Seattle Sounders Women News Release -- www.sounderswomen.com
Sunday, July 6, 2014
TUKWILA, Wash. – Through a tough battle on Sunday afternoon at Starfire Stadium, the Seattle Sounders Women (18pts, 6-3-0) grabbed a 2-1 victory against the third-place Bay Area Breeze (19pts, 6-4-1) in a key W-League Western Conference clash. The win moves the Sounders up the table with a game still in hand over their competition, and firmly in the playoff hunt.
In an eventful start to the match, back-to-back goals were scored in the third and fourth minutes. Up until the 89th minute of the match, however, the outcome was a mystery until Jaclyn Softli got on the end of a through-ball to score the game-winning goal for Seattle.
Bay Area Breeze applied solid pressured on the Sounders in the first three minutes of the match, and were rewarded with a goal. As the ball was being volleyed in and out of the penalty box, the Sounders attempted to defend the goal, but couldn’t halt a soaring ball that Breeze defender Gina Woodworth headed home to the top-left corner for a 1-0 lead.
The Sounders waited no time to equalize. A minute later, Seattle passed back and forth in Bay Area territory and forward Cara Ledman opened up a scoring opportunity, only to have a Breeze defender clear it out of the penalty area. Midfielder Lyndsey Patterson was prepared for the rebound and drilled a low shot home to make it 1-1.
Throughout the first 45 minutes, the Sounders maintained pressure on Bay Area. Seattle kept possession in the Breeze's end for a large portion of the half, but were unable to take as many shots as Bay Area — Seattle tallied 5 shots, while the Breeze totaled 9.
Upon returning from the halftime break, the Sounders had a hard time maintaining possession. The Breeze were able to hold a big portion of possession in Sounders' territory, with the Sounders taking 11 shots, and Bay Area taking 24.
The Sounders got the chance to take the lead in the 61st minute, howevver, when Bay Area's Allie Dutto wiped Sounders Emma Follis out in the penalty area. The Sounders received a penalty kick, but the shot to the right side of the goal was saved by Bay Area goalkeeper Emily Kruger.
Bay Area was inches away from taking the lead in the 85th minute when substitute Jordan O’Brien received a ball in the penalty area and pierced a shot to the right crossbar, forcing Anna Picarelli to make a diving save.
A through-ball by Sounders substitute Elise Wyatt in the 89th minute created the game-winning goal, as she sent her pass just outside the penalty area to Softli, who went one-on-one with Kruger and sent the ball home for a 2-1 victory.
Currently, the Sounders trail the third-placed Breeze by a point, having played two fewer games, and the second-placed Colorado Pride by four points with one game in hand. For the W-League playoffs, the first and second ranked seeds will compete against each other, in which the winner will advance to the W-League Championships at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
The Sounders will compete in their last three matches of the W-League season on the road in Colorado. The Sounders will face Colorado Rush (17pts, 5-3-2) on July 9, Colorado Pride (22pts, 7-2-1) on July 11 and Colorado Storm (0pts, 0-10-0) on July 13. For match coverage and details, visit SoundersWomen.com.