It was the 4th matchup on the season between the D.C. United Women and the Virginia Beach Piranhas. But for the first time it truly meant something. The winner of this match would go on to face the Charlotte Lady Eagles in the Eastern Conference Championship. And yet it was like nothing had changed.
United proved they were the superior team, beating their division rivals 3-0 in the semifinal matchup. It was a physical game played by both squads with a total of 3 yellow cards handed out, but in the end the D.C. offense could not be slowed.
Hayley Siegel, United’s self-voted MVP, earned that title tonight helping put in two of the United goals. In the 23rd she scored off a wondrous free kick from 30 yards outside of the box. The keeper got a hand on the shot, but couldn’t control the spin as the ball sailed into the back of the net.
Her second contribution to the scoring was just as impressive, winning a ball at midfield and laying a beautiful long ball into Lianne Sanderson in the 45th minute. Sanderson turned and shot quick to put the United up 2-0 heading into the break.
The 4 points in the game matched Siegel’s regular season total, and proved her value on a loaded D.C. squad.
After the break, play got a lot more physical and the teams held at a stalemate for most of the half.
Finally in the 80th minute United put the game away for good. Ashley Herndon played a perfect cross into the box right to the foot of Joanna Lohman, who rocketed the shot past the diving keeper.
While impressive the scores from today mean nothing in tomorrow’s championship match. It will be a hard fought battle between two division champs and the top two seeds in the conference. The Championship game will be tomorrow at 4 pm with the winner heading to Ottawa for the league championship.
