The Ohio Valley, Mountain and Midwest Conference playoffs are settled. Salvo will have to wait until next week when the league nationally ends.
Tuesday:
Sioux Falls City 2 vs 4 MapleBrook Fury
MapleBrook had the majority of the possession and a number of dangerous corners in the opening 20 minutes but Sioux Falls City were more lethal, and a shot by Josie Arduser in the 15th minute went through the hands of the Fury keeper Edie Frantzen from the edge of the area for the City lead. Despite a stellar defensive half by City, Fury leveled in injury time, as Marie Sennes pounced on the rebound from a shot stopped acrobatically by City keeper Hailee Fischer.
City retook the lead in the 46th minute, as Taylor Thomas drifted the ball over Frantzen from the left touchline and into the far post. Lax play in the midfield led to a counter attack for Fury in the 60th minute, with the ball just wide via a deflection. Fury levelled once again from the resulting corner, Jasmine Gates volleyed the ball into the net after four defensive interventions. MapleBrook took their first lead of the game in the 72nd minute, as Claire Odmark spun two defenders before placing the ball into the bottom right hand corner of the net. Another bundled goal off a corner made it 4–2 Fury in the 80th minute through Sennes and that was how it ended.
Chicago Dutch Lions FC 0 vs 2 Chicago KICS Football Club
Julia Olander and Tamae Douglas had the goals as KICS pick up the win.
Wednesday:
Salvo SC 4 vs 0 Mankato United Soccer Club
Salvo took the lead in the 8th minute, as Sophia Boman slotted the ball home past the goalie’s right hand from the right side of the penalty area. Having dominated possession, Madison Ishaug doubled the lead in the 19th minute in almost the exact same manner. Boman scored the home team’s third goal, once again pounding the ball past the goalkeeper from the right edge of the penalty area in first half stoppage time. Khyah Harper scored her tenth goal of the season in the 88th minute to salt it away, dribbling in from the right wing and then unleashing a shot past Mackenzie Rath in the Mankato goal.
Quad Cities Rush 5 vs 1 Central Illinois United
A Lauren Lodico hat trick gave QC Rush their first points, and win, of the season. Emily Bollman also scored for Rush.
Friday:
Dakota Fusion FC 1 vs 5 Rochester United FC
Rochester United were stuck in traffic and the kick off was delay by 90 minutes but Madison Tuma opened the scoring for Rochester within 90 seconds of the start, set up by a driving run by Tessa Anderson into the box from the right. Anderson herself got on the scoreboard in the 20th minute, placing one home from outside the penalty area. Olivia Watson made it 2–1 in the 26th minute, belted from the edge of the area. Simone Lewald put a strong hand on another Rochester chance in the 32nd minute, to keep the score at 2–1. The visitors controlled possession, with Fusion countering through Peters and Watson. Sienna Latta scored just before the half to make it 3–1, beating the keeper to the near post. Latta was taken down only a minute later, for a PK. The first attempt by Latta was saved but the referee ruled the save illegal and the retake hit the crossbar and bounced out.
Tessa Anderson made it 4–1 with a neat finish in the 72nd minute. Neat interplay down the right was finished off by Maya Basnyat in the 89th minute, to complete the win and the season for both teams.
Sioux Falls City FC 1 vs 5 Salvo SC
Sophia Boman opened the scoring for Salvo in the 18th , finishing a move which also involved Jessie Hunt and Maddie Ishaug. Leading goalscorer Khyah Harper unselfishly backheeled to Boman to lift the ball onto Ishaug’s head two minutes later to make it 2–0. Sioux Falls City made it 2–1 right on half-time, as Macie Haggerty scrambled the ball in.
A long ball down the right was slotted past the keeper by Khyah Harper in the 53rd minute. Another long ball in the 60th minute was finished off by Harper, putting her at the head of the national WPSL scoring charts and putting her club into the playoffs. A fifth was added in stoppage time by Loretta Wacek.
Chicago Dutch Lions FC 0 vs 3* FC Milwaukee Torrent
CDL forfeited the match, giving Torrent a 3-0 win and the Lake Michigan title.
Saturday:
Iowa Raptors FC 3* vs 0 Central Illinois United
CIU forfeited the game, thus Raptors are awarded a 3–0 win to finish their season.
Cleveland Ambassadors 2 vs 1 Century United
Camryn Hartman and Victoria Liesen scored for Ambassadors, as Century got a goal from Megan Donnelly to close out their season.
Cincinnati Sirens FC 2 vs 3 FC Dayton
Goal scorers on this game are not available at time of publication.
Chicago KICS Football Club 9 vs 0 Chicago Dutch Lions FC
KICS got doubles from Frankie Fredrick and Isabella Cook and single goals from Tamae Douglas, Paige Munar, Julia Olander, Mary Perez and Mia Dosen.
Sunday:
Columbus Eagles FC 3 vs 3 Cleveland Ambassadors
Columbus twice came from behind, but were leading in the 90th minute before the Ambassadors tied it up. Columbus goals were by Erin Duffy, Alicia Donnelly and Isabella Ginocchi. Cleveland goals came courtesy of a double from Cam Hartman and a single goal by Ashley Townsend.
Central Region Playoff Matchups:
The WPSL has not published its playoff structure, but the following matches are expected.
Ohio Valley: Ambassadors Cleveland vs FC Dayton at 3pm on Saturday
Midwest: Kansas City Current II vs FC Milwaukee Torrent at 6pm on Thursday
Mountain: Utah Avalanche vs Colorado Rapids
Salvo won the Northern Conference, but since the North only has one Division, their opponent is not yet known.
