GAME DAY 2024!!

In Women's Football Alliance Division 3 action, this regular-season finale in Keizer sees another battle for Cascadia's Crown...and so much more. The Oregon Cougars (1-4, 1-4 D3) make the quick 71-mile drive north on I-5 hungry to not only end their season with their first win since the season opener, but also to reclaim the crown from the top-rated team in the D3 American Conference, the only undefeated team in all of D3 nationwide, the reigning Queens of Cascadia the Capital Pioneers (5-0, 5-0 D3), ready to make another statement and ensure that they stay home from now 'til Canton.

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Meeting of the year: Second

Last meeting: The Pioneers defeated the Cougars 41-0 in Cottage Grove on May 11.

All-time series: Pioneers lead, 3-1

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Thoughts on the Cougars: Despite having the toughest luck they've had in a season since joining the Alliance, the Cougars remain as steadfast and determined as ever. Indeed, Coach Chuck Hoffman knows that his team's running a marathon, not a sprint, and that this is another part of the foundation that's going to be a perennial Canton contender in the coming years. From Macie Michelle Reinen's incredible ground game to the tested and true defense led by Brittney Pionke, Caitlin Cantu, Katharine Alvarez, Te Caballero, Cheyenne Gray, Catalina Garcia, Laura Mae Lavender David and Gaby Atterberry, the Coogs have learned in every single game, through all the ups and downs they've faced to build experience and get set for a brighter future ahead. There'd be no better note for the Coogs to end this season on, no better way to get their fans excited for 2025 than by the same way they ended last year...by dethroning the Pioneers for Cascadia's Crown and throwing a wrench into their playoff plans.

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Thoughts on the Pioneers: All the shadows of last year are behind them now; THIS is the Capital Pioneers football you've known and loved since 2021! Holding the crown as Queens of Cascadia and ready to finish with their third perfect regular season in four years, the Pios are playing even better than in those first two seasons that saw them make the playoffs...as of right now, they're the top-rated team in the American Conference and on pace for home-field advantage from now 'til Canton! Sarah Teubner is having a simply AMAZING season under center (90-143, 937 yards, 11 TDs, only 4 INTs for a 95.8 QB rating), with Jodi Lindemann establishing herself as her top target (412 yards, 6 TDs), Jennifer Kennedy and Katie Girten as her next two top receivers and Clarissa Adams having an absolute breakout season at running back. Adams, Kennedy and Lindemann are joined on that incredible defense by Tabitha Lefever, Ashley Watkins and Ashley Burton and the entire defensive corps, with EVERY incredible teammate, coach, and fan an essential thread to the Pioneers tapestry that is ready to be woven into even brighter royal robes, those for a Canton representative and for the first women's tackle football National Champion to ever hail from the Pacific Northwest. With another dominant victory over the Cougars to complete their sweep and retain the crown, the Pios will be well on their way to fulfilling the destiny that they have felt since that first kickoff in 2021.

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The questions are: Will the Cougars end their season with the big spoiler win, reclaiming the Cascadia crown and giving their fans a lot to anticipate this offseason? Or will the Pioneers complete the sweep and the perfect regular season once again, showing exactly why they have everything it takes to be Queens of the Pacific Region, the American Conference and Division 3 in addition to Cascadia?

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-Michael Burmey, WFA Historian