July 28, 2007 W-League Washington Freedom vs Toronto Lady Lynx (from Lynx media release)
TORONTO LADY LYNX GAME REPORT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESENTED BY CAW - THE CANADIAN AUTO WORKERS UNION
Lady Lynx Eliminated from Playoffs by Freedom
Washington bests Toronto by 6-1 margin in Eastern Conference Semi-final
Date: July 28, 2007
Venue: Keith Harris Stadium, Ottawa, ON
Kick Off Time: 2:00 PM EDT
Final Score: Toronto 1 Washington 6
Match Summary:
The Toronto Lady Lynx' 2007 W-League playoff run ended this afternoon with a 6-1 defeat at the hands of the Washington Freedom in the Eastern Conference Semi-Final at Keith Harris Stadium in Ottawa. The Freedom will now advance to the Eastern Conference Final against the host Ottawa Fury, who defeated the Jersey Sky Blue 4-0 in the other semi-final this afternoon. The Lady Lynx return home proudly with a stellar 8-4-2 record including regular season and playoff games in 2007.
Washington, champions of the now-defunct professional WUSA in 2003, dominated the match from the opening whistle, taking full advantage of their edge in experience over the young Lady Lynx team. The Freedom scored three first-half tallies to take a 3-0 lead, and take control of the match. Veteran Lori Lindsey, a member of the 2003 WUSA championship team, opened the scoring in the 13th minute, and quickly made the score 2-0 with a second goal in the 26th minute. United States National Team striker Christie Welsh found the net five minutes later, and the route was on for the Freedom.
The Lady Lynx fought gamely throughout the match, and tenacious midfielder Allysha Chapman slammed home a Brittany Bisnott feed to make the score 4-1 in the 78th minute, after midfielder Katie Watson had given Washington a 4-0 lead two minutes earlier. Kelly Hammond and Jill Porto added tallies in the 80th and 90th minutes respectively to round out the scoring for the Freedom.
"I'm proud of how the team played today and all season all season," said Lady Lynx head coach Danny Stewart after the loss. "Today was a tough game against a very experienced team, and our girls played very well despite the scoreline. We gained a lot of experience today though, and we will use it to our advantage next year. We went one step further this year than last and we will use today to build towards taking the next step in 2008."
Prior to the match, the United Soccer Leagues announced that two Lady Lynx players had been elected to the All-Eastern Conference Team for their outstanding play in 2007, forward Adrienne Ruhe Lischke and defender Lexi Marton. Ruhe Lischke led the Lady Lynx in scoring with 8 goals this season, her rookie campaign with the team, while Marton served as team captain and provided spectacular play and veteran leadership at the back, despite being the youngest player on the team.
Final Score: Toronto 1 (0) Washington 6 (3) Scorers: Toronto: 78' Chapman (Bisnott) Washington: 13' Lindsey (Welsh) 26' Lindsey 31' Welsh 76' Watson 80' Hammond (Huffman) 90' Porto (Watson)
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
ROB IRWIN, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, TORONTO LYNX SOCCER CLUB
416-251-4625 ext. 23
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