W-League News Release
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
TAMPA, Fla. – The W-League announced its Team of the Week for Week 10 of the 2013 season today, honoring Los Angeles midfielder Kristy Moore as Player of the Week after she led the Strikers to their first playoff berth.
Moore, who has earned caps with both the Australia and England national teams and has played professionally in England and Norway for more than a decade, scored the game-winner in the 85th minute as the Strikers defeated the Colorado Rapids 2-1 Thursday to keep their playoff hopes alive. She then tallied the go-ahead goal as Los Angeles came back to defeat the Colorado Rush 3-2 on Sunday.
The pair of victories, combined with Seattle’s loss at Bay Area Sunday, gave the Strikers the right to play for the Western Conference Championship at Pali on Sunday. The winner will advance to the W-League Championship presented by Nike July 26-28 at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Also coming up with a playoff-clinching performance this past week was Carolina Elite forward Taylor Parker, who scored a stoppage-time goal at Charlotte that propelled the Cobras into the Southeastern Conference Championship in only their second season. With seconds remaining in their season, Savannah McCaskill found Parker alone at the top of the penalty area, and her low shot beat Robyn Jones to the corner to set up a meeting with the Dayton Dutch Lions on Friday for the conference title.
Atlanta’s Savannah Jordan joins Parker at forward for the Team of the Week after tallying a hat trick and recording an assist in an emphatic 6-0 win against VSI Tampa Bay. Santa Clarita midfielder Stacey Rodwell also had a strong offensive performance, recording a goal and two assists in a 4-3 win against the Colorado Rush.
W-League Scoring Champion Shan Jones tallied two more goals in her squad’s 2-1 victory against the Washington Spirit Reserves, and Ottawa’s Lisa-Marie Woods completes the midfield after scoring the game-winner against Toronto in an important Central Conference matchup.
Fredericksburg goalkeeper Jesse McGinley earned her spot on the Team of the Week with one of the more impressive performances of the season, stopping 14 of 15 shots she faced as the Impact closed their season with a 1-1 draw against the Spirit Reserves, who fired a total of 34 shots in the match.
Leading the defensive trio is Laval’s Kelsey Wilson, who scored a goal in the Comets’ 2-1 win at Ottawa that clinched the Central Conference’s top spot and the right to host the championship Saturday. She is joined by Toronto’s Olivis Lukasewich, who had a goal and an assist in a 5-2 win at London, and New York’s Hikari sato, who assisted on the game-winner in a shutout win vs. North Jersey.
W-League Team of the Week
Pos | Player | Team | Highlights |
GK | Jesse McGinley | Fredericksburg | Made 14 saves in 1-1 draw at Washington |
D | Olivia Lukasewich | Toronto | Goal, assist in 5-2 win at London |
D | Hikari Sato | New York | Assisted on GWG, led defense to shutout vs. North Jersey |
D | Kelsey Wilson | Laval | Scored goal, helped Laval take conf. with 2-1 win at Ottawa |
M | Ashley Freyer | Pali | Scored both as Blues won 2-0 to capture conference |
M | Kristy Moore | Los Angeles | Scored GWG at Rapids, go-ahead goal at Rush in must-win games |
M | Stacey Rodwell | Santa Clarita | Goal, two assists in 4-3 win vs. Rush |
M | Lisa-Marie Woods | Ottawa | GWG, 4 SOG as Ottawa defeated Toronto |
M | Shan Jones | Virginia Beach | Scored both goals as Piranhas defeated Washington 2-1 |
F | Savannah Jordan | Atlanta | Hat trick, assist in 6-0 win vs. VSI Tampa Bay |
F | Taylor Parker | Carolina Elite | 2nd-half sub scored stoppage-time goal to put Cobras in playoffs |
Honorable Mention – Atlanta - Jamie Simmons; Bay Area - Yianna Dimmitt, Brandi Vega; Carolina Elite - Rose Hull; Colorado Rush - Danica Evans, Sidny Szabo; Laval - Christina Julien, Sarah Robbins; Long Island - Grace Hawkins; Los Angeles - Lo'eau LaBonta; New Jersey - Jessica Fuccello; North Jersey - Stefanie Scholz; Ottawa - Shelina Zadorsky; Pali - Caprice Dydasco; Elizabeth Eddy; Quebec City - Cynthia Leblanc; Santa Clarita - Ana Borges, Alexa Ngo; Toronto - Nichelle Prince; Virginia Beach - Lauren Vetock; VSI Tampa Bay - Che Brown, Tori Abnathy.