USL W League Playoff Recap
Wow! On our podcast last week, I told John that one of the hardest aspects of predicting the W League playoffs was that teams don’t play outside of divisions until the playoffs. Comparing apples to oranges can lead to some big time mistakes!
Detroit City wins the Central Conference
Both John and myself were pretty locked in on Minnesota Aurora finally getting over the playoff hump, but boy were we wrong. Aurora went out in the first round match with Indy Eleven (second time in a row Indy has bounced them). The match was a tight back and forth, but Indy got the winner and advanced to the Conference final. I will say, feels a bit unfair that Aurora didn’t host this conference playoff, I’ve heard word that the club applied for the right to host and the USL chose Keyworth instead.
Detroit City fans showed up for the playoffs. Image credit to @AgainstJackie
On the other side of the Central bracket, Detroit City rolled first-year River Light, 3-0 to advance to the Conference final. Lilley Bosley, Lily Jeakle, and Emily Pagett all scored for the homeside to take the round one match. River Light had a great season, but DCFC was just too strong at home.
In the final, Indy Eleven actually scored first, when Maisie Whitsett scored in the 7th minute. But one goal wouldn’t be enough to stop Detroit, as they roared back and scored 3 unanswered goals to win the Central Conference Championship. Emily Pagett, Sophia Romine, and Kayla Addison all scored for Detroit to put them through to the league semifinals.
Colorado Storm Shine in the West
When I saw Colorado Storm, a brand-new USL W side, paired with Cal Storm, a true legacy club in women’s soccer, in the first round, I assumed Cal would roll. Couldn’t have been more wrong. In fact, it was Colorado who rolled Cal out of the playoffs with an easy 3-0 win. Sydney Cheesman, Reese McDermott, and Elisa Dean would all get goals after the 45th minute to lead Colorado through to the Conference finals.
The other side of the bracket had even more surprises for us “experts.” FC Olympia had come out of a division that felt undermatched in comparison to their battle-tested NorCal opponents, Oakland Soul. Wrong. After trading second half goals from Sophie Beadle (FCO) and Jordan Geis (Soul), an extra time own goal by Oakland would give Olympia a hard-fought win and a chance to face Colorado.
In the Conference final, Colorado Storm would score the only goal to take the conference crown. Jadyn Goodrich scored in the 19th minute with a long goal from outside the box and that would be enough to send Colorado Storm to the semifinals.
Tennessee Rules the South
Again, we got this so wrong. After watching Florida Elite just pound the heck out of their division (a Southeast division we thought was really strong), I thought they would march through the South. So so wrong. Asheville City, who came in second in the South Central division, hosted this conference’s playoffs and it feels like it really paid off for them. After a scoreless first half, Florida drew first blood, but Asheville battled back with two unanswered to advance. Goals from Isabella Demarco and Caroline Dew got the Blues through to the conference final.
On the other side of the bracket, Tennessee SC faced Lone Star Division champions AHFC Royals. Ryanne Molenaar would find the goal for TSC early in the first half and the South Central division champions held on the rest of the way to get the win. Tennessee would have to face their divisional runner-up in Asheville to decide the Conference champion and would get the win with another 1-0 scoreline. Keaton Mitchell scored an incredible free kick from outside the box in the 75th minute to get the club a ticket to the national semifinals.
NC Courage Return from the East
We thought things would change in the East and we got more of the same.
NC Courage U23 faced a battle-hardened Lancaster Inferno in round one and ran them off the field. Lancaster had survived a very tough Mid-Atlantic Divisional schedule and I expected more, honestly. But goals from Hannah Jibril (2), Riley Kennedy, and Ivy Garner put Courage ahead 4-0 and last year’s runner-up looked very strong in their opening playoff battle.
Eagle FC (one of my favorite names in the league) faced a dominant Long Island Rough Riders in the first round and it was all Long Island. Golden Boot winner Luciana Setteducate scored her 19th goal of the season in the win, but Lia Howard scored what would end up being the winner just before half. Aminah Baruwah scored for Eagle, but the Mid-Atlantic winners couldn’t find an equalizer before the final whistle.
In the Eastern Conference final, Courage kept on rolling. Alexis Strickland scored the opening goal for North Carolina and Ivy Garner and Hannah Jibril followed with goals of their own. It’s Courage’s 13th straight win of the season and they are looking dominant heading into the semifinals.
Looking Forward to the Semifinals
Detroit City will host Colorado Storm in the semifinals at Keyworth and at this point, it feels like Le Rouge is the team of destiny. Playing three playoff matches at home, where their fans actually offer a true homefield advantage, is a massive leg up on their opponents. Colorado beat two good teams to get the semis, but I think their run ends in Detroit.
The other side of the bracket will have NC Courage hosting Tennessee SC. I gotta go with the homeside in this matchup as well. Tennessee was a surprising semifinalist, but advanced on back to back 1-0 wins. I don’t think they’ll be holding the hosts scoreless in this matchup. Courage advanced with an aggregate score of 7-0 in their two wins and I see them returning to the final again this year.
- Dan Vaughn