Birmingham Legion WFC finish undefeated in first homestand
Published 4:22 pm Monday, June 12, 2023
- Birmingham Legion WFC players huddle up during their first home game at Protective Stadium on Wednesday, June 7. (Contributed)
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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor
BIRMINGHAM – Birmingham Legion WFC played their first two home games, drawing with South Georgia Tormenta FC 1-1 on Wednesday, June 7 at Protective Stadium and beating Southern Soccer Academy 3-2 on Saturday, June 10 at Spain Park High School.
Former Westminster at Oak Mountain Knight Morgan White netted the game-winning goal on Saturday as the current UAB Blazer secured three points for the home side in their first win at their new home of Spain Park.
Legion WFC played their home opener on Wednesday in downtown Birmingham at Protective Stadium, the home of the Birmingham Legion FC men’s team. They took the field in front of a large mid-afternoon crowd before the men took on Inter Miami CF in the US Open Cup quarterfinals.
Ole Miss’s Grace Freeman scored the club’s first ever home goal in the 30th minute to put Birmingham up 1-0.
Legion WFC were able to hold on to the lead for most of the remainder of the contest, but an 88th minute equalizer by the Tormenta from Alaysia Lane left the home side with little time to recover. The game finished in a 1-1 draw.
On Saturday at Spain Park against Southern Soccer Academy, Legion WFC took control for much of the first half but the match went into the break scoreless.
That didn’t last long after the Crimson Tide’s Ashlynn Serepca netted a close shot to give Birmingham the 1-0 lead.
Shortly after, Callie O’Connor tied the game for SSA in the 51st minute.
The match remained tied until the 85th minute when Serepca’s second goal of the night kicked off a frantic finish to the contest.
SSA equalized again thanks to an Eva Wirtz goal inside the box in the 90th minute.
In the closing minutes of the match, White teed up a curling shot outside of the 18-yard box that sailed just over the SSA goalkeeper’s glove to give the Westminster OM alum and former Shelby County Player of the Year the game-winning goal.
After the 3-2 win over Southern Soccer Academy, Legion WFC remain in second place of the USL W-League’s South Central Division, eight points behind division leaders Chattanooga Red Wolves SC and having played two less matches.
Legion WFC will now travel to Columbia, South Carolina on Monday, June 12 to face South Carolina United FC for the first time. South Carolina is six points behind Birmingham in sixth place in the division.
They will close out the week at home on Saturday, June 17 at Protective Stadium against Chattanooga in a match that could decide who controls their own destiny in the race for the South Central Division crown. Legion WFC’s match kicks off at 3 p.m. and will be followed by the men’s match against Indy Eleven at 7 p.m.
Tickets for the Chattanooga match can be purchased at the box office or on Ticketmaster, and a free stream can be found on Birmingham Legion FC’s YouTube channel.