My money is on Surf vs. Legends in the final.
All the teams at this point have their merit but Surf's consistency and style of play has always had me hooked. In their matchup at TOC, frankly I thought Surf was far superior to Strikers North for all but a few minutes. Possession and opportunities were in their favor, they just couldn't capitalize on it. However Strikers plays with a determination and is a gritty team that has nothing to lose and will take the win however they can get it, even if it means having to hang on in their defensive third and weather a brutal storm. If they go to PKs, Strikers will be as close to a lock as you can have in a PK situation.
Legends has been phenomenal in this run, Evans has his girls playing with the skills of a quick 1-2 combination team that plays to it's strengths. They're not a "possession" team in comparison to the few teams that are able to pull it off, but most Legends teams follow the same formula that has worked over and over again. They're big in the back and go for results over style when the ball is in the defensive third, their work in the middle is down right beautiful when they blitz to win back the ball, and they're very effective in connecting passes going forward into the attack. They won't look to re-position the defense by purposely moving the ball back, but rather they will dare you to stop their combinations going towards goal. Everything is clicking right now for Legends and as much as I admire Galaxy's game and the "over the top" friends I know on that team, I believe Legends is on a collision course with Surf in the finals.
Best of luck to all the little ladies, may the games be played with love and respect for the sport. Stay safe, enjoy the small victories and help dry away those tears with ice cream and reminders to the little ones that it's a long journey and this is but a step among many.
All the teams at this point have their merit but Surf's consistency and style of play has always had me hooked. In their matchup at TOC, frankly I thought Surf was far superior to Strikers North for all but a few minutes. Possession and opportunities were in their favor, they just couldn't capitalize on it. However Strikers plays with a determination and is a gritty team that has nothing to lose and will take the win however they can get it, even if it means having to hang on in their defensive third and weather a brutal storm. If they go to PKs, Strikers will be as close to a lock as you can have in a PK situation.
Legends has been phenomenal in this run, Evans has his girls playing with the skills of a quick 1-2 combination team that plays to it's strengths. They're not a "possession" team in comparison to the few teams that are able to pull it off, but most Legends teams follow the same formula that has worked over and over again. They're big in the back and go for results over style when the ball is in the defensive third, their work in the middle is down right beautiful when they blitz to win back the ball, and they're very effective in connecting passes going forward into the attack. They won't look to re-position the defense by purposely moving the ball back, but rather they will dare you to stop their combinations going towards goal. Everything is clicking right now for Legends and as much as I admire Galaxy's game and the "over the top" friends I know on that team, I believe Legends is on a collision course with Surf in the finals.
Best of luck to all the little ladies, may the games be played with love and respect for the sport. Stay safe, enjoy the small victories and help dry away those tears with ice cream and reminders to the little ones that it's a long journey and this is but a step among many.
