Silverbacks Finish Fourth In W-League

The Atlanta Silverbacks have concluded the 2010 campaign with a fourth place finish in the W-League out of 29 teams. The ‘Backs fell to the Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues by a score of 3-0 in the consolation game. Hudson Valley was the regular season champion and had received an automatic berth to the Final Four before falling to the Vancouver Whitecaps in the national semifinals.

The Silverbacks were beaten 3-1 in their semifinal against eventual champion, the Buffalo Flash.

Atlanta opened postseason play with a 5-1 win over the New Jersey Wildcats. They won the Eastern Conference championship, and a berth in the Final Four, with a 1-0 win over the Charlotte Lady Eagles.
Bailey Powell got the game-winner against Charlotte.

All-League midfielder Gabriela Demoner scored two goals for Hudson Valley, and Jackie Acevedo tacked one more goal in the first half to lift the Quickstrike Lady Blues over the Silverbacks. Atlanta was able to outshoot Hudson Valley 16-11, including a 10-2 margin in the second half, but would be unable to put away any goals.

In the championship game, the Buffalo Flash beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 to claim the league title. The Flash had beaten Atlanta on Thursday by the same result to advance past the Silverbacks.

Atlanta concludes a successful campaign by winning the Eastern Conference Championship, with midfielder Megan Tomlinson being named to the W-League All-League Team. In addition, several other awards were announced at the Awards Banquet:

•Most Valuable Player – Kelly Parker, Buffalo Flash
•Rookie of the Year – Rashidah Sherman, New York Magic
•Defender of the Year – Sue Weber, Long Island Rough Riders
•Goalkeeper of the Year – Alyssa Whitehead, Charlotte Lady Eagles
•Coach of the Year – Hubert Busby Jr., Vancouver Whitecaps

Atlanta faced off against Whitehead four times on the year, including once in the playoffs, and also had to contend with Parker, who was able to score two second-half goals to help Buffalo advance past Atlanta.