CENTRAL REGION PLAYOFFS KICK OFF SATURDAY

 

The Central Region Playoffs kick off Saturday with the first of two semifinal matches hosted by Oklahoma City FC in Mustang, Okla. St. Croix Legacy and Union KC open play at 5:30 p.m. (CDT) followed by Oklahoma City FC and Austin Rise FC at 8 p.m. (CDT). The winners of Saturday’s semifinal matches advance to the Central Region Playoffs Final on Sunday at 7 p.m. (CDT). 

 

Saturday, July 12
Central Region Semifinal
St. Croix Legacy (Postseason 0-1-0) vs. Union KC (Postseason 0-0-0)
5:30 p.m. (CDT)
Mustang High School
Mustang, Okla. 
Watch live on on-demand on the National Soccer Network 

 

 

Central Region action kicks off Saturday evening when North Lakes Conference champions take on Union KC out of the Midwest Conference’s Heartland Division in the first of two regional semifinal matches Saturday. 

 

St. Croix enters Saturday’s match fresh off its North Lakes Conference Final win in penalty kicks over FC Milwaukee Torrent after playing to a 2-2 draw in regulation. After each team failed to convert one spot kick in regulation, Emily Hinze scored the winning penalty kick in sudden death (6-5) to put St. Croix through to the Central Region Playoffs. The conference title is the first for St. Croix in three seasons of WPSL play. 

 

 

St. Croix finished the regular season 6-1-1, tied at the top of the table on points (19) with Minnesota Thunder, and one point ahead of Salvo SC. St. Croix advanced to the North Lakes Conference Final as Land of the Lakes Division representative. 

 

Matchweek Four Central Region Offensive Player of the Week, Tatum Trettel (St. Thomas University 2023- ) led the club in offensive scoring stats with seven goals over six appearances, one goal short of the division golden boot award. Amara Smith (Minnesota State University 2024- ) is second on the team with six goals in nine appearances—five regular season goals in eight appearances. Smith scored the first goal in St. Croix’s two goal comeback against FC Milwaukee Torrent in the North Lakes Conference Final. Wren Van De Walker (St. Olaf College 2023- ) scored the equalizer.

 

Defensively, St. Croix is led by Matchweek Eight Defensive Player of the Week winner, Hadley Johnson (Pomona-Pitzer College 2022- ) in goal. Johnson made seven regular season starts earning two consecutive clean sheets in Matchweek Eight, and made several late-game saves to keep the score level at two in the North Lakes Conference Final. 

 

Union KC enters Saturday’s semifinal off a 6-1 road win over Sunflower State FC to close out its regular season. Union KC enters the Central Region Playoffs as a wild card team on the strength of its 5-4-1 Heartland Division record, which included a 1-1 draw versus division winners, Oklahoma City FC. Union KC was one of only two teams to take points off of the division champs, playing OKCFC to a 1-1 draw. 

 

 

Union KC tallied 21 goals over its 10-game regular season schedule. Adriana Benassi (University of Missouri-Kansas City 2024- ) and Grace Vest (Texas Christian University 2025- ) led the club with four regular season goals each, followed by Hope Kim (Saint Louis University 2024- ) with three. 

 

Union KC’s defense finished the regular season allowing just 10 goals in 10 games spread among four goalkeepers, keeping three clean sheets spread through the season. 

 

This is Union KC’s second consecutive appearance in the Central Region Playoffs. As Midwest Conference winners last season, Union KC topped Mountain Conference winners, Colorado Pride 3-2 before falling to FC Pride 2-1 in the Central Region final. 

 

The winner advances to the Central Region Playoffs Final Sunday, July 13 at Mustang Stadium in Mustang, Okla. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. (CDT). Watch it here. 

 

Saturday, July 12
Central Region Semifinal
Oklahoma City FC (Postseason 1-0-0) vs. Austin Rise FC (Postseason 0-0-0)
7 p.m. (CDT)
Mustang High School
Mustang, Okla. 
Watch live or on-demand on the National Soccer Network

 

Saturday’s night cap pits conference champions Oklahoma City FC out of the Midwest Conference and Austin Rise FC from the Lone Star Conference. As regional playoff hosts, Oklahoma City FC enters Saturday evening’s match with a home field advantage. 

 

Oklahoma City FC enters the Central Region Playoffs fresh off a spectacular 3-2 come-from-behind win over Gateway Division winners, Lou Fusz Athletic. After conceding an own goal in the opening 10 minutes of the match and a second goal two minutes before halftime, Oklahoma City FC tallied three times in the final 30 minutes of the match. OKCFC spent the final 25 minutes of the match playing down after starting goalkeeper Callie Sullivan (University of Oklahoma 2025- ) was sent off for a questionable handling call outside of her penalty area. Sullivan will be unavailable for Saturday’s match. U.S. Youth International, Rylee McLanahan (University of Florida 2025- ), scored twice and assisted Narissa Fults (University of Arizona 2024- ) with the 89th minute game and conference winner. 

 

 

Oklahoma City FC were runaway Heartland Division winners, going unbeaten in regular season play. Fults, who earned Central Region Offensive Player of the Week Honors in Matchweek Five, led the club in scoring with seven regular season goals. Her game winner in the Midwest Conference Final brings her total to eight on the season, tied with McLanahan who had six regular season goals and the postseason brace in the conference final. 

 

On the defensive side, Oklahoma City led the division allowing just seven goals. Sullivan and Matchweek Four Central Region Defensive Player of the Week, Breanna Wooten (Oklahoma Christian University 2023- ) shared goalkeeping duties for OKCFC, posting six clean sheets in ten regular season matches. 

 

Austin Rise FC is new to the Central Region, but not regional playoffs. Last year, in its debut season, Austin won the Lone Star Conference to advance to the South Region Playoffs, falling to eventual runners up, Charlotte Eagles in the South Region Final. With the addition of the Gulf Coast Conference in the South Region for 2025, the Lone Star Conference moved to the Central Region. 

 

This year’s Lone Star Conference was incredibly competitive. Three points separated Austin at the top of the table from third-place FC Dallas Women, which Austin beat 3-2 on the road in the final game of the season to secure its second consecutive conference title. 

 

Katie Gernsbacher, Central Region Offensive Player of Matchweek Eight led the club and conference with eight goals in nine appearances for the club, followed by Emma Torres (Texas Tech University 2025- ) with four goals, two of which came in back-to-back games earning her Central Region Offensive Player of Matchweek Seven. 

 

Austin’s defense tied with FC Dallas Women for fewest goals in the conference, allowing eight over the course of the ten-match regular season schedule. Austin’s experienced back line and goalkeeping corps kept five clean sheets during the season to lead the conference in shutout victories. 

 

The winner advances to the Central Region Playoffs Final Sunday, July 13 at Mustang Stadium in Mustang, Okla. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. (CDT). Watch it here. 

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