The Tough Mothers have had all summer to perfect the art of winning – and that may spell more playoff pain ahead for the rest of the FC Division.

“We just have to show up,” declares captain Melissa Dubord with the unapologetic confidence of a leader whose squad just capped an undefeated regular season with a convincing 3-1 win over second-seed FC Fire. “Basically it’s ours to lose – and we don’t like losing.”

While the Tough Mothers might be chronically loss-averse, Loriane Fugère and her fun-loving FC Fire are just happy to be where they are. Perhaps not the most inspiring championship setup, but Dubord will not be taking anything for granted. “We’re the Tough Mothers for a reason. FC Fire might be a little more challenging because of their conduct but we won’t let that stop us from getting hold of the gold this season.”

POTG: Genevieve Adam continued on her own delirious scoring streak with a two-goal performance against FC Fire, leaving her with nine goals in her last four starts.

Have a good soccer story to share this summer? Write me at robert_scalia@hotmail.com or tweet me @gracebythegun