Tukwila, WA – The Sounders Women worked on attacking and finishing this week in preparation for their first meeting with the L.A. Strikers, and on Sunday afternoon they treated the sold out crowd at Starfire Stadium to four goals and a shutout.
Sounders midfielder, Veronica Perez, scored a hat-trick to give her eight goals in all competitions this season. Katie Hultin and Megan Kufeld combined for the shutout, giving Hultin four straight matches without conceding a goal.
The Sounders got out to a lead in the 21st minute on a combination between U.S. National Teamer, Stephanie Cox, and Mexican National Teamer, Veronica Perez. Cox drove a long ball over the L.A. defense into the path of Perez. The midfielder took her first touch smoothly and with her second touch, lifted the ball over the L.A. goalkeeper and into the net.
The Sounders dominated the match with their high pressure and tempo. In the 40th minute, the intensity paid off again. Seattle earned a corner kick after Allie Beahan's shot was saved. The ensuing corner was flicked on by Keelin Winters to the back post where Kate Deines beat everyone to the ball to head it in. The goal is Deines' first of the season.
The match would still have been in question if the Strikers were able to get the first goal of the 2nd half. Instead, just two minutes into the 2nd half, Lindsey Elston served a perfect ball in front of the goal where Perez met it with her head lift the Sounders to a 3-0 lead.
In the 66th minute, Veronica Perez ensured her status as Player of the Game, and probably W-League Player of the Week with her 3rd goal of the match. The Washington alum picked up the ball at the edge of the penalty box with time to look up. Perez noticed that the back post was open, so she curled the ball around the goalkeeper and into the net.
The Sounders took three points from the match, which could be crucial before their Wednesday meeting with the Pali Blues. The Blues top the Western Conference with seven wins and zero losses. The Sounders now trail them by five points, having played one less match.
The Wednesday night game is a 7:00pm kickoff at Starfire. Tickets are still available at SoundersWomen.com.
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