FC Indiana advance to W-League final

Story courtesy FC Indiana Public Relations

Virginia Beach, VA (July 31, 2008) - Patience is a virtue, and for FC Indiana, they needed every bit of patience to squeak out a 1-0 victory in the semifinals of the W-League over a very game Seattle Sounders club.

The game started with FC Indiana (16-0-1) dominating possession. They controlled the pace of the game with great spacing and crisp passing. In the 12th minute FC Indiana had their first real chance when midfielder Kelly Parker beat her defender just outside the 18-yard box and whistled a shot just over the crossbar.

Then the weather became the x-factor that it can be in crucial games. In the 18th minute heavy rain started to fall and persisted for the rest of the half. Un-phased by the weather, FC Indiana continued to press the issue. Julianne Sitch and Lena Mosebo were consistently dangerous on the wings and peppered crosses in front of Seattle’s goal. Fortunately for Seattle, they had Jessica Salvi in goal who was up to the task. Salvi showed no fear in constantly denying FC Indiana advances with saves and clearing punches.

FC Indiana’s best chance came in the 33rd minute when the dangerous Kelly Parker again created a scoring chance by defeating her defender and sending in a cross that Lauren Sesselmann headed off the crossbar.

Halftime came with the teams still tied at 0-0 and had an extended break due to a short lightning delay. Seattle came out strong in the second half and started to gain some of the possession. The majority of the first part of the second half was played in FC Indiana’s end and knocked the Lionesses of guard.

FC Indiana picked up the pace in the 70th minute when Julianne Sitch again streaked down the sideline and sent in a dangerous ball that found the foot of a Seattle defender.

Throughout the game, even though they hadn’t scored, FC Indiana played with discipline and control. Those qualities were rewarded with a spectacular goal by Fatima Leyva in the 87th minute. Leyva gained possession in the midfield and quickly maneuvered her way around two Seattle defenders before playing a beautiful give and go with W-League assist leader Laura Del Rio and finishing with a striker’s grace in the lower left hand corner.

Seattle was unable to create any chances in the waning moments of the game and fell by the score of 1-0. Seattle became just the second team this season to limit the Lionesses to one goal in a match with the previous match being FC Indiana’s 1-1 draw against Minnesota. The Sounders also had two narrow 1-0 defeats to regular season champion Pali Blues.

FC Indiana now moves on to the W-League Championship game on Saturday August, 2 at 8:00 p.m. The championship will air on Fox Soccer Channel at 11:00 pm ET.

SCORING: FCI - Leyva (Del Rio) - 86’

LINEUPS:

FC INDIANA: Kristin Luckenbill, Jenny Jeffers, Marie-Eve Nault, Aiviv Luik, Julianne Sitch, Kelly Parker (Corie Moore 87’), Fatima Leyva, Alicia Milyak, Veronica Phewa (Laura Del Rio 60’), Lauren Sesselmann Annie Hamel (60’), Lena Mosebo (Jessica O’Rourke 88’)

SEATTLE SOUNDERS: Salvi, Deines, Drollinger, Lovejoy, Smith, Pulse, Gamble, Arrant, French, Schaefter, Baysa

STATS:
Shots: SEA 2, FCI 19
Saves: SEA 6, FCI 2
Fouls: SEA 19, FCI 18
Offsides: SEA 1, FCI 2
Corners: SEA 1, FCI 7

For more information, and details of their journey to the W-League final, visit FCIndiana.com