Tri-Cities Soccer Stars One Goal Short of Women's Semi-Pro National Championship

Batavia midfielder Julie Ewing scored a dramatic game-tying goal Sunday in the 88th minute of the 2011 Women's Premier Soccer League National Championship, but in the end, it was Tanya Taylor's 101st-minute goal that proved to be the difference Sunday, as the Orange County Waves beat the Chicago Red Stars 2-1 in overtime at the village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex.

Ewing is one of four Tri-Cities players on the national championship runner-up Red Stars. Jackie Santacaterina (Geneva), Sammy Scofield (Geneva) and Red Stars goalkeeper Jamie Forbes (St. Charles)

The Red Stars and Waves provided plenty of drama. 

Taylor, who was named the WPSL Championship MVP, got behind the Red Stars' defense, which attempted to put her in an offside position. But the pass from Waves (and former Red Stars) midfielder Brittany Klein was timed perfectly, and Taylor did the rest for the goal and a 2-1 lead at the 101st minute.

Orange County hung on for the rest of the overtime, despite a flurry of Chicago scoring chances, capped off by an Amanda Cinalli (Cleveland, OH) shot that went just wide left in stoppage time of the overtime session.

The Waves appeared to have the title wrapped up in regulation with a 1-0 lead until Ewing scored the game-tying goal to send the match into two 15-minute overtime sessions. Michele Weissenhofer (Naperville) had the setup with a flip throw-in from the right side. The ball juggled around in the middle of the box and Ewing converged to tie the match at 1-1.

The Red Stars and Waves had sporadic scoring opportunities in the early going, but Orange County had the game's first tally with a 43rd-minute goal from Kiki Bosio to give her side a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

In the net, Red Stars Forbes had five saves—four saves during the 90-minute regulation. Sophia Perez had five saves for Orange County, with three of her saves coming in the overtime sessions. Chicago's offense peppered the Waves goal with eight shot attempts in the overtime, versus eight shots in the 90 minutes of regulation.

ORANGE COUNTY WAVES 2, CHICAGO RED STARS 1 (OVERTIME)

Chicago              0    1    0    -    1

Orange County    1    0    1    -    2

SCORING SUMMARY

1. OC, Kiki Bosio (unassisted), 43rd min.; 2. CHI, Julie Ewing (Michele Weissenhofer), 88th min.; 3. OC, Tanya Taylor (Brittany Klein), 101st min.

Chicago starters: Jamie Forbes (GK), Carly Samp, Kara Kabellis, Amanda Cinalli, Julie Ewing, Elise Weber (capt.), Sammy Scofield, Michele Weissenhofer, Kecia Morway, Jackie Santacaterina, Vanessa DiBernardo

Orange County starters: Sophia Perez (GK), Brittany Klein (co-capt.), Tanya Taylor, Dani Bosio (co-capt.), Kiki Bosio, Kika Toulouse, Katrin Omarsdottir, Laurel Pastor, Vendula Strnadova, Shannon Cross, Meagan Snell

Chicago used substitutions: Shayla Mutz, Niki Sebo, Vanessa Laxgang, Shannon McDonnell, Leigh Jakes, Katie Nasenbenny 

Orange County used substitutions: Kristina Larsen, Kelly Lawrence, Sabrina DeMonte

STATISTICS

• Shots: Chicago 16, Orange County 15
• Shots on goal: Chicago 6, Orange County 7
• Saves: Chicago 5, Orange County 5
• Corner kicks: Chicago 6, Orange County 5
• Cautions and ejections: None

WPSL CHAMPIONS

• 1998: Silicon Valley Red Devils (runner-up: Auto Trader Women’s Select)
• 1999: California Storm (runner-up: Auto Trader Women’s Select)
• 2000: San Diego WFC (runner-up: California Storm)
• 2001: Ajax of Southern California (runner-up: San Diego WFC)
• 2002: California Storm (runner-up: Ajax of Southern California)
• 2003: Utah Spiders (runner-up: California Storm)
• 2004: California Storm (runner-up: New England Mutiny)
• 2005: FC Indiana (runner-up: California Storm)
• 2006: Long Island Fury (runner-up: Ajax of Southern California)
• 2007: FC Indiana (runner-up: New England Mutiny)
• 2008: Ajax of Southern California (runner-up: Arizona Rush)
• 2009: Long Island Fury (runner-up: Ajax of Southern California)
• 2010: Boston Aztecs Breakers Reserves (runner-up: Ajax of Southern California)
• 2011: Orange County Waves (runner-up: Chicago Red Stars)

POST-GAME QUOTES:

Red Stars Head Coach Rory Dames:

On the two 15-minute overtimes: "I thought we had the better of the two overtimes. Vanessa [DiBernardo] got two great chances, [Amanda] Cinalli got herself free a bit, and then they get us on the counter just cause we have a breakdown on the back line. And then we get caught chasing the game again. But even [Vanessa] Laxgang and Cinalli both got great looks in the last minute in stoppage time of the overtime. The result's a fair result because they were better on the day. It's interesting to see how [the Waves] had so much of the regulation and we had so much of the overtime. That's just how the game works."

On the Red Stars' scoring chances in OT: "We definitely missed three or four good chances that we don't usually miss, but we had to push numbers forward. They were able to get counters on us and they had some chances to put the game away, too."

On the game overall: "I thought the first 10 to 15 minutes we were pretty good. We got them stretched out. We had the ball. And then we really quit passing the ball. But that was because their backs just manhandled our frontrunners. We couldn't hold the ball up front."

On the Red Stars' impact with a local group of players: "There's a reason that they're a professional team and we're not. They had very good, intelligent women playing, and we had a lot of young kids who were worn out through regulation but still tied the game and got back into it. Our roster was comprised of predominently players from the Chicago area, so to pull that much talent from the area and compete with Orange County's players speaks volumes. I'm proud of this group."

On Orange County's tactic of attacking the left side: "You've got Elise [Weber] on one side and you've got Kecia [Morway] on the other, and Kecia's finished her freshman year at Notre Dame and won a national championship. But that's a 19-year-old versus a former WPS player (Tanya Taylor). That just makes sense, and I thought Kecia did fine. Kecia was good in the game. She's played in youth national championships, in an NCAA national championship. I don't think Kecia got caught up in the game. They're just good. The girl that got the MVP is the girl playing on that side."

Orange County Waves Head Coach Abner Rogers:

On the Red Stars: "Credit to them, we couldn't get going in our game and they put us under pressure. That high pressure, we kept turning over balls and then one or two players didn't have the confidence to keep the ball, so we had to just grind it out. We didn't want to do that. In overtime we made a couple of changes and personnel changes and tactical changes. And I think we did the better job keeping the ball, because we know we struggled to get some width in the game and I think their diamond caused problems early in the game. To put that much pressure and get back in the game, regardless of how you get back in the game, shows a lot of character."

On WPSL Championship MVP Tanya Taylor and the game overall: "Tanya is a handful for anybody. She can just turn it on and just beat you. I felt overall the game could have gone either way. Like any big game, you're going to have to dodge some bullets, and we certainly got our breaks today."

On Taylor's game-winning goal, assisted by Brittany Klein: "The timing of that was great, and she made a great run. She was calm with her finish. It was a great goal. At that point you get more energy in your game because you just scored a goal. But [the Red Stars] put us under pressure after that. Some teams will fold and just drop their heads in the heat."

About the Chicago Red Stars:

The Chicago Red Stars played in their first season in the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) after spending the 2009 and 2010 seasons in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). The Red Stars played their 2011 public home games at the Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex in west suburban Lisle, Ill. For more information about the Red Stars, visitwww.ChicagoRedStars.com.

About the Women's Premier Soccer League:

The WPSL is a 60-plus team semi-pro national league for the Summer 2011 season competing in five conferences and is the largest women's soccer league in the world. The league is sanctioned by the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) as an affiliate of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). The WPSL's mission is to provide the highest level of soccer in our effort to: bring affordable & quality family entertainment to the community; display positive role models for our youth; while, being a stepping stone for aspiring professional & international-level players.

For more information, visit our official website at http://www.wpsl.info, phone us at 1-800-854-0913 or contact us via email atmedia@wpslsoccer.com. You can also keep up with our league on our social media networking sites on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Eurosport & SOCCER.COM is a Proud Partner of the WPSL, who feature a wide selection of top-of-the-line soccer merchandise. For more information, visit their official website at http://www.soccer.com. Molten is the Official Championship Ball of the 2011 WPSL National Championship. Visit their official website at http://www.moltenusa.com for more information on their full line of products.