W-League News Release
Sunday, July 21, 2013
TAMPA, Fla. – The participants for the 2013 W-League Championship presented by Nike have been set, with the Carolina Elite Cobras, Laval Comets, Pali Blues and Washington Spirit Reserves set for Friday’s semifinals at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The semifinal winners will advance to the 2013 W-League Championship final at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Both of Friday’s semifinal matchups and Sunday’s championship and consolation match will be available live on USL Live on UNATION (www.uslnation.com).
The Pali Blues (8-2-2) earned their fourth trip to the final four in their six-year history thanks to a 2-0 victory against the Los Angeles Strikers in Sunday’s Western Conference Final. Wake Forest star Katie Stengel scored once and set up Chioma Ubogagu for the second for Pali in the win. The Blues will face the No. 3-seeded Washington Spirit Reserves (7-3-2), who finished second in the Northeastern Conference but defeated the top overall seed – Virginia Beach – 2-1 in the conference title game.
The Central Conference Champion Laval Comets (8-1-3) enter the championship weekend as the top seed and will face the No. 4-seed Carolina Elite Cobras (5-4-1), who earned their trip to the W-League Championship by defeating the Dayton Dutch Lions in Friday’s Southeastern Conference Championship. Laval captured the Central Conference crown Saturday, knocking off the defending W-League champion Ottawa Fury in penalty kicks.
Of the participants, Pali is the only squad to have captured a W-League title, having taken back-to-back crowns in 2008-09. Pali fell against the Ottawa Fury in the 2012 championship.
2013 W-League Championship presented by Nike
At IMG Academy
Bradenton, Florida
Semifinals
Friday, July 26
#3 Washington Spirit Reserves vs. #2 Pali Blues, 2 p.m. ET
#4 Carolina Elite Cobras vs. #1 Laval Comets, 5 p.m. ET
Consolation
Sunday, July 28, 12 p.m. ET
Championship
Sunday, July 28, 3 p.m. ET