FC MILWAUKEE TORRENT WINS MIDWEST IN EXTRA TIME

Written By:  Joe Chatz | WPSL Correspondent

FC Milwaukee Torrent needed additional time to secure the WPSL Midwest Conference Championship after defeating Columbus Eagles FC 3-2 at Hart Park in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.

Milwaukee, winners of the WPSL’s Lake Michigan Division, gave up a 2-0 lead to Columbus, the National Road Division winners, in the second half but rallied in extra time to secure the Midwest title.

Columbus had control of play, and the first great chance of the match, less than four minutes after kickoff. A cross was played in from the left side that Columbus’ Sydney Worthy (Akron) met at the back-post where she beat her defender to the ball. Unfortunately for Worthy, her shot missed wide of the net and the match remained scoreless.

After Columbus continued to control the run of play, Milwaukee finally got something going on the counterattack in the seventh minute. Lola Wojcik (Wisconsin-Milwaukee) collected a loose ball after a poor Columbus pass and got in behind the Columbus defense with a clear path to the goal. Wojcik’s toe-poke of a shot could not get past Columbus keeper Celeste Sloma (Ohio), who got big and made the breakaway-denying save look easy. 

Milwaukee finally broke the deadlock in the 26th minute. Elsi Twombly (Marquette) got in behind her defender in the Columbus penalty area and was promptly taken down, earning Milwaukee a penalty kick. Twombly stepped up to the penalty spot and hammered a shot past a diving Sloma to the keeper’s right – giving the Torrent the 1-0 lead.

Milwaukee doubled its advantage before halftime after earning another penalty kick in the 33rd minute. Lainey Higgins (Wisconsin-Milwaukee) had barely brought the ball into the corner of Columbus’ penalty area before she was clumsily taken down from behind that gave her side its second spot kick of the evening. Higgins stepped up and took the penalty herself, beating Sloma to the keeper’s right again to give Milwaukee the 2-0 lead it took into the halftime break.

Nearly an hour into the Midwest Championship match, it looked like Milwaukee was going to cruise to a victory at home. Little did it realize how resilient Columbus Eagles FC was.

It all started from very little in the 60th minute. Columbus’ Lacee Bethea (Bowling Green) played a seemingly harmless pass to Victoria Kevdzija (Purdue) in the center of the field more than 40 yards from goal before Kevdzija made something happen. Kevdzija took four dribbles toward goal before ripping a left-footed shot from 24 yards squeaked past the outstretched fingertips of Milwaukee goalkeeper Mikki Easter (Marquette) into the corner of the net, making it 2-1 with over 30 minutes remaining.

Columbus finally scored its equalizer in the 73rd minute when Lacee Bethea (Bowling Green) tapped in a rebound from point-blank range to complete her side’s comeback from 2-0 down at halftime.

After neither side was able to score in the first 15-minute period of extra time, Milwaukee needed less than 45 seconds to go ahead in the second period of extra time. Victoria Crivello (St. Thomas) made a run down the right flank near the Columbus 18 before playing a cross toward the penalty spot. Alexa Maletis (Marquette) was there to meet the cross and tapped the ball into the net to give Milwaukee the go-ahead goal that ultimately secured its Midwest Conference title in the process.

With the win, FC Milwaukee Torrent will not only advance to the regional playoffs but will also host the three-day event this weekend with the Central Region Champion moving on to the WPSL Championship in Stillwater on July 22-23