Written By:  Katie Parker | WPSL Correspondent

 

The Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is back for a historic 25th season and the Pac North Conference is on standby to provide fireworks for the celebration. The 10 teams in the conference will face each other, once each, all with their eyes on the same prize - the 2023 Jerry Zanelli Cup. The West Region’s Pac North Conference is home to the 2022 WPSL Champions, the California Storm and two 2023 expansion teams - BattleBorn FC and San Francisco Elite SC.  

The conference kicks off on May 7 at 3 PM between BattleBorn and FC Davis. The final regular season match is scheduled for July 9 at 6 PM between reigning conference champions the San Francisco Nighthawks and Fresno Freeze.     

Watch matches live on Eleven Sports, the official streaming partner of the WPSL.

 

 

CALIFORNIA STORM

The most obvious front-runner to come out of the Pac North is the California Storm - the 2022 WPSL Champions. The team went undefeated last season with five clean sheets in regular season play and notching another three during its championship run. The club is one of only two remaining founding member teams of the WPSL. In 24 seasons it’s nabbed three league championships and 14 regular season titles with a 208-42-33 record. 

The Storm is still announcing player signings, but its core group of players is returning, like Storm co-captain and the West Region’s Northern Division Offensive Player of the Year for two seasons running, Janae Gonzalez. The veterans will be paired with some impressive new additions. The first new player announced was Texas Christian University (TCU) junior Camryn Lancaster. In addition to making waves at TCU, she was also called into the USYNT U-20 camp last May. 

The Storm begins its season on the road against Fresno Freeze on May 27. A couple of big matches to pay attention to: 

• 06/18 v Lamorinda United - This has been a close matchup the last two seasons. Historically, a winner is decided by a one-goal difference.   
• 07/01 v San Francisco Nighthawks - This rivalry has stewed for 24 seasons. The last meeting was in the conference final and the ‘Hawks pulled out the win through penalties. 

 

SAN FRANCISCO NIGHTHAWKS

The San Francisco Nighthawks are a top contender to come out of the Pac North, seeing as the team is the defending Conference Champion. The Nighthawks secured a thrilling victory over the Storm last season after an epic 1-1 draw led to penalty kicks in the conference final. The Hawks ultimately fell in the West Region Semifinals in another round of PKs. 

The Nighthawks join the Storm as the other remaining founding member team of the WPSL. Last season the Hawks scored in all but one showing with a 5-4-1 record, putting its overall WPSL record through 24 seasons at 91-152-37. 

The San Francisco club announced its 2023 roster on social media. The squad will feature 17 new players and 25 veterans, including last season’s leading scorer Zoe Shepherd (University of Arkansas). 

The Nighthawks open the season at home on May 21 against FC Davis - the last meeting between the two ended in a 2-2 draw. Other big matches to pay attention to: 

• 06/27 v San Francisco Elite SC - SF Elite is a new expansion team that may provide a riveting in-city rivalry for the ‘Hawks. 
• 07/01 v California Storm - the Storm will have home-field advantage. 

 

SAN FRANCISCO ELITE SC

San Francisco Elite SC launched as an academy in 2014. This is the club’s first venture into the WPSL, but not its head coach, John DeMartini’s. He coached in the league from 2001-2003 as an assistant for Elk Grove Pride - Meghan Rapinoe’s former team. DeMartini has an extensive coaching resume spanning 20 years and is currently at the helm of the women’s team at San Francisco State University. 

San Francisco Elite SC announced University of San Francisco alumna Bianca Coad as its first WPSL signing. Coad came up in the SF Elite Academy and now serves as a staff coach. 

San Francisco Elite SC opens its season on May 13 at FC Davis. Davis will be a very solid opponent to welcome the WPSL newcomer to the league. A couple of other matches to pay attention to: 

• 06/24 v California Storm - it’ll be interesting to see how they stack up against the defending league champs. 
• 06/27 v San Francisco Nighthawks - the beginning of a potential city-based rivalry.

 

BATTLEBORN FC

The second new team joining the Pac North Conference for the 2023 season is out of northern Nevada. BattleBorn FC’s men’s side launched in 2021 and joined NISA Nation, a component of the National Independent Soccer Association, last year. Following the instant success of the men’s program, BattleBorn put its sights on the WPSL to provide women in the area with a high-level opportunity to play.   

The club has released a slew of player signings, including Alyssa Grundy who broke Lake Tahoe Community College’s (LTCC) single-season record for goals as a freshman in 2021 with 31. She remains LTCC’s all-time program leader with 51 goals and 13 assists.

The biggest hurdle for Battleborn will likely be road games. As the only team in Nevada, the closest match will be 155 miles away against California Storm. The furthest the team is scheduled to travel this season is to the San Francisco Bay Area, roughly 233 miles, for matches against San Francisco Elite SC, San Francisco Nighthawks and San Ramon FC. 

Pac North Conference play begins as BattleBorn FC opens its inaugural season at home against FC Davis on May 7. The club will host its first-ever double-header that day as its men’s side plays at home as well. Other matches to pay attention to: 

• 05/20 v San Francisco Elite SC - BattleBorn’s first road game of the season is against the Pac North’s other new expansion club. 
• 06/07 v California Storm - first time seeing how BattleBorn will stack up against the defending champs.

 

SAN RAMON FC 

San Ramon FC has played in the WPSL for six seasons with an overall record of 21-22-9. In 2022 the Pac North Conference was divided into a Northern and Southern Division - San Ramon competed in the Southern Division. However, this season teams decided to forgo divisions making San Ramon and Fresno Freeze the only two teams from last season’s Southern Division on this season’s schedule. The last time they faced a lot of the clubs they’ll play this summer was in 2021. 

San Ramon protected its home turf pretty well last season. The team recorded three losses, but all were on the road. Four players were recognized in the WPSL’s postseason All-Conference Best XI honors - Zinet Siddiqi (Saint Mary's College of California alumna), Mika Sayfurahman (UC Davis), Carly Waller (Saint Mary’s) and Ellie Ospeck (Notre Dame).

San Ramon and Fresno Freeze played each other twice in 2022 - the first ended in a 1-1 draw, while the other resulted in a 3-0 victory for Fresno. Historically, San Ramon keeps games tight and results are nearly always close - all that’s missing is more tallies in the win column.    

San Ramon FC opens its season at home on June 3 at 5 PM against new expansion side, BattleBorn FC. Other matches to pay attention to: 

• 6/7 v Diablo Valley Wolves - Last matchup in 2021 was a close one with the Wolves taking the win 3-2. 
• 6/18 v San Francisco Nighthawks - San Ramon topped last season’s conference champs 2-1 when it last faced off in 2021.  

 

FRESNO FREEZE

This is Fresno Freeze’s fifth season in the WPSL. Fresno holds a winning 18-6-8 record and has earned one conference title. Like San Ramon, the last time the Freeze met a lot of this season’s teams on the pitch was in 2021.  

Last season Fresno’s backline was impressive with only allowing five goals - the fewest in the conference. The club’s record earned it a spot in postseason play where eventual league champions, California Storm, beat the Freeze in the Pac North Conference semifinal. 

Like BattleBorn FC, one of the more challenging points of Fresno’s schedule is its commute. The club will travel 311 miles to play BattleBorn FC - the furthest for any team in the conference. Fresno’s closest road match will be against the Diablo Valley Wolves, a mere 167 miles away. 

One of the toughest stretches in the schedule is two weekends in a row of back-to-backs. The Freeze travel to play the Wolves on June 3 and host San Francisco Elite SC back home on June 4. The following weekend is the team’s long-distance road swing. It heads north with a stop in Davis, CA to take on FC Davis on June 10 before joining BattleBorn in Nevada on June 11.

Fresno Freeze begins its season on the road, facing Napa Valley 1839 FC on May 20. Other matches to keep an eye on: 

• 6/03 v Diablo Valley Wolves - A scoreless draw was the result of their last match in 2021. 
• 6/10 v FC Davis - The last meeting between the two in 2021 ended with a 2-1 Fresno victory. 

 

DIABLO VALLEY WOLVES

The Diablo Valley Wolves look to bounce back in the club’s fourth season in the WPSL. In 2022, the Wolves scored six goals in its first three games and then struggled to find the back of the net for the rest of the season. The team ultimately fell to its opponents in all 10 games of 2022.   

University of San Diego’s Lexi Zandonella-Arasa led the team’s scoring efforts with three goals. 

The Wolves open this season at home on June 3 against Fresno Freeze. Diablo Valley bounces back and forth between home and away games until a stretch of three matches on the road between June 24 and July 5. Matches to pay attention to:   

• 6/24 v San Francisco Nighthawks - This has the potential to be a fun matchup if the Wolves are able to come out swinging. The two met twice last season. One was a high-scoring affair with the ‘Hawks winning 6-3. San Francisco came out with a 2-0 win in the second. 
• 7/05 v Napa Valley 1839 FC - Napa provided another high-scoring match last season, beating the Wolves 5-2. 

 

LAMORINDA UNITED

Two clubs return to the Pac North Conference in 2023 to kick off their third seasons - Lamorinda United and FC Davis.  

Lamorinda United has only lost one game in two seasons of play. The team’s overall record is 16-1-3 and in 2021 it was crowned the Pac North Champs. Last season, Lamorinda earned five clean sheets and found the back of the net 38 times, which was 5th in scoring for the entire league.   

Elise Ziem, UC Santa Barbara, was named the West Region’s Defensive Player of the Year and earned All-Conference Best XI honors along with teammate Natalie Means (Georgetown) who recorded three goals and two assists last season. Both will be returning this season.

Lamorinda encounters two back-to-backs on the schedule this season. Both matches in the first set are at home while the second two are on the road. In fact, Lamorinda spends its final four games of the regular season away.  

The season opens for Lamorinda at home on May 27 at 7:30 against the reigning conference champions, the San Francisco Nighthawks. Other matches to keep an eye on: 

• 6/28 v California Storm - the 2022 WPSL Champions gave Lamorinda its only loss in two seasons.
• 7/01 v Napa Valley 1839 FC - the first time seeing each other last season resulted in a sizable victory for Lamorinda, but their next meeting ended in a 2-2 draw. 

 

FC DAVIS

FC Davis, like Lamorinda United, is entering its third season in the WPSL. The team earned three clean sheets in 2022 and holds an overall record of 7-10-3. 

Two FC Davis players earned All-Conference Best XI recognition for the second season in a row - Goalkeeper Alexa Madueno, an incoming senior at San Diego State, and midfielder Leslie Fregoso, an incoming senior at UC Davis.

FC Davis will begin and end its season on the road. The Pac North Conference’s first kickoff of the 2023 season is between FC Davis and new expansion side BattleBorn FC on May 7 at 3 PM PT. Other potentially big matches: 

• 5/21 v San Francisco Nighthawks - Davis and the Hawks each put two on the board for a 2-2 draw last season.  
• 6/14 v California Storm - Last season Davis started its season off with a scoreless draw against the eventual league champions.  

 

NAPA VALLEY 1839 FC

Last, but certainly not least, Napa Valley 1839 FC kicks off its second season in the WPSL this year. Although getting into a groove in the first season was challenging, Napa managed to find the back of the net in all but one match. The club scored 20 goals - tied for the fourth-highest in the conference. 

Forward Tessa Salvestrin, an incoming sophomore at St. Mary’s College of California, led the team scoring with four goals. Napa ended the 2022 season with a 2-7-1 record. 

Napa Valley opens its season at home against Fresno Freeze on May 20 at 4 PM PT. It’ll be an exciting evening for the hometown crowd as the club will host a doubleheader with its National Premier Soccer League men’s side playing just after the women. 

Napa played California Storm last season twice. The Storm squeaked away with just a 2-1 victory in the first match. In the second Napa lost 1-5. A couple of matches to keep an eye on: 

• 6/17 v San Francisco Elite SC - This will be the first time Napa plays a team newer to the league than them. It’ll be interesting to see how it stacks up and if having one year under its belt gives Napa an advantage.   
• 7/08 v FC Davis - If this match is similar to last season’s, it’ll be an exciting and high-scoring one. Napa beat Davis 4-3 in 2022.