FURY 2 MUTINY 0

The Long Island Fury defeated the New England Mutiny 2-0 in the semifinals of the Women’s Premier Soccer League. Jasmyn Spencer scored an unassisted goal in the 60th minute and Vicki DiMartino notched an insurance goal in the 67th minute. The loss ended the season for the Mutiny. Last year, it was the Mutiny that sent the Fury home with a 4-2 win in the semifinals.
In an intense and physical battle, which has been customary between these two East rivals, the Mutiny had the better of play in first 15 minutes. The Fury would settle in for the next 15.
Mutiny goalkeeper Lauren Brodeur was the star of the first half. The University of Hartford keeper made two incredible saves that preserved the clean sheet in the first 45 minutes. The first came in the 28th minute off a shot by Fury defender Hannah Cerrone that was labeled for the upper right corner. The second came four minutes later when Fury midfielder Kelly Henderson drilled a low blast to the left of Brodeur, but the Wilbraham native was able to get a glove on it and the ball scampered just past the post.

The Fury came out strong in the second half and Spencer would get the game winner after blasting a failed clearance off a Long Island corner kick into the left side netting.

The loss ended what was truly a remarkable run just to make the playoffs for New England. There are several factors needed to become champion; one is heart. Just two weeks ago the Mutiny dropped their sixth game of the season, which equaled the total number of regular season losses in the last four years combined.

At 2-6, the five-time Eastern Conference champions refused to quit on the 2009 season in the Women’s Premier Soccer League. The Mutiny finished the regular season with consecutive victories over the Philadelphia Liberty and Baystate Select then received improbable help from four other WPSL teams that propeled the team into the playoffs.

The Mutiny defeated the Adirondack Lynx 4-1 in the quarterfinals and then took the undefeated Fury to the brink matching them toe-to-toe for an hour. The Mutiny showed tremendous heart in battling through adversity which saw the team put out 11 different starting lineups on the field this season. The Mutiny lost 3 starters to season ending injuries and others playing hurt. The grittiest performance came from captain Jenny Maurer, who against doctors orders, played 90 minutes on a sprained ankle.

“I saw Jenny on Monday morning and she could barely walk. She is without a doubt the toughest player ever to wear a Mutiny jersey”, stated Mutiny owner Joe Ferrara.