Tulsa, OK - WSA Soccer made history on Saturday, May 15, as the Side FC 92 Women's program played the club's inaugural game in the women's pro-am United Women's Soccer League.
The team made the inaugural match memorable with a scoring outburst of 8 goals on the day, defeating Alacranes FC from Ft Worth by a 8-0 final score.
Joan Nakirya came off the bench to contribute 4 goals to the effort (32', 43', 83', 90'), while goalkeepers Payton Woodward and Caroline Faulkner kept the sheet clean for The Side. The game saw 3 WSA homegrown players make their pro-am debuts, Raquel Fanelli (WSA 04), Karsen Lynch (WSA 03), Jada Branan (WSA 04).
Sierra Beall made history for the club scoring the club's first semi-pro women's goal in the 20th minute of play off a helper from Van Fitch. Beall who is currently working for WSA as a club administrator, and Anna Gornell, who started at the "6" position for Side FC 92, both played short stints for WSA 98 girls team which finished 5th in the nation in 2017.
The Side FC 92 women's inaugural game was televised via Cujoo TV, but had some technical difficulties during the broadcast. The game will be ready for "on demand" viewing later this week.
Side FC 92 was born in 2019 and became the upper arm of WSA's youth program. The vision of Side FC 92 was to develop a full service Pathway to Pro program for WSA youth players with a Men's and Women's team on the ground by 2020. WSA now has a fully developed Pathway to Pro (P2P) program and is continuing to expand on these vertical transition opportunities for the WSA Player.
During the "shelter in place" and pandemic protocols surrounding COVID19 the club's timeline was slightly altered. Since that time the Side FC 92 Men's team has claimed a UPSL D2 Conference Championship, and currenlty sits atop the conference in the UPSL Premier Division. With the recent launch of the women's program the vision is quickly coming to fruition.
Side FC 92 is led by head coach of both men's and women's programs, and WSA Senior Technical Director, Alex McLaurin. Dan Williams, the club's girls NPL Technical Director serves as the General Manager for Side FC 92 Women. The women's coaching staff includes Jo Johnson, Juan Castillo, Nader Shaker and Rafael Rivera.
Side FC 92 Women next take the field on Saturday, May 22, 6:00 PM, as they play host to WilCo FC in Southwest Conference league play. The game location will be posted later this week based on weather and field condtiions.
Congratulations to the Side FC 92 ladies for a great opening day performance, and all the work by the staff to help bring vision to focus and dream to reality!
SIDE FC 92 WOMEN INAUGURAL MATCH, SAT, MAY 15, 2021
SCORING SIDE FC 92 WOMEN
vs Alacranes FC, Ft Worth, May 15
Sierra Beall - Van Fitch - 20'
Joan Nakirya - Hayley Ledford - 32'
Hayley Ledford - 42'
Joan Nakirya - Van Fitch - 43'
Madeleine Barone - Van Fitch 45'
Van Fitch - Karsen Lynch - 62'
Joan Nakirya - 83'
Joan Nakirya - Jada Branan - 90'