Kelly Irving reacts after scoring against Pali Blues. (Andrew Towell / TroutStreaming.com)
So far in the 2010 W-League season the Seattle Sounders Women have found the thrill of victory a difficult feeling to capture. The club ran off a string of five straight draws before falling earlier in the week to rivals Vancouver Whitecaps.
Last night at Starfire the thrill was back, and against the best-possible foe. Seattle topped the defending W-League Champion Pali Blues 3:1 at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila.
#4 Kelly Irving scored two goals for Seattle. (Club photo)
Kelly Irving (Western Washington Vikings grad) was Seattle's hero, scoring twice over a short span to lift the Sounders to a 2:0 second-half lead.
“Just determination in my eyes,” said Seattle head coach
Leighton O’Brien of Irving's efforts on both strikes.
“Just determined to get to the ball. If she’s not, the keeper get’s ‘em on both.”
Fighting through traffic in the box during the 53rd minute, Irving took possession and sent a low dribbler left of a diving Katie Frane in goal for Pali.
One minute later, Seattle forward Jocelyn Charette directed a pass to Irving just inside the goal box, where the woman of the match placed a header into the back of the net.
“Making the run in the back across the line, they didn’t pass off their players very well,” said Irving. “They would try to pass me off, but it just left me open in the middle.”
With the win, Seattle notched its first win on the season and took over a share of second place in the USL W-League’s Western Conference with Pali.
Seattle's final tally came in the 63rd. The Sounders converted on a penalty kick off the right boot of midfielder Tafara Pulse. The opportunity was triggered when Pali’s Chelsea Cline was called for a foul in the box.
Ten minutes later Pali inked its lone goal of the match when midfielder Lauren Fowlkes, at point-blank range, put her heel to a cross from the right side of the pitch.
The Sounders Women contributed to this report.
Comments