Recent Reading soccer history has featured teams from coastal southern New Jersey, more specifically Ocean City, having Reading’s number.  This past weekend was potential double trouble for the Reading United women and men’s soccer teams as the Reading women hosted a WPSL playoff game Saturday and the men travelled to Ocean City Sunday night in USL2 action.

Saturday night July 6 featured the Reading United women hosting the South Jersey Elite Barons (SJEB) in a WPSL Mid Atlantic Conference playoff game between the Colonial division and Commonwealth division representatives.  The winner would punch their ticket to the East Regional playoffs July 13-14 in Long Island NY.  The playoff game was Reading’s second straight opportunity to claim the Mid Atlantic Conference title.

For the first time in the 2024 WPSL season Coach Gosselin and his staff had nearly every available player at their disposal and were able to put out a strong lineup with a deep bench.  However SJEB were only able to field 16 players on the day.  Reading would be able to use this depth to their advantage.

The first half started with a shock to the Reading system as SJEB found themselves with an opening in the Reading penalty area when in the 5th minute an Annabella Ramirez pass found the very dangerous SJEB captain Delaney Lappin for  a quick goal to spot the visitors to a 1-0 lead.  However the Reading team remained calm and less than 10 minutes later Reading captain Becca Kotula played a nifty through ball to Loren Gehret who showed her strength and poise to blast the ball past a helpless SJEB goalkeeper Madison Wessel to knot the game 1-1.  The rest of the half was a cagey affair with SJEB showing resilience to thwart the many Reading attacks into the offensive third of the field.  Finally, in the 38th minute Gehret and Kotula would swap roles, with Gehret providing the assist on Kotula’s goal and a 2-1 lead.  The teams would enter halftime with Reading dominating large portions of the game’s possession but only outshooting SJEB 9-7 and nursing their slim 2-1 lead.

After the break Reading showed their full arsenal of talent and depth.  In the 51st minute Becca Kotula (a Wyomissing HS alum) showed some love to her younger teammate (and current Wyomissing HS student) Sophia Zeppos for a nice goal to give Reading a 3-1 lead.  In the 57th minute Kotula and Gehret would replicate their first half exploits with another Gehret assist for Kotula’s second goal of the game and a 4-1 lead.  Ten minutes later in the 67th minute Reading goalkeeper Autum Monty made two brilliant saves and Reading’s defenders cleared a ball off the line resulting in a Reading counterattack where midfielder Haley Gschrey would deposit another Zeppos assist for a 5-1 lead.  Finally in the 81st minute Becca Kotula provided her fourth assist of the night to Olivia Thompson for a tap-in goal and 6-1 lead.

Woman of the Match Becca Kotula exited the game in the 85th minute to a rousing ovation from the 600+ fans in attendance for her two goal, four assist game to lead the Reading women to the East Regional playoffs.  Reading’s WPSL playoff game time and opponents will be released later today from the league.