Wisconsin Soccer Central

Genevieve Richard did just about everything she could for the Laval Comets in the USL W-League championship match.

The University of Wisconsin goalkeeper made eight saves Sunday afternoon, including a penalty kick, but an 87th-minute own goal gave the Pali Blues a 1-0 victory over the Canadian side in the final in Bradenton, Fla.

Marquette defender Vanessa Legault-Cordisco played all 90 minutes on the backline for the top-seeded Comets (9-2-4), who had their 11-match unbeaten streak snapped with the loss. It was the third W-League title in the past six years for the second-seeded Blues (11-2-2).

Pali was poised to take the lead in the 53rd minute, as Chioma Ubogagu was taken down in the box and stepped to the spot for the penalty. The Stanford standout fired a low, hard shot to the left side, but Richard dove, got her fingers to the ball and pushed it off the post.

Richard denied Ubogagu again in the 61st, knocking away a curling shot headed for the top right corner to keep the match scoreless.

The lone goal came when the Blues' Katie Stengel got the ball in the box and tried to shoot as two defenders collapsed on her. Player-coach Cindy Walsh tried to clear it out, but only got a foot on the ball and it deflected past Richard.

USL PREMIER DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE

Marquette defender Paul Dillon scored his third goal of the season, helping the Thunder Bay Chill blank Forest City London 3-0 in the Central Conference final Sunday in Ontario and earn a berth in next weekend's PDL Championships in Austin, Texas.

Dillon gave the host Chill (14-1-1) a 2-0 lead in the 42nd minute, and he and college teammate Axel Sjoberg helped Thunder Bay record its 10th clean sheet of the season. The victory also gave the Chill a bit of revenge, as Forest City London beat them 1-0 in last year's conference championship game and went on to win the PDL title.

Thunder Bay will face Western Conference champion Victoria Highlanders FC (10-2-4) in an all-Canadian semifinal in Austin. The host Aztex (13-1-2), who won the Southern Conference, will take on the Eastern Conference champion Ocean City Nor'easters (12-2-2) in the other semifinal. The schedule for the weekend matches will be finalized Monday.

NATIONAL PREMIER SOCCER LEAGUE

The seeds held in the NPSL playoffs Saturday night as top-seeded RVA FC (9-0-2) and No. 2 seeded Sonoma County Sol (12-0-3) prevailed in semifinal matches.

After a scoreless first half, RVA FC scored three times in 21 minutes in the second half and went on to a 4-0 victory over the fourth-seeded Erie Admirals (9-4-3) in Richmond, Va.

Later in the evening on the other side of the country, a side volley by center back Taylor Varnadore clipped the bottom of the crossbar and dropped into the goal in the 89th minute to give the Sol a dramatic 3-2 win over third-seeded and defending NPSL champion FC Lehigh Valley United Sonic (11-4-0) in Rohnert Park, Calif.

RVA FC, in its first season in the league, will play host to Sonoma County next Sunday night in the championship match. The Sol won their only NPSL title in 2009 at Breese Stevens Field in Madison.