Women's Soccer USA

Coverage of women's soccer in the US. If it's not here...it's not important...

September 30, 2008

Reddy leaves Sky Blue FC, joins Chicago

The Chicago Red Stars have named Denise Reddy as Assistant Coach today, Head Coach Emma Hayes announced. Reddy, whose extensive coaching and playing resume includes club, collegiate, professional domestic and international experience, will assist Hayes in all technical aspects of team management, including opposition scouting, player identification, building the roster, and working with a strength and conditioning coach.

Scotland to combat WPS

"The purpose is to stop the talent drain to USA and England and bolster the depth of quality in the women's game in Scotland.
The scheme has been put in place in a bid to help Scotland compete with the increasing number of nations starting up professional women's leagues and while it is still a long way short of that ideal, it is a massive leap in the right direction, according to current international Shelley Kerr, who will co-ordinating the project."

St. Louis confident of winning the league

"We felt there was a very strong pool of players, obviously, and we wanted to move up and have a better pick for that,” Cooper said of the international draft. As a result "we will be like a world all-star team,'' he said. "Our prospects of winning the league go through the roof.”
That's assuming, as Cooper pointed out, that the international stars get signed, which is not a done deal by any stretch of the imagination. The WPS Initial International Draft marked the start of the process by which teams may begin a formal negotiation process with the players they selected.

September 29, 2008

PR nightmare for WPS

"And it's a horrible PR move. By holding a "draft" fans are expecting these players to be on the field. The average fan has no idea about transfer fees, contracts, etc. To sell a league that can't deliver the players it drafts will kill WPS before it even starts. Very disingenuous," - Posted by casocrfan

"I agree. That's why the more I've learned about the international allocation, particularly the "big names" and the media reports that followed all saying WPS had drafted these international players the more concerned I am. It makes WPS seem like they're lying for the exposure when players like Smith and Marta don't come. That or at the very least if we believe their noble intentions, that WPS can't get it done when it comes to attracting these internationals. And with the money players like Marta and Smith are going to demand, perhaps that's the best case scenario as someone pointed out earlier. The alternative could be the overwhelming of the WPS financials, not unlike WUSA," - Posted by athletics68

September 28, 2008

Michigan 0, Minnesota 1

The University of Michigan women's soccer team remains winless in the Big Ten, losing 1-0 to Minnesota on Sunday.
Minnesota's offense pressured Michigan from the beginning, registering 10 first-half shots and scoring the game's only goal during the 22nd minute. The
Wolverines were outshot 15-6 for the game.
"In the first half, we were unable to control the ball up front, so we were unable to attack," Michigan coach Greg Ryan said. "In the second half, we had a little bit more of the play, and we played a little bit better. "But when we countered and got the ball behind their defense, we didn't settle the ball and we didn't finish."

September 27, 2008

No talks prior to draft?

- The GM of Beleza stated that they (as the club team of the three players) have yet to receive any type of document, offer or communication about any of the players.

- A representative from the Japanese Football Association said that they have not gotten any documentation/information from the league.

September 26, 2008

WPS post-draft discovery players

The following teams named international players as post-draft discovery players and have been assigned the WPS-playing rights to those respective international players:

Sky Blue FC: Collette McCallum (Australia)
St. Louis: Ingvild Stensland (Norway)
Bay Area: Anja Mittag (Germany)
Boston Breakers: Emma Byrne (Ireland)
Chicago Red Stars: Alex Scott (England)
Los Angeles: Camille Abily (France)
St. Louis: Eniola Aluko (England)
Washington Freedom: Erin McLeod (Canada)

September 25, 2008

Jones wants to destroy WPS

Grahame L. Jones wants to ruin and destroy women's pro soccer even before it establishes itself:
"If I’m Marta -- and I’m not, I hasten to add -- I move right now to make sure that AEG pays top dollar.
If the outfit that owns the Galaxy can afford to pay a well-past-his-prime David Beckham $6.5 million a year for five years, then it can afford to pay the world’s finest female soccer player at least $1 million a year.
Anything less would be an insult," writes Jones.

Will they sign?

In the Women's Professional Soccer draft of international players, coach Emma Hayes picked Cristiane, a skillful forward from the most skilled team in the world.
Also picked were Australian Heather Garriock, English forward Karen Carney and Swedish goalkeeper Caroline Jonsson.
Now comes the hard part. None of the players have signed a contract or even been formally approached to join the league.

September 24, 2008

WPS International Draft

St. Louis: 1) Daniela 2) Renata Costa 3) Lotta Schellin 4) Melissa Tancredi
Boston Breakers: 1) Kelly Smith 2) Fabiana 3) Maycon 4) Shinobu Ohno
Sky Blue FC: 1) Sarah Walsh 2) Rosana 3) Ester 4) Kelly Parker
Chicago Red Stars: 1) Cristiane 2) Heather Garriock 3) Karen Carney 4) Caroline Jonsson
Los Angeles: 1) Marta 2) Aya Miyama 3) Han Duan 4) Margret Vidarsdottir
Washington Freedom: 1) Homare Sawa 2) Sonia Bompastor 3) Lisa De Vanna 4) Louisa Necib
Bay Area: 1) Formiga 2) Christine Sinclair 3) Eriko Arakawa 4) Erika

September 23, 2008

WPS International Draft

The results of the WPS Initial International Draft will be available on womensprosoccer.com on Thursday, Sept. 25.

College game not the ideal training ground

"College soccer doesn't prepare them to be professionals because college soccer is a very athletic game."

It is almost a stylistic trademark in this country: the hardworking, athletic player who unfortunately lacks the technique or ball control to truly be a threat.

"It's run and gun, and if you're not doing it, we'll sub you out and maybe we'll put you back in."

"The game never settles down into decision making. It becomes a physical game, where I can physically impose myself on you and win, and not because I have to make 90 minutes worth of good decisions, because I know I can't go off the field and come back on and get some coaching advice or whatever. The college game doesn't prepare these younger players to think their way through a game."

"A good young player in Europe will start at [the] youth team level at a professional club, and over the years he will build up his knowledge and develop a natural affinity for the game along with a good tactical brain. But here in the United States they play soccer in the schools and then college, and they are 20 or 21 years old and they are coming to me, having been coached straight out of a book."

"This is a major limitation when these players come into the professional game, and it means that I have to go back to basics with them. They're just rough diamonds and they don't have the tactical vision."

"In the college game, they're used to playing a three-month season. At some point, a lot of the younger players start to go, 'Wow, this is just dragging and getting long.'"

Unless the university soccer system is overhauled, it could soon become practically irrelevant because American professional clubs may choose to bypass it.

September 21, 2008

West Virginia Illusion folds

Due to high expenses and inabilities to capture outside investors and funding the Illusion W-League franchise folded.

West Virginia 3, Virginia 0

Sophomore Megan Mischler netted two goals and an overpowering Mountaineer defense guided 14th-ranked West Virginia past sixth-ranked Virginia, 3-0, Sunday afternoon in front of 1,615 fans at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

England internationals won't join WPS

The FA are set to announce the biggest development in women's football since it took over the running of the game 15 years ago, with central contracts for top England players, a new 'Superleague' of eight teams to start in March 2010 and the appointment of a full-time performance director.
With new professional leagues soon to start in the United States and Australia, following the launch of an elite competition in Holland, there is a threat of top players leaving England to play abroad. The FA's new plans are expected to be approved at a board meeting this week.
The FA are giving serious consideration to creating a model similar to the draft system used in the United States, where the best players are shared between the teams. The move would prevent the situation that currently exists where Arsenal and Chelsea are streets ahead of everyone else. Also under the new proposals, the top England players would be put on central contracts worth £16,000 a year.

Marta's behavior becomes erratic

Marta expressed displeasure with her teammates and coaches, left training on Friday and was benched for the following game.

September 20, 2008

15 minutes of fame?

Chicago Red Stars Director of Ticket Sales Greg Zaskowski is responsible for the most amusing photo of the year so far - posing with Olympic gold medal borrowed from Markgraf.
www.amandavandervort.com/blog/ has the ridiculous photo of the sharp-suited Zaskowski (with embarrassed Lindsey Tarpley next to him), with no known soccer-playing ability, having a medal around his neck.

Plante to join Atlanta WPS

University of Northern Iowa women's soccer coach Jennifer Plante will resign at the end of her first season in charge to take a position with Women's Professional Soccer.
UNI director of athletics Troy Dannen announced on Saturday that Plante would be taking job with the Atlanta franchise of the new league. Plante will join the organization at the end of the Panthers' season.
Plante served one season as an assistant at UNI before becoming coach this year.
Dannen says Plante is leaving for a "tremendous opportunity" and says the school appreciates her two years of work.
Plante says it was a tough decision but calls her new job a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

USA 2, Ireland 0

An announced crowd of 5,390 saw Lori Chalupny score in the 19th minute, and then 12 minutes later Kate Markgraf buried a penalty kick to round out the scoresheet.

Krieger signs with Frankfurt till 2010

Ali Krieger extended her contract with FFC Frankfurt till June 2010.
"We are delighted that Krieger despite the formation of the new American professional league decided to stay at FFC Frankfurt," said FFC manager Siegfried Dietrich.

Chastain comments on Bay Area team

On Alberto Montoya.
"He's a soccer junkie," Chastain. "Does he have as much experience as some coaches? No. But he has technical knowledge. He's a decent communicator. And he brings compassion and understanding of young players."

On the franchise.
"Stepping up to make a team happen here is awesome," she said. "But professional sports is a whole other beast. I hope that this is something that will last."

Chastain to play in WPS

Brandi Chastain, who last played with the national team in 2004, was not allocated Monday but said she hopes to play for the new team.
"I still feel I have a lot of things that can help this league," said Chastain, 40.

U.S. U-20 WNT to train in Florida

The U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team will kick off their first of two camps prior to the 2008 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, training in Sunrise, Fla. from Sept. 21-28. Head coach Tony DiCicco has 21 players into the camp, which he will use to make his final World Cup roster selections.
U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team Training Camp Roster by Position
GOALKEEPERS (4): Bianca Henninger (Santa Clara), Chantel Jones (Virginia), Alyssa Naeher (Penn State), Cat Parkhill (Minnesota)
DEFENDERS (5): Kaley Fountain (Wake Forest), Lauren Fowlkes (Notre Dame), Liz Harkin (Arizona State), Nikki Marshall (Colorado), Elli Reed (Portland)
MIDFIELDERS (4): Becky Edwards (Florida State), Meghan Klingenberg (North Carolina), Christine Nairn (Maryland), Ingrid Wells (Georgetown)
FORWARDS (8): Kiersten Dallstream (Washington State), Gina DiMartino (Boston College), Michelle Enyeart (Portland), Sydney Leroux (UCLA), Alyssa Mautz (Texas A&M), Jessica McDonald (Glendale, Ariz.), Alex Morgan (California), Nikki Washington (North Carolina)

September 18, 2008

WPS commissioner knows what challenges lie ahead

A confluence of factors beyond any commissioner's control — the global credit market meltdown, the slowing economy in America and the disappearing "disposable fan dollar" — also mean that WPS will make its debut next year in the midst of what is perhaps the most inhospitable time for any sports venture in America in the past twenty years.

September 17, 2008

USA 1, Ireland 0

Even with the post-Olympic buzz surrounding the U.S. team, last night's turnout was a sparse 4,227 and looked even smaller than that at Giants Stadium, which seats over 80,000.

WPS

As the mission of the league is to be the premier women's soccer league in the world, and the global standard by which women's professional sports are measured. Monday, September 22 is a big day for the league.
A draft specifically for International players will be held on that day.

Who will go first?

For FUN: who will be the first casualty of the upcoming season?
1. Abner Rogers - LA
2. Alberto Montoya - Bay Area
3. Ian Sawyers - Sky Blue
4. Emma Hayes - Chicago
5. Jorge Barcellos - St. Louis
6. Tony DiCicco - Boston
7. Jim Gabarra - Washington

College freshman wanted by Peter Wilt's Red Stars

"At age 18, Velaj was scouted out by the Women's Professional League team in Chicago who wanted to draft her to play professional soccer. However, Velaj wanted to play in college so she could receive an education as well."

"St. Louis is the best organization" says Hope Solo

"It was my number one and only choice," Solo said. "I was expecting to be on the West Coast, but I didn't want to make the decision based on the social life, or the beaches. That's not what this is about. So I took some time, tried to do a little research, tried to find out how things were going to run on the business side, find out more about the ownership group, and I found St. Louis was the best organization that I have seen."

The question of Marta

As a startup it is important for the WPS to control its expenses and with Marta’s reported demands of $400,000, a house and an SUV, should the league agree to her demands, it could find itself on a slippery slope of alienating the US WNT players.
Marta is an exciting player but how do you explain to Rampone, Wambach, Lloyd, Chalupny and Solo, all Olympic gold medal winners, that combined they are worth what Marta will get?
Who has done more for soccer in the US, Marta or Wambach? The league first must invest in the US players and control expenses.
Be prudent and frugal, remember WUSA.

September 16, 2008

Is Langel playing hardball with WPS?

"A contract between the WPS and the national team players association has yet to be completed, commissioner Tonya Antonucci said. Antonucci had said in July that she expected to have the agreement finalized by now."

It's been suggested that USWNT representative John Langel is not happy with the league's offer.

WPS allocation ratings

With the allocation draft complete, lets break down the selections.
For FUN we are going to rate each pick and give some of the upside or downside to the allocation.

St. Louis: 1) Hope Solo 2) Lori Chalupny 3) Tina Ellertson - St Louis picked up two impact, young players, a good spread of playing positions.
In Chalupny, SL grabs something rare, a versatile player who can play any position. In Solo they get the best keeper in the world. 2**
Upside: They are young and will improve.
Down Side: Ellertson can be unpredictable.

Boston Breakers: 1) Kristine Lilly 2) Heather Mitts 3) Angela Hucles – Boston got experience and leadership, overall a good mix. 1*
Upside: Not much upside here.
Down Side: How old are these players?

Sky Blue FC: 1) Heather O’Reilly 2) Christie Rampone 3) Natasha Kai - Looking for pace, they got that with all three. With Rampone they get level headed leadership. 2**
Upside: With a playmaker they can be dangerous.
Down Side: Kai being Kai. Can be a liability off the field.

Chicago Red Stars: 1) Carli Lloyd 2) Kate Markgraf 3) Lindsey Tarpley – Good allocation for Peter Wilt's team. 2**
Upside: Steady performers.
Down Side: Its all blue collar.

Los Angeles: 1) Shannon Boxx 2) Stephanie Cox 3) Aly Wagner - Mediocre pick up for LA. 1*
Upside: Not much.
Down Side: Will need strikers.

Washington Freedom: 1) Abby Wambach 2) Cat Whitehill 3) Ali Krieger – Health wise perhaps the riskiest allocations in the entire round. Can Whitehill come back and perform? Will Wambach be 100% ready? Time will tell. 1*
Upside: Strong competitors, personalities.
Down Side: Injuries.

Bay Area: 1) Leslie Osborne 2) Rachel Buehler 3) Nicole Barnhart - Got a bunch of good names, none WNT impact players. Can they deliver? 0*
Upside: It can only go up from here.
Down Side: Lack of experience.

September 15, 2008

Rogers named LA coach

Abner Rogers has been selected to become head coach of the Los Angeles franchise in the new Women's Professional Soccer league set to debut in April, 2009 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California it was announced by Rudi Bianchi, Managing Partner of the new franchise which is also owned by AEG.
A nationally respected coach, the London-born Rogers has served as the President and Director of Coaching at the Laguna Hills Soccer Club Eclipse since 2001, which has been ranked as a top 20 girls club in the nation for four consecutive years. For his accomplishments at the youth level, Rogers has been awarded the California Youth Soccer Association, Coach of the Year honor, twice (1995 and 2005).
"We are thrilled to have Abner Rogers on board. Paired with the best female players, Rogers will help to create a unique, entertaining and winning style of soccer for Southern California soccer fans," said Rudi Bianchi, Managing Partner of the Los Angeles Franchise. "With his wealth of experience and professionalism, we know that he will also instill pride within the players and fans of our club."
In addition to Rogers serving as the head coach of the United States Adult Soccer Association's National Team (USASA). In this role, Rogers has coached international games against Mexico, Australia, and the USA, as well as several U20 national teams. Prior to his success with the Eclipse and the USASA team, Rogers was the Head Coach of the Region IV Women's Olympic Development Program (ODP) team which won Gold medals at the US Soccer Festival in 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002.

Bad omen?

US WNT and future WPS players rang the NASDAQ's opening bell today...the NASDAQ dropped 3.6%...historical collapse of Lehman Bros...are you superstitious?

All eyes on WPS today

Official allocations will be announced today by the league.

Hanks joins 60-60 club

Freshman forward Melissa Henderson scored twice in No. 2 Notre Dame's 5-0 home win over SMU Friday, but it was senior Kerri Hanks' night.
Hanks notched her 60th career assist when her cross into the box found Henderson, who put it home in the 54th minute to make Hanks just the sixth player in NCAA history to have 60 goals and 60 assists in a career.

Ohio State improves to 0-4-2

There are certainly some positive things happening with the Ohio State women’s soccer team, but try telling that to 18-to-21 year-olds who just lost a 4-2 game to Duke Sunday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

“There are some positive things happening,” Ohio State coach Lori Walker said. “Lots of kids are getting an opportunity to play."

September 14, 2008

Cristiane

Hospital Villa Lobos will sponsor Cristiane. She will wear a special shirt with the name of the institution at all interviews. For the agreement, the player will be paid approximately 35,000 Reais or $15,000 per month.
According to the article Cristiane has 3 offers from WPS teams and one from Sweden.

September 13, 2008

USA 2, Ireland 0

High priced

Brazilian stars Marta and Cristiane are reportedly asking for $400,000 each to play in WPS. Can the upstart league afford not to sign them?

Dallas WPS (Won't Play Soccer)

In case you are like most soccer fans and had forgotten already, the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) is slated to start next spring. But not locally anymore.
The league made it official this week that Dallas Sting owners Brent Coralli and Jack Hanks aren’t ready for the big leagues.
No women’s pro soccer will be here next year and, really, what are the chances that it happens in 2010?
Coralli didn’t return phone calls this week, and neither Coralli nor Hanks has done so in two years of attempted contact.
Apparently, the Sting folks couldn’t work out an agreement with the Hunt family.
FC Dallas ownership can’t be expected to cut the Sting some crazy deal in the name of fellow soccer love.
Besides, what kind of team or league begins its existence by looking for a handout?
The Sting club needs to build its own 6,000-seat stadium and could do well for itself by constructing an intimate facility in the Grapevine-Southlake area.
If the money men are coming up short then, they’re not really money men, are they?
And that’s the problem. Any potential soccer owner in the United States needs to have bags of start-up cash followed by piles of I’m-going-to-lose-my-shirt-for-five-years cash.
It was doomed from the beginning.

UNC 1, Stanford 1

In what had to be a great game for the 2,700 in attendance, the showdown between two Top 5 teams, Carolina (4-1-1) Women's Soccer and Stanford (5-0-1) played to a 1-1 tie in the Stanford Invitational.

September 12, 2008

D-Day Monday

Monday, September 15, 2008
U.S. WNT Players and U.S. WNT Pool Players have submitted their WPS market preferences to the League. By Sept. 2, WPS teams will submit their U.S. WNT Player preferences to the League.
During the week of Sept. 15, League Owners will meet to review and consider both the U.S. WNT Players and WPS teams’ preferences and then conduct the allocation of the U.S. WNT Players. Each WPS team will be allocated three players from U.S. Women’s National Team / U.S. WNT Player Pool.

Marketers nightmare

HOW DO YOU BRAND THIS?

Today St Louis United Soccer, operators of the St Louis franchise in the new Women's Professional Soccer league and the the organization behind St Louis's MLS Bid revealed the name and logo of the women's team.
In what many may view as a radical departure from modern US sports culture, they decide to simply name themselves after the city: St Louis.
No mascot inspired nickname. No cutesy moniker. St Louis.
St Louis seems to want to tie in their brand identity with that of the men's team.
Their women's team crest resembles the crest for the presumed men's team only there is a Joan of Arc type woman on a horse with a flag instead of a sword.
It may very well be that St Louis, St Louis United, St Louis FC or SC could end up being the name of the men's team as shown in this leaked logo at right.
St Louis is still vying for an MLS expansion slot and has hinted it may look to the USL recently.

September 11, 2008

Montoya to coach Bay Area team

Nancy said she and Brian, CEO of the high-tech company Blue Coat Systems, were approached four months ago about purchasing the Bay Area franchise.
“We were very interested and it happened fairly quickly,” Nancy said. “We met with the other owners and the commissioner, and felt very positive about it.”

Perhaps no one was more positive about it than the NeSmiths’ daughters, both standout soccer players. Sarah – a freshman on an athletic scholarship at Northwestern University – played for Los Altos High and the nationally ranked MVLA Mercury club team. Amanda is a junior at Los Altos who plays for her school and the nationally ranked MVLA Avalanche club team.
A familiar face will coach the team. The NeSmiths last week hired Los Altos graduate Albertin Montoya, who has coached Sarah and Amanda on the club level.
“We looked at a few candidates and he definitely had the best qualifications,” Nancy said. “He’s very well known in the Bay Area and has a lot of experience coaching women. He was the best qualified.”

September 10, 2008

WPS

There it was, on the official Women's Professional Soccer Web site, a link for those interested in investing in a San Diego franchise for the inaugural 2009 season.
And that defines the state of a San Diego franchise in the reincarnation of the women's pro soccer league, drifting somewhere in cyberspace, still alive but rudderless and uncertain. Literally, up in the air.
As recently as last July, when the WPS owners held meetings in San Diego to coincide with the U.S. women's national team game against Brazil, Commissioner Tonya Antonucci said “it looks like it can get done for 2009.” The link on the WPS site noted that “the group expects to finalize formal entry into WPS in August of 2008.”
Platini Soaf, a well-known local youth coach and the man trying to assemble the money people, had identified two Los Angeles-based investors who were seeking ownership partners in San Diego. Then a local group formed with a reported $1 million of seed money. Things appeared to moving along.
“I was already scouting players, talking to some players from different countries, seeing if San Diego (based) players wanted to play for their hometown team,” said Soaf, who was to be head coach. “We were very close. We thought it was going to happen. Then it just totally shut down.”
Members of the San Diego group have declined comment, and the names of the L.A. investors were never made public. Soaf described the primary issue as how much money the L.A. investors would put up and how much ownership control they'd retain. When the two sides couldn't come to terms, Soaf said, the deal unraveled barely a week before the league's Sept. 1 deadline.
Maybe 2010, maybe later, maybe never. No one currently holds the rights to the San Diego market, and Soaf said the L.A. and San Diego groups are moving forward independently.

Sex differences in sports

"But what this study is showing you is that, on some level, there's just less variance in performance, independent of the culture. You can give me any reason you like as to why that is, but it doesn't really matter; the sun rises in the East, water is wet, and men have greater competitive differences.
Strong variances make for better viewing. When teams and athletes are similar in abilities and performance, you don't have upsets, drama, storylines; you have parity on an individual competitor basis, which is to say you've got a lot of the middle muddling about.

Sports is about seeing who is better, and feeling that the differences are not utterly random, and that the differences matter. Women's sports simply have less of that; you can juice it up all you like with all kinds of reverse engineering and marketing, but it is what it is."

Nevada cleared of most serious allegations

The University of Nevada athletic program said Tuesday that the NCAA's 10-month investigation into the university's athletic program has found no lack of institutional control and no gambling-related issues.

The NCAA launched an investigation into the program after women's soccer coach Terri Patraw filed a whistle-blower complaint alleging she was fired in retaliation for reporting rules violations within the Nevada athletic department. The most damning allegation claimed that men's golf coach Rich Merritt, who has since resigned, bet on sports.
Groth said the NCAA did not have any surprising findings and that she felt great relief that the investigation portion of the case had closed.
The case will not be closed until after the NCAA's Committee on Infractions views the investigation's findings. Groth also said the university has not been issued a "Notice of Allegations," which is a written document that outlines what the investigation found. However, she was told over the phone last week that the program was cleared of the two most serious allegations and that the university had permission to announce that information.

Patraw said Tuesday that "given all of the information concerning gambling and the lack of institutional control provided to the NCAA, this news is unbelievable."
Patraw said she supplied the NCAA with information she believes supports her claims, and that the university is not completely out of the clear.
"The NCAA Committee on Infractions has the final say and can hand down additional charges," Patraw said. "I look forward to what the NCAA Committee of Infractions has to say about this information."
When asked if she had contacted Patraw since being cleared of the two main allegations, Groth said: "Terri has nothing to do with this. This is an NCAA investigation."

September 09, 2008

Sky Blue FC

Sky Blue Soccer unveiled today the name and logo for its entry into Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) - the upcoming professional women's league. The Somerset, NJ based organization announced that its professional team will be called Sky Blue FC.
For the name of its professional team, Sky Blue Soccer adopted the use of the traditional FC moniker popular in many parts of the world as a shortened version of "Football Club." The use of FC reflects Sky Blue's European ties with company owners Thomas Hofstetter and Francesco Prandoni originally hailing from Germany and Italy, respectively, and with the team's first Head Coach and General Manager Ian Sawyers - a native of England.

Where are they now: Michelle Akers

Always headstrong, Akers rejected North Carolina, the foremost women's soccer school, in favor of Central Florida. Tar Heels coach Anson Dorrance, who remains on the job today, didn't make a favorable impression.
"I didn't like the coach, so I didn't go there," she said. "I thought he was very conceited. Frankly, I thought my club team was better than his team. The way he pitched it, the package, the deal, the team, it just wasn't what I wanted to be part of. They were national champions, and I didn't like his demeanor. Central Florida wasn't polished, the forerunner, the expected winner. They were like blue-collar workhorses, and that's why I liked them."

September 08, 2008

One on one with Tony DiCicco

“With a limit of five internationals per team, more than half of the players will have to come from places like the W-League.
Right now the jump from college to WPS is big. Only a few college players are really ready to play at the WPS level and many will have to be in the under leagues to continue their development.”

FAI Uses W-League to Raise Standard

"Everyone in the women’s game knows the W-League,” said King. “It has been a strong league over a number of years with a lot of talented players coming out of it.
The level of play [at the W-League Combine] has been quite pacey,” said King. “The Irish standard is not here yet, we’re well off this standard. Surely some of our players could play here, there is no question to that, but the depth of our squad, our lesser players would not map here. If we can get our weaker players strengthened, it would improve our side greatly. It would give us a good chance to get to the European finals."

September 07, 2008

Florida 1, FSU 0

Fourth-ranked Florida State (4-1-0) suffered its first loss of the season falling to 23rd-ranked Florida (3-1-1) 1-0 Sunday afternoon at the Seminole Soccer Complex in front of a season-high crowd of 1,732. It was the first regular season loss at home for the Seminoles against a non-conference opponent since 2004, a span of 13 games, when UCF defeated FSU 3-2.
Despite FSU's advantage on the stat sheet, the Seminoles could not find the back of the net for the first in 2008. The Seminoles out shot the Gators 16-5 on Sunday while maintaining a 15-0 corner kick advantage.

September 05, 2008

UNC 0, Notre Dame 1

A goal by Brittany Bock in the 51st minute was all the scoring in the match as No. 5 Notre Dame held off No. 3 North Carolina Friday night at the Nike Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill before a crowd of 2,085 fans on a rain-soaked night.
Bock scored from 30 yards out on a long curving shot into the upper left corner of the goal at 50:21 of match. UNC goalkeeper Anna Rodenbough had to come out of her penalty area to clear a ball on what was quickly becoming a Fighting Irish breakaway. Bock recovered the ball on the far sideline from the grandstand, took a couple of dribbles and launched a shot that hit the upper left 90 of the frame. Rodenbough had quickly retreated to her line but there would have been little she could have done with a shot hit with such precision.
Notre Dame had dominated play up to that point in the game and only some point blank saves by Rodenbough had kept the game scoreless. In the first half she made a save on a one-one-one situation with Melissa Henderson at 19:19, getting her fingertips on a shot and sending the ball wide of the frame for a corner kick. At 39:02, Rebecca Mendoza had another point blank attempt at Rodenbough that she snuffed out.

Lloyed will not play for Sky Blues FC

Which locale did New Jersey-native Carli Lloyd rank first?
"For me, it would be great to play in New Jersey. I've been in New Jersey my whole life," Lloyd told The Star-Ledger. "But from a soccer standpoint, Chicago is best for me.
"Nothing against anyone from New Jersey. I just have to look at what's best for my career. I have a little bit of background with [Chicago Red Stars coach] Emma [Hayes], so we'll see how that goes. I'm just looking for something different. Change will be good for me. Hopefully it will all work out."

"Nothing against anyone from New Jersey. I just have to look at what's best for my career."

September 03, 2008

Naimo to lead LA

Charlie Naimo has been named LA's first GM.

Cristiane

According to Cristiane, Boston, New York and Los Angeles are interested in her services and she will decide in November where she will want to play.

September 02, 2008

Dallas out, Bay area in

With the gold medalists from the U.S. women's team back in the country and heading out on tour, the Women's Professional Soccer league is gaining one team and putting another on hold.
The league will announce today a team in the Bay Area that will make its debut along with six other teams in 2009.
In Dallas, though, a team slated to start in 2009 will be pushed back a year because owners have not lined up a suitable facility. Philadelphia and Atlanta also are due to start play in 2010.

September 01, 2008

Does Wilt hate Greeley?

"For what it’s worth, Peter Wilt remembers him hating on the Fire during a meeting with the Bears management about the sharing of new Soldier Field, and just generally acting the fool. Not the best first impression."