Washington Timbers and Fuerza FC hosted and won their 2017 NWPL playoff matches on Saturday as the 3rd and 4th seeds advanced to play at the #1 and #2 seeds in the Semifinals this coming weekend.
Seattle and Fuerza will meet for a third time after FFC advanced to the semis with a 2-0 win over WPSS Shock on Saturday in Everett.
Fuerza FC 2-0 WPSS Shock
EVERETT, WA— Two second half goals powered Fuerza FC over WPSS Shock 2-0 in a playoff match played Saturday night at Goddard Stadium in Everett.
The match winner for Fuerza was scored by Maria (Mona) Zaragoza in the 55th minute. The clincher came in added time on a score by Jalisa Santiago. The shutout was credited to Tahlia Miears.
Fuerza, who finished 4th in the regular season, advances to play at #1 Seattle Stars on Saturday July 22 at 6:30 PM at French Field in Kent in the NWPL Semifinals. During the regular season the clubs played twice with Seattle taking two 2-1 victories.
Timbers starting 11 against Yakima in Saturday’s playoff match.
Washington Timbers 4-0 Yakima United
VANCOUVER, WA— The Washington Timbers are new members of the NWPL this season but they are wasting no time establishing themselves as a contending side. That reputation only grows after the club posted a 4-0 win over Yakima United to advance to the Semifinals. It was 1-0 until a late flurry saw the Timbers pull away.
Photo Gallery: by Alan Moditz
Here’s a report from the Timbers:
The Washington Timbers Women’s First Team had a lot of chances at goal in the first half, but were unable to finish until Jessie Ray received a ball off of a throw in, turned and struck an upper 90 shot into the back of the net shortly before the half (38th minute). Yakima United had some great attempts at goal as well, forcing the first-half keeper Lili Delgadillo to make 5 saves. Second half started with a bang with a goal from Kaili Brundage in the 47th minute. Brundage received a ball through the back line from Ellie Boon and was able to find the back of the net on a one-v-one with Yakima’s ‘keeper. Ellie Boon was able to finished the third goal for the Timbers in the 60th minute with the assist from Ellie Quercia, and the final goal was scored by Ellie Schmid with an amazing finish to end the game 4-0 off of a cross from Quercia. Center backs Rachel Bowler and Ana Delgadillo were solid in the back line allowing few shots on goal in the second half. Head coach Kat Tarr is ready for the team’s semi final game stating, “With four different scorers on the board, and some amazing attacking presence, I feel the team is starting to peak at the right moment. They are beginning to trust each other and I am very excited to see what they bring for their semi final game against Spokane.”
The Timbers, who finished 3rd in the regular season will travel to play #2 Spokane Shadow on Sunday July 23 with venue and kickoff time yet to be announced. The Shadow shut out the Timbers in Vancouver 2-0 in their only meeting this season.
Northwest Premier League 