The East Regional began last Saturday with Cleveland Ambassadors taking on Washington Spirit Reserves in the first of two East Region semifinal matches in Bethesda, Maryland.

Cleveland came out of the gate strong with Lani Smith putting the Ambassadors on the board in the 11th minute. Following a number of substitutions for Washington, the Spirit Reserves were able to preserve the 1-0 deficit into halftime.

In the second half, Washington goalkeeper Jessica Berlin made several incredible saves to keep the Ambassadors from adding a second until the 73th minute when Sarah Krause laid a pass to Kati Druzina, which the later buried.

Washington had another close call in the 78th minute, for Julia Phillips' shot hit the post. Cleveland found a third goal to secure a clean-sheet win in the 86th minute, handing Washington its first defeat in 2018.

SUSA FC played Torch FC in the second semifinal match. Following a scoreless first half, SUSA’s Kristin Desmond and Jenna Blank scored in the second half to put their club up 2-0, while goalkeeper Catriona Sheppard put in an amazing performance to keep Torch FC from scoring.

The East Regional Championship match was played on Sunday. In a close fought, back-and-forth match between the two semifinal winners, Lani Smith had the final word for Cleveland. Kati Druzina once again set up the forward, who scored first the day prior, and Smith slotted the ball home to win the 2018 East Region Championship 1-0.