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Week VII Preview: UWS East

06/22/2018, 1:00pm EDT
By Admin

WNY trek to the Bay State, Inferno renews rivalry with NJCFC

Saturday, June 23

Inferno Rush vs. New Jersey Copa FC

3:00 PM EDT – Millersville University (Millersville, PA)

There’s a consistent pattern when you look at how Inferno Rush’s season has gone so far. Win one. Lose one. Repeat. Which is why you find the Rush five points outside of the top-two spots in the East. But, they have two matches in hand on second place New England Mutiny and three on first place Rochester Lady Lancers, so a positive result on Saturday can vault them back up the table. Additionally, they can also make up ground against their local rival, New Jersey Copa FC, as the two teams will square off in a home-and-home over the next two weeks. Tesa McKibben has been leading the squad on the attack with a pair of goals and assists in four matches. But Inferno will need to find a consistent secondary scoring source as they get to the second half of the season, especially when coming up against a traditionally strong defensive team in New Jersey Copa FC.

NJCFC will conclude their three-match road trip this week after spending last weekend in the Western New York region, picking up a 4-2 win over Western New York Flash and falling 2-1 to the league leading Rochester Lady Lancers. But after this week, the Garden State side will finish with three straight matches at home before traveling to face New York Surf in Week X. Taking on the Inferno Rush will be a welcome sight to see as New Jersey Copa FC have experienced great success against their Keystone State rival in the past. NJCFC swept the season series against then called Lancaster Inferno in both 2016 and 2017, outscoring their opponent 10-1 over the four matches. So combining that statistic with the recent scoring successes of Katarina Nilsson (two goals last week against the Flash) and Jeanine Nunez’s three tallies in 2018, it could be a perfect recipe to come away with three points on the weekend

Worcester Smiles vs. Western New York Flash

7:00 PM EDT – Alumni Stadium at WPI (Worcester, MA)

The Worcester Smiles will hope that a return to playing at home will do them good as in their recent three-match road trip, they were outscored 12-0. And outside of getting beat 9-3 by Rochester in Week II, the Smiles have been competitive at home including defeating second place New England Mutiny 1-0 and losing 1-0 back in Week I to the New York Surf. Head Coach Anthony Cosky will hope that returning back to the Bay State will also see his side returning back to scoring some goals, as after netting four in their first three matches, getting shut out in three straight matches is a cause for concern.

This weekend is a big one for the Western New York Flash as not only is Week VII a two-match weekend, but it could be a big chance to get back into the race for a spot in the East Conference Championship Game. Matt Waddington’s team sit five points behind second place New England but still have five more matches to play after their clash with the Smiles. Carissima Cutrona has been on the mark this season for the Flash, posting a team-leading four goals so far after her impressive 11-goal, four assist season in 2017. It was recently announced that midfielder Georgia Allen was named to England’s preliminary 35-player roster for the Under-20 Women’s World Cup, so the Flash will be operating a little short-staffed for this trip. But, Western New York have shown a tendency of getting off to fast starts, as they’ve scored a goal inside the first ten minutes in each of the last two games. So watch out for more of the same this weekend from the Flash.

Sunday, June 24

New England Mutiny vs. Western New York Flash

3:00 PM EDT – Agawam H.S. (Agawam, MA)

The Flash finish off their weekend in the state of Massachusetts by traveling to take on the New England Mutiny, who are coming off of an impressive, come-from-behind victory over the Inferno Rush last week. The two sides split the season series last year, with the Flash earning a 1-0 victory at home by way of a 33rd minute Carissima Cutrona goal and the Mutiny earning a 4-0 win on the final day of the season, with Marissa Aniolowski and Brenna Brown each scoring a pair of goals to send their fans home happy. New England knows that every match going forward is crucial for them as winning their last four matches would all but secure their spot in the East Conference Championship Game. And it was a confidence booster for the group to earn that 2-1 comeback victory last weekend, with getting goals from Yo Tachibana and Kate Howarth inside the final ten minutes. They will need to build off that result by earning another three points this week before the Mutiny hit the road to face two more key contenders in Long Island and New Jersey before ending the season at home by welcoming in Connecticut.

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 |   East  Lancaster Inferno  New England Mutiny  New Jersey Copa FC  Western NY Flash  Worcester Smiles