Sidekicks 7, Freezz 4
DALLAS — There's a reason the Utah Freezz so desperately wanted to finish either first or second in the WISL this year. It would've meant a first-round bye but more importantly a semifinal home game.
In the end, the Dallas Sidekicks were the ones who edged Utah for that second seed, and they reaped the benefits Friday night.
The Sidekicks advanced to the WISL championship with a 7-4 victory over the Freezz at Reunion Arena. Dallas hosts top-seeded Monterey on Dec. 9 to determine the champion. Dallas has advanced to a championship game in six of the past nine years, with its last title coming in 1998.
For a while, it appeared the Freezz might pull off the upset.
Utah trailed 3-2 at halftime, but a goal by recently acquired Kevin Legg early in the third quarter tied the game at 3-3.
All week the Freezz said they could win in Dallas, something teams rarely accomplish. A third-quarter goal by Tatu, an indoor soccer legend, and another by Patrick Shamu erased those hopes.
Sterling Wescott cut the deficit to 5-4 with a power-play goal late in the game, but Dallas quickly responded with two more goals to seal it.
Utah finishes the season with a 16-10 record, an accomplishment first-year player-coach Jeff Betts calls a successful one. Next year, however, the Freezz will really focus on on obtaining that semifinal game in the E Center instead on the road somewhere.
The Freezz had a 10-2 record at home this year, the second-best record in the WISL this year.