Although they suffered their first loss of the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) Elite League season this week, the Chicago Red Stars managed to pass the idle Boston Breakers on the strength of a 4-0 win over the New England Mutiny. With wins over Chicago and ASA Chesapeake Charge and a draw with Philadelphia Fever, the Western New York Flash also made major movement over the week.
Additionally, the Boston Breakers have forfeited a game due to a player not being approved to play by the the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer. The player participated in the match against the Western New York Flash played on May 26, 2012. The WNY Flash will be credited with the win.
Western New York Flash 3, Chicago Red Stars 0
Wednesday, June 13: The week opened with the WNY Flash taking an exciting 3-0 home win over the Red Stars at Sahlen Stadium in Rochester, N.Y. Jamaican international Omolyn Davis repaid head coach Aaran Lines’ faith in her with a goal and an assist to break her season-long slump. Katy Frierson and Spanish international Adriana also scored as the Flash tripled the previous number of goals allowed all season by Chicago’s Jamie Forbes.
Davis sparked the scoring in the 30th minute when she sent a cross into the box that Forbes could not stop. Frierson followed up with the shot into the back of the net. The Red Stars managed to hold the line until the middle of the second half. In the 70th minute Adriana headed in a McCall Zerboni corner kick for the 2-0 lead. Four minutes later Davis picked up her goal after an Alex Sahlen crossing pass.
“We were challenged tonight,” remarked Red Stars’ midfielder Julianne Sitch after the match. “We gave up a few goals but there are things we can always learn from and take away from every game.”
New England Mutiny 3, FC Indiana 2
Thursday, June 14: Although they have yet to crack the W column, FC Indiana have been showing steady improvement as the season progresses. In a game marked by a total of eight yellow cards, Indiana spotted visiting New England Mutiny a 2-0 lead, but came back to tie the score before Mutiny pulled off a stoppage-time goal for the win.
New England picked up the opening goal at the 32-minute mark when Sarah Brochu made a run up the field and served a ball in to Kate Howarth for the goal. It was Mutiny’s first lead in a match since defeating ASA Chesapeake Charge 4-2 in May. In the 51st minute midfielder Kelsey Hood chipped the ball over the Indiana defense and Becca Mays promptly converted for a 2-0 lead. That looked like a safe margin against an FC Indiana team that had only manged three goals all season, but the home team had other ideas.
On the restart Indiana drove down for a shot that clanged off the crossbar. Four minutes later forward Manoucheka Pierre-Louis picked up a pass from Lovely Placid and blasted a shot past New England goalkeeper Vikki Alonzo. Then in the 83rd minute FC Indiana was awarded a penalty kick for a New England infraction in the box. Jordan Clark lined up and sank the shot to knot the score at 2-2 with only minutes to go.
Ultimately it was Howarth, with her second goal of the night, who gave Mutiny the much-needed win. Running onto a through ball from Mays, Howarth fired a shot past FC Indiana goalkeeper Geralda Santilus for the game-winning goal. The score gave Howarth the team lead on points (11) with four goals and three assists and gave New England the 3-2 victory.
Western New York Flash 2, ASA Chesapeake Charge 0
Saturday, June 16: The WNY Flash picked up their second win of the week when they took a 2-0 victory on the road against ASA Chesapeake Charge. In spite of travel and their second match of the week, Flash came out strong from the opening whistle, repeatedly challenging Charge goalkeeper Lyndse Hokanson.
Adriana finally got Flash on the board with a goal in the 42nd minute to give her side a 1-0 lead going into the break. In the second half Charge increased the pressure, creating problems for Flash and managing to hold possession more of the half. However they were unable to break through the WNY defense for the equalizer. Finally, with only two minutes left in regulation, the Flash were awarded a penalty kick after a Charge handball in the box. Adriana’s shot found the back of the net for the final nail in the home team’s coffin.
Chicago Red Stars 4, New England Mutiny 0
Saturday, June 16: The Red Stars earned their sixth victory of the season as they downed the New England Mutiny 4-0 on a blustery afternoon. Chicago picked up goals from four different players as they moved to the top of the table.
After numerous challenges at either end, Chicago finally cracked the goal line in the 36th minute when Amanda Cinalli served a pass in to Michele Weissenhofer, who beat Mutiny’s Alonzo for the only goal the home team would need on the night. Both sides continued to play hard, but the half ended with the score 1-0.
In the 69th minute second-half substitute Kara Kabellis fired a corner kick into the crowded goal mouth. Julianne Sitch managed to redirect the ball to Cinalli who beat Alonzo for the 2-0 lead. Chicago was back on the attack four minutes later as Kabellis fed Lauren Fowlkes for a third goal. Team captain Lori Chalupny spread the icing on the cake with the final goal at the 85-minute mark.
New York Fury 2, ASA Chesapeake Charge 0
Sunday, June 17: In their first action since a 1-0 win over FC Indiana, the New York Fury took a 2-0 victory on the road against Chesapeake Charge. The win was not an easy one, as Charge opened on the attack, challenging Fury goalkeeper Michelle Betos several times. Eventually, though, it was New York to draw first blood in the 38th minute on a goal by Jasmyne Spencer after Meghan Lenczyk knocked down a free kick by Sinead Farrelly. Then in the 55th minute the Fury added an insurance goal as team scoring leader Merrit Mathias sent a cross in for Lenczyk, who headed it in.
“We had a really good weekend and we are starting to simmer,” said Fury head coach Paul Riley. “Hopefully we can keep pushing the envelope and truly push ourselves into contention for a playoff spot.”
Western New York Flash 0, Philadelphia Fever 0
Sunday, June 17: In their third match of the week and second road game in as many days, WNY Flash played Philadelphia Fever to a scoreless draw. Flash found themselves called several times for offsides on plays that might have resulted in goals, and Fever’s Michele Dalton was able to turn away the remaining serious challenges.
As the second half wore down the Flash increased their attack, but the Fever defense was able to keep them off the board. At the other end the hosts were not able to make any headway against the visitors, who were determined to take a third straight victory. In the end both sides had to settle for the single point for a draw.
WPSL Elite League Standings for Week 6
| Team | Points | Games | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD |
| Chicago Red Stars | 18 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 12 |
| Western New York Flash | 17 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 3 | 12 |
| New York Fury | 16 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 5 | 9 |
| Boston Breakers | 15 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 8 |
| New England Mutiny | 10 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 19 | -6 |
| ASA Chesapeake Charge | 4 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 19 | -13 |
| Philadelphia Fever | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 11 | -6 |
| FC Indiana | 1 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 21 | -16 |
Upcoming Games
Wednesday, June 20
New England Mutiny at Boston Breakers
Friday, June 22
Chicago Red Stars at ASA Chesapeake Charge
Philadelphia Fever at Western New York Flash
Saturday, June 23
New York Fury at Boston Breakers
Sunday, June 24
Western New York Flash at New England Mutiny
Chicago Red Stars at Philadelphia Fever