Alacranes Fort Worth (1-1 UWS Southwest) used a dominant second-half showing to earn their first victory of the season over WilCo FC (0-1 UWS Southwest). Esmeralda Gonzales opened the scoring for Alacranes 33 minutes in to send her team into the halftime break ahead. Substitute Lucy Ortiz pulled WilCo FC level in the first minute of the second half, but the parity didn’t last long. Gonzales’ second goal of the match pulled Alacranes back in front five minutes later, and she completed her hat trick with another goal in the 65th minute. Lizbeth Aguero finished things off with a pair of goals off the bench, securing a comfortable win for the home side.
Side FC’s (2-0 UWS Southwest) dominant start to the season continued, as the hosts kept a second consecutive clean sheet on their way to a 4-0 victory at home over WilCo FC (0-2 UWS Southwest). Fresh off a four-goal showing, Joan Nikarya bagged another two goals for Side FC, starting in the 16th minute with an assist from Anna Gornell and finishing off a feed from Jada Branan in the 79th minute. Vanessa Fitch also converted a header from a Valiree Morris corner, and Morris later found the back of the net herself with a free kick.
There was one-way traffic in San Antonio, where SA Athenians (2-0 UWS Southwest) dominated CTX Hornets (0-1 UWS Southwest), 6-1, to continue their strong start to the season. An own-goal in the 12th minute briefly put CTX Hornets ahead in their first UWS match, but Eden Bretzer equalized in the 36th minute, and an own-goal put SA Athenians ahead heading into halftime. SA Athenians scored four more times in the final 45 minutes, including two goals from substitute Channing Borden, to put the result beyond doubt.
A tightly contested draw rounded out play in the Southwest Conference for the weekend. FC Austin Elite (0-1-1 UWS Southwest) pulled ahead with a goal from Sophie Sanchez in the 31st minute to establish an early lead, but Alacranes Fort Worth (1-1-1 UWS Southwest) responded in the 66th minute when Esmeralda Gonzales scored her fourth goal of the weekend to salvage a point for her side.
The first game of the season in the West Conference finished in an entertaining 1-1 draw between Internacional CA (0-0-1 UWS West) and Kongo SC (0-0-1 UWS West). Moriah Lucas got the scoring going in the 20th minute for Kongo SC, with help from a Summer Miles assist. Internacional CA responded in the early stages of the second half, as Nathaly Losada made Kongo SC pay for a poor clearance. The defenses won the day from there on out, seeing out a 1-1 stalemate.
Kongo SC (0-1-1 UWS West) finished their season-opening California road trip with a tough matchup against SC Blue Heat (1-0 UWS West), which established control from the onset on the way to a 5-0 win. Iris Rabot and Tori Waldeck scored to put the home side up 2-0 heading into halftime. Angeles Escobar continued the blowout with a goal shortly after halftime, and tallies from Savannah DeMelo and Savianna Gomez capped things off for SC Blue Heat.
A tightly contested contest in the Midwest North saw Midwest United (2-0 UWS Midwest) extend their solid start to the season at the expense of Muskegon Risers (0-3 UWS Midwest), who suffered a 3-2 defeat. Jennifer Blitchok gave the visitors a fast start with her goal in the 14th minute, but Mackenzie Selvius equalized for Muskegon to begin what was a big day for her. Stephanie Curry put Midwest United back in front before the end of the second half, then Macey Wierenga extended the lead to 3-1 shortly after the break. Selvius got her second goal of the game with about 10 minutes to go, but Muskegon never found the tying goal as their winless streak reached three games.
Detroit City FC’s (2-0 UWS Midwest) perfect start in UWS continued with a commanding 6-1 victory over Lansing United (0-3 UWS Midwest). Kenna White and Madison Wolfbauer each found the back of the net in the first half to give Detroit City a 2-0 lead heading into the break. Thereafter, Margaret Berry, Wolfbauer and Mami Yamaguchi each tallied before Camryn Evans scored Lansing United’s only consolation in the 62nd minute to make it 5-1. Elisa Baeron finished off the win for Detroit City with her goal off a corner in the 67th minute.
A rematch of the season-opening game for both of these clubs brought another tightly contested affair, with Chicago KICS (1-1 UWS Midwest) eventually avenging their defeat to Ladies Steel City (1-2 UWS Midwest) in the opener after a thrilling second half. KICS went ahead early, when Cassandra Rohan found the back of the net. The real thrill came toward the midway point of the second half, though. Steel City equalized in the 65th minute, then the Kicks went back ahead in the 67th minute, only for Steel City to level things up again in the 69th minute with a goal by Marissa Anderson. The stalemate lasted until there were about 10 minutes remaining in the game, when Zenaya Barnes scored the winner for Chicago KICS.
