If you don’t want to get up when it’s still dark to watch the FIFA Women’s World Cup you can watch the next generation of stars in the UWS National Championship.

The UWS semi-final and final will take place July 22-23 In Santa Clarita, CA, home of the 4-time West Division Champions the Santa Clarita Blue Heat.

East Conference Union Champions, Sporting CT
Central Conference Champions, Jaguars FC
East Conference Patriot Champions, Lancaster Inferno
West Conference Champions, Santa Clarita Blue Heat

The selection of the division champions was formatted slightly differently this year. The Texas teams crowned a division champion, Luxoria, but they won’t be participating in the national championship. Instead, two teams from the East will participate in the National Championship with the winner of the Patriot and Union brackets advancing to California.

The West Division Champion, named in the final match of the season, are the Santa Clarita Blue Heat, who are no strangers to the UWS finals. They will be playing in their fourth National Championship and have won two national titles, the most recent one coming in 2021. They are a perennial powerhouse, ranked 16th in 2022 CONCACAF Club rankings. You will know Blue Heat by three of their most recent World Cup bound players, Ashley Sanchez, Alyssa Thompson, and Savannah DeMelo - part of the 2021 title winning squad. Thompson’s sister, Giselle, bossed the midfield in 2021 and with two additional years of experience under her belt you can expect more of the same at this tournament. Keep your eye on Elizabeth Worden and Olufolasade Adamolekun, who have scored 5 goals a piece. Adamolekun was a part of the 2021 championship team and the Jamaican National Team. Look for Maddy Perez, youth national team player, to lock down the defense. The SC Blue Heat roster is filled with elite college and youth national players, you will be sure to see the next World Cup bound player. Will they add another trophy to the cabinet this weekend?

Central Conference Champions, Michigan Jaguars FC have done a solid job creating cohesion and a style of play between their youth program and the semi-professional adult league. The team boasts a number of their former youth players. Teamwork could be the key factor that has helped carry the jaguars through the season this far. Emerson Sargeant, a Michigan State Spartan, can be relied upon to set up the attack from midfield, racking up assists. Midfielder, Natalie Kocsis, scored the game winner in University of Rochester’s first conference win and performs well under pressure; expect the team to rely on her in tight matches.

East Conference Union Champions, Sporting CT, participated in the top tier of UWS for the first time. Sporting finished second in the East division with 21 points and only one loss. Tiffany Weimer hasn’t lost a step since she left the NWSL and she leads the team with 11 goals, and dare I say, the league’s Golden Boot race. Weimer will be hard to stop and a defense’s worst nightmare. Also, if Weimer is drawing the defenders away, it will leave Imani Jenkins free to add to her season tally of 7-goals. Look for up and coming talented youths, Chura and Blain, to combine and make magic. No matter what happens in this final tournament they should be proud of what they have accomplished. As a first year team they have limited funding and the team has a gofundme to cover the costs of the trip HERE

East Conference, Patriot Champions, Lancaster Inferno finished 4th in the Eastern Division. Inferno finished 4th, behind Sporting CT, and they handily dethroned 1st place Buffalo FC in the Division championship game 4-2. This is Lancaster Inferno’s third national appearance as a final four team, previously finishing as finalist in 2018 and semifinalist in 2019. Six returning veterans who competed in previous National championships will use their experience to lead the team. Captain, Marissa DiGenova scored 6 goals in 8 games and will be the one to watch on offense. Other talented players include: former professional Liz Wenger, 3x All American midfielder Maddie Mohr, and Jackie Richards. Inferno has conversion on set pieces, particularly corner kicks and could use this to their advantage in a close match. The team is fundraising to cover the costs of the trip HERE

The X factor for all these teams is that ECNL girls’ national championships were completed last weekend, allowing standout youth players to fill out the roster and have a full squad. Leading up to the finals these talented youth players were travelling with their youth teams, earlier results may not be the best representation of team play. Each squad could be strengthened with these young players.

A condensed action-packed summer of women’s soccer has culminated in the final tournament. Every year the players’ talent level is increasing, the games are more competitive, and the soccer is just beautiful to watch. SC Blue Heat are the favorites going into this weekend. Soccer rarely goes as expected, anything can happen. That’s what I like best about this game, it just takes one moment of magic for an underdog to emerge victorious. All four teams have top college talent with honors and awards to match capable of winning each game.

Saturday, July 22
Semifinal at 4:00 pm PT
Semifinal at 7:00 pm PT

Sunday, July 23
Final at 5:00 pm PT

https://uwssoccer.com/uws-championship/

- by Danielle Gawronski