June 7, 2026
Sporting CT lifts Brandi Chastain Cup trophy (2026 TJ Valenton/WPSL)
DAVIS, Calif. — Sporting CT won the inaugural Brandi Chastain Cup over the California Storm in poetic fashion—in penalty kicks, against a team for which Chastain played—Saturday at the Davis Legacy Soccer Complex.
Gabriella Tirado scored her second goal of the night in the 90+3 minute of the match to tie the score at 2-2, sending the game to kicks from the mark. Kelee Carlos converted Sporting’s fifth kick in the shootout to give the Middletown, Conn.-based club its second cup final win over California Storm in the last year. The two clubs last met in Sporting’s 4-0 win of the 2025 WPSL Championships Final.
“I’m so proud of how we responded after going down,” Matt Cameron, Sporting CT co-head coach, said. “We started slow. I don’t know if the travel was still in their legs or they were nervous playing in a cup final, or what. Once we got going it was a very good performance.”
With a strong wind at its back, California Storm started the match looking to take advantage of Sporting CT’s grueling cross-country travel for the match. In the second minute Storm’s Jordyn Wickes slapped the crossbar with a header from close range.
Just as the reigning WPSL champions were starting to find the game, Storm’s Savannah Schwarze cleaned up a partially cleared free kick, slotting her shot to the far post from the top of the penalty area to make it 1-0 in the 14th minute to the delight of the standing-room-only crowd.
Five minutes later Schwarze struck again, taking a pass from Paige Thompson and slotting the ball past a diving Caitlin Daley to the far post for her second goal in the match.
This win means a lot to us as a club. It is an important moment for women’s soccer. We are a very different team than last year. We did not have a lot of expectations coming in. We just wanted to come here and compete. To win our second cup final means we are doing something right.
With Sporting chasing the game, and Storm looking to take advantage of the windy conditions. The contrasting approaches led to a tactical quagmire killing any flow of the game turning the game chippy. A total of 19 fouls were called before the final whistle. The stop-and go flow of the game carried over into the second half as Sporting threw numbers forward higher up the field now with the wind at its back, and Strom trying to see out the game.
At halftime, Elizabeth DiBlasi replaced Caitlin Daley in goal as planned before the match. DiBlasi’s distribution was crucial in pinning Storm deep in its own half throughout the second half.
DiBlasi was almost immediately tested after coming on, making a great save in the 57th minute off a shot from Wickes to keep the score at 2-0.
With 20 minutes to play Cameron put on Tirado for her first minutes of the match. Her impact was felt almost immediately, finding the back of the net from close range off a cross from Abigail Johnson in the 79th minute to give Sporting a glimmer of hope.
“We talk about making a difference a lot. Any person on the bench can go in and make a difference. That’s all I wanted to do when I went on,” Tirado said.
As the sun set, it looked like Storm would hold on, avenging its defeat at the feet of Sporting last July in Stillwater, Okla. in the WPSL Championships Final.
In the third minute of the announced three minutes of added time, Tirado played a long clearance on to herself with her hip and blasted the ball past Abbie Faingold from six yards out to make it 2-2.
Tirado had once more chance moments later, forcing Faingold to save to her left. Faingold could not hold the ball, but the rebound was put wide in the last play of regulation.
“With really no time left, you just want to get as much as possible on every shot,” Tirado said. “Both those goals came from everyone who had been working so hard all game. I was just lucky enough to finish when I did.”
With the score level at two, penalty kicks decided the game. Storm’s Susie Long was first to kick, putting the ball down the middle, sending DiBlasi to her left. DiBlasi was able to reach back to make a kicksave, redirecting the ball across the face of the goal, off the post, and away to safety.
Player/coach Tiffany Weimer, who showed moments of brilliance during the match but was not on the field for either of Sporting’s goals, was Sporting’s first shooter. Weimer’s shot was stopped by Faingold to keep it level. Storm’s Kennedy Mayo finished her shot, followed by Laney Smith for Sporting to make it 1-1.
DiBlasi made her second save of the tiebreaker, denying Eres Freifeld. DiBlasi 's performance in the shoot out earned her Brandi Chastain Cup Final MVP honors.
Faingold made her second stop of the tiebreaker on Grace Simpson to keep it 1-1. Emerson Sarent and Christina Stone converted their kicks to make it 2-2.
After Thompson slammed her shot off the post, Carlos calmly put her shot into the upper corner to make Sporting CT the inaugural Brandi Chastain Cup champions.
“This win means a lot to us as a club,” Cameron said. “It is an important moment for women’s soccer. We are a very different team than last year. We did not have a lot of expectations coming in. We just wanted to come here and compete. To win our second cup final means we are doing something right.”
California Storm: Abbie Faingold, Kennedy Mayo, Eres Freifeld, Ali Hou, Savannah Schwarze, Alex Klos, Paige Thompson, Jordyn Wickes, Miolly Silva, Kiley Norkus, Maddy Ayson. Substitutes: Elizabeth Hutchison, Kamdyn Fuller, Susie Long, Emmerson Sareant, Yasmin Azar, Cam Dillingham, Aubrey McLin.
Sporting CT: Caitlin Daley, Christina Stone, Tiffany Weimer, Victoria Sousa, Laney Smith, Kylee Carlos, Emily Senatore, Tea Gambardella, Giovanna Dionico, Grace Simpson, Alex Chang. Substitutes: Greta Brunello, Abigail Johnson, Martha McFadden, Makayla Issakhani, Gabriella Tirado, Kelly Quigley, Elizabeth Diblasi.
1-0: Schwarze 14’
2-0: Schwarze 19’
2-1: Tirado 84’
2-2: Tirado 90+3’
Misconduct
Caution: SCT - Grace Simpson 35’
Statistics
California Storm/Sporting CT
Shots: 14/10
Fouls: 10/9
Offside: 3/4
Corners: 1/6
Saves: 4/2
Cautions: 1/0
Ejections: 0/0
Penalty Kicks
CS: Long – Saved
SCT: Weimer – Saved
CS: Mayo – Goal
SCT: Smith – Goal
CS: Freifeld – Saved
SCT: Quigley– Saved
CS: Sareant – Goal
SCT: Stone – Goal
CS: Thompson – Missed (post)
SCT: Carlos - Goal
