D.C. United Women News Release - www.dcunitedwomen.com
Friday, June 29, 2012
GERMANTOWN, Md. - As early as this weekend, D.C. United Women could celebrate its first division championship on the Maryland SoccerPlex pitch with a win against the FASA Impact on Sunday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. ET. 
The team currently holds an 11-point lead over FASA in the race for first and needs three more points to eliminate the Impact from contention. Should it win, D.C. United Women would clinch the team’s first playoff berth in its brief two-year history and secure a top-three seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
"It would be a great feeling for everybody because we have kids that have done a lot of great things for D.C. United Women, especially the core that was with me last year, and [assistant coach] Cindi Harkes," D.C. United Women Head Coach Mike Jorden said of the possibility of clinching the division at home. "It would be a great accomplishment to do something like that in our second season as a team."
The conference playoffs consist of four teams (three division winners and the 2nd place team from the division of the No. 1 seed) and take place at the home venue of the top overall conference seed. Becoming that top seed and hosting the conference playoffs is a major priority for D.C. United Women, which has one of the best home field advantages in the league. The team has allowed one goal at the SoccerPlex all season and has never lost a W-League match at the venue in two years of existence.
"Our top goal this season to make the playoffs and host the playoffs," Jorden told dcunitedwomen.com. "To do both would be a big advantage for us because we’ve always done well at our home venue. It’s a huge advantage not having to travel at that stage in the season and it will make our job a lot easier."
An 8-0-1 record has the Black-and-Red in good position to earn the Eastern Conference’s top seed, but as the season winds down competition is only getting tighter. D.C. United Women took over the top spot in the conference with its 2-0 win against Northern Virginia on Tuesday, but will look to earn some much-needed breathing room over the Atlanta Silverbacks (7-0-2) of the Southeast Division with another win on Sunday. Atlanta’s 23 points are two behind United Women’s 25, less than one game out of the conference lead.
The Charlotte Lady Eagles (7-1-2) also of the Southeast Division, are within striking distance as well with 23 points and two regular season games remaining. However, they face more of an uphill climb than Atlanta and D.C. which each have three games left to accumulate points. The Lady Eagles also face Atlanta in their final game, creating a six-point "swing" opportunity.
To support D.C. United Women in their attempt at making history this season, the team has decided to offer a free youth ticket with every purchase of an adult ticket for the final two regulars season home matches of the season. Boosting attendance late in the season will play a key role in the team’s success down the stretch and make a statement about the future of women’s soccer in the D.C. area.
Fans can get their free youth tickets with purchase of adult tickets for Sunday’s match against FASA and for next Saturday, July 7 for the team’s final home match of the season against the Dayton Dutch Lions (Also Becky Sauerbrunn’s Olympic send-off) at https://tickets.dcunitedwomen.com/.