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Regular Season 2018

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Fall Update: College Awards Season Starts

11/01/2018, 6:00pm EDT
By Admin

In our first recap, over 20 UWS stars nab All-Conference honors

METUCHEN, NJ - United Women's Soccer (UWS) member teams take pride in helping student-athletes reach the next level of their respective soccer careers over the summer months. Recently, awards season has started in the collegiate ranks and current & former UWS stars were recognized for their efforts in their fall competitive seasons. In this first edition of our collegiate awards recap, we highlight over 20 UWS standouts who were honored with All-Conference plaudits. Conferences included in this edition are the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Conference-USA and Mid-American Conference. Further recaps will follow in the coming days.

Notable names in this edition include: Florida State University stars Deyna Castellanos & Natalia Kuikka, 2017 UWS Player of the Year and 2017 UWS West Conference Defensive Player of the Year, respectively; C-USA Goalkeeper of the Year and Long Island Rough Riders shot-stopper Kelsey Daugherty; C-USA Freshman of the Year and Indy Premier SC star Hannah Tillett, a 2017 UWS Midwest Conference selection; MAC Offensive Player of the Year and WNY Flash forward Erica Hubert; MAC Freshman of the Year and Michigan Legends midfielder Tatiana Mason; and, All-MAC First Team selection Carissima Cutrona, who is a 2017 & 2018 All-United Women's Soccer First Team honoree for the WNY Flash.

Atlantic Coast Conference First Team
F Deyna Castellanos (Florida State Univ. - Santa Clarita Blue Heat)

Atlantic Coast Conference Second Team
D Natalia Kuikka (Florida State Univ. - Santa Clarita Blue Heat)

Big Ten Conference Second Team
MF Charlotte Williams (Penn State Univ. - Western New York Flash)

Big Ten Conference Third Team
F Mykayla Brown (Indiana Univ. - Indy Premier SC)
MF Natalie Winters (Univ. of Iowa - Detroit Sun FC)
D Madison Pogarch (Rutgers Univ. - Detroit Sun FC)
D Chantelle Swaby (Rutgers Univ. - New England Mutiny)
GK Rachel Egyed (Univ. of Maryland - TSF Academy)

Big Ten Conference Freshman Team
MF Talani Barnett (Ohio State Univ. - New York Surf)

Big 12 Conference Second Team
D/MF Paige Welch (Oklahoma Univ. - FC Austin Elite)

C-USA Goalkeeper of the Year
Conference USA First Team

GK Kelsey Daugherty (UAB - Long Island Rough Riders)

C-USA Freshman of the Year
Conference USA First Team
Conference USA All-Freshman Team

MF Hannah Tillett (Middle Tennessee State Univ. - Indy Premier SC)

Conference USA Second Team
MF Miah Zuazua (Southern Miss. Univ. - North Texas Image)
F Annie Walker (Rice Univ. - Detroit Sun FC)

Conference USA Third Team
MF Amber Hoot (Middle Tennessee State Univ. - Fort Wayne United)

Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year
All-MAC First Team

F Erica Hubert (Bowling Green Univ. - Western New York Flash)

Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year
All-MAC Second Team
All-MAC Freshman Team

MF Tatiana Mason (Ball State Univ. - Michigan Legends FC)

Mid-American Conference First Team
F Carissima Cutrona (Univ. of Buffalo - Western New York Flash)
MF Alyssa Burke (Western Michigan Univ. - Detroit Sun FC)
D Morgan Abbitt (Bowling Green Univ. - Toledo Villa)

Mid-American Conference Second Team
F Lexi Pelafas (Central Michigan Univ. - Lansing United)

Mid-American Conference Freshman Team
D Tess Ford (Univ. of Buffalo - Western New York Flash)
MF Ashton Cassel (Univ. of Toledo - Detroit Sun FC)

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.

2018 UWS All-Southwest Conference Awards

07/31/2018, 11:45am EDT
By Admin

HOU sweep the inaugural Southwest Conference accolades

METUCHEN, NJ - For the second straight season, United Women's Soccer added a new conference and in 2018, the Southwest Conference was born. The five-team division was based solely in the state of Texas and saw a familiar team to the league, the Houston Aces, become it's first conference champion. After spending the first two season of UWS play in the West Conference, the Aces ran right through the competition in the Southwest, winning all eight of their games and outscoring their opponents 53-3. And if that wasn't enough, they claimed their first league title with a 1-0 victory over the Inferno Rush in the UWS National Final.

Southwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year - Gisela Arrieta (Houston Aces)

The Colombian international had a season to remember in 2018 as she led the UWS in scoring with 15 goals and 31 points. After going goalless in the Aces' opening match, the Graceland University product went off, scoring in seven straight matches with five of those being multi-goal games. Then she carried the form into the postseason where she made defenses cringe in trying to defend her. She scored the equalizing goal in the UWS National Semifinal victory over Calgary and then despite not scoring in the Final, she created several good chances against Inferno Rush and opened up space for the rest of her attacking unit. Houston will hope that they will see a replication of her 2018 success in 2019 as this was a special year for her.

Southwest Conference Defensive Player of the Year - Natalia Ariza (Houston Aces)

It was a solid campaign in the back for Natalia Ariza as she featured in every match for the Aces and was an integral part of holding opponents to just three goals throughout the regular season. In addition to scoring three goals during the regular season, the UWS National Championship weekend was when the 2012 Olympian shined the most in squaring off against two quality opponents in Calgary and Inferno. She handled the pressure of a major competition with great composure and hardly missed out on a challenge that entire weekend, including leading the side to a clean sheet over 120 minutes in the Final against the Inferno Rush.

Southwest Conference Coach of the Year - Gui Ferreira (Houston Aces)

After the Aces ran right through the Southwest Conference in the regular season, Gui Ferreira lead the Aces to their first UWS league title in impressive fashion. With their perfect season and setting new records for most goals scored and least goals conceded in a season, Ferreira nets his first Coach of the Year accolade in UWS.

2018 UWS All-Southwest Conference Team

GK: Anna Hughes (Houston Aces)

D: Shauna Peare (Houston Aces)

D: Carina Baltrip-Reyes (FC Austin Elite)

D: Natalia Ariza (Houston Aces)

MF: Tatiana Ariza (Houston Aces)

MF: Emily Jorgens (FC Austin Elite)

MF: Marina Diaz Leal Arrellaga (Houston Aces)

F: Gisela Arrieta (Houston Aces)

F: Christina Arteaga (FC Austin Elite)

F: Julie Gavorski (Houston Aces)

F: Mackenzie Scovill (North Texas Image)

2018 UWS All-Southwest Conference Honorable Mention

D: Alexia Salas (North Texas Image)

D: Jennifer LaPonte (Houston Aces)

D: Natalya Ramirez (North Texas Image)

M: Paige Hayward (Houston Aces)

M: Miah Zuazua (North Texas Image)

M: Sabrina Munguia (HAR FC)

F: Kimberlin Palacios (FC Austin Elite)

F: Desiree Morgas (ASA El Paso)

2018 UWS Team of the Week selections (Combined by Team)

FC Austin Elite:

           DEF: Carina Baltrip-Reyes (Week VII)

           MID: Emily Jorgens (Week IX)

           FOR: Jayme Woodfill (Week VII hon. mention), Christina Arteaga (FCA, Week IX)

ASA El Paso:

           FOR: Desiree Morgas (Week V)

HAR FC:

           MID: Idalys Rea (Week X hon. mention)

Houston Aces:

           DEF: Shauna Peare (Week VIII)

           FOR: Rachel Owens (Week IV), Gisela Arrieta (Week V hon. mention, Week VII), Julie Gavorski (Week VI)

North Texas Image:

           DEF: Alexia Salas (Week VIII hon. mention)

           MID: Miah Zuazua (Week IX)

           FOR: Mackenzie Scovill (Week V hon. mention)

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.

Week X Preview: UWS Southwest

07/12/2018, 3:15pm EDT
By Admin

HOU look to cap off a perfect regular season

SATURDAY, JULY 14

ASA El Paso vs. HAR FC

6:00 PM MDT – Socorro Stadium (El Paso, TX)

ASA El Paso and HAR FC met back in the first weekend of Southwest Conference matches back on June 3rd and it was HAR FC who scored a 3-2 victory at the Houston Sports Park. Now these two teams will wrap up their respective seasons out in West Texas. It has been a challenging season for ASA, as they’ve dropped their last four matches since defeating FC Austin Elite 5-4 back on June 9th. Last weekend, they conceded 16 goals in two games as they fell 8-1 to FCA and 8-0 to North Texas. But this team has been a much better side at home this year and will hope that a little home cooking, plus a week to recover and work on their defensive shape, will yield them a positive result.

HAR FC put together two performances last weekend that they would be very happy with. On Saturday, they lost to Houston 4-0 but unlike many of the Aces’ opponents this year, they shut it down defensively in the second half and didn’t let the leagues’ highest scoring offense inflate the scoreline. And on Sunday, the team snapped their five-match losing streak with a strong 3-1 victory over a very good FC Austin Elite side. Idalys Rea got HAR FC on the board in the first half and then Kate Edwards and Sophia Manibo each scored within the first 15 minutes of the second half to put the contest away. Salma Ghazal picked up the win in net with a five-save effort and now they will look to finish off the season the way that they started it, by taking a result against ASA El Paso.

Houston Aces vs. North Texas Image

7:00 PM CDT – Houston Sports Park (Houston, TX)

The Southwest Conference Champion Houston Aces found out last week that Calgary Foothills Women’s FC will join them at the UWS National Championship, as Calgary clinched the West with a win over LA Galaxy OC Women. After learning that news, Houston breezed through HAR FC with a 4-0 victory to keep their perfect season alive. This week, they will face a good test that will get them ready for the National semifinals as they take on North Texas Image. When these two teams met back on June 9th, the Aces needed three goals in the second half to put the match away as UWS leading scorer Gisela Arrieta bagged two to ice the game off. Now on their home turf, they will look to put in another confident performance in their preparations for next week’s National Championship.

Ever since their first match against the Aces, North Texas have gone on a nice run by winning four of their last five games, only losing 2-0 to FC Austin Elite. The Image picked up a resounding 8-0 victory over ASA El Paso last week and saw Miah Zuazua get a nod on the Week IX UWS Team of the Week with her three-goal, three-assist performance. Even though the Image have known for a couple weeks that their quest for a Conference crown was cut short due to the Aces’ brilliance this season, they can play a spoiler role in their opponents preparation for the National Championships by traveling down to Houston and coming away with a result. Which, that will be all the motivation that Joe Soliz’s side need to get the job done.

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.