With the departure of the Northland's two playoff representatives in the last round of the WPSL playoffs, our format changes, but the mission is the same.
Semis
New York Athletic Club 2-1 Georgia Impact
A tight game went all the way to the 115th minute and with Impact dominating possession, it was NYAC who took the win from a corner. Kayla Wong (Princeton) scored an early first goal for the team from Manhattan and Sarah Houston (Princeton) lashed home an equalizer from outside the area just past the hour mark. Emily Smith (California grad) found the finish from a corner, and the team wearing the Winged Foot held out.
Kansas City Current II 2-0 California Storm
Quick-fire goals in both halves and Vasil Ristov's much-treasured clean sheet carried the hosts through against a Cal side who were looking to return to the final for the third year in a row and who had the majority of possession. 18 seconds in, Caroline Kelly (most recently a pro with Dallas Trinity) chipped Feingold for a third consecutive first-half goal, having only joined the roster for the playoffs.
In the 47th minute, the second-highest goalscorer in the WPSL regular season, Avery Clark (Texas), made it 2-0 and Current again soaked up lots of possession on their way to the win.
Final
Kansas City Current II 1-0 New York Athletic Club
Current strolled through large parts of this game, but despite their dominance of possession and attacking statistics, could only muster one goal - a 38th-minute header by the Most Outstanding Player, Avery Clark. Taliana Kaufusi (Utah) had a number of chances to seal the game and a few puzzling misses.
Khari Hontz (USYNT member) hit the crossbar twice in their search for a larger margin. In the end, it could have been costly as Dylan Jovanovic (Princeton) rattled the stanchion in stoppage time at the end of the game, in NYAC's only real chance on goal of the entire game.
Speaking to Northland Soccer Journal after the end of the game, head coach Vasil Ristov said his success was all about the players.
It’s all about the players. I want to give them all the props, because without them, none of us would be here. The championship was in our facility, and the WPSL did a great job at putting this event together. For us, winning the title means a lot. It’s a big step and I hope more teams see the success that we have had and invest in the women’s game to give more young women the opportunity to play.
Captain Itala Gemelli reflected on the hard work the team put in.
Winning the WPSL Championship is always going to be so much fun, and seeing how hard our team worked to earn this is a great feeling. This team is so special because we have a mix of so many different players. KC Current II is a new team and we’ve worked really hard, and I want everyone to remember the hard work we put into this. Every minute we’ve enjoyed it and had fun.
So have we, Itala. Follow us for more on what comes next for Northland Soccer Journal.
