Written By:  Nichole Singleton, WPSL Communications

This season, the So Cal Conference will feature 11 teams, including three expansion sides, aligned among two divisions that organize the Los Angeles area teams (Coastal) and the San Diego area teams (Plymouth).

With the 2023 WPSL season currently underway, the Coastal Division will open the So Cal Conference on May 12 as expansion side, Rebels Empire hosts WPSL veterans LA Surf Soccer Club. The San Diego Strikers will open the Plymouth Division the following week on May 20 as it travels to face San Diego Parceiro Ladies.

The conference championship will be played on July 8 as the Coastal Division winner hosts the Plymouth Division winner who will be confirmed from team positions in regular-season standings. If 2022 was any indication of what to expect from this conference this season its pure competitiveness as each team will be fighting for its spot in the Regional Playoffs with the ultimate goal of making it to Stillwater, Okla. in July for an opportunity to play for the league championship.

COASTAL DIVISION

LA SURF SOCCER CLUB

Many of the teams in this conference will suit up for their third WPSL season while LA Surf Soccer Club will take the field for its 11^th season – the most-tenured team in the conference. Last season, LA Surf outscored its opponents 31 to seven to repeat as divisional champions with a 6-0-2 record – its two draws came from the would-be conference champions, Miss Kick FC.

Fourteen of LA Surf’s goals were recorded by two players – one of whom is back for season two. Cal State Fullerton junior forward Makenna McGill returns to the Surf after collecting six goals last WPSL season and 538 minutes in 15 games for the Titans during the 2022 collegiate season. McGill finished the 2022 campaign as the Surf’s second-leading goal scorer just behind Maddy Warren who recorded seven plus an assist.

It's worth noting that one can expect a similar dominance up top from the Surf this year with McGill’s return and the additions of newcomers like former Davidson College midfielder Sophia Caruso. Recently transferring to the University of Kentucky after completing four years with Davidson, Caruso is sure to fill in the Surf’s roster gaps to retain its high-scoring agenda.  Last year during her last season with Davidson, Caruso started all 18 games she played in and netted three goals while recording an assist – her career tally finishes with eight goals and four assists.

Mike Davis returns to lead LA Surf after collecting Coastal Division Coach of the Year honors last season. The Surf will open its 2023 campaign on the road against expansion Rebels Empire and will play its following three games away before hosting its home opener on June 4 against FC Premier Women.

SO CAL UNION FC

Based in Temecula, Cali., So Cal Union FC makes the jump to the Coastal Division after finishing in second behind the San Diego Strikers in the Plymouth Division last season. So Cal Union FC holds a 22-10-6 league record and is competing in its fifth WPSL season – second behind LA Surf’s tenure.

While player registration is still ongoing, So Cal Union FC may find itself in a situation to fill the void of last season’s leading goal scorer, Aryana Harvey, who recorded five goals and two assists – accounting for half of Union’s total goal count on the season.

However, the pieces are starting to fall in place with Union’s roster after Cal Baptist junior forward Morgan Witz returns for season two. Witz netted three goals for Union last season behind Harvey’s five. During the 2022 collegiate season, Witz started in all six of the games she played to record 260 total minutes while collecting a goal and an assist each for the Lancers.

Witz’s Cal Baptist teammate, Maila Cerdon is also set to play for Union this season after starting in 10 of the 18 games she played for the Lancers last season. The sophomore recorded 769 minutes and two assists. During her freshman season in 2021, Cerdon started in eight of the 16 games she played in and collected three goals, including a game-winner. She was also named to the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) All-Freshman team that year.

So Cal Union opens its season on the road against Elite Development Academy on May 26 and will face its first big test on June 2 as it hosts LA Surf Soccer Club.

FC PREMIER WOMEN

In a potentially similar roster situation as So Cal Union FC, FC Premier Women could find itself replacing two key players from 2022 who accounted for seven of its 14 goals on the season. That said, FC Premier is not short of “next (wo)man in” candidates.

Such potentials include fifth-year midfielder, Sydney Duarte of Purdue University. The Boilermakers captain started 21 of 23 games during the 2022 collegiate season and recorded three goals and five assists. Another top candidate is University of Southern California junior, Simi Awujo. The Atlanta midfielder helped the Trojans outscore its opponents 23-7 and recorded two goals and three assists last year. Awujio also earned PAC-12 All-Freshman Team honors in 2021.

FC Premier kick off its fourth WPSL season by traveling to league newcomers Rebels Empire on May 21 before hosting conference giants LA Surf Soccer Club five days later on May 26.

ELITE DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY

EDA looks to bounce back in its third WPSL season using the momentum it picked up in its last two games last year where it outscored its opposition 5-0 with two shutouts. Still completing its player registration, EDA can build its roster around Cal State Northridge sophomore Camille Alarcon. The midfielder from Irvine, Cali. played in 18 games last college season as a true freshman including her first start. Alarcon played in all 10 Big West games for the Matadors and finished with five shots and three on goal.

EDA will have tough competition in its first games as it hosts LA Surf Soccer Club (May 19) and SoCal Reds FC (May 21). Even with home-field advantage, these two games come on the same weekend with just one day between them which could prove to be the one biggest tests for EDA this season – behind a back-to-back matchup on the road in June.

SOCAL REDS FC

As the second expansion side for the Coastal Division, SoCal Reds FC look to take the WPSL by storm and make its mark in the So Cal Conference. Its current roster signings are full of Division I athletes including players who’ve played in the league before like Ashley Naylor, Hayley Gonzalez, Madison Beckley, and Jayma Martin – all four played for Miss Kick FC last season.

Naylor, a junior goalkeeper from Notre Dame, started in five of six games last season and recorded a .688 save percentage and a .098 GAA percentage while only losing one of the games she played.  Gonzalez just edged the now-Chicago Red Stars forward Penelope Hocking, who was selected as the No. 7 overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft, as Miss Kick FC’s leading scorer by recording an assist to add to her five-goal tally on the season. Beckley and Martin look to pick up from their 2022 performance as the two also contributed to five goals collectively last season.

New players to watch for SoCal Reds FC include Texas Christian University junior midfielder Lauren Memoly, who recorded one goal and two assists from her 22-game performance last Fall, and recent Gonzaga grad Erin Healy, who started in 18 games during 2022 and recorded six goals and five assists.

SoCal Reds open its 2023 campaign on the road against Elite Development Academy on May 21 before hosting its home opener against FC Premier Women on May 28.

PLYMOUTH DIVISION

SAN DIEGO STRIKERS

Since its first WPSL season in 2021, the San Diego Strikers has been a dominant force on the field while holding an overall 13-0-1 record. Last season, the Strikers finished at the top of the standings with a 7-0-1 record while outscoring its opponents 26-5 including four shutouts.

With its 3.25 goals per game average last season, the Strikers’ 2023 roster is stacking up as a similar threat with key returners in forwards Kiera Bocchino and Ava Seelenfreud, who’s coming off a 10-goal collegiate season for Brown in 17 starts while adding an assist, plus midfielders Cassie Callahan and Soledad Gomez. Collectively the four scored 14 of the Striker’s 26 goals while contributing to seven more – Bocchino led the team with six goals and three assists.

While key veterans are returning and have another winning record under it, the Strikers’ quest is still unfinished after falling to Miss Kick FC in the Conference Championship last season and you can bet this year’s team is hungry for more.
 

ALBION SAN DIEGO

ALBION San Diego makes its return to the WPSL for its third season after last playing in 2021. ALBION kicks off the season with two away matches on May 21 (vs San Diego Surf) and May 27 (vs SoCal Dutch Lions FC) before its home opener on June 2 in a second meeting against SoCal Dutch Lion FC.

Players to keep an eye on this season that could prove to be key components for the ALBION roster include Cornell junior defender Lily Ellingson who saw 976 minutes of action in the Fall with 11 starts while leading her backline to three shutouts and contributing offensively with a tally in the assist column.

ALBION’s roster includes several youth talents on the defensive end hungry to make a mark this season including UC Davis commit Ava Ellingson, Boston College incoming sophomore Brooke Gierczak, and Detroit Mercy incoming sophomore Grace Brutto.

SAN DIEGO PARCEIRO LADIES

San Diego Parceiro Ladies open its third WPSL season at home against the San Diego Strikers on May 20 with a 3 PM PT kickoff. After finishing 2022 in the third position of the divisional standings, Parceiro will need to find replacements for Cierra Little and Kimberly Mederos who were responsible for 13 of its 20 goals scored.

Players to watch include Cal San Diego sisters Caitlin and Corrine Wilson and Colorado State junior Lauren Wheeler who saw 970 minutes in 19 games last year.

SOCAL DUTCH LION FC

The Dutch Lions also enter its third WPSL Season and has the early makings of a solid roster sure to find results between the touchline – something much needed to rebuild for its fourth-place finish last year. Though the roster isn’t the only segment of the Dutch Lions that’s getting an upgrade – the coaching staff is too.

Last month the team announced its new head coach would be Alvar Arranz of Spain.  Arranz holds the highest coaching certification available in Europe that is required to manage top-tier competitions. Additionally, Arranz comes to the Dutch Lions after a four-year stint with Barca Academy.

Chelly Velasquez and Amanda Ramirez will round out the Dutch Lions’ coaching staff. Velasquez enters her second season with the team and Ramirez comes as a former Dutch Lion who played in 2021.

The Dutch Lions’ first two matches of the season will come against ALBION San Diego – one home and one away – before traveling to the San Diego Strikers on June 4.

SAN DIEGO SURF

The division newcomer, San Diego Surf looks to shake up the Plymouth competition and make itself a strong contender for the postseason. Its roster is shaping up around two dozen Division I athletes from programs including Notre Dame, Stanford, Santa Clara, Florida, and Miami.

A few players to watch include Emily Morris of Wake Forest and Emma Pidding of Miami (Fla.). Morris, a junior midfielder, finished the college season with four goals in 18 starts – three of which were game-winners. Pidding proved to be an essential playmaker for the Hurricanes after starting 15 of the 16 games she played as a freshman while tallying four assists.

Another player to keep an eye on is Ohio State midfielder Ella Giannola who made 16 starts in 19 matches and recorded a pair of assists on the year with 14 shot attempts.

San Diego Surf’s home opener is May 21 against ALBION San Diego. Kickoff is set for 1 PM PT.