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WEST REGION PLAYOFF POD

Published Jul 12, 2024


This year’s West Region Playoffs, hosted by Northwest Conference winners Spokane SC Shadow, features two of the WPSL’s founding clubs: California Storm and San Francisco Nighthawks. With four WPSL championship trophies in its trophy case, and nine appearances in the West Region Playoffs, the Storm will have to first get past So Cal Conference winners, FC Premier Women in the semifinal round for another shot at the Jerry Zanelli Cup. 

 

 

 

SPOKANE SC SHADOW (6-1-1)

Northwest Conference


In its fourth WPSL season, Spokane SC Shadow fended off two NWSL affiliated clubs to earn its first Northwest Conference title and finished five points clear at the top of the standings with a 6-1-1 record. 


Drew Williams’ club finished with 27 goals and accounted for the top three scorers in the conference: Livvy Moore (University of Oregon) with seven goals, Rebecca Skinner (Washington State University), with six, and Marissa Garcia (Gonzaga University) with five. 


Spokane posted three clean sheets and conceded a conference-best 11 goals. In Week 6, midfielder Kyah Le (Utah Tech University) earned West Region Player of the Week honors for her two-goal performance in the club’s season-making 4-1 win over Seattle Reign FC II.  


Spokane SC Shadow finished the regular season ranked No. 17 in the National Power Rankings and third in the West Region after hovering for four weeks at the eighth-tenth spots. 


Spokane SC Shadow opens the West Region Playoffs Saturday facing the San Francisco Nighthawks. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 PM PDT. 


 

CALIFORNIA STORM (6-3-0)
Pac North Conference 


After falling in last year’s West Region Playoff final, the California Storm is back in the hunt for a record fifth WPSL title. In its 26th season, no club has won more than the Storm with 15 conference titles, six regional titles, and four WPSL titles. 


The Storm finished the regular season tied with FC Davis on points atop the Pac North standings. After playing Davis to a 1-1 draw in the final week of the season, it came down to Strom’s superior goal differential that gave the Storm its 16th conference title.


With longtime coach Jamie Levoy at the helm, the Storm tallied an astounding 30 goals in nine games. Camryn Lancaster (Texas Christian University) and Lauren Hunter (academy) accounted for five goals each, followed by Kennedy Mayo (San Jose State University) with three. Twelve other players added their names to the scoresheet throughout the season. Conceding eight goals over its nine-game schedule, the Storm defense posted three clean sheets. 


The Storm enters Saturday’s West Region Playoffs semifinal ranked 14th in the National Power Rankings and No. 2 in the West region. 


The California Storm face So Cal winners, FC Premier Women in Saturday’s semifinal nightcap. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 PM PDT. 

 


 

FC PREMIER WOMEN (5-3-1)

So Cal Conference — Coastal Division 


Goals by Nia Thompson (post-collegiate) and Natalie Oca (academy) versus the San Diego Strikers in the So Cal Conference championship match last Saturday put FC Premier Women through to the West Region Playoffs for the first time in the club’s five WPSL seasons. 


FC Premier finished the Coastal Division with a 4-3-1 record. Cherrie Cox (Long Beach State University) led the club in scoring with four goals, followed by Savannah Hutchins (North Carolina State University) with three of the 22 division-high goals scored by the club. Hutchins’ goal in the club’s 3-2 win over MISS KICK FC in Week 5 earned her West Region Player of the Week honors. FC Premier conceded 11 goals, posting two clean sheets including a 3-0 win at LA Surf to close out the season. 


FC Premier enters this weekend’s West Region tournament ranked 7th in the West Region Power Rankings. The club peaked in the West Region rankings when it debuted at No. 2 and remained in the Top 10 the rest of the season. 


FC Premier Women faces the 20th-ranked California Storm in the second of Saturday’s semifinal matches. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 PM PDT. 

 


 

SAN FRANCISCO NIGHTHAWKS (6-2-1)

Pac North Conference 


Coming off one of the club’s best seasons in its 26-year WPSL history, the San Francisco Nighthawks make its third West Region Playoffs appearance as a wildcard entrant into this year’s tournament. The Nighthawks last West Region Playoffs appearance was in 2022. The Nighthawks finished the nine-game Pac North schedule 6-2-1, one point out of first place. San Francisco finished off the season with a three-game homestand, playing the California Storm to a 1-1 draw before posting wins over Nappa Valley 1839 FC and shutting out Lamorinda United. 


Altman led the side with five goals, followed by Raniyah Burton (Washington State University) and Sydney Cooke (post-collegiate) with four goals each. Cooke’s hattrick in the Nighthawks 7-0 win over Fresno Freeze in Week 3 earned her West Region Player of the Week honors. The Nighthawks tallied 25 goals over the course of the season, conceding eight, posting two clean sheets. 


The San Francisco Nighthawks finished the 2024 season ranked 6th in the West Region rankings. The club peaked in Week 5 at No 1 in the West Region and No. 4 in the weeks 4 and 5 National Power Rankings. The club is not currently ranked nationally. 


The San Francisco Nighthawks kick off the West Region Playoffs semifinals facing Northwest Conference winners, Spokane SC Shadow. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 PM PDT.