This week, we review the Quarterfinals and Semifinals of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. We also look at two of the North American summer amateur leagues which wrapped-up their 2023 seasons last month: the USL W League and UWS.
We also talk to Dalton Kaufman, who is the coaching director of USL W League side Tennessee SC about their complete turnaround season in 2023, from finishing fifth in 2022 and winning only two games to capturing their division title this season with a run of ten undefeated games, and plans for the future.
2023 Women's World Cup
Quarterfinals and Semifinals Review with Prognosis Results
Friday August 11
Spain 2 vs. Netherlands 1 (aet)
Spain advanced to their first ever semifinals in either a World Cup or EUROs championship with a 2-1 win over the Netherlands. In an entertaining game, Spain maintained the ball much more than did the Netherlands (50% vs 31%) and also held a huge advantage in shots (26 vs. 10) and shots on goal (9 vs. 4). However, Spain didn't take the lead until the 81st minute from the penalty spot by Mariona Caldentey (27) of Barcelona. The Dutch fought back to send the game into overtime with a superb 91st minute goal by Stefanie van der Gragt after a defense splitting pass by Victoria Pelova, which was a redemption of sorts for van der Gragt as it was her foul that resulted in the penalty call for Spain ten minutes earlier. In the 111th minute, Salma Paralluelo scored on a far post shot after a long slalom with the ball down the left hand side of the field.
Van der Gragt had 3 goals last season in 17 games in her first season in Italy with Inter Milan, while Pelova is starting her second season at Arsenal in England. Paralluelo, who came into the game in the 71st minute, is rapidly becoming one of the young stars of the tournament at 19 years-of-age and had 11 goals in 18 matches for Women's Champions League winners Barcelona last season. She said about her goal: "It means everything to me. It was a unique moment, great euphoria to have lived through it and I'm extremely happy." Paralluelo scored twice in Spain's U-20 WWC win last year against Japan and won the UEFA WCL title earlier this year with Barcelona—now she could be part of the biggest triumph ever in the women's game if Spain wins two more games.
For the Netherlands, Damaris Egurrola (23) started and played 96 minutes in midfield after being a sub in all the previous four games, stepping in for Danielle van de Donk, who was suspended on cards for the match. She had been capped once by Spain in 2019 against Cameroon after playing for them at multiple youth levels and even for the Basque unofficial national team. Egurrola was born in the U.S. and moved to Spain at the age of seven; at the club level she plays for Lyon in France, where she is entering her third season, after time in England with Everton and at Atletico Bilbao in Spain. After not being called into subsequent camps by head coach Jorge Vilda, she decided to play for the Netherlands—her mother is Dutch while her father is Basque. She has over 20 caps for the Dutch and also played at the EURO Finals last year.
The Netherlands had a good tournament and Andries Jonker did a very good job of getting the best out of his side, after the team was out-of-sorts last summer at the EUROs under Mark Parsons, now with the Washington Spirit. One has to wonder if things would have been different if they had been able to call in the injured Arsenal striker Viv Miedema, but Jonkers has built on nicely from Sarina Wiegman's legacy after she left for the England job following the Olympics in 2021.
Japan 1 vs. Sweden 2
Sweden knocked out the only remaining former WWC champion left in the Women's World Cup with a 2-1 win that statistically was a pretty even match. Sweden led narrowly in possession (46% vs. 43%), in shots (13 vs. 11) and shots on goal (6 vs. 3). Sweden used goals from defender Amanda Ilestedt (her fourth of the tournament) in the 23nd minutes and Filippia Angeldahl in the 51st minute from the penalty spot and then held off a late Japan rally as Honoka Hayashi scored in the 87th minute. Things could have been much different if substitute Riko Ueki's penalty kick had not bounded away off the crossbar in the 76th minute. Angeldahl's successful spot kick was the 150th goal scored at this tournament.
Japan's head coach Futoshi Ikeda said after the match: "When we tried to put pressure on them, they would run behind or use their height. We knew their strong points, but we would have wanted to have more time to attack. Still, in the second half, we showed a fighting spirit and got a goal back. I am proud of the players for not giving up and fighting till the end. It's difficult to sort things out right now, but I think the players showed what we are able to do as Japan, as Nadeshiko in every match and also in the preparations for the tournament. We couldn't turn those things into a victory today, but I want them to feel proud."
Sweden head coach Peter Gerhardsson said following the game that: "The girls talked before [the game] to be like bumblebees, um, um, um um, yeah?" meaning their tight defense and attacking focus was like a swarm of insects. Gerhardsson added: "I don't know if we have something to prove, but as a coach and as players you are never finished. You have to prove things all the time. It's exciting."
Sweden has made the semifinals again after making the last four in France in 2019 as well as at the 2020 Olympics (in Japan—narrowing falling to Canada on penalties in the Gold Medal match) and EURO 2021 in England. Sweden finished third at the 2019 WWC in France, as well as in Germany in 2011 and at the first WWC in 1991 in China. They lost to Germany in the Final in sudden-death overtime in 2003 in Los Angeles, a match that this reporter covered.
For Japan, the players really did themselves and their country proud. The JFA needs to bring in outside consultants to build the WE League, which averages about 1,500 fans a game, in order to find ways to energize the nation to follow the team outside of World Cups. The promotion of the few national team home games has been lacking as well. The talent is there, but the WE League has been quite unsuccessful in becoming anything more than a slightly more expensive Nadeshiko league, which is now a second tier loop. It is not much of a destination league and even arguably below China's league, even as it struggles with finances over the past few years. Japan built up the men's J-League side into a strong loop and a destination for many stars from abroad decades ago, and it still is very influential within Asia—the WE League has a long ways to go and must utilize best practices from other leagues abroad.
Saturday, August 12
Australia 0 vs. France 0 (5-4 on penalties)
Forward Sam Kerr played 65 minutes for Australia as a second half sub—being limited on minutes as she recovers from her calf injury—so head coach Tony Gustavsson had to factor the possibility of injury time into his substitution plans for her, explaining: "The biggest decision to be honest was when to bring Sam in. It was a massive decision even before the game to leave her on the bench. [A few days before, he had said that if she was ready, that he would start her, implying that it was a no-brainer]. And then it was the timing. I was informed that she had limited minutes today. And then we needed to put extra time into consideration. That was a massive decision to get right. When Sam came in, we really had them on the hook. We really got the momentum, and from the fans as well."
Kerr scored a goal in the penalty kick final after a pulsating 0-0 tie with France after 120 minutes and Australia advanced to the WWC semifinals for the first time ever. A near capacity crowd of 49,461 watched in Brisbane as the penalty kick session went through 10 rounds, a record length in a WWC Finals. Australia's Cortnee Vine scored the winning penalty for the Matildas. Vine (25) has been loyal to the A-League Women and particularly Sydney FC (the latter since 2020) as she felt that playing in Australia was best for her and her national team prospects, but probably now she will receive strong interest from the WSL and other leagues/clubs abroad.
Australia goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold had missed a chance to win the game in the shootout when her fifth round attempt hit the post, but she saved twice from her West Ham United teammate Kenza Dali after VAR spotted that she had both feet off her line the first time; Dali went to Arnold's left side on both attempts. Arnold was very good throughout the game and in the penalty shootout session; she played earlier in her career with hometown side Brisbane Roar.
France's substitute goalkeeper Solene Durand (28), who played with Guingamp last season and has moved to Sassuolo of Italy for 2023-24, had been sent on especially for the shootout by coach Herve Renard in the 122nd minute for starter Pauline Peyraud-Magnin (31) of Juventus in Italy.
After the match, Renard said: "You have to be proud of the girls tonight. They played an exceptional match… I have lost competitions on penalties before but I am proud of the players, the staff and the president of the federation. [Renard also won Africa Cup of Nations finals on penalties as head coach of Zambia and the Ivory Coast on the men's side in the past]. It has been a great experience. I would have preferred to win but that's football. We have spent 53 days together and everyone did their job superbly… It's all part of football. It will allow us to come back stronger." All credit to both teams as this match was between two marvelous sides in as tense a situation as you can find in the game with the passionate support for Australia in Brisbane.
For France moving ahead, Paris will host the Summer Olympics next summer and should definitely contest for a semifinal spot again, at least. Plus, Herve Renard is staying to coach the side, which is a huge benefit. He took over a few months before France left for Australia and stabilized a waterlogged ship under former head coach Corinne Diacre, who seemed more disliked than Captain Ahab. Renard (54) said after the Australia match: "Next year we will be at home, we still have a chance to win something." He was an inspirational last minute selection and did brilliantly—the players took to him and the fact that he is staying in the women's game for at least one more year is a huge benefit for France and women's football.
England 2 vs. Colombia 1
England fought back from a goal down to beat Colombia 2-1 in a very physical match and qualified for their third consecutive WWC semifinals—finishing third in Canada in 2015 and fourth in France in 2019. Alessia Russo scored the winner for the reigning European champions just after the hour mark. Colombia, playing in its first quarterfinal, took the lead against the run of play through a brilliant shot from the edge of the penalty box by Leicy Santos (27) of Atletico Madrid of Spain in the 44th minute that slid just under the crossbar but over goalkeeper Mary Earps.
But England struck back six minutes into first-half stoppage time when Colombia goalkeeper Catalina Perez spilled a straightforward catch in the box and let it slip behind her, where Lauren Hemp scored from close range. Alessia Russo scored the winner with a laser of a shot into the far corner past Perez, who was substituted shortly after Russo's goal in the 63rd minute for Natalia Giraldo (20) of America in Cali, which seemed a rather harsh decision by head coach Nelson Abadia. Perez played collegiately in the States with the University of Miami in Florida and Mississippi State and will join Werder Bremen in Germany this fall, after playing this year in Brazil with Avai (formerly Kindermann).
Prognosis Results
For the quarterfinals, we did think Spain would edge the Netherlands, Sweden would defeat Japan, Australia would edge France and England would surpass Colombia, though all were exciting games, with two 2-1 wins in 90 minutes, another 2-1 result after extra time and a penalty win following a 0-0 tie.
For the semifinals, we thought Spain would edge Sweden, in a match between Spain's potent offense versus Sweden's experience and solid defensive shape, while England would edge Australia for a Final spot.
Semifinals
Tuesday August 15
Spain 2 vs. Sweden 1
This match was scoreless until ten minutes from the end of regulation time when the teams erupted for three goals. Goals from youngsters Salma Paralluelo (19) and Olga Carmona (23) in the 81st and 89th minute respectively, sent Spain into the 2023 Women's World Cup Final on August 20, where they have the chance to not only win their first senior world title but also become the reigning champions of all three FIFA women's tournaments, as they also hold the 2022 U-17 and U-20 World titles, which would be a first in the women's game. Rebecka Blomqvist seemingly rescued the game for Sweden with a goal into the corner of the net in the 88th minute until Carmona's late heroics. Paralluelo was on the 2022 U-20 winning side in Costa Rica and won the U-17 title in 2018 in Uruguay.
Carmona captained the side from the start against Sweden despite only subbing on in the 90th minute and playing in the overtime session in the quarterfinal match against the Netherlands. Paralluelo again was a substitute (for Alexia Putellas in the 57th minute) as she was against the Netherlands and scored her second goal in two games. Paralluelo scored with a one-touch shot in the box after Jenni Hermoso's cross hit a Swedish defender; she quickly pounced on the ball despite coverage from two defenders. On the winner, Teresa Abelleira sent a short corner to an advancing Carmona, who had acres of space to advance into and sent her shot just under the crossbar into the net—Swedish goalkeeper Zecira Musovic put a hand to the shot but it had too much power. It was Carmona's second goal in 29 internationals. Spain then held on for eight minutes of added time. Sweden has one final match in the tournament, for third place.
Wednesday August 16
Australia vs. England
England advanced to their first ever Women's World Cup Final with a 3-1 win over co-host Australia in front of 75,784 fans in Sydney. Ella Toone scored England's first goal in the 36th minute. Australia pressed the action in the second half and Sam Kerr's goal on a shot from 30 meters sent the fans in ecstasy in the 63rd minute, but Lauren Hemp scored her second goal in two games eight minutes later for the ultimate winner. Alessia Russo scored her third goal of the tournament in the 86th minute to seal the match for England.
England had 50% of the possession in the game to 37% for Australia and led in shots (14 vs. 11) while the sides were similar on shots on goal (5 vs. 5) and corners (5 vs. 6). For England, their head coach Sarina Wiegman is coaching in her second consecutive WWC final, as she led Netherlands four years ago when they lost to the U.S. 2-0.
Final and Third Place Prognosis
The Spain vs. England final should be a fascinating match. Many are selecting England with their talented scorers and experienced head coach, but we expect that Spain will take the championship. Their third group match loss to Japan (4-0) seems to be very much the wake up call that they needed to advance past fellow UEFA sides Switzerland easily (6-1) and the Netherlands (2-1 aet) and Sweden (2-1) narrowly. Remember that those three wins were their first ever in the knockout stage of a Women's World Cup or EUROs. They have been patient in their last two matches but have the individuals to turn a match, as Salma Paralluelo and Olga Carmona did against Sweden and Aitana Bonmati and Jenni Hermoso have shown in previous matches, while Alexia Putellas—the 2021 and 2022 Ballon d'Or Feminin and FIFA Best Player awards winner—is not at her peak after coming back from an ACL injury she suffered in July of 2022 but she can be hugely influential in the biggest of matches.
The third place match is always tough to predict as it depends on how quickly each team can get over their disappointment at not making the championship final. Australia will have strong crowd support again in Brisbane as they did against France and has the edge in attacking power, particularly if Sam Kerr is given an extended run. They should edge Sweden in an open game.
North American Summer Amateur Leagues
USL W-League
Indy Eleven won the 2023 USL W League title with a 2-1 overtime victory over North Carolina Courage U-23 on July 22, finishing the season 12-1-1. The league's second final drew a crowd of 5,419 fans at Butler University's Michael A. Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis, a record for a women's soccer game in the state of Indiana. Indy Eleven is the second straight women's amateur team affiliated with a USL pro team to win the W League title.
Tormenta FC, whose men's pro team is the defending USL League One champion, won the initial W League championship in 2022 since the league relaunched, after folding in 2015 following 21 seasons. Indy Eleven has a men's team in the USL Championship (second division) and are trying to obtain a Major League Soccer (first division) franchise in the future; they also plan to enter the USL's Women's Professional Super League in 2024-25 or in the following season.
Indy Eleven players celebrate their 2023 USL W-League Championship at home 2-1 in extra time over the NC Courage U-23 team.
Photo courtesy USL W-League.
Indy took the lead through Maddy Williams (who played at Purdue for five seasons and was their all-time scoring leader with 38 goals and 26 assists, and then played in Europe with PSV Eindhoven and Zaragoza of Spain) before North Carolina's Lauren Martinho (still in high school and a U.S U-17 and U-20 international team player) scored with 15 minutes to go to send the game into overtime; she won the League Final MVP award. Alia Martin's goal in the first period of overtime on a bicycle kick decided the match.
Martin's winner was her second goal of the season. She also scored the late 91st minute go-ahead goal in the 3-2 win over the San Francisco Glens in the semifinals. The former University of Michigan midfielder signed with the Washington Spirit for the 2022 season but did not see any regular season action.
Indy Eleven defeated unbeaten and untied Minnesota Aurora FC (1-0) in the Central Conference final; the Aurora were 10-0-0 heading into the game and had set a league record with 60 goals in the regular season, besides being the leader in home attendance in the league. The Aurora lost the 2022 W-League Final to South Georgia Tormenta FC. Sam Dewey's (see below) team-leading ninth goal of the season was the difference for Indy. Nona Reason (who was on the University of Carolina-Chapel Hill roster last year but did not play—see more below) earned her seventh shutout of the season in goal.
The North Carolina Courage U-23 team, with one of the youngest rosters in the 65 team league this summer, won the national semifinal at home over Eagle SC of Pennsylvania on July 14 for an undefeated record at 14-1-0 (W-D-L) entering the final. Courage U-23 standout Mia Oliaro was named USL W League South Atlantic Division Player of the Year. Oliaro, a U.S. Youth National Team standout and NC Courage Academy product, scored five goals and had six assists. Oliaro will start her collegiate career this fall at nearby UNC-Chapel Hill.
USL Playoff Results
First Round:
Thursday, July 6
Tampa Bay United 3 Tennessee SC 2
NC Courage U23 3 FC Miami City 0
Minnesota Aurora FC 1 Chicago City SC 0
Flint City AFC 0 Indy Eleven 3
Friday, July 7
Morris Elite SC 3 Long Island Rough Riders 2
Eagle FC 2 Christos FC 1
San Francisco Glens 5 Oakland Soul 1
California Storm 1 Oly Town FC 0
Quarterfinals:
Saturday, July 8
NC Courage U23 3 Tampa Bay United 0
Indy Eleven 1 Minnesota Aurora FC 0
Sunday, July 9
Eagle FC 6 Morris Elite SC 0
San Francisco Glens 2 California Storm 1
Semifinals
North Carolina Courage U-23 4 Eagle FC 1
Indy Eleven 3 San Francisco Glens SC 2
Final
Indy Eleven 2 North Carolina Courage U-23 1 (after extra time)
Going into postseason play (for 16 teams in total), six teams were undefeated and five teams made their second consecutive trip to the postseason. The Conference Semifinals were hosted at four host sites across the country; Mechanicsburg, PA (Eastern)., Cary, N.C. (Southern)., Flint, MI. (Central), and Northern California (Western). The 2023 USL W League playoff picture was unclear until the final match of the regular season as surprise side Tennessee SC, who opened the season losing back-to-back matches, finished 8-2-2 (W-T-L). Tennessee's turnaround vaulted the club into first place in the division and their 2-0 win over Southern Soccer Academy on July 2 secured their first ever playoffs.
Tribal Football.com talked to Tennessee SC sporting director Dalton Kaufman, who discussed his side's rapid turnaround from finishing fifth of six teams in their division in 2022, with a 2-2-8 record, to winning the division title a year later. He said that: "Our idea of a system was a low block, 4-2-3-1 with three #10's and two #6's, because that was the type of players that we had. We were tough to score against." Kaufman said that Logan Fisher served as the head coach of the women's team this year and: "had free reign to run practices," as Dalton also was in charge of the men's USL League Two (summer amateur team) as well. Fisher played at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina and Francis Marion University in South Carolina.
Kaufman talked about his first team league all-star—Katie Shea Collins—who this fall is in her senior year of high school: "You usually don't play 16-year-olds [with your first team] but, with her speed, she swims around defensive center backs and they had to foul her. She is also technically gifted and adored by her teammates." Collins is a U.S. youth international and is being considered for the U.S. Pan American Games side this summer in Chile. Collins and goalkeeper Taiana Tolleson, a native of Hawaii, were both new to the team in 2023 and had significant impact on the team's turnaround. Also, midfielder Anna Haddock of Auburn University, who has played for the U.S. U-23 national team, played more games this season than in 2022 and Kaufman expects that she will be drafted by an NWSL team this winter.
The team was able to recruit from across the country this year as they established a home stay program for players from outside the Nashville area. Forward Ryanne Molenaar came from the University of the Pacific in California and he could have a few more players from that college next year. Bringing in players from other states supplements Tennessee's SC's academy program, which is something that he likes about the USL W League. W League teams can still play in the national ECNL league but meet the USL requirement by playing a certain number of games or tournaments with other academy programs in the league.
He also has a good relationship with the WPSL's Nashville Rhythm; he sees the WPSL in general as more of a junior varsity league to the W League [Kaufman has coached FC Pacific in California and Tucson Rush in Arizona in the past in the WPSL]. When asked about the fully professional USL Super League starting in the fall of 2024, he said that Chattanooga will have a team, starting in 2025 (about a two hour drive from Nashville/Franklin Tennessee, where Tennessee SC is based). Kaufman said that Tennessee SC does not currently have the infrastructure (such as a stadium) to join the league, but he can see a Super League franchise coming to Nashville (home of a MLS team) at some point.
The Western Conference also had a narrow finish as Oakland Soul had to beat the undefeated SF Glens to secure a place in the playoffs, but did so with a 3-1 victory. Also clinching a playoff berth was the California Storm of Sacramento, with their 2-0 win over the Stockton Cargo.
The Eastern Conference semifinal teams were nearly set with Eagle FC, Morris Elite SC and Long Island Rough Riders all clinching before the final weekend. Christos FC, in greater Annapolis, Maryland, was the last team to join the make the playoffs as a wild card team by beating Virginia Marauders FC 3-1.
The only conference that was set prior to the final weekend of the regular season was the Central Conference, where Flint City AFC was the first team this season to clinch a playoff berth. Joining the hosts were Minnesota Aurora FC, Chicago City SC and Indy Eleven.
2023 USL Team of the Year (First and Second Eleven) included players from thirteen clubs from all 10 divisions are represented among the 22 honorees. 2023 USL W League Champions Indy Eleven had four players among the First and Second team, while fellow Finalists NC Courage U23 had three:
First Eleven
GK – Bailey Herfurth, Tampa Bay United: She earned the 2023 Golden Glove with a .096 goals against average. Herfurth only allowed a single goal in her 936 minutes of play during the regular season, with 11 clean sheets, and plays at Louisiana State University.
D – Laurel Ansbrow, NC Courage U23: She plays at Wake Forest University and was a key in defense to the Courage's 11-1-0 regular season finish, with a plus 39 goal differential.
D – Tianna Harris, Minnesota Aurora FC: Harris played at Kent State University in Ohio and was a 2022 Mac Hermann (College Player of the Year) Trophy Watch List honoree; she helped lead Minnesota's defense which allowed only four regular season goals, the third least in the league.
D – Elle Piper, SF Glens SC: The Duke Blue Devil appeared in eight matches, scoring two goals and adding four assists from the backline.
M – Bella Gaetino, Flint City AFC: She is committed to the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill for 2024 and scored six goals across all matches for Flint City, who made the playoffs for the first time.
M – Mia Oliaro, NC Courage U23: (see above)
M – Nia Christopher, Eagle FC: Eagle FC won the Mid Atlantic Division and a playoff berth with the former Towson University (Maryland) and Bermuda international player (since 2018) scoring 11 goals and adding four assists in 14 matches for the Mechanicsburg (PA)-based club.
M – Katie Shea Collins, Tennessee SC: She is committed to the University of South Carolina for 2024 and, as a high-schooler, scored 14 goals and added seven assists—leading the league in assists—in 12 matches. The club won eight games of their twelve games and made the playoffs for the first time (see more about the club above).
F – Sam Dewey, Indy Eleven: Dewey scored nine goals with three assists in their W League Championship season. She played at Xavier University and then with Real Betis Féminas in Seville, Spain. At Xavier, in her senior season (2019), she had 13 goals and 4 assists—including four game winners—as Xavier won its first regular season conference title, first BIG EAST Tournament Championship and first NCAA Tournament match. In 86 career matches (75 starts), Dewey tallied 40 goals (12 were game winners) and 23 assists.
F – Baylee DeSmit, Christos FC: DeSmit was the 2023 W League Golden Boot winner with 21 regular season goals and added an additional goal in the playoffs. DeSmit, who plays collegiately at Loyola, also provided six assists and helped Christos reach its first-ever playoff appearance.
F – Nadia Gomes, SF Glens SC: Gomes, who was drafted by the Orlando Pride in 2018, helped to lead the team to the W League Semifinals after winning the Western Conference. Gomes netted 16 goals in 15 appearances, including a hat-trick in the club's opening playoff match against the Oakland Soul. Gomes also recorded six regular season assists and added another two in the playoffs. She was named the W League's Player of the Year.
The Viseu, Portugal native was critical for the Glens in their first season of play. Gomes played collegiately at BYU from 2014-2017, where she earned West Coast Conference and NSCAA [National Soccer Coaches Soccer Association] All-America third team honors. In addition, Gomes has represented Portugal at the U-19 and senior team levels. In 2018, Gomes (26) was drafted by the Orlando Pride and subsequently signed as a National Team Replacement Player but did not see any regular season action. With her outstanding 2023 season, she could see some interest at the professional level—certainly from the USL's Super League teams next year—and possibly with Portugal in future friendlies.
Second Eleven
GK – Nona Reason, Indy Eleven: The UNC Tar Heel started ten matches and only allowed three goals against during the regular season. During the playoffs, Reason and her backline held their first two playoff opponents scoreless.
D – Madison Cox, Tampa Bay United: The former University of Tampa, Grand Canyon University (Phoenix) and Puerto Rican National team defender was a veteran leader for Tampa Bay United's defensive unit; TB United posted the lowest goals allowed in the league with just one goal conceded during the regular season. Cox also contributed a goal as they finished the regular season undefeated (12-0-0). She played indoor soccer with the Tampa Bay Strikers of the National Indoor Soccer League last winter (see: The Week in Women's Football: Reviewing Spanish, German & Italian leagues - plus US indoor season - Tribal Football).
D – Carly Smith, Eagle FC: she plays collegiately at High Point University and the club ended the regular season 11-0-1 and made it through to the W League Semifinals.
D – Grace Bahr, Indy Eleven: Bahr started all 13 of Indy's matches this season. From the backline, the former University of Wisconsin-Madison and Xavier University defender had three goals and two assists for the 2023 W-League Champions. She tried out with Racing Louisville in 2021 and spent time with U.S. youth national teams.
M – Hannah Adler, Minnesota Aurora FC: The former University of Denver midfielder and current U.S. Beach National Team member scored 11 goals and added three assists. She played a few games in Denmark after college.
M – Kennedy Berschel, Chicago City SC: The University of Illinois midfielder contributed two goals and tallied five assists for Chicago.
M – Alia Martin, Indy Eleven: (see above)
M – Lauren Martinho, NC Courage U23: She will play at Duke University in 2024 and was highly recruited by a number of top schools including: the University of South Carolina, UNC, Virginia, Penn State, Stanford, and Notre Dame; she scored four goals with three assists while sharing a midfield with USWNT legend Heather O'Reilly, who is an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and briefly came out of retirement last summer to compete with Shelbourne of Ireland in the UEFA Women's Champion League.
F – Claire Manning, Morris Elite: A sophomore at Georgetown University, she finished second in the Golden Boot race with 17 goals in 12 games and led Morris Elite to a 10-1-1 regular season record and the club's second consecutive playoff appearance.
F – Mariah Lee, Oly Town FC: Former Stanford and Wake Forest standout Mariah Lee shined in Oly Town's [Olympia, Washington—the capital of the state and about an hour south of Seattle] first season in the W League. Lee, who played professionally in Spain at Sporting de Huelva, in Scotland with Glasgow Celtic and in Switzerland with FF Lugano, scored six goals and recorded three assists in eight games for the expansion side, helping secure the top spot in the Western Conference and a playoff berth. She spent a brief time with her home state side OL Reign in the NWSL in 2020.
F – Giana Riley, Cal Storm: Gonzaga University rising sophomore Giana Riley scored 14 goals in 14 matches and added three assists for expansion side California Storm this season (though the club was a founding member of the WPSL, which it still competes in).
WS—United Women's Soccer 2023 Review
Coach Doug Steinard and the Michigan Jaguars Women (based in Novi, a northwestern suburb of Detroit) defeated the Santa Clarita Blue Heat at the College of the Canyons on penalty kicks (0-0, 4-2) on July 23 for the 2023 United Women's Soccer (UWS) National Championship. Steinard is a staff coach for the Jaguar's youth teams and doubles as the women's assistant coach at Laurence Tech University in Southfield (suburban Detroit) Michigan. After a scoreless 90 minutes, the teams went straight to penalty kicks. Kyra Karfonta (who will be a sophomore at the University of Dayton in Ohio) scored the winning penalty.
Goalkeeper Batoul Reda (also a sophomore at the University of Dayton) was named Player of the Match by the UWS, for holding the two-time UWS champions (in 2016 and 2021) scoreless through regulation and then saved a pair of penalties in the shootout. Reda and Karfonta were both members of the last Jaguars team to win a National Championship at any level when their 2004 U-14 Girls team won a national youth soccer title in 2018. Reda won the Golden Glove as best goalkeeper during that tournament. Santa Clarita has finished second in the final game twice now, in 2023 and 2017.
The Jaguars beat Cincinnati Sirens at their home field of Total Sports Wixom in the National Semifinals. Jaguars GA alumni Sydney Chura (Savannah College of Art & Design) assisted Noel Blain (University of Dayton), who scored the game's only goal just two minutes into the match.
2023 UWS Champions Michigan Jaguars at their indoor home field in Novi Michigan. Photo courtesy of UWS/Michigan Jaguars.
2023 UWS One Playoff Results
Patriot Bracket
Semifinals
Wednesday, July 12
LANC Inferno 4 NE Mutiny 3
FC Buffalo 1 Albany Rush 0
Final
Saturday, July 15
FC Buffalo 2 LANC Inferno 4
Union Bracket
Semifinals
Wednesday, July 12
Sporting CT 3 Maine Footy 1
Coppermine 4 Steel City FC 2
Final
Saturday, July 15
Sporting CT 4 Coppermine 2
Central
Semifinals
Thursday, July 13
Michigan Jaguars 3 Michigan Legends 0
Final
Saturday, July 15
Cincinnati Sirens 0 Michigan Jaguars 1
West
• Santa Clarita Blue Heat advances to national semifinals as regular-season champion and hosted the final four on July 22-23.
National Semifinals:
Michigan Jaguars 4 Sporting CT 2
Santa Clarita Blue Heat 3 Lancaster Inferno FC 2.
National Final:
Santa Clarita Blue Heat 0 Michigan Jaguars 0 (Michigan Jaguars win 4-2 on penalty kicks).
Note: Later this month we will review the other North American summer amateur league for women, the WPSL.
Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women's football. Get your copy today.
Follow Tim on Twitter: @TimGrainey
