Forward Jessica Halladay and the Monterey Bay Sirens knocked off Pleasanton 3-2 at Cardinale Stadium on Saturday, June 27 to close out the club’s inaugural season in the USL W League.
But it wasn’t just Halladay’s hat trick that had home fans stomping and chanting. The win clinched the Nor Cal Division championship, capping a remarkable 8-1-1 campaign and sending the Sirens into the playoffs.
“The atmosphere, the fans, the girls, the coaches – everything about it has been a blast,” Halladay says. “The only complaint I have is that we don’t have more games here at home to play in front of the fans.”
The Sirens will travel to Seattle for the Western Conference playoffs. They face Capo FC from San Juan Capistrano on Friday, July 3 at 2pm at Interbay Stadium. If they win, the Sirens will face either Salmon Bay FC or Colorado Storm on Sunday, July 5.
“We all committed to one goal, and that was to win this league,” says forward and Salinas native Cadence “CJ” Walters, adding that the squad accomplished it in their first season.
The Sirens showed from the start they were a force to be reckoned with. Facing Stockton – an experienced club undefeated the previous year – in the season opener, Monterey Bay battled to a 1-1 draw. They then went on a tear through the Nor Cal Division, winning six in a row, four by shutout.
A surprising 4-1 defeat at Davis against the California Storm proved to be the only setback – surprising because Monterey Bay conceded only 10 goals all season. But they bounced back, keeping a clean sheet against Oakland before Halladay’s three-goal night finished off the campaign.
“It’s been a very player-led team,” Head Coach Laura VanWart says. “They’ve set a high bar for themselves, and they should be really proud.”
Halladay’s hat trick in the season finale gave her four goals in the season, sharing the team scoring title with Luz Arreaga. For her part, Arreaga proved deadly accurate, putting 90 percent of her shots on target.
Eight other Sirens scored at least one goal this season. Halladay led the team with three assists. Goalkeeper Alexa Malaspina collected 25 saves.
VanWart notes that fan support has been strong from the start. After the June 27 match, many of the young children in the stands sought autographs from Sirens players.
The USL W is a pre-professional development league with 90 teams across the country. The playoffs consist of 16 divisional winners facing off in conference brackets, hosted in Burlington, Vermont; Asheville, North Carolina; Pittsburgh; and Seattle.
“I can’t wait for the next step at playoffs and see how far we can get,” Halladay says.
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