W-League News Release
Sunday, July 13, 2014
TAMPA, Fla. – The W-League announced the schedule for its four conference championships today, with the Charlotte Lady Eagles, LA Blues, Ottawa Fury FC and Washington Spirit Reserves hosting championships this Friday and Saturday. Three of the four conference title games are set, with the Central Conference play-in match between K-W United FC and the Laval Comets scheduled for Tuesday night.
The four conference champions that emerge from next weekend’s action will travel to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida July 25-27 to compete at the 2014 W-League Championship presented by Nike.
The LA Blues (12-0-0) earned the regular season title thanks to a perfect season, scoring 50 goals and allowing only four in the process. Formed through an off-season merger of the LA Strikers and the 2013 W-League Champions the Pali Blues, LA will host the Western Conference Championship on Saturday, July 19 at 7:30 p.m. PT at Occidental College. The Blues will face the expansion Colorado Pride (9-2-1), who clinched second place in the conference Friday night with a strong 4-0 win against the Seattle Sounders Women. The Pride, who lost 2-0 at LA in the only meeting this season, are in excellent form having rattled off six consecutive wins to finish the regular season.
The Southeastern Conference race came down to the wire Saturday night, with the expansion Gulf Coast Texans claiming the regular season title thanks to a 1-1 draw against Atlanta. Due to stadium availability issues that leave them unable to host, the Texans will travel to face the No. 2 seed Charlotte Lady Eagles Saturday in the conference title game. Charlotte advanced Friday by defeating the Carolina Elite Cobras 2-1 in a winner-take-all showdown.
The Washington Spirit Reserves cruised to their fourth consecutive Northeastern Conference title with a record of 10-0-2. Washington will welcome the Braddock Road Stars Elite to the Maryland SoccerPlex on Friday night. In its first W-League season, Braddock Road completed a remarkable turnaround by defeating North Jersey 3-0 Saturday to advance to the title match.
The Central Conference will once again see three teams advance to the post-season, as second-place K-W United FC will host the third-place Laval Comets on Tuesday night for the right to face the No. 1-seed Fury. Ottawa, which closed out the season at 11-0-1, will welcome the winner of that match on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET at the Algonquin College Soccer Complex.
Central Conference Championship
Play-in Game
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Wilfrid Laurier University - Alumni Field, Waterloo, Ontario
No. 3 Laval Comets at No. 2 K-W United FC, 7 p.m. ET
Conference Championship
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Algonquin College Soccer Complex, Ottawa, Ontario
Play-in winner at No. 1 Ottawa Fury FC, 3 p.m. ET
Northeastern Conference Championship
Friday, July 18, 2014
Maryland SoccerPlex, Germantown, Maryland
No. 2 Braddock Road Stars Elite at No. 1 Washington Spirit Reserves 7 p.m. ET
Southeastern Conference Championship
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Queens Sports Complex, Charlotte, N.C.
No. 1 Gulf Coast Texans at No. 2 Charlotte Lady Eagles, 7 p.m. ET
Western Conference Championship
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Occidental College, Los Angeles, California
No. 2 Colorado Pride vs. No. 1 LA Blues, 10:30 p.m. ET