Seattle Sounders Women News Release -- www.sounderswomen.com
Monday, July 7, 2014
TUKWILA, Wash. – The Seattle Sounders Women (18pts, 6-3-0) will finish their W-League regular season on the road in Colorado as they chase a place in the postseason on a three-game road trip. The Sounders will face the Colorado Rush (17pts, 5-3-2) on Wednesday night, the Colorado Pride (22pts, 7-2-1) on Friday night, and the Colorado Storm (0pts, 0-10-0) in their final game of the season on Sunday. All three of the Colorado teams have one game in hand over the Sounders.
Seattle moved up to fourth in the W-League's Western Conference after earning a 2-1 victory on Sunday afternoon against the Bay Area Breeze at Starfire Stadium.
The leading scorer for the Sounders is forward Kennya Cordner from Young Harris College, who has five goals this season. Forward Elise Wyatt from DePaul University is ranked 10th in the W-League for assists with three, but a player to watch this week is Jaclyn Softli, who has scored goals in each of the side's past two games, including the game-winner against Bay Area on Sunday.
The Rush are on a three-game winning streak, and sit fifth in the Western Conference. The Rush took a 5-1 win against Sedona FC on Saturday, and remain mathematically alive in the race for the conference's second playoff position should they win both of their remaining contests. The Rush took a 2-1 victory against the Sounders when they last played on June 27 at Starfire Stadium.
The University of Portland's Danica Evans leads the W-League with nine goals, and had the game-winning goal the last time the two teams met. The Sounders will need to keep Evans under wraps in a key game for both sides.
The Colorado Pride are on a four-game winning streak that has moved them into second place in the Western Conference, trailing only the LA Blues. The Pride would clinch a place in the playoffs with victory against the Sounders, but Seattle will go in confident having earned a 3-0 victory in the first meeting between the teams on June 13.
The standout player for the Pride is forward Mallory Weber from Penn State. Tied for fourth in the W-League's leading goalscorers, Weber has scored seven times this season.
The Colorado Storm are currently ranked seventh in the Western Conference, and are out of playoff contention. The Sounders took a 7-0 victory in their first meeting with the side on June 20, and could be in a position to claim the second seed in the playoffs with victory at Legend High Stadium with the right results against the Rush and Pride earlier in the week.
The match against Colorado Storm will conclude the 2014 W-League season for the Sounders. The Sounders will be playing three matches over a fived-day span, which will require them to keep their momentum and focus in order to earn second place and a place in the postseason.
For the W-League Playoffs, the first and second-placed teams in the Western Conference will compete against each other. The winner of that contest will advance to the W-League Championships at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
For match coverage and details, see SoundersWomen.com or follow the team on twitter @SoundersWomen or facebook.com/sounderswomen.