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Barnekow, Godwin in national semis for respective club teams
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Rising UNCG seniors Cat Barnekow and Casey Godwin are making playoff runs with their respective women's soccer summer teams, as both squads are just two wins away from national titles.
Barnekow is playing for the Ottawa Fury of the W-League. The lone unbeaten in the 27-team league, the Fury is 12-0-0 and won the Central Conference regular-season title for the eighth straight year and the tournament championship for the second time in three seasons. Sunday's 6-0 win over Quebec City Amiral in the conference final will send the team to Seattle to face the host Seattle Sounders in the W-League Championship semifinals on Friday. The championship game will take place on Sunday.
An all-region midfielder for the Spartans, Barnekow has made seven appearances for the Fury.
"The season has been great," The Santa Rosa, Calif., native said. "I'm a part of a team that has done great things this summer. It has been amazing and exciting to play with girls from all over the U.S. and parts of Canada. I've learned a lot over the summer playing with a team with so much depth. As a team, we are very excited to be in the Final Four, especially since it has been a goal for this team from the beginning to make it to Seattle for that. Having accomplished that goal, we definitely want to raise the bar higher to taking first. This summer in Canada training with this team has been very exciting and one I'll never forget."
Godwin plays for the Tampa Bay Hellenic of the Women's Premier Soccer League, a national league with 60-plus teams. Godwin has helped the squad to a 10-1-1 record and the WPSL's Sunshine Conference championship this season. Tampa Bay Hellenic, which has won its last six matches, is through to the WPSL National Championship semifinals at the Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex in Lisle, Ill. The squad will take on the Chicago Red Stars on Saturday afternoon in its bid to reach the next day's title game.
A defender from Raleigh, N.C., Godwin is an everyday player for the Tampa Bay Hellenic, which has allowed just seven goals in 12 contests thus far on the season.
"This season has challenged me soccer-wise and has provided me with a fun environment to meet new people," Godwin said. "It has been an awesome experience to play with other collegiate players and also former WPS players. … I'm super excited to be going to the Final Four in Chicago this weekend to play against high caliber teams. A lot of the teams we will be playing are former professional teams, like Chicago Red Stars, who were just dropped this past year from the WPS. So, hopefully we come out with a national title after this Sunday."
- UNCG -
