REDMOND, Wash. — The best teams are the only ones left. The four remaining under-14 and under-18 ECNL teams played their semifinals at Sixty Acres Park on Monday, with two in each bracket advancing to play for a national championship.

Slammers FC may have defeated the Michigan Hawks by three goals, 4-1, in one U14 semifinal, but that final score belies the quality of soccer on display. Both teams attacked ferociously and put on a great show celebrating the best of the American youth game.

It was Slammers’ endless running in sweltering Seattle heat that paid dividends on the first goal, as Sara-Jayne Affleck intercepted a pass back to Hawks goalkeeper Maciah Lipsey in the 14th minute. Lipsey would recover to have one of the best individual performances of the match, keeping her team within one goal with a series of diving saves.

Kaya Frazier’s stunning individual effort provided the equalizer on the half-hour mark, as she took on several defenders on the dribble before cutting inside to confidently smash home her shot.

The lead didn’t last long, as Natalie Hueston finished a chaotic corner kick with an emphatic volley inside the far post, a goal worthy of a semifinal in any competition. The Hawks took that as their cue to press again, with Slammers falling into a defensive shell but keeping their composure until they managed to add a third.

With just 10 minutes left, Destinee Manzo hustled down the right sideline to send a teasing ball into a crowd of players inside the penalty area. It sailed through the sea of legs to the far post, where Jenna Nighswonger took the simple tap-in.

The fourth and final goal followed soon after, killing the game with five minutes to go. Another scramble in the box on a corner kick fell to Kate Wiesner, and she got the final touch to seal the result.

Crossfire Premier 1-2 Michigan Hawks U18
Michigan controlled this one from the first to the final whistle, but Crossfire has proven to be a tricky team to put away at this age group. As the Dallas Sting found out in group play, this team will stay in games if they’re not put away early.

So while the teams were even when the Hawks scored in the sixth minute of their semifinal, through a short corner that Courtney Peterson drove in toward the far post after receiving the initial ball, Crossfire wouldn’t back down. It was pretty much one-way traffic throughout the first half, but Michigan couldn’t put away a second one.

Early after the restart, the Hawks paid for their inefficiency in the final third. Crossfire’s Karlene White was taken down in the penalty area, and Taylor Sekyra made no mistake from the spot in the 56th minute.

Michigan continued to press and found the eventual winner just five minutes later, on a similar effort from Peterson. This time through the run of play, she looped a shot toward the back post from a tough angle and nestled it into the side-netting.

Crossfire tried desperately to equalize again, moving players into the attack and playing with even more urgency. Long throws, corners and even balls from the halfway line all found their way into the box, but the Hawks held on to earn a trip to the U18 national final.

West Coast FC 2-1 McLean U18
This one might sit with McLean for a while.

A tightly contested semifinal matchup on a searing hot Monday afternoon was decided by a penalty inside the last 20 minutes, as West Coast FC snagged a battle-worn one-goal victory to move into the U18 title match. McLean fell behind in the first half on a well-taken turn-and-blast from Jorden Christensen and went into the interval down a goal, but a strike just on the other side of the half from Jarena Harmon evened terms.

There was no clear aggressor as the second half wore toward extra time, but a fateful West Coast FC set piece ultimately decided the match. An out-swinging cross lingered over the box just long enough for Hailey Hite to clatter to the ground from apparent contact. The referee signaled to the spot to vehement protest from McLean’s bench, and Christensen duly buried her effort into the lower left corner.

That was the difference. McLean pushed hard over the final 15 minutes and took the game’s initiative, even coming close to bagging the equalizer when Jennifer Riemer’s rocket from 18 yards flew just yards over the crossbar. But the equalizer wouldn’t come.

The match itself was hard to call. McLean talisman Mia Hoen-Beck provided quality up top, but she wasn’t given much space to operate by West Coast FC’s center backs. As a result, much of their work funneled through the wings and on quick breaks, and their goal just after the second half whistle was one of those tallies.

Now, West Coast FC marches on to the finale while McLean is left to ponder what if.

San Diego Surf 2-0 GSA U14
A high energy, end-to-end semifinal battle produced a pair of Surf goals after a rapid turnaround at halftime.

For the majority of the first half of this U14 semifinal matchup, Surf and GSA were entirely even. Both probed recklessly for weaknesses in their opposing number and found none, while GSA enjoyed a slight edge in attacking endeavor. With the game locked at zeroes at the halftime break, there was a sense that something had to give.

But the fervor with which the Surf charged out of the break was a surprise. Fully rocked on its heels, GSA spent most of the second half attempting to cope with the relentless onslaught pouring over their bow. The keel snapped just minutes into the second half when Mackenzie Simpson lofted a corner kick that found Mia Fishel at the back post. Fishel got her head to it and knocked it far post to open the scoring.

GSA continued to look for paths forward, but the renewed Surf were impossible to break down. More importantly for the scoreline, the attack continued rolling forward. Brooke Wilson drove in the dagger with some 10 minutes to go when she got free on the right flank, took a long touch into the box and placed her shot inside the far post at a dead sprint.

For Surf, the story was undoubtedly its reversal at halftime. GSA’s strikers and wingers found plenty of space in the first stanza, but they were suddenly robbed of air over the final minutes of the match and the Surf attack beat down on the GSA goal with more venom. As a result, they’ll play for a national title on Tuesday.