Soccer: Freeze in hunt for WPSL division title

While the U.S. national team plays for a Women’s World Cup title on Sunday afternoon, the Fresno Freeze will continue a championship chase of their own.

The Freeze (7-2-1) take on the Tottenham Hotspur East Bay Ladies (8-2-0) at noon Sunday at Kennedy High in Richmond — a matchup of the top two teams in the Pacific-North Division of the Women’s Premier Soccer League.

Fresno beat East Bay 5-1 at home earlier this season.

A three-game winless skid (two losses, one tie) for the Freeze was erased with back-to-back victories over Primero de Mayo 12-0 and North Bay FC Wave 3-0 last weekend to put Fresno two points behind East Bay in the division table.

So a win against East Bay means first place with one regular-season match remaining, and a chance to clinch the division and a postseason berth when the Freeze play at the West Coast Wildcatz on July 12.

“It’s going to be a really big game,” Cal Poly-bound forward Caitlyn Kreutz said. “We got the two results we wanted and now we need a good run into the playoffs.”

East Bay plays July 10 at North Bay FC Wave.

The first-year Freeze, even with their mini-slump, still lead the WPSL in scoring (45 goals) and goal-differential (plus-33). The club’s seven wins are also the most in the history of local WPSL franchises, as the Central California HEAT and Clovis Sidekicks never finished above .500.

This story was originally published July 4, 2015 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Soccer: Freeze in hunt for WPSL division title."