Fury Set For Central Conference Semi

With the 2008 USL W-League season complete, the Ottawa Fury Women find themselves in familiar territory. Sporting a superb 13-1-0 record good for 39 points, Ottawa finished the regular season as Northern Division winners and second place in the Central Conference. Only the FC Indiana Lionesses (13-0-1, 40 points) bested the Fury record-wise and earned the honour of hosting the Conference championships.

Ottawa will travel to Indiana looking to win their first-ever W-League championship after coming agonizingly close on a number of occasions. In 2006 the Fury made it all the way to the national finals only to lose 3-0 to the Vancouver Whitecaps, while this past season saw eventual title winners Washington Freedom defeat Ottawa by a slim 1-0 margin in the conference finals.

The road in 2008 to rewriting previous wrongs begins on Friday, July 25 when Ottawa will play the Chicago Gaels (11-3-0) in the Central Conference semi-finals. Chicago placed second in the Midwest Division, with the Gaels losing twice to Indiana (by a 3-0 margin each time), and once to third-placed Minnesota. Chicago boasts a great defensive record with only nine goals against, and keepers Erin Kane and Kristen Keane have both posted three shutouts each. On the offensive end the Gaels have enjoyed production from all areas of the pitch. Striker Emily Beans leads the team with nine goals and an assist, however thirteen other Gaels have scored during the season creating a well-balanced Chicago attack.

Since a mid-season loss to Toronto, Ottawa’s offense has been firing on all cylinders and the team has reeled off eight successive victories highlighted by two 3-0 wins over Laval and an end of the season 8-0 drubbing of the Vermont Lady Voltage. Ottawa’s front pairing of Shay Powell and Jodie Taylor have been nothing short of clinical. Taylor scored successive hat-tricks on the final weekend of the season to finish with 10 goals and four assists, while Powell leads the team having tallied 11 times.

The winner of the Central Conference playoffs will have a chance to play for the W-League National Championships being held in Virginia Beach, VA.