Sky Blue Returns to Action Against the Passion, Magic
Sky Blue keeper Jillian Loyden has four shutouts this season
Robyn McNeil
After a long layoff, Jersey Sky Blue will resume its quest for a place in the W-League playoffs this weekend with two pivotal Northeast Division matchups. Sky Blue enters the weekend in fourth place in the division needing two victories to keep pace with only the top three teams qualifying for the postseason.
Sky Blue will host the Connecticut Passion on Saturday evening at 5 p.m. at Drew University’s Ranger Stadium in Madison, NJ before travelling to play the New York Magic on Sunday at 5 p.m. at Iona College in New Rochelle, NY. The game against the Passion was rescheduled after the first attempt was cancelled due to lightning three weeks ago.
Sky Blue will be playing its first game since June 24 when it knocked off the New Jersey Wildcats 1-0 on the road. In preparation for its return to league action, Sky Blue recorded a 3-1 victory over the United States Under-17 National Team on Wednesday in a training match.
Prior to the break, Sky Blue posted its longest winning streak of the season with three straight victories to improve its season record to 6-2-1 for 19 points. In the Northeast Division standings, Sky Blue trails the Boston Renegades (8-2, 24 pts.), the Washington Freedom (6-1-1, 19 pts.), and the Long Island Rough Riders (6-1-1, 19 pts.). Sky Blue falls behind the Freedom and Rough Riders based on goal differential.
Against the Passion, Sky Blue will seek to break its home-field doldrums. In four games this season at Ranger Stadium, Sky Blue has a 1-2-1 record in contrast to its perfect 5-0 mark on the road. In its franchise history, Sky Blue holds a 12-0 road mark in the regular season.
Scoring goals has been the one area of deficiency for Sky Blue this season but forward Taylor Walsh and attacker Tricia DiPaolo gave the team reason for hope during the three-game winning streak. Walsh connected for the game-winning goals in victories over the Northern Virginia Majestics and Fredericksburg Lady Gunners before setting up DiPaolo for the only goal in the win over the Wildcats. In addition, striker Michele O’Brien will be back with Sky Blue this weekend after missing the past three games due to national team duty with the Republic of Ireland.
|
Northeast Division |
Pts |
GP |
W |
L |
T |
GF |
GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Renegades | 24 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 5 |
| Washington Freedom | 19 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 5 |
| Long Island Rough Riders | 19 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 7 |
| Jersey Sky Blue | 19 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 5 |
| Connecticut Passion | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 16 |
| New Jersey Wildcats | 7 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 23 |
| Northern Virginia Majestics | 7 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 20 |
| New York Magic | 6 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 17 |
| Fredericksburg Lady Gunners | 1 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 25 |
Connecticut will also be returning from a long layoff with the Passion playing their last game on June 21 – a 6-1 victory over the New Jersey Wildcats. Making its debut in the W-League this season, Connecticut started off slow before turning it on in the second month of the season. In May, the Passion posted an 0-2-2 mark but in June the first-year squad won all four of its games to jump to 4-2-2 for 14 points and an outside shot at qualifying for the Northeast Division playoffs.
Forward Nathalie Urbas has been key for Connecticut with five goals during the team’s four game winning streak. The former Sacred Heart University player also nabbed a W-League Player of the Week selection as the Passion turned its season around in June. Urbas leads the team in scoring with five goals and two assists while Fortuna Velaj is second on the list with four goals.
With New York, Sky Blue will be facing a team that just posted its first victory of the season last Sunday – a 2-1 triumph over the New Jersey Wildcats. The Magic are responsible for one blemish on Sky Blue’s record this season – a 0-0 scoreless tie on June 7 in a match that was cut short due to lightning in the 72nd minute. Sky Blue held a 15-5 advantage in shots in that first matchup at Ranger Stadium.
The Magic are led by ageless wonder Noelle Meeke, who leads the team in scoring with three goals and one assist for seven points. The 41-year old earned W-League Team of the Week honors for this week after connecting on the first goal of the season in the win over New Jersey – New York’s first win over the Wildcats since May 17, 2003. Two players have two goals for the Magic – Gemma Davison, who is playing with the Magic during the offseason for her other team the Arsenal Ladies, and Donna-Kay Henry, a 17-year old that came up through the Magic Super-Y youth system.
Following the weekend, Sky Blue will return to Ranger Stadium for a midweek battle against the Long Island Rough Riders. The two teams will battle it out for a Northeast Division playoff spot on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.