Harmon, Guam - Following a duo of recent upsets, the outcome of this weekend’s matches at the Guam Sports Complex gym will be crucial in determining which teams will enter the playoffs of the 2012 Bud Light Women’s Futsal League.
The Paintco Lady Strykers scored a huge upset victory over the top-ranked Doosan Lady Crushers 4-3 behind two goals from Alexy Barbe, including the match’s lone second-half goal and eventual game winner with 19:20 still left on the clock. The Lady Strykers’ defense, led by goalkeeper Sonja Sanchez, was able to shut out the Lady Crushers in the second half for the victory. Shelby Kier, Tatyana Ungacta and Kim Sherman scored the Lady Crushers’ goals in the first half. The Lady Strykers other two goals came from Christina Duenas and Krystiana Martinez, also in the first half.
In the day’s late match, Quality Distributors overcame a forfeit loss to the Lady Strykers and toppled the formerly undefeated Hyundai team 6-4. The league’s Golden Boot leader, Paige Surber and teammate Jodie Barnhouse led Quality with two goals each. Aubre Salas and Nieves Cabreza scored Quality’s other goals. Hyundai’s Arisa Recella led all scorers with four goals, catapulting her to the current second-place spot in the Golden Boot race. Recella overtook the Lady Crushers’ Kristin Thompson by one goal in the race following her four-goal performance Sunday.
In the day’s first game, the dck Masters blanked Pika Soccer Club 8-0. Kyung Shipman led the Masters’ domination with a hat trick. Teammate Rhoda Bamba scored twice and Christine Simard, Pauline Toves and Cheri Stewart each scored once in the winning effort.
The Lady Crushers and Hyundai will face off at 3 p.m. Sunday in a matchup of the league’s current top two teams to determine who moves on to the playoffs in first place, and who may potentially drop as low as fourth place.
Teams fighting for the other two spots in the playoffs are the dck Masters, the Lady Strykers and Quality. The three teams all currently sport a 2-2 win-loss record, with Sunday’s results determining who remains alive for the playoffs and who puts away their futsal shoes until next season. The Lady Strykers play Pika at 4 p.m. Sunday, followed by the Quality vs dck match at 5 p.m. Admission is free to watch the games.
In the event of a tie in the final standings for the season, the ranking of the teams will be first determined by the teams’ head-to-head result, followed by goal differential, least goals allowed and fewest disciplinary points if necessary. If the teams are still tied, a coin toss will be the last resort, according to league rules.
