Matt sat down with Arianna Sanchez (Chez) to talk about how she first got connected with Head Coach Sheila McGill, what made St Thomas the right college fit for her, her progression as a player from freshman year to now, building her network and using her platform as a Black athlete, why Kansas City is like Gossip Girl and Brooklyn, and more!

You can watch the show below or you can listen ​to it as a podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, Google Play, or Stitcher. Show presented by Pentz Homes (pentzhomes.com)

It's the time of year where every game matters, and we get to see exhilarating celebrations (like the one from Salvo above) across social media. Unfortunately, for every team celebrating, theres a team who's short Summer season has ended. Salvo are into the Semi Finals of the WPSL Playoffs after knocking off #1 Colorado Rapids Women in the Central Region Final. In the W League, the undefeated MN Aurora were bounced in a tough 1-0 loss to Indy Eleven in the Quarter Finals. Theres still two teams left in the inaugural UPSL Midwest West Playoffs. Four squads made the postseason and the Champ will be determined between Northern Tide FC and Tonka Fusion Elite. Dig in!

​The MN Thunder opted out of the postseason this year, but turns out the 2nd best in the Northern Conference is good enough to make noise. Salvo SC has won the WPSL Central Conference after a penalty kick win over FC Milwaukee Torrent and a 2-0 win over WPSL Powerhouse Colorado Rapids Women. The Rapids had been ranked #1 in the WPSL Power Rankings before being upset by the Minnesotans of Salvo. Khyah Harper again made a difference with a brace, scoring like she and her teammates have all season. Salvo have not lost this season, drawing Sioux Falls and MN Thunder being their only non wins. The veteran squad filled with former Gophers and Pros will face SC Del Sol in Stillwater, Oklahoma in the WPSL Semifinal at 11am, Central =Time. We will be covering it on Equal Time Twitter and Instagram, stay tuned!

​Unlike the WPSL and USL W League, which send a lone team or maybe a wild card into playoffs, the UPSL’s inaugural year in MN sent 4 squads into Postseason play. Equal Time was on the ground in Chanhassen to cover the games! Tonka Fusion hosted St Croix as the top seed, ending in a 9-1 rout, but Northern Tide and Superior City had a much closer matchup. The Tide found the 2 moments to make the difference and ended up edging the Twin Ports Women 2-0 to advance. The Playoff Champion for the UPSL Midwest West will be decided between Tonka Fusion Elite and Northern Tide FC, info to come! 

Shout out to Superior City FC who has been the most publicized UPSL team by far (and maybe 2nd just to Aurora in MN media), taking advantage of their local media market. WDIO did a piece to kick off their inaugural playoff birth below. Thanks to Vlora FC for their Social presence as well.

​MN Aurora’s undefeated season ended in a W League Quarterfinals loss to Indy Eleven. Aurora’s attack didn’t look quite as dangerous as we’ve seen this year, partly due to a loss of Hannah Adler to Beach National Team duty. A combination of Indy playing strong defensively and Aurora not quite connecting at their typical rate lead to a disappointing playoff exit for last year's Runners Up. Year two saw an increasingly veteran and proven roster, and it will be interesting to see how many Aurora players are playing professionally this fall...

Regular season champs have been crowned in the USL W League and WPSL and we are moving into playoff time. The MN Thunder came away winners in a tight race for the WPSL Northern Conference, sneaking across the line ahead of Salvo SC and Sioux Falls City FC (pictured above) in a very balanced year for that league in the North. In the UPSL Midwest West's inaugural year, it looks to be Tonka Fusion Elite as frontrunners for the title but it wasn't easy, with Northern Tide and Superior City taking it to the last few games with them. Teams like Vlora FC and Superior City FC did great work promoting their squads, streaming games and setting a standard for that Division next year when it comes to public facing work. Check out our Instagram or YouTube feeds for easy access to the archive of on the ground work we have done this summer! Thank you to the Patreons who make it possible 

It is safe to say that MN Aurora ran away with the Heartland Division title. 60 goals scored, 4 against in 12 straight wins, and also still undefeated across their two regular seasons. Chicago City edged their Dutch Lion rivals for the Wild Card birth and will hope third time is the charm against Aurora. Chicago City lost 7-0 to end the season but that was at Aurora’s TCO Stadium, they’ll hope the Flint, Michigan setting proves a better place to upset last year’s finalists. One wrinkle for the Conference Playoffs in Flint is the absence of Hannah Adler, because she's been called up to the National Beach Soccer team. Aurora will hope they can make it through to the Semifinals where Adler could return, she's been huge as a new attacker for them. 

​USL W League Playoffs

Central Conference Semi Finals
MN Aurora vs Chicago City 
July 6
Kickoff: 2pm Central
Stream: Fox9+ YouTube

Central Conference Finals
Winner of Aurora v Chicago City will play the winner of Indy Eleven and Flint City (July 6, 4pm Central)
July 8
Kickoff: 2pm Central
Stream: TBD (Fox9 + YouTube if it's MN Aurora)

​The MN Thunder scored 49 goals in 8 games to win the WPSL Northern Conference this year, but it was a brutal 3 way nail biter to win it. Salvo, who scored 34 goals and gave up THREE in 8 games, lost out because of 2 tough draws. When Sioux Falls City tied at Salvo to start the year, it may have doomed them both as the Thunder grabbed the top spot and never lost a game. Credit to second year team Sioux Falls City for giving the typical frontrunners a real challenge. There was plenty of competitive balance with only the Fusion failing to get a couple wins. 

WPSL Playoffs
WPSL Northern Conference Champs MN Thunder have elected to not play in the ‘23 playoffs, so their spot will likely be picked up by runner up Salvo SC. They will play a to be determined team in the July 15-16 window, which we will post about as it is made public!

​The inaugural season of UPSL Women in MN must be rated a success. Tonka Fusion Elite will likely be Midwest West Division Champs with just a draw to stop an invincible season so far, but there was actually good competitive balance overall, a difficult feat in the inaugural year. Northern Tide and Superior City were still in the hunt for the top stop until the last round of games, and both St Croix and Vlora had there share of positive results. Granite City, the only winless team so far, no doubt take some lessons into next year and will know what it takes to compete with their new rivals. 

Games to Watch

Superior City FC vs Tonka Fusion Elite
July 8
Kickoff: 7pm
NBC Spartan Sports Complex (Superior, WI)
Stream: 

UPSL PLAYOFFS
Playoff info tbd! We will post as it is made public

INTERVIEW WITH JENNY VETTER

We sat down with Mankato legend Jenny Vetter to talk about signing her first pro contract in Portugal, the mindset shift from star college player to tryout player in NWSL camp, the process of finding an agent, exploring her opportunities overseas, her historic NSIC career, and more!