Knights 6, Freezz 1SACRAMENTO -- There wasn't much separating Utah from Sacramento Friday night, but the Knights exploited their slightest advantage and advanced to the WISL championship with a 6-1 win.
"Losing is losing, the score doesn't matter to me," said Utah coach Dave Poggi. "Effort is what matters to me, and we put out a good effort. We had a number of real good looks, we just couldn't put them in."
Confidence never seemed to be a factor, something that was on everyone's minds. Sacramento came into the semifinal with a perfect record at Arco Arena, a 12-game winning streak and the league's top seed. Utah, on the other hand, barely qualified for the playoffs after winning five of its last seven games to just edge Portland for the final playoff spot.
With such seemingly insurmountable odds, Poggi had every reason to fear the Knights.
His players never showed that, however, even when they fell behind 2-0 at halftime. They killed three first-half penalties with poise, attacked with patience, but the Freezz were facing a superior and experienced team. Sacramento, the league's top defensive team, quite simply did it better.
"These guys were in the finals last year, and a lot of these guys played college together," said Poggi. "They're a very good team." Sacramento's defense was so good, Utah was essentially shutout. Lee Edgerton headed in Utah's only goal early in the second half after a miscue between defender Lain Fraser and goalie Pat Harrington resulted in an open net.
Suddenly the scoreboard indicated the even-nature of the game.
It would be Utah's only goal because Fraser, the WISL Defender of the Year, and his defensive counterparts weren't making any mistakes on this night. The Knights only surrendered 20 shots, and the one goal was the fewest they've given up all year.
"They're very fast, very fit and very focused," said Poggi.
Seven minutes after Edgerton made the game interesting, Sacramento's Jeff Alcala scored on a rocket that screamed just past Utah keeper Stuart Dobson.
Utah wasn't about to quit, because it had rallied from similar fourth-quarter deficits before, one of which happened against the Knights early in the season. Gerell Elliott scored twice in the final quarter to ensure Sacramento's berth in the title game.
Elliott's second goal came with Sterling Wescott on the field as the sixth attacker. Just under two minutes remained after the goal, but there was plenty of time for the frustration to boil over for Utah. The referees called an illegal substitution penalty on Utah following the goal, and that's when Freezz defender Bill Sedgewick just lost it. Obscenities were spoken, and Sedgewick was ejected.
Poggi didn't want to specifically comment on the officiating, but he's sure Sedgewick's rant was the result of what he considered inconsistent officiating. Utah was sent to the penalty box four times while Sacramento was never whistled for a penalty.
During the ensuring power play Martin Sims scored with 28 seconds remaining to give Sacramento the final five-goal advantage, something which angered Utah even more feeling the Knights were running up the score.
By that point it didn't much matter because Sacramento had the game well in hand long before the fourth quarter.
Sacramento will host Dallas on Dec. 12 for the WISL Championship.