MVLA and Michigan Hawks to meet in ECNL Girls U18/19 National Championship

After a thrilling first day of quarterfinal action in the U18/19 ECNL Girls Finals, that saw three games decided by one goal, and another decided on penalty kicks, the final four teams who can lift the U18/19 ECNL Girls National Championship trophy took the field on Thursday in St. Louis, looking to take the next step towards that coveted National Championship.

In their semifinal matchup with FC Prime, Michigan Hawks jumped ahead in the opening half behind two goals from Addison Fife. On her first goal, Fife sprinted down the right side of the field past the defense, before sliding a shot past the keeper. She then followed that up with a second to extend the Michigan Hawks lead to 2-0.

Just before halftime, Michigan Hawks tacked on a third, earning a penalty that was converted by Reese Canada to give the Hawks a commanding 3-0 lead heading into the halftime break.

In the second half, Hawks proved to be too much for FC Prime to mount a comeback, as they added on a fourth goal from the penalty spot to book their spot in Saturday’s National Championship.

In the other semifinal, MVLA took on Slammers FC HB Køge. Following their win in penalty kicks in the quarterfinals, Slammers came into the game looking to keep their quest alive for a second straight U18/19 ECNL Girls National Championship and their third in the past four seasons.

It was MVLA who grabbed the early lead in this one though as Ma’Lia Patolo came up into the MVLA attack from her position on defense and fired home a perfectly placed shot to give MVLA the 1-0 edge in the first half.

Slammers had a massive opportunity to tie the game just before halftime after they were awarded a penalty, but MVLA goalkeeper Anneliese Braun came up with a clutch save to keep the 1-0 MVLA lead intact going into the second half.

In the second half, MVLA’s Stella Monberg doubled the lead with a sensational hit from just outside the box to put MVLA in prime position moving into the latter stages of the game.

Slammers didn’t go down easily though as they earned multiple corner kicks and generated multiple scoring chances in the game’s final 15 minutes, but the MVLA defense remained solid in front of Braun to secure the 2-0 win and their spot in the National Championship Game.

With each team now one game away from an ECNL Girls National Championship, Michigan Hawks and MVLA will square off on Saturday at 9 AM at Creve Coeur Park Soccer Complex in St. Louis to decide this season’s U18/19 ECNL Girls National Champions.