There was quite a shake-up in the Central Region as the Northern Conference crowned a new champion pushing Sioux Falls City FC to the top of the heap for Week 8. Division champs FC Milwaukee Torrent, Colorado Pride, and conference winners Union KC also climbed this week, while Salvo SC and KC Courage dipped in the rankings after tough losses. 

 

(Team records are listed by the international standard: wins-draws-losses.)

 

1. SIOUX FALLS CITY FC (9-0-0)

Northern Conference

Week 7 Rank: 2

Sioux Falls City FC captured its biggest win in club history on Tuesday, beating former No. 1-ranked Salvo SC at home to clinch the Northern Conference title, and the No. 1 spot in both the Central Region and National Power Rankings. 

Katharina Oelschlaeger (Florida Gulf Coast University) leads the club with eight regular season goals, followed by Mia Mullenmeister (Utah State University) with seven of the club’s conference-best 32 goals. 

 

Next Up — Sioux Falls City FC hosts the Central Region Playoffs July 13 and 14. 

 

2. FC MILWAUKEE TORRENT (8-0-0)

Midwest Conference — Lake Michigan Division

Week 7 Rank: 4

Two big Week 8 wins put FC Milwaukee Torrent into the Midwest Conference championship and into the No. 2 spot, up two places from last week. 

Milwaukee tallied 31 goals over the course of eight games—more than double the rest of the division. Josie Bieda (Marquette University) led all scorers with seven goals, followed by Addison Stanciak (Saint Louis University) with six. 

Next Up — FC Milwaukee Torrent travels to face Gateway Division representative FC Pride (5-1-4) for the Midwest Conference championship. 

 

3. FC DAYTON (8-0-0)

Midwest Conference — Gateway Division

Week 7 Rank: 3

 

 

FC Dayton capped off a perfect season in Week 8 with a 1-0 derby win over the Dayton Dutch Lions FC. Elise Canter (Wright State University) scored the game’s lone goal, bringing the club’s total to 30 on the season.

Peyton Kohls (Xavier University) led the club in scoring with seven goals, followed by Jenna Hallbeck (Carnegie Mellon University) and Dani Hicks (Ashland University) with five each. 

 

4. SALVO SC (8-0-1)

Northern Conference

Week 7 Rank: 1

The bottom dropped out for Salvo SC after its season-crushing loss to No. 1 Sioux Falls City SC last Friday. Salvo ended the season three points out of first place in the conference. 

Two-time player-of-the-week winner and national player of the week, Khyah Harper (University of Minnesota), leads the WPSL Golden Boot race with 16, accounting for more than half of the 28 goals Salved scored over its nine-game season. 

 

5. COLORADO PRIDE (6-0-1)

Mountain Conference — Rockies Division

Week 7 Rank: 7

The newly crowned Rockies Division champs are up two spots after Saturday’s 5-1 win at PSD Academy secured the Pride its first division title. Bello continued her goals scoring streak with three goals, along with Abby Stassi and Kendall Gouner (University of Texas, San Antonio).

Bello (Otero College) ran away with the Rockies Division Golden boot with 13 goals and counting, along with Stassi (University of Wyoming), with six goals on the season.

Up Next — The Colorado Pride travel to Sioux Falls, S.D. for the Central Region Playoffs hosted by Northern Conference winners, Sioux Falls City FC, July 13 and 14. 

 

6. UTAH SURF (8-1-1)

Mountain Conference — Wasatch Division

Week 7 Rank: 6

The Wasatch Division winners held firm at No. 6 after a big Week 8 win over Northern Utah United to close out the season. 

McKenzie Evans (post-collegiate) led the club with 10 goals on the season, followed by Danika Serassio (post-collegiate) and Makinna Winterton (post-collegiate) with seven. The club averaged 3.4 goals a game, conceding only nine. 

 

7. UNION KC (8-1-1)

Heartland Conference

Week 7 Rank: Unranked

This week’s biggest jumpers, Union KC clinched the Heartland Conference title with the help of two Week 8 wins: 3-0 at KC Courage last Tuesday and 1-0 at Oklahoma City FC on Saturday.

Kate Gibson (Marquette University) and Hannah Larson (Saint Louis University) lead Union’s goals scoring corps with four goals apiece. 

Up Next — Union KC travels to Sioux Falls, S.D. for the Central Region Playoffs hosted by Northern Conference winners, Sioux Falls City FC, July 13 and 14. 

 

8. MINNESOTA THUNDER (6-0-2)

Northern Conference

Week 7 Rank: 8

A big finish in its regular season finale was enough to keep Minnesota in the No. 8 spot as its frantic chase of the Northern Conference front runners came up short, finishing nine points behind the conference winners.

Caroline Bailey (post-collegiate) led the high-scoring club with seven goals, followed by Paige Kalal (University of Minnesota) and Isabela Engle with six, and Paige Peltier (University of Notre Dame) with five. 

 

9. UTAH AVALANCHE (6-2-2)

Mountain Conference — Wasatch Division

Week 7 Rank: 9

The Avalanche holds tight at No. 9 after falling short in Wasatch Division play after winning the division the last two seasons finishing five points off the pace. 

Seven Castain (Texas Christian University) came up just short in the league Golden Boot race, banging in division-high 14 goals.

 

10. KC COURAGE (6-2-2)

Heartland Conference

Week 7 Rank: 5

A loss and two draws dropped KC Courage down five spots from last week, eliminating the club from contention, finishing the season second in the Heartland Conference table, five points back of winners, Union KC. 

Kaira Houser led the conference in scoring with seven goals on the season.