Fort Wayne was the idle team during Week IV action and is still seeking their first victory of the season, after a loss to Indy Premier and a goalless draw to Genesee during Week III play. In the midst of a five-match homestand to start the season, the Gryphons will be looking to up the offense, as the team is still goalless through two matches this year. Two key candidates comes in the form of Morgan Halliwill, who scored a team leading three goals in five appearances during 2017, and Amber Hoot, who was named to the Week III UWS Team of the Week for her strong all-around performance in the midfield. If they can get some production up front, Fort Wayne should be all right as the goalkeeper combination of Lorah Pund and Peyton Badskey have allowed just one goal in 180 minutes and have tallied a combined 14 saves.

Detroit Sun FC vs. Genesee FC

8:00 PM EDT – Ultimate Indoor Soccer Arena (Pontiac, MI)

After dropping a pair of matches coming into last week, Detroit Sun needed a positive result if they wanted to keep their postseason hopes alive. And they got a 1-0 win at Genesee last week, but it didn’t come easily. Madison Schupbach’s 22nd minute strike was the difference between the two sides but the Sun, despite creating many chances in the second half, couldn’t find a way past Genesee’s Annabelle Hegeman, who saved seven shots in the close contest. Having Schupbach, who has been named to a pair of UWS Team of the Week sides this year, getting back on the right foot was key for Skipper Mukhtar’s team as the former Bowling Green striker didn’t factor on the score sheet in the previous two matches. Equally as important was getting a clean sheet from Madison Clem, as the Michigan State goalkeeper picked up her first solo shutout of the season but second overall, as she combined for one with Marina Manzo against Indy Premier in Week I.

There will have been positives to take away from last Sunday’s match for Genesee FC’s Head Coach Chelsea Hunter, despite the 1-0 loss. The match with Detroit came after giving up seven goals to Grand Rapids on Friday and it would have been easy to just hope to allow only minimal damage playing against last year’s UWS National Semifinalist. But the team showed heart and grit and created a few chances to get a result. With only four matches left in the season for Genesee, they will want to try to build on last Sunday’s performance and finish out the season strong. Annabelle Hegeman leads all of UWS in saves with 43 through six matches played and has been a reason why her team has been close in a few matches. No doubt she will be called upon to do the same again this weekend but if the offense in front of her could nick an early away goal, Hegeman could become the difference in the match.

Sunday, June 10

Lansing United vs. Michigan Legends

4:00 PM EDT – East Lansing Soccer Complex (East Lansing, MI)

This will be Lansing’s second match of the weekend and the first of two double-game weekends this season. But it’ll be their home opener as well as after spending the first four matches on the road, five of their final six matches will be played at the East Lansing Soccer Complex. Jason Crist’s team welcomes in Michigan Legends, who are coming off a 2-2 draw last Saturday at home to Grand Rapids. The start that Michigan had against the defending champs was a perfect one. They scored a pair of goals and establish the tempo of how they wanted the match to be played. But, they conceded two goals inside the final 20 minutes and ended up sharing the points, as opposed to taking all three. Still, with that result, they still have an opportunity to stay within striking distance of Grand Rapids, Detroit and Lansing if they can snatch a result on the road. Former Eastern Michigan University product Megan Trapp has had a fantastic 2018 campaign in which she’s registered a point in all four matches this year, including scoring in the last two games. Current EMU Eagle standout Alia Frederick has also been enjoying strong offensive production with a goal and two assists in the last three games. That’s the pairing that Michigan will need to keep ticking if they want to pick up the necessary results over the next few weeks.

About United Women's Soccer:

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 the UWS Communications office 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.