BY SCOTT FRENCH
Senior Editor
In Folsom, Calif.

California Storm coach Jerry Zanelli had been urging Laura Schott to try some slashing runs through the New England Mutiny backline, so when she finally saw her chance — with the clock running down and overtime in her sights — she took off.

Schott, a former University of California All-American who was a WUSA rookie last season with the Washington Freedom, received a long pass from defender Maureen Whitney several yards inside enemy territory, then sprinted through a crease in New England's backline, leaving Mutiny defenders in her wake.

It led to an open shot, and Schott plastered the ball off goalkeeper Sarah Walker's fingertips and into the net, giving the Storm a 3-2 triumph at Folsom High School and its third Women's Premier Soccer League championship.

Schott's 89th-minute goal provided the Storm its second 3-2 win over New England in 23 days and capped a sensational final four in one of the country's two national amateur leagues.

The championship was the Storm's third in the seven-year-old league, to go with triumphs in 1999 and 2002.

''Always the last one is the best,'' Zanelli said afterward. ''Or the next one. With the competition in our league, we're lucky to have any chance at all. Hopefully, we can come back next year and do the same thing.''

The Storm, which has played in all three WPSL championship games, had been widely favored to win the title in preseason after signing more than a dozen WUSA players, but few of them were available for regular action with the club and some never played a minute. Both finalists had six players with WUSA experience of some sort in their starting lineups.

''[New England] is a very good team,'' said Zanelli, whose club beat the Mutiny in the semifinals last year. ''This game could have gone either way.''

''The two best teams in the league, and good soccer all the way around,'' noted Mutiny coach Austin Daniels. ''A clean game with a lot of chances for both teams. … The teams tried to play with skill and commitment. The league has a bright future.''

Emily Burt, a former Atlanta Beat and Philadelphia Charge forward, scored twice in the first half-hour, but New England — primarily through Naomi Stone's and Jessica Gjertsen's attacks down the left flank — rallied to tie the score shortly after the break.

Gjertsen, a University of Connecticut standout, halved the deficit from former University of Massachusetts standout Rachel LeDuc's throughball in the 35th minute. LeDuc netted the equalizer in the 47th, nodding the ball past University of Mississippi goalkeeper Brittany Gillespie after former Charge/Boston Breakers midfielder Mary-Frances Monroe flicked on UConn junior Kathleen Frank's long free kick.

The Storm swarmed from the start, putting New England on its heels and grabbing a third-minute goal and Burt beat former Charge teammate Alexa Borisjuk and fired past Walker, a senior at Yale.

Burt actually beat Borisjuk twice on the play, but her first shot — set up a former San Jose CyberRays midfielder Stacie Alberico's through ball — was blocked by Walker. Burt retrieved the ball and wiggled through the box to set up her second chance.

''I was mad I missed [the first opportunity],'' said Burt, who scored the overtime winner in the Storm's semifinal victory Saturday over the Denver Diamonds. ''I told myself, 'I've got to get that ball back and finish it.' I had to make up for that chance. I was just with the keeper and didn't do very well with it.''

Alberico was most responsible for Burt's 28th-minute strike, the climax to a four-pass, length-of-the-field sequence that started when former Christina Bell collected a ball in the Storm box and played it ahead to her former CyberRays teammate Sissi.

Sissi chipped it over a defender to Fresno State junior Barbara Davis on the left flank, and Davis quickly picked out Alberico running toward the Mutiny box. Alberico carried the ball a distance, then fed it into space for Burt, who raced in from the right, poked the ball past Walker, then finished into an open net.

Both teams had myriad chances. Monroe hit the crossbar for New England, Gjertsen fired high after beating a defender to close in 1-on-1 with Gillespie, and former Sacramento State defender Mattea Stanger halted Gjertsen on a breakaway. UConn's Karlyn Miselis and former Carolina Courage midfielder Stone made key defensive stops for the Mutiny, and Walker made a fine save on Burt with three minutes to go.

Zanelli took advantage of his depth, making 15 substitutions — the WPSL permits free substitution — while Mutiny coach Austin Daniels kept his starting XI on the field the full 90 minutes.

The Storm needed its depth for Burt, who departed for a spell after rolling her ankle in the second half, and for former Boston/San Jose winger Keri Sanchez, who was battling leg problems and saw her effectiveness wane as the match wore on.

Burt, who leaves Thursday for a trial with Russian champion FC Energy Voronezh (which employs her former Charge teammate Jenny Benson) caused problems for the Mutiny whenever she was on the field, and Schott always was dangerous although she saw little of the ball for long stretches. Her last touches were pivotal.

''I saw an opening between the [Mutiny] defenders,'' Schott said. ''Coach has been telling me to cut it when I get the ball, so finally I said, 'OK, I'm gonna cut it.' And it worked out.''

Zanelli said he had noticed that the Utah Spiders, in its semifinal loss to New England, ''was able to get through [the Mutiny backline] a few times, and I thought we could do the same thing with Laura's and Emily's speed.''

Said Burt: ''[Laura] just, like, kicked it into fifth gear on that goal. I was impressed by that burst of speed to get by her player, and what a phenomenal finish. I was happy. I was happy not to go into overtime again.''

The Diamonds won the third-place game, beating 2003 WPSL champ Utah, 2-1. Former CyberRays forward Katie Antongiovanni's penalty kick in the 80th minute proved decisive.

Kerri Weaver, a former University of Denver standout, gave Denver a 29th-minute lead, lobbing Utah goalkeeper Ashley Smith, a BYU junior, after U.S. national team pool defender Kylie Bivens, formerly with the Atlanta Beat, won a Spiders goal kick.

Former University of Utah star Shauna Bingham pulled the Spiders even in the 80th minute, firing past goalkeeper Jenni Branam — a U.S. national-teamer who played last season with the San Diego Spirit — off a pass from Weber State sophomore Lindsay McFarland.

The penalty kick, a delayed and questionable call, was awarded by referee David Levin after Weaver went down after beating one Utah defender and knocking the ball into empty space after she was confronted by two more defenders.

WOMEN'S PREMIER SOCCER LEAGUE
Champions
1998 — Silicon Valley Red Devils
1999 — California Storm
2000 — San Diego WFC
2001 — Ajax of Southern California
2002 — California Storm
2003 — Utah Spiders
2004 — California Storm

Championship Games
2002 — California Storm 1 (Schneider NA) Ajax of Southern California 0

2003 — Utah Spiders 2 (Brower 14, Reading 90) California Storm 1 (Alberico 74)

2004 — California Storm 3 (E. Burt 3, 28, Schott 89) New England Mutiny 2 (Gjertsen 35, LeDuc 47)