In a great night for women’s soccer in Los Angeles, The Pali Blues overcame a second half deficit in dramatic fashion to capture the Western Conference Championship over the visiting Colorado Force. The final score line of 5-2 did little justice in capturing the back and forth quality of the match that saw momentum swing from end to the other throughout until a Kelley O’Hara wunderstrike put the Blues ahead for good in the 75th minute and Iris Mora sealed the victory with a pair of goals in the game’s closing minutes. On a night that sent the Blues on to the USL W-League Semi-Finals many Pali fans are already referring to the evening as the best home victory in the organization’s young history.
On a night when Marta and the LA Sol of Women’s Professional Soccer were on hand to sign autographs the future of women’s soccer was on display on the field from the start with Lauren Cheney and Nikki Washington threatening early. The Blues eventually broke through in the eleventh minute with an opportunistic goal by Christen Press who calmly collected a deflected shot by Iris Mora and slotted it past Force keeper Maria Del Guerico.
The game then settled into a battle in the midfield with both teams applying tough, physical pressure. Eventually the Force’s persistant workrate paid off with Nikki Marshall, who battled in the box all evening, hammering home the equalizer in the 60th minute. The Force would then take the lead in the 72nd minute and a second Marshall goal assisted by Lisa Franke. But the celebrations on the Colorado bench would be shortlived and with a boisterous crowd at its back -- led by the passionate cheers from the Blues self-described "hooligans" The Tony Danza Army -- the defending champions of the USL W-League would soon show their championship mettle.
The Blues march to victory began with yet another goal from Press, this one a blast from distance,which has become her trademark this season. The following ten minutes saw both teams find quality opportunities on goal but neither seemed capable of finding the back of the net. The game appeared destined for overtime until Lauren Cheney found Kelley O’Hara, the team’s midfield engine, open just outside the 18 yard box. O’Hara made no mistake, and in the 88th minute wrote herself into Pali Blues lore with a goal that had the stadium rocking and the entire Blues bench on its feet.
With Colorado pressing for a last minute equalizer, Mora netted two insurance goals in stoppage time - one an impressive chip - to book the Western Conference Champions a flight to NY to battle Hudson Valley for a trip to the USL W-League Finals.
