Chesapeake Charge Eyes Deep Playoff Run

Some of the nation's best amateur women's soccer players will continue their push for a championship this weekend in Gambrills, as the Chesapeake Charge look to wrap up the regular season with an unbeaten record intact. 

The Charge, members of the Women's Premier Soccer League, will hold their final home game at Arundel High School Friday at 7 p.m., then will travel to Philadelphia for the season finale. 

The Charge are unbeaten on the season with a record of 6-0-2, and have secured one of two playoff spots from the South Atlantic Division. Wins in the final two games will give the Charge the top overall seed and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

"If we get a result out of these last two games, we have a chance at a deep playoff run," Charge general manager Patrick Crawford said. 

The Charge have had the week off from practices this week to recover from a tough stretch of play and travel. Last week, the team won 5-0 over the Tidewater Sharks in Williamsburg, PA, in a game delayed by lightning. After arriving home in the wee hours, the team then boarded a plane to Kansas City to take part in the USASA Amateur Women's Cup. 

The Charge went unbeaten in group play and then secured the tournament title with a 2-0 win Sunday over Real Salt Lake. 

Team leaders include Jessica Hnatiuk, Laura Kane and Marisa Kresge, who each scored three goals in the amateur cup tourney. 

The team also includes Lyndse Hokanson, a Crofton resident and South River High grad now attending George Mason, and Brittany Hadaway, a Pasadena native and Towson grad.  

Crawford said most of the Charge roster is made up of girls from Maryland, which has helped them become a tight-knit group. 

"We like to stay in our own backyard," Crawford said. "There's so much talent in the Baltimore area that we  pretty much stayed local. It really helps to keep that chemistry."

Crawford said the cup win has boosted the team's reputation in the league.

"We're definitely not flying under the radar," he said.