skip navigation

Week V Preview: UWS West

06/07/2018, 1:30pm EDT
By Admin

CFWFC host a pair of matches, SAC takes on So Cal in local matchup

Friday, June 8

Calgary Foothills Women’s FC vs. Colorado Pride

6:30 PM MDT – Calgary Soccer Center (Calgary, AB)

It was a big Week IV for Calgary Foothills Women’s FC as they continued their perfect start to 2018 with a pair of victories. Now, Troye Flannery’s team comes home in a return match with the Colorado Pride after picking up a 3-0 win in the Centennial State last Sunday. CRWFC is getting a balanced offensive attack so far this year, with eight players combining for the nine goals and Harvard’s Lauren Raimondo being the only multi-goal scorer after her brace last Friday vs. So Cal Crush. On the other end, the defense has only 10 shots to go on goal and Week IV UWS Defensive Player of the Week Stephanie Labbé picked up a pair of clean sheets last weekend in her UWS debut. This week will be a two-match weekend for Calgary but a pair of wins could already give the side real belief that they can go on and take the West Conference, which they already lead second place Santa Clarita by four points.

Colorado struggled with the pressure that Calgary put on them last Sunday at home, as they only generated one shot on target. Which came statistic as a bit of a surprise as in the three previous matches, AJ Adcock’s side averaged two goals per match. But leading into this weeks’ encounter with CFWFC, the belief of ‘it’s tough to beat the same team twice’ that will be strong within this unit as they look to pick up their first win of 2018. Prior to Sunday’s match, Eliza Bona netted three goals in the teams’ previous two matches while Aleesa Muir has been a consistent attacker throughout the season. The question will be for this team is if they can tighten up defensively, as they’ve allowed a West Conference high 11 goals in four matches, which will certainly be a challenge going up against a tough team in Calgary.

Saturday, June 9

Santa Clarita Blue Heat vs. So Cal Crush FC

6:00 PM PDT – Master’s University (Santa Clarita, CA)

An All-Southern California tilt is on the docket this weekend as Santa Clarita welcomes in So Cal Crush to the Master’s University on Saturday evening. The Blue Heat are coming off their first victory of the season in taking a wild 3-2 victory over Colorado last week, with Week IV UWS Offensive Player of the Week Kassey Massey along with Hayley Gonzalez and Chloe Kastanada each finding the back of the net. Goalkeeping play came up big as well for Santa Clarita as Lauren Brzykcy preserved the result with a top-drawer fingertip save on Aleesa Muir’s last second effort. After recording draws in their first two matches, that was the result that the Blue Heat needed if they wanted to keep close to Calgary in the standings.

They welcome in So Cal Crush for the first of back-to-back meetings against the Blue Heat. Kurtis Millan’s club opened up their 2018 campaign back on May 18 with a 2-2 draw at Colorado after trailing the Pride 2-0 with less than halfway to go in the second half. But Karina Cisneros and Taylor Scott each scored inside the final 22 minutes to secure an opening week draw before last week’s 3-0 loss at Calgary. After next weekend’s return match with Santa Clarita, the following two weeks will be two-game weekends so if the Crush want to find themselves within reach of a postseason berth, they will need to string together some results in short order.

Sunday, June 10

Calgary Foothills Women’s FC vs. LA Galaxy OC Women

4:00 PM MDT – Calgary Soccer Center (Calgary, AB)

The second of two home matches of the week for CFWFC see LA Galaxy OC Women make the trip north of the border to the Calgary Soccer Center. LAGOC are coming off of an impressive 4-0 victory in their home opener last Saturday vs. Real Salt Lake Women. A pair of UC-Irvine products gave LA a two-goal cushion in Noel Baham and Kiana Palacias. Chelsey Patterson and Sherifa Sumaila each tallied goals inside the final 10 minutes to round off the scoring but the impressive part about the match was how LAGOC continued to put the pressure on RSLW and never allowed their opponents to settle into the match. Scott Juniper will be happy with how his team has started their inaugural season with a win and a draw in two matches. But the match against Calgary will be a challenging test against an experienced side. However, with these two teams meeting at the Orange County Great Park in the penultimate week in the regular season, this match could become a preview of what could be a very important match in a few weeks time. If the Southern California side can flex their muscles and force Calgary into altering their game plan, one that has worked since game one of 2018, LAGOC could be in business for a big result.

Real Salt Lake Women vs. Colorado Pride

7:00 PM MDT – RSL Academy (Herriman, UT)

Colorado Pride rounds out their weekend road trip as they journey back from the match against Calgary on Friday take on Real Salt Lake Women for the second time this season. In the previous meeting on May 20, the two teams traded goals in the first half as Colorado’s Veronica Herrera scored in the 11th minute to only see Haley North equalize five minutes later. The score remained at 1-1 through halftime to see North strike again halfway through the second half, with RSLW extending their lead to 3-1 on a Colette Smith tally. The Pride responded a minute later when Eliza Bona’s strike trimmed their deficit to one but RSLW hung on to pick up all three points. Now with the Utah based squad getting shut out in consecutive matches while allowing seven, this turns into an imperative match for both teams. Only three points will keep these teams in the race for the top spot in the West as the gap between the top and the bottom sides continue to grow. Expect RSLW, with rest and playing on their home field, try to pick up the tempo early as the Pride have experienced difficulties this season in breaking pressure. But if the visitors can slow down the tempo for the first 15-20 minutes, it could very well be another one-goal thriller between the two sides.

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.

Tag(s): News |   West  Foothills WFC  Real Salt Lake  Santa Clarita Blue Heat  So Cal Crush  Colorado Pride  LA Galaxy