Monday, August 4, 2008 (Courtesy USL Soccer)

TAMPA, FL -- United Soccer Leagues announced Monday the W-League Championship All-Tournament Team led by Pali Blues defender Amy LePeilbet, who was honored Saturday following her side’s 2-1 championship victory as Most Valuable Player.

LePeilbet scored the biggest goal of the year for the Blues when she headed home the equalizing tally in 83rd minute of the W-League Championship game. That goal brought the Blues back to life and eventually led to the game-winner just five minutes later. LePeilbet was also strong defensively as she led a backline that surrendered only one goal during the Final Four weekend.

Although battling a hamstring injury the entire weekend, FC Indiana forward Laura Del Rio made her presence felt. She came on in the 61st minute in their semifinal victory over the Seattle Sounders and set up the game-winning goal with beautiful one touch pass to Fatima Leyva. Del Rio was also dangerous throughout the championship game as her play-making ability was on display against a tough Pali defense.

Washington forward Christie Welsh was one of the most dominant players on the weekend as she continued to force her will on the opposition. Welsh hit the post twice in Washington’s semifinal matchup against the Pali Blues and drew heavy praise from Blues coach Charlie Naimo.

“No one this year has been able to push us as much defensively as Welsh did tonight,” said Naimo after their semifinal contest. “I give her all the credit in the world.”

Welsh finally found the back of the net early in the Third Place Game against the Seattle Sounders as she put away what would stand as the game-winner.

Arguably the most impressive offensive performance of the weekend was turned in by Pali forward Danesha Adams in the Blues semifinal matchup against the Washington Freedom. Adams scored both goals for the Blues and demonstrated her athletic superiority throughout the contest. Adams also drew the attention of the entire FC Indiana defense in the championship game, which gave her teammates more space and helped lead to the two winning goals.

One of the most consistent and dangerous player of the weekend was FC Indiana midfielder Kelly Parker. Parker at times during FC Indiana’s semifinal and championship games was the best player on the field and almost willed her team to victory over the Blues.

Pali head coach Charlie Naimo, who has faced Parker many times over the past few seasons while coaching in the northeast, could not say enough good things about Parker and called her performance over the weekend, “the best I’ve ever seen her play.” Parker’s amazing runs up and down the field wowed the crowd and made for some anxious moments for her opponents the entire weekend.

FC Indiana midfielder Fatima Leyva was the only player the entire weekend to score points in both games, and her goal in the first semifinal match set the tone for a great weekend of soccer. Leyva gained possession in the midfield and quickly maneuvered her way around two Seattle defenders before playing a beautiful give and go with Laura Del Rio and finished with a striker’s grace in the lower left hand corner. Leyva also began the scoring in the Championship match when she sent a curling corner kick in the 47th minute that found the head of FC Indiana midfielder Jessica O’Rourke.

Washington midfielder Lori Lindsey was a force in the middle both games and she clearly showed her importance to the Freedom team. Against the Pali Blues in the semifinals Lindsey linked up with forward Christie Welsh throughout the game and was the main force in controlling the possession battle against the Blues. The Third Place game with the Sounders was more of the same with Lindsey controlling the midfield and tipping the balance of the field in Washington’s direction as most of the game was played in Seattle’s end of the field.

FC Indiana midfielder Jessica O’Rourke played one of the best games of the playoffs and almost sent the Lionesses to the top of the W-League with her amazing championship performance. O’Rourke’s main goal in the championship game was to be a disruption to Pali forwards Danesha Adams and India Trotter. She made life difficult for those two players and limited the amount of space they had to play with. O’Rourke did that beautifully throughout the contest and frustrated both forwards while she was on the field.

Not only did O’Rourke display her strength defensively, but she was also responsible for getting FC Indiana on the scoreboard. O’Rourke soared in the air over two Pali defenders and headed in a cross from teammate Fatima Leyva that gave the Lionesses the lead and put Pali in a trailing position for the first time this season.

Washington defender Emily Janss played all 180 minutes for the Freedom and was a force both defensively and offensively. Janss displayed her quickness on the flanks in both games as she made life miserable for the opposing defenses by making dangerous runs down the sidelines. Janss was also a workhorse defensively as her constant energy and production led to the shutout of Seattle and the frustration of the offensives from both Pali and the Sounders.

The versatility of Pali defender Kandace Wilson was on full display over the weekend as this standout defender showed she can help win games in more ways than one. In the Blues semifinal victory over Washington her athleticism help keep the Freedom forwards at bay and her constant work rate made her a tough defender to beat. Wilson’s big moment came near the end of the championship game when her coach Charlie Naimo moved her to forward to create more energy in the Pali attack. That move paid dividends in the 88th minute when Wilson flew down the left side and sent a cross through the outstretched hands of FC Indiana goalie Kristen Luckenbill and found the head of an incoming Ilaria Pasqui.

Seattle goalkeeper Jessica Salvi was the lone Sounders representative to make the W-League Championship All-Tournament team. Salvi played a courageous game in net for Seattle in their 1-0 setback to FC Indiana. However, if it wasn’t for Salvi, the score could have been much worse. Salvi showed no fear the entire match as she put her body on the line in making clearing punches and several diving saves that put the upstart Sounders in position to make it to the W-League Championship game.

Saturday, August 2, 2008   (Courtesy USL Soccer)                       ** Photos by John Radd **

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA -- It’s not always the case that a game can live up to the hype, but the Pali Blues 2-1 victory over FC Indiana in the W-League Championship game will be remembered for ages.

The Pali Blues came out loose and relaxed and it showed early in the contest. Pali was in control of the game early, dominating possession and getting everyone involved. On the other hand, FC Indiana looked nervous and the big game jitters definitely contributed to early FC Indiana miscues.

Although FC Indiana could not keep possession for any period of time, their defense was solid and Pali could not create any true scoring chances. Jessica O’Rourke was key in FC Indiana’s early defensive play as Head Coach Shek Borkowski unleashed a defensive strategy which clogged up the space that the athletic Blues desperately needed.

“Shek did an excellent coaching job tonight,” said Pali Head Coach Charlie Naimo. “He was able to take away our athleticism and we were really in trouble.”

The first big moment of the match came in the 30th minute when FC Indiana thought they took the early lead. Laura Del Rio played a beautiful curling ball in the front of the Pali goalmouth, where the awaiting Lauren Sesselmann headed into the goal. However, Sesselmann was whistled for being a step offside.

Pali responded quickly to FC Indiana’s scoring chance with one of their own. US youth international Danesha Adams sent a through ball to India Trotter, who looked to have a good shot on goal. However, Trotter tried one too many moves and the retreating FC Indiana defense deflected Trotter’s shot wide.

Right before the end of the first half it looked again like FC Indiana would take a 1-0 lead when midfielder Lena Mosebo blew past a defender on the wing and found an open Spain international Laura Del Rio at the top of the box. Del Rio’s shot was pushed aside by Pali goalie Val Henderson and the deflection went towards the direction of the back post and also towards the direction of a sliding Lauren Sesselmann. However, the sliding Sesselmann was unable to connect as the ball went safely out of play. The two teams headed to the half level, but with the momentum clearly in FC Indiana’s favor.

FC Indiana used that momentum to come out strong in the second half. They dominated the early play and used that advantage to score the first goal of the match. Midfielder and Mexican international Fatima Leyva sent a dangerous curling corner in the 47th minute that found the head of Jessica O’Rourke to make it 1-0 FC Indiana.

This was the first time all season that Pali trailed in a match and it took awhile for the Blues to regain their focus and command of the game.

FC Indiana continued on the offensive following the goal and in the 57th minute almost made the score 2-0 when Lauren Sesselmann went down the sidelines and sent in a cross the Del Rio just headed wide of the goal. Del Rio was at it again in the 70th minute, when she sent another beautiful cross that FC Indiana forward Mexican international Monica Ocampo got too, but was unable to put on goal.

“We were really struggling to make anything happen in the first part of the second half,” said Naimo. “We switched our formation from a 4-4-2 to a 3-4-3 to try and get some energy up top.”

The switch worked magically for Naimo and in the 83rd minute Pali leveled the match. Pali defender Amy LePeilbet beat all FC Indiana players in the air to the ball from a corner sent in by Rosie Tantillo and smoothly deflected the ball past FC Indiana goalie Kristen Luckenbill.

The equalizing goal sent waves of confidence through the Blues players and sent FC Indiana into a state of shock they could not recover from. Pali used the bounce in their step just five minutes later to score the game-winning goal. Defender Kandace Wilson, who was moved up top by Naimo in the second half, beat her defender on the wing and sent in a cross that went over the outstretched hands of Luckenbill. Italian international Ilaria Pasqui jumped at the opportunity and sent a diving header into the back of the net for only her second goal of the year.

FC Indiana frantically tried to gather themselves to find the equalizer, but none came, and Pali rode the strength of two goals in the final 10 minutes to win the 2008 W-League Championship.

“Our depth was a huge reason why we won this game,” said Naimo. “Our bench gave us the energy we needed and helped put us on top.”

FC Indiana’s loss was especially devastating to midfielder Kelly Parker, who is now 0-3 in W-League Championship games.

“To have the game in our hands, to be able to see the trophy right in front of us, this just hurts a lot,” said an obviously dejected Parker. “With the 1-0 goal lead we played a little bit safer but the momentum swing at the end of the game was too much to overcome.”

Kelly Parker was arguably the best player on the field tonight. She made tireless runs up and down the field and was a constant thorn in the side of the Pali Blues.

“I have never seen Kelly play this well,” said Naimo. “I can’t say enough good things about her.”

With the win the Pali Blues finished their season with a perfect 14-0-0 record, trailing only for a period of 36 minutes – as about a perfect a season as any team could produce. Star defender Amy LePeilbet was named the Most Valuable Player of the W-League Championship as she scored the goal that breathed life back to Pali.

This year’s W-League Championship tournament may have a larger impact off the field over the months to come as players are selected for the debut season of Women’s Professional Soccer. In 2000, the W-League final four would see 23 players go on to be drafted by the Women’s United Soccer Association as it embarked on its first year, including star players like Charmaine Hooper, Marci Miller, Lisa Krzykowski, Thori Bryan and Nel Fettig. Five players with WUSA experience were in the Virginia Beach this weekend with Seattle’s Michelle French and Washington foursome of Kele Golebiowski, Emily Janss, Lori Lindsey and Christie Welsh.