STILLWATER, OKLA. — Since the league’s founding 26 years ago, no team has repeated as WPSL National Champions. The Charlotte Eagles, last year’s WPSL National Champions, are hoping to change that when it opens the 2024 WPSL Championships Semifinals versus this year’s Cinderella Story, FC Pride on Friday evening at Neal Patterson Stadium on the campus of Oklahoma State University. 

Friday’s second Semifinal is no less compelling as the night’s opener when the East Region Champions, Clarkstown Soccer Club take on one of the league’s founding clubs and four-time WPSL Champions, California Storm. 

Should Charlotte and the Storm both advance to the final on Sunday, the match will pit the last two winners of the Jerry Zanelli Trophy against each other in a line of potential firsts that could come to fruition this weekend. 

 

(7) CHARLOTTE EAGLES vs. FC PRIDE

Friday, July 19 6:00 PM CDT

Watch the game here. 

 

 

(2) CLARKSTOWN SOCCER CLUB vs. (8) CALIFORNIA STORM

Friday, July 19 8:15 PM CDT

Watch the game here. 

 

 

 

 

CHARLOTTE EAGLES (10-0-1)
South Region / Atlantic Conference

Ranked No. 7 in the National Power Rankings and No. 1 in the South Region, Charlotte enters this year’s WPSL National Championships having a 496-minute shutout streak running. The Eagles last conceded a goal in the 44th minute in Week 7 win over Neuse River Futbol Alliance. 

Charlotte kicked off the postseason after a 1-0 win over McLean Soccer of The District Division to lock up the Atlantic Conference title and advance to the South Region Playoffs. Ava Myers (St. Bonaventure) tallied the lone goal in the match to keep the Eagles on its championship hunt. 

At the South Region Playoffs in Austin, Texas, the Eagles made quick work of wildcard entrant Futbolera Select out of Houston with a 5-0 win to advance to the region final. The next day, Charlotte rolled over Lone Star Conference winners, Austin Rise FC, 4-0, in the South Region Playoffs Final to earn the chance to become the first team to repeat as WPSL Champions in the 26-year history of the league. 

 

 

FC PRIDE (8-1-4)
Central Region / Midwest Conference

Few people gave the Gateway Division representatives much thought going into the Central Division Playoffs. FC Pride’s 4-1 win over No. 9 FC Milwaukee Torrent in the Midwest Conference Champions certainly raised some eyebrows. 

The unranked side from Indianapolis didn’t stop there, shocking the No. 1 ranked Sioux Falls City FC in the Central Region Playoffs Semifinal in what will go down as one of the most exciting games in league history.


After Kayla Budish put FC Pride ahead in the 20’ minute, Sioux Falls scored two second half goals and looked like it was going to walk away with the game when Budish (Purdue University) shocked everyone to pull the game level with only seconds on the referee’s watch. 

After Budish put FC Pride up with her third of the day in extra time, Sioux Falls forced the game into penalty kicks moments before the final whistle. Gracie Dunaway (Purdue University) nailed the final spot kick to send the unranked FC Pride through regional final where FC Pride defeated Union KC, 2-1, and advanced to the WPSL National Championships for the first time in the club’s history. 

 

 

CLARKSTOWN SOCCER CLUB (10-0-0)
East Region / Northeastern Conference

The only perfect team still playing, Clarkstown has proven to be the class of the East Region in just the club’s third season. Winners of the Northeastern Conference by eight points, Clarkstown tallied a total of 35 goals, conceding just eight, this season thanks in large part to a smothering press few teams have yet to figure out. 

Finishing the regular season ranked No. 2 in the National Power Rankings, and No. 1 in the East Region, Clarkstown steamrolled through the East Region Playoffs by first topping Great Lakes Conference winners, Niagara 1812, 4-1, in the East Region Semifinals behind a three-assist performance from Niamh Healy (Scranton) feeding Kelly Brady (Ole Miss) for two goals and Nikki Crane (academy) for the third. Bella Winn (UCLA) also tallied in the win that put Clarkstown through to the East Region Playoffs Finals, for the second consecutive year, to face Mid-Atlantic Conference winners, Reading United A.C. 

After jumping to a 2-0 lead—thanks to another two assists from Healy,Reading clawed its way back and pulled level before Joyce Ryder (University of Connecticut) put Clarkstown back in the lead at 3-2. Healy sealed the win with a goal of her own to make it 4-2 and Clarkstown redeemed its 2023 East Region Final loss to advance to the WPSL Championships.

 

CALIFORNIA STORM (8-3-0)
West Region / Pac North Conference

Champs in 2022, the Storm is back and looking to add to its record four WPSL championships. Ranked No. 8 in the National Power Rankings and No. 1 in the West Region, the Storm needed every single one of the 27 goals it scored to secure the club’s 15th Pac North Conference Title to earn a berth into the West Region Playoffs in Spokane, Wash. 

The Storm made quick work of its neighbors to the South, dispatching So Cal Conference Champions, FC Premier, 8-0, to advance to the Finals against Northwest Conference winners, Spokane SC Shadow.


After an hour of scoreless soccer, Brenda Uribe (post-collegiate) put the Storm up 1-0, only to concede the equalizer 10 minutes later and send the game into extra time. Elizabeth Hutchinson (post-collegiate) scored four minutes into the first overtime period, but the Storm could not weather Spokane’s onslaught and the equalizing goal for the second time in the match to send the game to penalty kicks. 

Amelia Villa (Westmont College) scored the final kick from the mark to put one of the league’s founding clubs back into the WPSL Championships for the sixth time in club history and play for another opportunity to raise the Jerry Zanelli Trophy, named after the club’s longtime coach and founder of the WPSL.