NEWS NEWS

Stars of the Week: June 16-22
Sunday Jun 22, 2008
SeaLions Shake Out Win
Amberly Richardson
Posted: Sunday, June 22, 2008 12:53 pm

The San Diego SeaLions accepted SD United season passes at the door, but the visiting team didn't feel welcomed on the field as the SeaLions secured a 1-0 victory for a season sweep over United on Saturday. The game's energy left fans and players keyed up for the solid soccer that will be in San Diego for years to come.

Despite a hefty number of chances for the United women, the SeaLions impenetrable backline and keeper Lu Snyder kept their guests scoreless. The home team's lone crowd-pleasing goal in the 81st minute was enough for the SeaLions to eek out the win at Cathedral HS.

Saturday's game looked a lot like the first match between the local teams. United outshout the SeaLions 33-11, but the SeaLions were able to capitalize. Three yellow cards were handed out and free kicks were in abundance.

Leticia Villapando was a workhorse for the United crew. Her speed got the best of the SeaLions a handful of times. Often, it seemed she came out of nowhere, which made the SeaLions make decisions faster than they would have liked. She kept both teams hustling throughout the match. Villapando gave the SeaLions a close call in the 57th minute when she took a shot that Jennifer Nielsen narrowly headed away. United fell to those types of plays often.

Valerie Strocco (left) of the San Diego SeaLions takes control.

The first half ended with back-and-forth whistles for free kicks that neither team was able to make anything of. Into stoppage time, Perez had a double-take save that kept the SeaLions scoreless. United's Rocky Garcia thought Perez's save was just what she needed when she took the ball down field, but an offsides call was made as time ran out.