LINK: FREE PHOTOS OF THE MATCHES
FC Tucson Women beat El Paso Surf 3-0 on Saturday in El Paso to end the season with a 7-0-1 record and an undisputed championship in the Desert Conference of the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL).
The Women in Black ended the year with 22 points which would have give the program the second seed in the West Region had there been playoffs scheduled this year. The Colorado Rapid Women finished 8-0-1 with 25 points and a Mountain Conference championship.
Guess who gets by not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, but 5 defenders to score again. You probably guessed right LUZ 🇲🇽
📺 https://t.co/Enw7WspnE5 #ShestartsinTucson | 2-0 pic.twitter.com/9oWbFljtfY
— FC Tucson Women (@fctucsonwomen) July 11, 2021
Luz Duarte finished the year with 12 goals after she scored twice in El Paso and Sydney Lenhart provided the third goal in the last win of the season.
Haley Harris finds Sydney Lenhart for goal number 3️⃣
📺 https://t.co/Enw7WspnE5 #ShestartsinTucson | 3-0 pic.twitter.com/o0LUqsXLf0
— FC Tucson Women (@fctucsonwomen) July 11, 2021
It was an exciting year with some major player changes due to injuries and travel to and from college teams. Standout player Brianna Barreiro, for example, was a powerful presence on the pitch but she suffered an injury four matches in and she moved over to the sidelines to help coach her teammates.
University of Arizona standout Sabrina Enciso joined the program during the season as did Kourtney Kutscher who came with professional experience in Sweden. Still, the bulk of the roster was comprised of former and current high school standouts from Arizona and from the Tucson area.
Head coach Kelly Pierce was assisted by Charlie MacCabe and Barreiro. Paloma Paez pretty much ran the team and the administrator of the program.
It is unclear if the WPSL will be handing out awards this year but Pierce earned West Region Pac South Conference Desert Division Coach of the Year in 2019.
KELLY PIERCE FILE
1998: State Champion (Salpointe)
1999: State Champion (Salpointe)
2014: All-WPSL (TSA-FC Tucson)
2014: All-West Team (TSA-FC Tucson)
2014: Pacific South All-Star (TSA-FC Tucson)
2018: Salpointe State Championship (Coach)
2019: Salpointe State Championship (Coach)
2019: Desert Division Coach of the Year (FC Tucson)
2021: Salpointe State Championship (Coach)
2021: Desert Conference Championship (FC Tucson)
TSA/FC TUCSON WOMEN FILE
2013: Big Sky-North Coach of the Year (Amy Garelick)
2013: WPSL Honorable Mention Coach (Amy Garelick)
2018: Pac South Coach of the Year (Amy Garelick)
2018: Pac South Conference Championship
2018: Team Franchise of the Year
2019: Team Franchise of the Year
2021: Desert Conference Championship
LINK: DUARTE TWICE & HARRIS SCORES TO CLINCH CHAMPIONSHIP
LINK: DUARTE TWO MORE TIMES & SANTAVICCA AGAIN OVER SC DEL SOL
LINK: DUARTE SCORES TWICE OVER LAS VEGAS
LINK: MORALES & SANTAVICCA LEAD TO DRAW WITH FC ARIZONA
LINK: CRAIG & BAILEY SCORE TWICE & DUARTE AGAIN IN VEGAS
LINK: DUARTE & CRAIG SCORE IN WIN OVER FC ARIZONA
LINK: DUARTE SCORES 2 AGAINST EL PASO
LINK: FC TUCSON WOMEN ARE READY
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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014, he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017, a 2019 AZ Education News award winner and he has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. He was the first in Arizona to write about high school beach volleyball and high school girls wrestling. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is the Southern Arizona voting member of the Ed Doherty Award, recognizing the top football player in Arizona, and he was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Andy was named an Honorary Flowing Wells Caballero in 2019 and he is a member of the Amphi COVID-19 Blue Ribbon Committee. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
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