The discontinuation of operations for Saint Louis Athletica is a sad day in women's soccer and a blow to both WPS and the city of St. Louis. WPS will soldier on with 7 teams for the remainder of the 2010 season, with a reconfigured schedule to be released shortly.
Even more sad is that some of the classiest athletes in the world have been let down by the powers that be. The one group of people that had no blame in this will suffer the most. The twenty-two players that formed Saint Louis Athletica are out of a job, albeit some only temporarily. Three of the players, Shannon Boxx, Aya Miyama, and Tina DiMartino, have had to suffer through two teams folding in a very short period of time.
The thing is, the players of Athletica not only had to worry about their play on the field, they also had to do most of the team's promoting off the field. If anyone driving around in St. Louis or watching television in St. Louis can show me one promotion that the organization did for this team, I'd like to see it. If you did see the team being promoted, it was the players doing public appearances for both the team and local charities. In the case of USWNT player and Athletica captain Lori Chalupny, she was often the spokeswoman for the whole organization in absence of anyone else. Not only are these women classy athletes, but classy human beings.
So now, some of the best people the sporting world has to offer have been let down and abandoned. And the hand-wringing has begun. The convenient scapegoat is the Vaid brothers, the dynamic sibling duo from London who took over the organization from founding owner Jeff Cooper over the winter. And make no mistake, their financial problems and subsequent exit dealt a lethal blow to the organization. But what led to that point?
During the winter months, while very little was being done to promote Athletica, Mr. Cooper was hard at work trying to bring men's soccer to St. Louis in the form of the nascent NASL. There were a few of us that wondered out loud whether the efforts for AC St. Louis and the NASL were distracting staff and detracting from Athletica. Furthermore, many staffers served both teams. I can understand the theory....two teams, one staff, save costs, but it apparently wasn't working.
Enter the Vaid brothers. When they were presented to St. Louis soccer fans, most of us got the impression that they were additional investors and not taking over control of operations for the two clubs, certainly not for Athletica. To my knowledge, they were never presented as such at the time.
In fact, several sources are reporting that WPS did not learn of the transfer of ownership to the Vaid brothers until early May and that the proper paperwork for such a transfer was never filed. This appears to be the case. Generally, while conversations among members of governing bodies regarding new ownership tend to be very private, that actual fact that the matter of new ownership is being considered is very public.
Although details are lacking, the Vaid brothers apparently ran into financial difficulty very quickly, both with the soccer clubs and with their other investments. This evidentally happened with the swiftness of a Eni Aluko run on goal.
At that point, Mr. Cooper re-entered the picture in an effort to save the teams, which in AC St. Louis' case has temporarily succeeded, but in Athletica's case ultimately failed. The nature of those efforts is unclear and Mr. Cooper was pretty vague and succinct in his statement on the issue, stating that "I've given this matter my complete attention since returning to a more active role in the last few weeks, and numerous parties have spent a lot of hours during that time exploring what options or solutions might be available. Despite best efforts, nothing was found that would answer the immediate needs of the franchise."
Various degrees of blame have been assessed to WPS in Athletica's demise. In looking at the WPS and their role, it's hard to assess much of the blame in their corner. One always had the feeling that Athletica was more of a secret intelligence agency than a soccer club and it appears that WPS was getting very little information out of the organization until the final days before it folded. To be fair, by the time they learned of the organization's financial problems, the situation was so dire that the remaining options were few and time was short.
There has been quite a bit of misinformation that has been making the rounds. Some outlets have been reporting that NASL required a bond, while WPS did not and have pointed to that as one of the reasons why AC St. Louis survived, while Athletica folded. However, WPS league sources have confirmed that there was a bond in place and that it was used to cover Athletica's payroll for the month of May to keep the team running. This bought Athletica a little time to seek options, but unfortunately, none were found. Perhaps if the league had been made aware of the entire situation at an earlier date, more could have been done.
Then we have the USSF, the controlling body of soccer in the United States. While I agree that the USSF can't save every failing soccer team in this country, I wonder if they couldn't be doing more to support the league. The USSF has reaped the benefits of having a strong, competitive women's soccer league in the United States. Many players are getting a chance with the USWNT primarily because they have proven themselves against world class competition in WPS action.
Part of the blame also has to rest with the soccer community in St. Louis, the city I call home and a self-proclaimed soccer town. Support for Athletica has ranged from very good at times to tepid and AC St. Louis' overall support hasn't been all that strong either. Fighting among the various soccer clubs in Saint Louis has built up a strong resentment, which definitely hurt Athletica's attendance. Corporate support locally was lukewarm at best and the team was one of the few that was never able to secure a jersey sponsor. While I respect the soccer community in St. Louis, many are very picky about what they'll support. For many, there seems to be an attitude that if it's not EPL, then it isn't good enough for them. A true soccer town should be a soccer town always, no matter what the level of play, men or women.
That is not to say that Athletica did not have a group of hardcore fans. Indeed, the team had some of the most dedicated fans I have ever met, many of whom I am proud to call my friends. They followed the team on road trips, supported the team in public appearances, and created an atmosphere that made the games more enjoyable for fans and players alike. And all of this was done by people who do not have the riches of would-be owners, but have a thousand times more imagination, enthusiam, and guts than those with deep pockets. As I have often said, money is wasted on all the wrong people.
Finally, I cannot escape blame. I have purchased two season tickets to Athletica games for both the 2009 and 2010 season. But maybe I should have purchased four or even six tickets and supported the team more. Maybe I should have purchased more merchandise from the team. Maybe I could have done more. As I said a little over a year ago, when I started writing here, I am a fan first.
There are a lot of unanswered questions, some of which we'll probably never hear the true answer on. How much did the forming of AC St. Louis and the NASL distract the organization from promoting Athletica? Why wasn't WPS informed earlier, both of the change of ownership and the financial difficulties? Why did AC St. Louis survive, while Athletica did not, given both teams had bonds, attendance was comparable, and Athletica was likely less expensive to operate? Not to mention, Athletica was the established team of the two. If it was truly a business decision, then what logic was used to arrive at that decision?
And there are questions for others involved. Is there anything that WPS can do to prevent this from happening again and if so, what? Should USSF be doing more to support WPS and women's soccer? Is St. Louis the soccer town it has always prided itself on being? Why doesn't soccer get greater corporate support locally?
Starting June 1, some of Athletica's players will be finding new homes. But obviously, given team budgets and roster restrictions, not all of them will. The loss of Athletica is my loss, it's the fan's loss, it's the city's loss, and it's the league's loss. Good luck to the players of Athletica! You deserve all the best, because you always gave your best!
Red Stars to Honor Athletica Tickets
The Chicago Red Stars have graciously offered to honor Athletica tickets at Red Star home matches for the remainder of the season. From the Chicago Red Stars front office:
"Fans of Saint Louis Athletica,
We’ve had some memories together over the past two seasons of Women’s Professional Soccer. From our inaugural match of the 2009 season in Saint Louis to a hard fought tie to start the 2010 campaign in Chicago at Toyota Park. Our regional rivalry was growing and budding into something that makes all sports fans proud. But we know things have unfortunately changed and you are now without exciting WPS soccer for the remainder of the 2010 season. We can’t imagine how it must feel but want to do all we can to keep your passion and dedication for the league alive. You deserve it and we think we can help.
Starting today the Chicago Red Stars will honor all unused Saint Louis Athletica home match tickets for the cancelled 2010 home matches. Make a trip up I-55 this summer to watch the Red Stars take on another WPS foe and you can use your Athletica tickets for entry into the game. Feel free to proudly wear your Athletica gear, we understand and support you. If you want a Red Stars flag to wave or deep discounts on the Chicago gear to get started just let us know. We miss you Athletica!
For more information on how to redeem your Athletica tickets for a Red Stars match please call 708.496.9500, chat online, or send us an e-mail to tickets@chicagoredstars.com. We look forward to seeing you at Toyota Park this season.
Soccer is not just a game, it is a way of life. Keep your passion alive in whatever way you can.
Yours in WPS,
The Chicago Red Stars front office"
Which Athletica Players Will Sign Elsewhere?
Tomorrow will be the first day that Athletica players can sign as free agents with other teams. Had this been in the offseason, when rosters were fluid, most of Athletica's players would have been signed. However, with many teams hitting the ceilings of their budgets already, teams will likely be very selective about who they sign.
There have been talks about expanding roster sizes and international roster limits at WPS. While this will certainly help the situation, the problem is still money, which is what got us into this situation to begin with. There is also the question of whether some of the players will even want to continue in WPS this season.
Eniola Aluko - She is one of the most exciting offensive players in the league and is presently leading WPS in scoring. Given an extra international slot, many teams should be after her. Look at the teams that have had trouble scoring...Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago being the most likely, with Philadelphia being another possibility. Philly coach Paul Riley spoke of how Aluko was "a thorn in our side" after their match against Saint Louis. Boston and Chicago already have two of Aluko's English teammates each, while Philadelphia has one.
Shannon Boxx - She's a great midfield player, who even at age 32, can control a game in the middle. And if it's possible, her offensive game seems to be improving, making her a force at both ends of the field. If I were guessing, I might think FC Gold Pride. She's based in California and Gold Pride could use some additional experience in their midfield, but do they have the money to sign her.
Hope Solo - She's one of the few goalkeepers who can be called a true difference maker and probably the best in the world, bar none. Rumor has it that she is headed to South Africa to watch the World Cup, which means she wouldn't be immediately available. She is also likely to be one of the more expensive of the free agents. The other problem is that there are only 7 spots for starting keepers in this league. I don't even have a guess here.
Lori Chalupny - Of all Athletica players, the last two weeks had to be hardest for Chalupny. She was the hometown girl and pretty much the face and spokesperson for the organization. It was not only on the field that she gave everything, she gave her all off the field as well. She's also probably the most unsung top player in the world. A lot of teams could use an outside defender or midfielder and Chalupny shines at both.
Tina Ellertson - Ellertson is a strong, physical central defender and one of the few that can close on strikers once they have a step on her. Several teams could use such a player. But Ellertson, the mother of two young girls, will also be thinking of her family when she makes her decision.
Aya Miyama - There is no doubt as to Miyama being one of the most talented midfielders in the world, although she has been fairly quiet so far this season. She's an expert at placing free kicks and corners. But there are a lot of complicating factors here...being an international, her salary, etc. The good-natured midfielder also has to weigh whether she wants to go through this again, considering the fact that's she's already had two bad experiences in the states.
Lindsay Tarpley - Tarpley appears to be back at full speed and was becoming a force along side Aluko. She's tactically solid and is just as willing to pass as she is to shoot. I would give a return to Chicago a possibility, especially if Aluko ends up elsewhere.
Anita Asante - Another solid central defender, but just coming back from an ACL injury. I might say Sky Blue would be her destination, except with Rampone back, Sky Blue almost has too many defenders now. One also has to wonder if she might give her leg more time to strengthen, now that getting back on the pitch isn't as urgent.
Elaine & Madelaine Edlund - As talented as they are, I think it's going to be a good deal tougher for these two players to be signed. Again, you're dealing with international players and salary issues. Elaine has been injured off and on this season, although she was playing full speed in her last match against Sky Blue. Edlund has pretty much been relegated to the role of 2nd half substitute the last few matches.
Others -
Elise Weber - She's been a pretty solid outside defender for Athletica. She's from the Chicago area and went to Notre Dame. The Red Stars could use some depth on defense, so that is a possibility.
Kendall Fletcher - Her ability to play defender and defensive midfielder help. Atlanta would not surprise me, but really that would be a guess.
Tina DiMartino - Perhaps back to Gold Pride where she started or to Philadelphia where her sister Gina plays.
Niki Cross - She's from Pembroke, Massachusetts and has played extensively in Connecticut both in college and WPSL. Her size and versatility make her a nice player to have on the bench. Boston would appear to be a possible fit.
Carolyn Blank - She's from New Jersey and played for the Hudson Valley Quickstrike Blues two years ago, leaving me to believe that Sky Blue might sign her. Still, their roster is mighty crowded already.
Ashlyn Harris - She's not seen a minute of WPS action yet and many teams already have young backup keepers, so it's probably not going to be easy for her to catch on anywhere as a full roster player and she might have to settle for being a developmental player for the remainder of the season.
Kristina Larsen - Larsen is still recovering from her foot injury and probably won't be full speed for a few more weeks. That might work against her being signed for 2010, unless she's added as a developmental player.
May 31, 2010
WPS Weekend Wrap Up - May 31
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Labels: 2010 WPS, Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Gold Pride, Philadelphia Independence, Sky Blue FC, Washington Freedom
Labels: 2010 WPS, Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Gold Pride, Philadelphia Independence, Sky Blue FC, Washington Freedom
Sky Blue FC 0, Boston 0
In spite of a total of 37 shots, neither team managed to put one in the net. Karen Bardsley for Sky Blue and Ashley Phillips for Boston earned the shutouts. While the Breakers were able to put 10 of their 23 shots on frame, their scoring problems continued. They’ve managed only one goal in the past four matches combined, playing their second scoreless tie in three matches.
Sky Blue saw several of their players returning from injury. Meghan Schnur started, while Tasha Kai came in as a 2nd half substitute. Christie Rampone was activated, but did not play. SBFC moved into a 3rd place tie with Philadelphia, with 11 points, while Boston remains out of a playoff position at 7 points.
Chicago 1, FC Gold Pride 0
Kosovare Asllani scored her first WPS goal on a beautiful cross from Marian Dalmy to give the Red Stars a 1-0 victory over FC Gold Pride. The goal came in the 56th minute of action. For Dalmy, it was her first assist in over a year. She had assisted on Chicago’s first two goals of the 2009 season. Jill Loyden got the shutout for the Red Stars, her second of the season. Marcia McDermott got her first victory as interim coach of the Red Stars.
Gold Pride’s record winning streak was stopped at 5 matches, but they remain in 1st place, just two points ahead of the Freedom. Chicago moved to 7 points to tie Boston in the standings.
Washington 2, Philadelphia 1
The Freedom moved into 2nd place with a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Independence. Washington opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a nice give and go play between Rebecca Moros and Christie Welsh. After Moros had dropped off a pass to Welsh, she continued her run to the net. She got the return pass from Welsh, found space between Philly defenders and was able to touch the ball past goalkeeper Val Henderson just inside the left post.
Washington doubled their lead less than 10 minutes later. Sonia Bompastor got around Heather Mitts, before she collided with Sara Larsson who was whistled for the penalty. Abby Wambach took the penalty for the Freedom and placed it lower right, with Henderson guessing the wrong way.
Late in the match, Caroline Seger was shown a red card for shoving Sarah Huffman in the face in a battle for the ball between the two. Seger will be forced to miss next week's match against Sky Blue FC.
In spite of being a player down, Philadelphia drew to within one goal on a mixup between the Freedom’s back line and keeper Erin McLeod. Allison Falk sent a long ball into the penalty area which landed between the defense and McLeod, with the Freedom goalie unable to hold the ball cleanly. Lianne Sanderson was there for the Independence and tapped the ball past McLeod into the net. But it was a matter of too little, too late and the Freedom held on for the 2-1 victory.
Washington moved ahead of Philadelphia into 2nd place with 13 points. Philadelphia is tied for 3rd place with 11 points.
WPS Standings
The standings have tightened up considerably after this weekend's action. Gold Pride holds on to 1st place, but their margin is down to 2 points heading into next weekend's showdown with 2nd place Washington.
(1) FC Gold Pride 5-2-0, 15 pts (2) Washington 4-2-1, 13 pts (3) Philadelphia 3-2-2, 11 pts (3) Sky Blue FC 3-2-2, 11 pts (5) x-Saint Louis 2-1-3, 9 pts (6) Chicago 2-4-1, 7 pts (7) Boston 1-2-4, 7 pts (8) Atlanta 0-5-1, 1 pt.
x-Saint Louis has ceased operations.
In spite of a total of 37 shots, neither team managed to put one in the net. Karen Bardsley for Sky Blue and Ashley Phillips for Boston earned the shutouts. While the Breakers were able to put 10 of their 23 shots on frame, their scoring problems continued. They’ve managed only one goal in the past four matches combined, playing their second scoreless tie in three matches.
Sky Blue saw several of their players returning from injury. Meghan Schnur started, while Tasha Kai came in as a 2nd half substitute. Christie Rampone was activated, but did not play. SBFC moved into a 3rd place tie with Philadelphia, with 11 points, while Boston remains out of a playoff position at 7 points.
Chicago 1, FC Gold Pride 0
Kosovare Asllani scored her first WPS goal on a beautiful cross from Marian Dalmy to give the Red Stars a 1-0 victory over FC Gold Pride. The goal came in the 56th minute of action. For Dalmy, it was her first assist in over a year. She had assisted on Chicago’s first two goals of the 2009 season. Jill Loyden got the shutout for the Red Stars, her second of the season. Marcia McDermott got her first victory as interim coach of the Red Stars.
Gold Pride’s record winning streak was stopped at 5 matches, but they remain in 1st place, just two points ahead of the Freedom. Chicago moved to 7 points to tie Boston in the standings.
Washington 2, Philadelphia 1
The Freedom moved into 2nd place with a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Independence. Washington opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a nice give and go play between Rebecca Moros and Christie Welsh. After Moros had dropped off a pass to Welsh, she continued her run to the net. She got the return pass from Welsh, found space between Philly defenders and was able to touch the ball past goalkeeper Val Henderson just inside the left post.
Washington doubled their lead less than 10 minutes later. Sonia Bompastor got around Heather Mitts, before she collided with Sara Larsson who was whistled for the penalty. Abby Wambach took the penalty for the Freedom and placed it lower right, with Henderson guessing the wrong way.
Late in the match, Caroline Seger was shown a red card for shoving Sarah Huffman in the face in a battle for the ball between the two. Seger will be forced to miss next week's match against Sky Blue FC.
In spite of being a player down, Philadelphia drew to within one goal on a mixup between the Freedom’s back line and keeper Erin McLeod. Allison Falk sent a long ball into the penalty area which landed between the defense and McLeod, with the Freedom goalie unable to hold the ball cleanly. Lianne Sanderson was there for the Independence and tapped the ball past McLeod into the net. But it was a matter of too little, too late and the Freedom held on for the 2-1 victory.
Washington moved ahead of Philadelphia into 2nd place with 13 points. Philadelphia is tied for 3rd place with 11 points.
WPS Standings
The standings have tightened up considerably after this weekend's action. Gold Pride holds on to 1st place, but their margin is down to 2 points heading into next weekend's showdown with 2nd place Washington.
(1) FC Gold Pride 5-2-0, 15 pts (2) Washington 4-2-1, 13 pts (3) Philadelphia 3-2-2, 11 pts (3) Sky Blue FC 3-2-2, 11 pts (5) x-Saint Louis 2-1-3, 9 pts (6) Chicago 2-4-1, 7 pts (7) Boston 1-2-4, 7 pts (8) Atlanta 0-5-1, 1 pt.
x-Saint Louis has ceased operations.
May 28, 2010
WPS Weekend Previews - May 29 & 30
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Labels: 2010 WPS, Atlanta Beat, Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Gold Pride, Philadelphia Independence, Saint Louis Athletica, Sky Blue FC, Washington Freedom
Labels: 2010 WPS, Atlanta Beat, Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Gold Pride, Philadelphia Independence, Saint Louis Athletica, Sky Blue FC, Washington Freedom
Boston Breakers at Sky Blue FC– May 29 (7 pm ET)
Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ.
Rosters:
Boston: GK-A. Phillips, A. Naeher; D-A. LePeilbet, K. Moore, A. Scott, S. Cox, J. Angeli; MF-L. Osborne, K. Lilly (probable-back), Fabiana (probably-quad), C. Igwe, L. Bogus; F-K. Smith, L. Cheney, L. Del Rio, T. Weimer.
Not Active: S. Walsh (national team), M. Enyeart (knee), M. Tomecka (ankle), T. Hemmings, C. Zimmeck, A. Lipsher, A. Marquez.
Sky Blue FC: GK-K. Bardsley, K. Luckenbill; D-D. Koster, B. Taylor, K. Dowling, M. Schnur, C. Rampone, K. Dallstream, D. Johnson; MF-Y. Averbuch, H. O’Reilly, Rosana, K. White; F-N. Kai, L. Kalmari, J. Landström, K. Schoepfer, I. Trotter.
Not Active: C. Lloyd (ankle), J. Branam (knee), M. Snell, A. Salem, S. Myers.
Previous Meetings (2009):
Boston 1 @ Sky Blue FC 2
Boston 0 @ Sky Blue FC 1
Sky Blue FC 2 @ Boston 1
Sky Blue FC 0 @ Boston 0
What to Look For: Sky Blue FC dominated this series last season, winning three matches and tying one. Kai scored two of Sky Blue’s 5 goals against Boston last year and she is back in the lineup after missing several matches due to injury. Sky Blue has had only two goal scorers this year, Kalmari with 3 and Kai with 2. Bardsley and the Sky Blue defense have three shutouts to their credit. Schnur and Rampone are also on the active roster for Saturday’s match, bolstering the SBFC defense. Boston’s offense had trouble scoring against Sky Blue last season and has been lackluster this season. Smith has scored the only goal for the Breakers in their last 3 games. The Breakers need to control the midfield game and finish their chances to win this match.
Storylines: Christie Rampone plays her first game for Sky Blue since the WPS championship match last August. Boston is on a five match winless streak, matching the worst in team history.
FC Gold Pride at Chicago Red Stars – May 29 (8 pm ET, 7 pm CT, 5 pm PT)
Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL.
Rosters:
FC Gold Pride: GK-N. Barnhart, B. Cameron; D-R. Buehler, A. Riley, K. Wilson, C. Chapman (questionable-shoulder), K. Graczyk; MF-Marta, B. Edwards, S. Gulbrandsen (questionable-quad), C. Dew, K. Yokers; F-C. Sinclair, K. O’Hara (questionable-foot), T. Milbrett, K. Bosio.
Not Active: C. Abily (ankle), K. Fountain, A. Bowyer, E. Guthrie, R. Tantillo.
Chicago: GK-J. Loyden, M. Burke; D-K. Markgraf, W. Engen, M. Dalmy, I. Dieke, N. Spilger; MF-B. Klein, K. Chapman, K. Carney, Formiga, M. Rapinoe, J. Sitch; F-Cristiane, C. Nogueira, K. Asllani, E. Masar, J. McDonald.
Not Active: K. Davis (national team U-23), M. Weissenhofer, J. Santacaterina, L. Vandenbergh.
Previous Meetings:
This Season-Chicago 0 @ FC Gold Pride 2.
All Time-Gold Pride leads series at 2-1-1.
What to Look For: The last time these two teams met, Chicago played shorthanded for much of the match due to a red card to Dieke. Chicago will be playing their first match under temporary head coach Marcia McDermott. She will attempt to light a fire under her team that has managed only 3 goals in 6 matches, two of them by rookie Nogueira. Loyden and the Red Star defense has played reasonably well, allowing only a goal per game. Meanwhile, Marta is coming off of a two goal game for Gold Pride and O’Hara is available for the match, returning from injury. After being shut out in the season opener, Gold Pride has average two goals per game since. Barnhart has posted shutouts in two of her last three matches.
Storylines: McDermott makes her WPS coaching debut after winning a WUSA championship as head coach of the Carolina Courage in 2002. FC Gold Pride attempts to extend its record winning streak, which now stands at 5 games.
Philadelphia Independence at Washington Freedom – May 30 (6 pm ET)
Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, MD.
Rosters:
Philadelphia: GK-V. Henderson, R. Jones; D-S. Larsson, N. Krzysik, A. Falk, H. Magnusdottir, H. Mitts, S. Senty, E. Johnson; MF-L. Lindsey, C. Seger, J. Lohman, J. Buczkowski; F-A. Rodriguez, L. Sanderson, L. Patterson.
Not Active: K. LeBlanc (national team), D. Adams, G. DiMartino, K. Maruyama, K. Reynolds, C. Patterson.
Washington: GK-E. McLeod, M. McCray; D-C. Whitehill, N. Marshall, S. Bompastor, B. Bock (questionable-foot), A. Singer, K. Eveland, M. Abegg; MF-B. Sauerbrunn, A. Long, S. Huffman, R. Moros, J. Gilbeau, B. Goebel, C. Miskel; F-A. Wambach, L. Mykjåland, C. Welsh.
Not Active: L. De Vanna (leg), H. Sawa (national team), B. Scurry (head), M. Casey.
Previous Meetings (2010):
Washington 1 @ Philadelphia 3.
What To Look For: In the last match between these two teams, Philadelphia struck for three quick goals after the Freedom had gone on top early in the 2nd half. Lindsey assisted on all three goals for the Independence. Both teams have Canadian starting goalkeepers, but LeBlanc was called for national team duty, while McLeod was not. Philadelphia has given the fewest goals of any team, only 4 in six matches. No player in WPS is hotter than Wambach. She had two goals and an assist for the USWNT against Germany and she has two goals and a record 7 assists in WPS this season. McLeod has shutouts in her last two matches and has a scoreless streak of 225 minutes. All three of the Freedom’s wins have been by two goal margins. Meanwhile, all of Philly’s matches have been close, except for their victory over Washington having a margin of more than one goal.
Storylines: Only one point separates 2nd place Philadelphia from 3rd place Washington. De Vanna’s broken leg will mean that veteran Christie Welsh will have to pick up more of the offensive load. She scored twice in an exhibition against the Canadian National Team last weekend.
The Saint Louis Athletica at Atlanta Beat match was cancelled due to Athletica folding because of financial troubles.
Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ.
Rosters:
Boston: GK-A. Phillips, A. Naeher; D-A. LePeilbet, K. Moore, A. Scott, S. Cox, J. Angeli; MF-L. Osborne, K. Lilly (probable-back), Fabiana (probably-quad), C. Igwe, L. Bogus; F-K. Smith, L. Cheney, L. Del Rio, T. Weimer.
Not Active: S. Walsh (national team), M. Enyeart (knee), M. Tomecka (ankle), T. Hemmings, C. Zimmeck, A. Lipsher, A. Marquez.
Sky Blue FC: GK-K. Bardsley, K. Luckenbill; D-D. Koster, B. Taylor, K. Dowling, M. Schnur, C. Rampone, K. Dallstream, D. Johnson; MF-Y. Averbuch, H. O’Reilly, Rosana, K. White; F-N. Kai, L. Kalmari, J. Landström, K. Schoepfer, I. Trotter.
Not Active: C. Lloyd (ankle), J. Branam (knee), M. Snell, A. Salem, S. Myers.
Previous Meetings (2009):
Boston 1 @ Sky Blue FC 2
Boston 0 @ Sky Blue FC 1
Sky Blue FC 2 @ Boston 1
Sky Blue FC 0 @ Boston 0
What to Look For: Sky Blue FC dominated this series last season, winning three matches and tying one. Kai scored two of Sky Blue’s 5 goals against Boston last year and she is back in the lineup after missing several matches due to injury. Sky Blue has had only two goal scorers this year, Kalmari with 3 and Kai with 2. Bardsley and the Sky Blue defense have three shutouts to their credit. Schnur and Rampone are also on the active roster for Saturday’s match, bolstering the SBFC defense. Boston’s offense had trouble scoring against Sky Blue last season and has been lackluster this season. Smith has scored the only goal for the Breakers in their last 3 games. The Breakers need to control the midfield game and finish their chances to win this match.
Storylines: Christie Rampone plays her first game for Sky Blue since the WPS championship match last August. Boston is on a five match winless streak, matching the worst in team history.
FC Gold Pride at Chicago Red Stars – May 29 (8 pm ET, 7 pm CT, 5 pm PT)
Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL.
Rosters:
FC Gold Pride: GK-N. Barnhart, B. Cameron; D-R. Buehler, A. Riley, K. Wilson, C. Chapman (questionable-shoulder), K. Graczyk; MF-Marta, B. Edwards, S. Gulbrandsen (questionable-quad), C. Dew, K. Yokers; F-C. Sinclair, K. O’Hara (questionable-foot), T. Milbrett, K. Bosio.
Not Active: C. Abily (ankle), K. Fountain, A. Bowyer, E. Guthrie, R. Tantillo.
Chicago: GK-J. Loyden, M. Burke; D-K. Markgraf, W. Engen, M. Dalmy, I. Dieke, N. Spilger; MF-B. Klein, K. Chapman, K. Carney, Formiga, M. Rapinoe, J. Sitch; F-Cristiane, C. Nogueira, K. Asllani, E. Masar, J. McDonald.
Not Active: K. Davis (national team U-23), M. Weissenhofer, J. Santacaterina, L. Vandenbergh.
Previous Meetings:
This Season-Chicago 0 @ FC Gold Pride 2.
All Time-Gold Pride leads series at 2-1-1.
What to Look For: The last time these two teams met, Chicago played shorthanded for much of the match due to a red card to Dieke. Chicago will be playing their first match under temporary head coach Marcia McDermott. She will attempt to light a fire under her team that has managed only 3 goals in 6 matches, two of them by rookie Nogueira. Loyden and the Red Star defense has played reasonably well, allowing only a goal per game. Meanwhile, Marta is coming off of a two goal game for Gold Pride and O’Hara is available for the match, returning from injury. After being shut out in the season opener, Gold Pride has average two goals per game since. Barnhart has posted shutouts in two of her last three matches.
Storylines: McDermott makes her WPS coaching debut after winning a WUSA championship as head coach of the Carolina Courage in 2002. FC Gold Pride attempts to extend its record winning streak, which now stands at 5 games.
Philadelphia Independence at Washington Freedom – May 30 (6 pm ET)
Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, MD.
Rosters:
Philadelphia: GK-V. Henderson, R. Jones; D-S. Larsson, N. Krzysik, A. Falk, H. Magnusdottir, H. Mitts, S. Senty, E. Johnson; MF-L. Lindsey, C. Seger, J. Lohman, J. Buczkowski; F-A. Rodriguez, L. Sanderson, L. Patterson.
Not Active: K. LeBlanc (national team), D. Adams, G. DiMartino, K. Maruyama, K. Reynolds, C. Patterson.
Washington: GK-E. McLeod, M. McCray; D-C. Whitehill, N. Marshall, S. Bompastor, B. Bock (questionable-foot), A. Singer, K. Eveland, M. Abegg; MF-B. Sauerbrunn, A. Long, S. Huffman, R. Moros, J. Gilbeau, B. Goebel, C. Miskel; F-A. Wambach, L. Mykjåland, C. Welsh.
Not Active: L. De Vanna (leg), H. Sawa (national team), B. Scurry (head), M. Casey.
Previous Meetings (2010):
Washington 1 @ Philadelphia 3.
What To Look For: In the last match between these two teams, Philadelphia struck for three quick goals after the Freedom had gone on top early in the 2nd half. Lindsey assisted on all three goals for the Independence. Both teams have Canadian starting goalkeepers, but LeBlanc was called for national team duty, while McLeod was not. Philadelphia has given the fewest goals of any team, only 4 in six matches. No player in WPS is hotter than Wambach. She had two goals and an assist for the USWNT against Germany and she has two goals and a record 7 assists in WPS this season. McLeod has shutouts in her last two matches and has a scoreless streak of 225 minutes. All three of the Freedom’s wins have been by two goal margins. Meanwhile, all of Philly’s matches have been close, except for their victory over Washington having a margin of more than one goal.
Storylines: Only one point separates 2nd place Philadelphia from 3rd place Washington. De Vanna’s broken leg will mean that veteran Christie Welsh will have to pick up more of the offensive load. She scored twice in an exhibition against the Canadian National Team last weekend.
The Saint Louis Athletica at Atlanta Beat match was cancelled due to Athletica folding because of financial troubles.
May 27, 2010
Athletica Folds
Saint Louis Athletica has discontinued operations and folded. Founding owner Jeff Cooper released the following statement concerning the team today:
“The termination of Saint Louis Athletica is a painful outcome from the funding shortfalls and ultimate default by the investors who had the obligation to fund and operate the team on a day-to-day basis. I’ve given this matter my complete attention since returning to a more active role in the last few weeks, and numerous parties have spent a lot of hours during that time exploring what options or solutions might be available. Despite best efforts, nothing was found that would answer the immediate needs of the franchise. With more time, it is possible the answer to the financial challenges Athletica faced would have been met, but unfortunately we do not have the benefit of extra time. The investors who defaulted on a contract to fund Athletica through this season and beyond broke a promise to a league, team, players and a community, and that is what is most troubling about today’s development. I am grateful for everyone’s support of Athletica and am particularly appreciative of our players who represented the sport and our community with such class and spirit.
Despite the disappointing outcome with Saint Louis Athletica, we continue to work hard on securing the long-term future of AC St. Louis.”
WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci made the following statement regarding Athletica's demise:
“It’s incredibly difficult to lose a team in mid-season like this. We looked at a few options as a league together with our Board and U.S. Soccer, but the operational hurdles and finances just didn’t work out. In the face of a severe funding gap in St. Louis, the local ownership group is shutting down the team at this point.”
The loss of Athletica brings WPS back down to 7 teams, which is the number of teams that started last season. However, the loss of perhaps the league's two marquee franchises, the Los Angeles Sol and Saint Louis Athletica, within 5 months does not bode well for the league. The two teams finished 1st and 2nd in the 2009 regular season with a combined record of 22-9-9, while the rest of the league's combined record was only 31-44-25. Athletica was only in 5th place in 2010, but were the only team to have defeated the top two teams, FC Gold Pride and Philadelphia Independence.
To make matters worse, three of Athletica's players, Shannon Boxx, Aya Miyama, and Tina DiMartino, have had to go through this twice in a very short period of time.
“This is a setback, but it’s one individual franchise and the loss of a team is an unfortunate reality of pro sports,” said Antonucci. “We’ll continue to have great games and an exciting season for our fans. The solid foundation that we built in 2009 is there. We have the same number of teams that we had last year during a successful first season. We’ll get through this stronger and keep moving the league and business forward.”
While it should be stressed that the Saint Louis financial situation is isolated from WPS as a whole, we also heard similar comments about the strength of the league going forward when the Los Angeles Sol folded just four short months ago.
In addition, it is a major blow to soccer in the city of St. Louis. Once thought to be a frontrunner for an MLS franchise, the city has now lost one soccer team and may eventually lose their NASL team if things don't improve. There appears to be an inability to find a responsible ownership group in St. Louis and support thus far has been less than hoped. Quite frankly, the city's credibility as a major soccer town is crumbling.
Saint Louis Athletica will not play any further matches and Athletica's players will become free agents as of June 1. The scramble to sign free agents which will ensue could create a bit of chaos of its own in the middle of a season. Unless roster sizes are increased by the league, several players on the remaining WPS franchises will be losing their jobs. One also has to wonder about the financial ability of those teams to sign free agents if they are already at the limits of their budget.
The league will reconfigure the 2010 schedule shortly and it will be released next week.
“The termination of Saint Louis Athletica is a painful outcome from the funding shortfalls and ultimate default by the investors who had the obligation to fund and operate the team on a day-to-day basis. I’ve given this matter my complete attention since returning to a more active role in the last few weeks, and numerous parties have spent a lot of hours during that time exploring what options or solutions might be available. Despite best efforts, nothing was found that would answer the immediate needs of the franchise. With more time, it is possible the answer to the financial challenges Athletica faced would have been met, but unfortunately we do not have the benefit of extra time. The investors who defaulted on a contract to fund Athletica through this season and beyond broke a promise to a league, team, players and a community, and that is what is most troubling about today’s development. I am grateful for everyone’s support of Athletica and am particularly appreciative of our players who represented the sport and our community with such class and spirit.
Despite the disappointing outcome with Saint Louis Athletica, we continue to work hard on securing the long-term future of AC St. Louis.”
WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci made the following statement regarding Athletica's demise:
“It’s incredibly difficult to lose a team in mid-season like this. We looked at a few options as a league together with our Board and U.S. Soccer, but the operational hurdles and finances just didn’t work out. In the face of a severe funding gap in St. Louis, the local ownership group is shutting down the team at this point.”
The loss of Athletica brings WPS back down to 7 teams, which is the number of teams that started last season. However, the loss of perhaps the league's two marquee franchises, the Los Angeles Sol and Saint Louis Athletica, within 5 months does not bode well for the league. The two teams finished 1st and 2nd in the 2009 regular season with a combined record of 22-9-9, while the rest of the league's combined record was only 31-44-25. Athletica was only in 5th place in 2010, but were the only team to have defeated the top two teams, FC Gold Pride and Philadelphia Independence.
To make matters worse, three of Athletica's players, Shannon Boxx, Aya Miyama, and Tina DiMartino, have had to go through this twice in a very short period of time.
“This is a setback, but it’s one individual franchise and the loss of a team is an unfortunate reality of pro sports,” said Antonucci. “We’ll continue to have great games and an exciting season for our fans. The solid foundation that we built in 2009 is there. We have the same number of teams that we had last year during a successful first season. We’ll get through this stronger and keep moving the league and business forward.”
While it should be stressed that the Saint Louis financial situation is isolated from WPS as a whole, we also heard similar comments about the strength of the league going forward when the Los Angeles Sol folded just four short months ago.
In addition, it is a major blow to soccer in the city of St. Louis. Once thought to be a frontrunner for an MLS franchise, the city has now lost one soccer team and may eventually lose their NASL team if things don't improve. There appears to be an inability to find a responsible ownership group in St. Louis and support thus far has been less than hoped. Quite frankly, the city's credibility as a major soccer town is crumbling.
Saint Louis Athletica will not play any further matches and Athletica's players will become free agents as of June 1. The scramble to sign free agents which will ensue could create a bit of chaos of its own in the middle of a season. Unless roster sizes are increased by the league, several players on the remaining WPS franchises will be losing their jobs. One also has to wonder about the financial ability of those teams to sign free agents if they are already at the limits of their budget.
The league will reconfigure the 2010 schedule shortly and it will be released next week.
Damallsvenskan 2010, Round 8
Tyresö FF v. Hammarby IF DFF 2 - 2 (1-2)
Goals: 5' Line Roddik Hansen 0-1; 8' Annica Svensson (passning Nazanin Vaseghpanah) 1-1; 35' Daniella Chamoun (passning Nazanin Vaseghpanah) 1-2; 75' Elin Ekblom Bak (passning Kirsten van de Ven) 2-2
Warnings: TFF Karin Lissel 42'; TFF Azra Durakovic 49'; TFF Lisa Klinga 76' (ejection); HIF Sara Wiman 90'
Jitex BK v. Sunnanå SK 1 - 2 (1-1)
Goals: 35' Elin Carlsson 1-0; 45' Matilda Forslund 1-1; 90' Linda Fransson 1-2
Warnings: JBK Jenny Olsson 91'
This result was a bit of a surprise, to me at least; SSK has not had a particularly good season so far, and was lying just around the relegation line, while JBK was sitting in fourth place. With their win, SSK has pushed Stockholm teams AIK and Hammarby down to 11th and 12th place respectively, despite AIK's victory against Umeå (see below).
LdB FC Malmö v. Kopparbergs/Göteborg 5 - 3 (3-2)
Goals: 5' Emma Wilhelmsson 1-0; 14' Johanna Almgren 1-1; 15' Manon Melis (passning Pavlina Scasna) 2-1; 27' Manon Melis (passning Pavlina Scasna) 3-1; 40' Sara Lindén 3-2; 62' Linda Forsberg (passning Pavlina Scasna) 4-2; 81' Manon Melis; 90+2' Lisa Dahlkvist 5-3
Highlights from TV
This game was quite the cleanly-played shootout, with a record attendance for the season (1775). Most of the goals were pretty, some were less so... K/G goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl perhaps had a lapse in concentration once or twice— for goals 1 and 3, she appeared to have the ball in her hands, but somehow the ball scooted past her into the goal. On the other hand, she had a couple good saves as well. Johanna Almgren's goal was a nice bit of individual effort, although I think the maybe Sara Lindén might have gotten credit for an assist, with her nice leading pass that took Almgren cleanly past the LdB defense. Manon Melis did a hat-trick for LdB FC.
Umeå IK v. AIK 0 - 1 (0-1)
Goals: 19' Clara Markstedt 0-1
Warnings: UIK Emmelie Konradsson 77'
Djurgården IF v. Kristianstads DFF 1 - 5 (0-1)
Goals: 11' Susanne Moberg (passning Sofie Andersson) 0-1; 51' Mia Carlsson 0-2; 74' Katrin Omarsdottir (passning Margret Lara Vidarsdottir) 0-3; 78' Susanne Moberg 0-4; 81' Elin Cederroos 1-4; 85' Julia Molin (passning Susanne Moberg) 1-5
Warnings: DIF Elin Cederroos 37'; KDFF Antonia Göransson 52'
KIF Örebro DFF v. Linköpings FC 0 - 0
Warnings: LFC Josefine Öqvist 63'; KIF Edda Gardarsdottir 83'
Goals: 5' Line Roddik Hansen 0-1; 8' Annica Svensson (passning Nazanin Vaseghpanah) 1-1; 35' Daniella Chamoun (passning Nazanin Vaseghpanah) 1-2; 75' Elin Ekblom Bak (passning Kirsten van de Ven) 2-2
Warnings: TFF Karin Lissel 42'; TFF Azra Durakovic 49'; TFF Lisa Klinga 76' (ejection); HIF Sara Wiman 90'
Jitex BK v. Sunnanå SK 1 - 2 (1-1)
Goals: 35' Elin Carlsson 1-0; 45' Matilda Forslund 1-1; 90' Linda Fransson 1-2
Warnings: JBK Jenny Olsson 91'
This result was a bit of a surprise, to me at least; SSK has not had a particularly good season so far, and was lying just around the relegation line, while JBK was sitting in fourth place. With their win, SSK has pushed Stockholm teams AIK and Hammarby down to 11th and 12th place respectively, despite AIK's victory against Umeå (see below).
LdB FC Malmö v. Kopparbergs/Göteborg 5 - 3 (3-2)
Goals: 5' Emma Wilhelmsson 1-0; 14' Johanna Almgren 1-1; 15' Manon Melis (passning Pavlina Scasna) 2-1; 27' Manon Melis (passning Pavlina Scasna) 3-1; 40' Sara Lindén 3-2; 62' Linda Forsberg (passning Pavlina Scasna) 4-2; 81' Manon Melis; 90+2' Lisa Dahlkvist 5-3
Highlights from TV
This game was quite the cleanly-played shootout, with a record attendance for the season (1775). Most of the goals were pretty, some were less so... K/G goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl perhaps had a lapse in concentration once or twice— for goals 1 and 3, she appeared to have the ball in her hands, but somehow the ball scooted past her into the goal. On the other hand, she had a couple good saves as well. Johanna Almgren's goal was a nice bit of individual effort, although I think the maybe Sara Lindén might have gotten credit for an assist, with her nice leading pass that took Almgren cleanly past the LdB defense. Manon Melis did a hat-trick for LdB FC.
Umeå IK v. AIK 0 - 1 (0-1)
Goals: 19' Clara Markstedt 0-1
Warnings: UIK Emmelie Konradsson 77'
Djurgården IF v. Kristianstads DFF 1 - 5 (0-1)
Goals: 11' Susanne Moberg (passning Sofie Andersson) 0-1; 51' Mia Carlsson 0-2; 74' Katrin Omarsdottir (passning Margret Lara Vidarsdottir) 0-3; 78' Susanne Moberg 0-4; 81' Elin Cederroos 1-4; 85' Julia Molin (passning Susanne Moberg) 1-5
Warnings: DIF Elin Cederroos 37'; KDFF Antonia Göransson 52'
KIF Örebro DFF v. Linköpings FC 0 - 0
Warnings: LFC Josefine Öqvist 63'; KIF Edda Gardarsdottir 83'
May 24, 2010
Hayes Relieved as Coach of Red Stars
Emma Hayes has been relieved as coach of the Chicago Red Stars. She had been the 1st and only coach of the Red Stars to this point. Last year, the Red Stars finished in 6th place with a 5-10-5 record after starting the season with 2 wins and 2 ties. This year, they are in 7th place after 6 matches with a 1-4-1 record.
The Red Stars are scheduled to host FC Gold Pride this Saturday.
The Red Stars are scheduled to host FC Gold Pride this Saturday.
US Routs Germany 4-0 in Friendly
The United States Women's National Team defeated Germany by a surprisingly lopsided score of 4-0 before over 10,000 fans in Cleveland on Saturday. Abby Wambach led the way with two goals and an assist, while US goalkeeper Hope Solo made three sparkling 2nd half saves to keep Germany at bay.
After a somewhat unimpressive start, the US started the scoring in the 29th minute when Wambach had control of the ball in the German penalty area and drew a penalty on Saskia Bartusiak. Wambach's shot went just inside the left post to give the US its first goal.
Wambach had a part in the 2nd goal as well. A Kristine Lilly corner kick was headed by the American forward on goal. German keeper Nadine Angerer was unable to handle the ball cleanly and Amy Rodriguez gained possession of the loose ball, touching it to Heather O'Reilly who easily finished. The US went into the break with a 2-0 lead.
It was the Germans who had the first good opportunity of the 2nd half. Kerstin Garefrekes received the ball on the left side, moved in and hit a hard shot headed for the upper right side of the net. Solo made a brilliant reflex save, pushing the ball high and wide.
A few minutes later, the US managed to double its lead in the space of just seconds. Wambach was able to gain possession in the left corner and was able to get through two defenders and feed the ball to Lilly, who struck the ball into the right side of the net, with Angerer having no chance on the play.
In the blink of an eye, the score went to 4-0, as Lori Lindsey threaded a perfect pass to Wambach who was cutting toward the net and she made no mistake on the finish from 12 yards out.
Germany continued to put offensive pressure on the US. Solo was called on to make two more great saves, one on Birgit Prinz and one on Alexandra Popp, in the later stages of the match.
The US nearly made it 5-0 on a two player breakaway after a bad turnover by the German defense. Wambach chose to draw Angerer toward her and then released a pass to Alex Morgan on the right side, who put it in the net, only to have it called back offsides on a very close call.
This match marked the 3rd time that the US has defeated Germany in the past 7 months. The US defeated Germany before 30,000 fans in Augsburg last October by a 1-0 margin. In early March, the two teams met in the Algarve Cup final with the US coming out on top 3-2 on a very sloppy pitch.
The next scheduled matches for the US are against Sweden. The two teams will play in Omaha, Nebraska on July 13 and again in Hartford, Connecticut on July 17. Sweden is the last team to defeat the US, winning on penalty kicks in the 2009 Algarve Cup final.
De Vanna Breaks Leg in Asian Cup
Australian and Washington Freedom forward Lisa De Vanna suffered a broken leg in Australia's group stage match against China in the Asian Cup. De Vanna's injury came in a collision with Chinese keeper Zhang Yanru in the 2nd half of the match. At the present time, it is not known how long De Vanna will be out of action. China won the match over the Matildas by a 1-0 margin. b
Financial Problems with Athletica and NASL's AC St. Louis
Last week, an apparent financial crisis came to light which put the future of Saint Louis Athletica in doubt. Sanjeev and Heemal Vaid had purchased controlling interest in Saint Louis Athletica and their sibling NASL entry, AC St. Louis, during the winter. During the last two months, the two teams have been rumored to have financial problems and the Vaid brothers are reportedly no longer in the mix. Athletica's founding owner, Jeff Cooper, is working to find a solution to keep both teams in operation until a new ownership group can be found.
WPS officials have stated that "we're aware of the situation. The League's Owners continue to review and monitor the situation in conjunction with the US Soccer Federation."
Saint Louis' problems follow on the heels the discontinuation of the Los Angeles Sol organization in January. It was thought that Athletica would be positioned better financially, because the organization has their own facility, Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, instead of having to rent a facility. Athletica, whose 2010 home games have been plagued by bad weather, have seen a decrease in attendance from an average of over 3800 last season to just 3100 this year.
WPS Exhibition Action
Boston Breakers 3, Boston Aztecs (WPSL) 1
Breakers goals-Weimer, Bogus, Hemmings.
Chicago Red Stars 5, Chicago Red Eleven (W-League) 0
Red Stars goals-Sitch, Asllani, Nogueira, Cristiane 2.
Washington Freedom 3, Canadian National Team 3
Freedom goals-Welsh 2, Mykjåland.
Canadian goals-Julien, Sinclair, Robinson.
After a somewhat unimpressive start, the US started the scoring in the 29th minute when Wambach had control of the ball in the German penalty area and drew a penalty on Saskia Bartusiak. Wambach's shot went just inside the left post to give the US its first goal.
Wambach had a part in the 2nd goal as well. A Kristine Lilly corner kick was headed by the American forward on goal. German keeper Nadine Angerer was unable to handle the ball cleanly and Amy Rodriguez gained possession of the loose ball, touching it to Heather O'Reilly who easily finished. The US went into the break with a 2-0 lead.
It was the Germans who had the first good opportunity of the 2nd half. Kerstin Garefrekes received the ball on the left side, moved in and hit a hard shot headed for the upper right side of the net. Solo made a brilliant reflex save, pushing the ball high and wide.
A few minutes later, the US managed to double its lead in the space of just seconds. Wambach was able to gain possession in the left corner and was able to get through two defenders and feed the ball to Lilly, who struck the ball into the right side of the net, with Angerer having no chance on the play.
In the blink of an eye, the score went to 4-0, as Lori Lindsey threaded a perfect pass to Wambach who was cutting toward the net and she made no mistake on the finish from 12 yards out.
Germany continued to put offensive pressure on the US. Solo was called on to make two more great saves, one on Birgit Prinz and one on Alexandra Popp, in the later stages of the match.
The US nearly made it 5-0 on a two player breakaway after a bad turnover by the German defense. Wambach chose to draw Angerer toward her and then released a pass to Alex Morgan on the right side, who put it in the net, only to have it called back offsides on a very close call.
This match marked the 3rd time that the US has defeated Germany in the past 7 months. The US defeated Germany before 30,000 fans in Augsburg last October by a 1-0 margin. In early March, the two teams met in the Algarve Cup final with the US coming out on top 3-2 on a very sloppy pitch.
The next scheduled matches for the US are against Sweden. The two teams will play in Omaha, Nebraska on July 13 and again in Hartford, Connecticut on July 17. Sweden is the last team to defeat the US, winning on penalty kicks in the 2009 Algarve Cup final.
De Vanna Breaks Leg in Asian Cup
Australian and Washington Freedom forward Lisa De Vanna suffered a broken leg in Australia's group stage match against China in the Asian Cup. De Vanna's injury came in a collision with Chinese keeper Zhang Yanru in the 2nd half of the match. At the present time, it is not known how long De Vanna will be out of action. China won the match over the Matildas by a 1-0 margin. b
Financial Problems with Athletica and NASL's AC St. Louis
Last week, an apparent financial crisis came to light which put the future of Saint Louis Athletica in doubt. Sanjeev and Heemal Vaid had purchased controlling interest in Saint Louis Athletica and their sibling NASL entry, AC St. Louis, during the winter. During the last two months, the two teams have been rumored to have financial problems and the Vaid brothers are reportedly no longer in the mix. Athletica's founding owner, Jeff Cooper, is working to find a solution to keep both teams in operation until a new ownership group can be found.
WPS officials have stated that "we're aware of the situation. The League's Owners continue to review and monitor the situation in conjunction with the US Soccer Federation."
Saint Louis' problems follow on the heels the discontinuation of the Los Angeles Sol organization in January. It was thought that Athletica would be positioned better financially, because the organization has their own facility, Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, instead of having to rent a facility. Athletica, whose 2010 home games have been plagued by bad weather, have seen a decrease in attendance from an average of over 3800 last season to just 3100 this year.
WPS Exhibition Action
Boston Breakers 3, Boston Aztecs (WPSL) 1
Breakers goals-Weimer, Bogus, Hemmings.
Chicago Red Stars 5, Chicago Red Eleven (W-League) 0
Red Stars goals-Sitch, Asllani, Nogueira, Cristiane 2.
Washington Freedom 3, Canadian National Team 3
Freedom goals-Welsh 2, Mykjåland.
Canadian goals-Julien, Sinclair, Robinson.
May 19, 2010
WPS Midweek Notes - May 19
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Labels: 2010 WPS, Atlanta Beat, Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Gold Pride, Marta, McCall Zerboni, Philadelphia Independence, Saint Louis Athletica, Sky Blue FC, USWNT, Washington Freedom
Labels: 2010 WPS, Atlanta Beat, Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Gold Pride, Marta, McCall Zerboni, Philadelphia Independence, Saint Louis Athletica, Sky Blue FC, USWNT, Washington Freedom
Marta Wins WPS Player of the Week
Brazilian forward Marta has been named WPS Player of the Week. Marta scored two 1st half goals in FC Gold Pride's 2-1 victory over the Boston Breakers on Friday night. It is the 3rd time she has received the honor.
The two goals give her three for the 2010 season and 13 for her WPS career. She is the all-time leader in goals for Women's Professional Soccer. Marta and her Gold Pride teammates have raced out to a 5-1 record, good for 15 points and 1st place in the standings. Marta was also named as Goal.com's Player of the Week.
USWNT vs Germany on May 22
The US Women's National Team will meet Germany on Saturday afternoon at Cleveland Browns Stadium. The match is scheduled to be televised on ESPN2 at 6pm eastern time.
In the last meeting between the two teams, the US edged Germany 3-2 at the Algarve Cup Championship in March. Germany has not played the US on American soil since 2003.
Surprisingly, US Coach Pia Sundhage went heavily for defenders when naming her squad for the match. In all, 10 defenders were named to the US side. Only two non-WPS players were named to the squad, Ali Krieger who is currently playing in Germany and Alex Morgan of the University of California. Here are the rosters for the two teams:
United States:
Goalkeepers (3)-Hope Solo, Nicole Barnhart, Jillian Loyden.
Defenders (10)-Rachel Buehler, Stephanie Cox, Marian Dalmy, Ali Krieger, Amy LePeilbet, Kate Markgraf, Heather Mitts, Christie Rampone, Brittany Taylor, Cat Whitehill.
Midfielders (6)-Yael Averbuch, Shannon Boxx, Kristine Lilly, Lori Lindsey, Heather O'Reilly, Megan Rapinoe.
Forwards (3)-Alex Morgan, Amy Rodriguez, Abby Wambach.
Germany:
Goalkeepers (2)-Nadine Angerer, Ursula Holl.
Defenders (7)-Saskia Bartusiak, Linda Bresonik, Sonja Fuss, Ariane Hingst, Annike Krahn, Navina Omilade, Bianca Rech.
Midfielders (5)-Melanie Behringer, Kerstin Garefrekes, Kim Kulig, Simone Landehr, Alexandra Popp.
Forwards (4)-Inka Grings, Martina Müller, Celia Okoyino da Mbabi, Birgit Prinz.
Alternates (3)-Isabell Bachor, Conny Pohlers, Lisa Weiβ.
Statement Regarding McCall Zerboni
Earlier in the week, General Manager Shawn McGee of the Atlanta Beat released the following statement with regards to McCall Zerboni and the injuries she suffered during Sunday's match against the Washington Freedom:
"McCall was involved in horrendous head-to-head collision with Sonia Bompastor as they were both going for a ball in the air. Both players were down for an extended period of time. Bompastor received 8 stitches to a gash on her forehead. McCall was taken off the field on a stretcher, and we sent her to the hospital for a cat scan and observation. She has a concussion, and her return will be a day to day decision."
For her part, McCall is back tweeting and she posted a picture of herself complete with bump and swollen eye on facebook today. Best wishes on a speedy recovery to McCall and hope to see her back on the pitch soon.
Around the League
Atlanta Beat - The Beat have outshot their last two opponents by a margin of 46-19 and held the edge in corners by a 23-6 margin in those two matches.....Mami Yamaguchi has joined the Japanese National Team for the Asian Cup, which will serve as qualifiers for next year's World Cup. Japan's first group stage opponent is Myanmar on May 20.....Atlanta has now gone 335 minutes without a goal. The all-time WPS record is held by the Chicago Red Stars at 451 minutes in June of 2009.
Boston Breakers - Nine of Boston's 11 starters have been the same for every match. Seven of those players have played every minute so far.....For the 2nd straight year, Kelly Smith leads the Breakers in goal scoring. She has 3 so far this season.....The Breakers' winless streak has reached 5 matches, with a 0-2-3 record over that time, and being outscored 6-3. Last year, Boston's longest winless streak was 5 matches from May 10 to June 17. They had an 0-2-3 record in that streak, being outscored by a 5-3 margin, before defeating Chicago on June 21.
Chicago Red Stars - Red Star attendance has exceeded 5,000 in 2 of their 3 home matches this season.....The Red Stars lead WPS in shots attempted with 82, but are 7th in shots on goal with just 31, a low 38% on goal percentage.....The Red Stars have now been shut out 15 times in 26 matches. They have only won one match in which they scored 1 goal and that was the 2009 opener against Saint Louis.
FC Gold Pride - Marta's brace on Friday night marked the 3rd time she has scored two goals in a WPS match.....Gold Pride's offense is much improved from 2009. Last year, they scored 2 or more goals in only three matches out of 20. This year, they have done it four times in 6 matches.....All five goals surrendered by Gold Pride this season have been to internationals (Aluko 2, Kalmari, Ocampo, and Smith).
Philadelphia Independence - Karina LeBlanc pushed her WPS career shutout total to 14 on Saturday night against the Red Stars. As teammates, LeBlanc and Val Henderson have shutouts in 16 of their 26 matches together.....Only Nikki Krzysik and Sara Larsson have played every minute so far for the Independence.....Philadelphia leads the league with 54 fouls committed.
Saint Louis Athletica - Eniola Aluko now leads WPS with 4 goals scored and also in offsides with 16, six more than the nearest player. Last year, she led the league with 33 offsides calls.....Shannon Boxx became the first player to convert a penalty this season when she scored against Sky Blue in Athletica's 2-2 draw.....Athletica set a record for scoring in 11 consecutive regular season matches on Sunday. They are the only team that has not been shut out in 2010. However, they did suffer a shutout at the hands of Sky Blue in the 2009 WPS playoffs.
Sky Blue FC - Laura Kalmari became the 3rd Sky Blue player to score two goals in a match. The other two were Natasha Kai and Kacey White, both of whom accomplished the feat in the same match on July 15, 2009 against Washington.....Karen Bardsley has faced 49 shots on goal, 12 more than the nearest other goalkeeper.....Sky Blue surrendered a 2nd half lead for only the 2nd match in their history against Athletica on Sunday. They gave up two 2nd half leads in the aforementioned match against the Freedom last July.
Washington Freedom - The Freedom have had 7 different goal scorers this season, the most of any WPS team, but only two players have assists, Abby Wambach with 7 and Sonia Bompastor with 2. They are currently first and second among all-time WPS assists leaders with 12 and 8 respectively....Wambach has figured in 9 of the Freedom's 10 goals this season.....The month of May has been good to Washington. Over two seasons, their record in May is 4-0-3.
Trivia Question - In 2011, the World Cup will be held in Germany. Of the USWNT players who are active for Saturday's friendly against Germany, which two started both of the last two matches in which the US faced Germany in the World Cup in 1999 and 2003?
Brazilian forward Marta has been named WPS Player of the Week. Marta scored two 1st half goals in FC Gold Pride's 2-1 victory over the Boston Breakers on Friday night. It is the 3rd time she has received the honor.
The two goals give her three for the 2010 season and 13 for her WPS career. She is the all-time leader in goals for Women's Professional Soccer. Marta and her Gold Pride teammates have raced out to a 5-1 record, good for 15 points and 1st place in the standings. Marta was also named as Goal.com's Player of the Week.
USWNT vs Germany on May 22
The US Women's National Team will meet Germany on Saturday afternoon at Cleveland Browns Stadium. The match is scheduled to be televised on ESPN2 at 6pm eastern time.
In the last meeting between the two teams, the US edged Germany 3-2 at the Algarve Cup Championship in March. Germany has not played the US on American soil since 2003.
Surprisingly, US Coach Pia Sundhage went heavily for defenders when naming her squad for the match. In all, 10 defenders were named to the US side. Only two non-WPS players were named to the squad, Ali Krieger who is currently playing in Germany and Alex Morgan of the University of California. Here are the rosters for the two teams:
United States:
Goalkeepers (3)-Hope Solo, Nicole Barnhart, Jillian Loyden.
Defenders (10)-Rachel Buehler, Stephanie Cox, Marian Dalmy, Ali Krieger, Amy LePeilbet, Kate Markgraf, Heather Mitts, Christie Rampone, Brittany Taylor, Cat Whitehill.
Midfielders (6)-Yael Averbuch, Shannon Boxx, Kristine Lilly, Lori Lindsey, Heather O'Reilly, Megan Rapinoe.
Forwards (3)-Alex Morgan, Amy Rodriguez, Abby Wambach.
Germany:
Goalkeepers (2)-Nadine Angerer, Ursula Holl.
Defenders (7)-Saskia Bartusiak, Linda Bresonik, Sonja Fuss, Ariane Hingst, Annike Krahn, Navina Omilade, Bianca Rech.
Midfielders (5)-Melanie Behringer, Kerstin Garefrekes, Kim Kulig, Simone Landehr, Alexandra Popp.
Forwards (4)-Inka Grings, Martina Müller, Celia Okoyino da Mbabi, Birgit Prinz.
Alternates (3)-Isabell Bachor, Conny Pohlers, Lisa Weiβ.
Statement Regarding McCall Zerboni
Earlier in the week, General Manager Shawn McGee of the Atlanta Beat released the following statement with regards to McCall Zerboni and the injuries she suffered during Sunday's match against the Washington Freedom:
"McCall was involved in horrendous head-to-head collision with Sonia Bompastor as they were both going for a ball in the air. Both players were down for an extended period of time. Bompastor received 8 stitches to a gash on her forehead. McCall was taken off the field on a stretcher, and we sent her to the hospital for a cat scan and observation. She has a concussion, and her return will be a day to day decision."
For her part, McCall is back tweeting and she posted a picture of herself complete with bump and swollen eye on facebook today. Best wishes on a speedy recovery to McCall and hope to see her back on the pitch soon.
Around the League
Atlanta Beat - The Beat have outshot their last two opponents by a margin of 46-19 and held the edge in corners by a 23-6 margin in those two matches.....Mami Yamaguchi has joined the Japanese National Team for the Asian Cup, which will serve as qualifiers for next year's World Cup. Japan's first group stage opponent is Myanmar on May 20.....Atlanta has now gone 335 minutes without a goal. The all-time WPS record is held by the Chicago Red Stars at 451 minutes in June of 2009.
Boston Breakers - Nine of Boston's 11 starters have been the same for every match. Seven of those players have played every minute so far.....For the 2nd straight year, Kelly Smith leads the Breakers in goal scoring. She has 3 so far this season.....The Breakers' winless streak has reached 5 matches, with a 0-2-3 record over that time, and being outscored 6-3. Last year, Boston's longest winless streak was 5 matches from May 10 to June 17. They had an 0-2-3 record in that streak, being outscored by a 5-3 margin, before defeating Chicago on June 21.
Chicago Red Stars - Red Star attendance has exceeded 5,000 in 2 of their 3 home matches this season.....The Red Stars lead WPS in shots attempted with 82, but are 7th in shots on goal with just 31, a low 38% on goal percentage.....The Red Stars have now been shut out 15 times in 26 matches. They have only won one match in which they scored 1 goal and that was the 2009 opener against Saint Louis.
FC Gold Pride - Marta's brace on Friday night marked the 3rd time she has scored two goals in a WPS match.....Gold Pride's offense is much improved from 2009. Last year, they scored 2 or more goals in only three matches out of 20. This year, they have done it four times in 6 matches.....All five goals surrendered by Gold Pride this season have been to internationals (Aluko 2, Kalmari, Ocampo, and Smith).
Philadelphia Independence - Karina LeBlanc pushed her WPS career shutout total to 14 on Saturday night against the Red Stars. As teammates, LeBlanc and Val Henderson have shutouts in 16 of their 26 matches together.....Only Nikki Krzysik and Sara Larsson have played every minute so far for the Independence.....Philadelphia leads the league with 54 fouls committed.
Saint Louis Athletica - Eniola Aluko now leads WPS with 4 goals scored and also in offsides with 16, six more than the nearest player. Last year, she led the league with 33 offsides calls.....Shannon Boxx became the first player to convert a penalty this season when she scored against Sky Blue in Athletica's 2-2 draw.....Athletica set a record for scoring in 11 consecutive regular season matches on Sunday. They are the only team that has not been shut out in 2010. However, they did suffer a shutout at the hands of Sky Blue in the 2009 WPS playoffs.
Sky Blue FC - Laura Kalmari became the 3rd Sky Blue player to score two goals in a match. The other two were Natasha Kai and Kacey White, both of whom accomplished the feat in the same match on July 15, 2009 against Washington.....Karen Bardsley has faced 49 shots on goal, 12 more than the nearest other goalkeeper.....Sky Blue surrendered a 2nd half lead for only the 2nd match in their history against Athletica on Sunday. They gave up two 2nd half leads in the aforementioned match against the Freedom last July.
Washington Freedom - The Freedom have had 7 different goal scorers this season, the most of any WPS team, but only two players have assists, Abby Wambach with 7 and Sonia Bompastor with 2. They are currently first and second among all-time WPS assists leaders with 12 and 8 respectively....Wambach has figured in 9 of the Freedom's 10 goals this season.....The month of May has been good to Washington. Over two seasons, their record in May is 4-0-3.
Trivia Question - In 2011, the World Cup will be held in Germany. Of the USWNT players who are active for Saturday's friendly against Germany, which two started both of the last two matches in which the US faced Germany in the World Cup in 1999 and 2003?
Damallsvenskan 2010, Round 7
Games played May 16-19. Damallsvenskan is now one-third through the 2010 season. It is not too surprising that LdB FC and Kopparbergs/Göteborg top the chart and that KIF Örebro is in third; I feel quite comfortable saying that Jitex, lying fourth, are this year's overachievers so far.
Kopparbergs/Göteborg v. Umeå IK 5 - 0 (3-0)
Goals: 5' Own goal 1-0; 25' Sara Lindén (passning Lisa Ek) 2-0; 28' Lisa Ek (passning Marlene Sjöberg) 3-0; 71' Lisa Ek (penalty) 4-0; 86' Linnea Liljegärd 5-0
Warnings: K/G Lisa Dahlkvist 41'; UIK Emma Berglund 45'
Sources: damfotboll, KGFC, svenskfotboll
Pictures here
K/G's Johanna Almgren started for the first time the year, and could not have had a better time of it; already in the 5th minute, she made a good run on the right side, got the ball and caused the first goal, which has since been officially credited as an own goal as it went off of UIK's Frida Östberg. Almgren and Linnea Liljegärd continued to create confusion in the UIK defense, which was trying to play in an unfamiliar low style. Lisa Ek dominated the midfield with hard running and precision passing, serving a ball to Sara Lindén who scored with her head, and then getting a goal of her own a few minutes later. Ek added a penalty goal to her tally late in the 70th minute, and then late in the game Liljegärd added a goal with an elegant lifted ball, after some sloppy play in the UIK defense. Defender Stina Segerström is also mentioned as being a key player in the game.
K/G went into the locker room up by three goals to nil for the fourth game in a row; and perhaps not too surprisingly, their play deteriorated a little early in the second half, but coach Torbjörn Nilsson admonished his players which seems to have worked to good effect. He was not too happy with their perceived lapse in concentration, saying afterward that his team did not hold up well, although he also credited UIK with playing the ball around well. UIK defender Emma Berglund also said that her team played better in the second half even though it is not reflected in the game statistics.
K/G now lies second in the league, one point behind LdB FC after the latter's win against Sunnanå. In their next game they travel to Malmö, in a game that will be televised and should be quite good. "It will be fun, we have a really good feeling in the team right now," said Nilsson.
Sunnanå SK v. LdB FC Malmö 1 - 2 (0-2)
Goals: 9' Manon Melis (passning Therese Sjögran) 0-1; 27' Lina Nilsson 0-2; 80' Perpetua Nkwocha 1-2
Warnings: SSK Emelie Lövgren 27'; LdB Emma Wilhelmsson 65'; LdB Malin Levenstad 75'
Source: damfotboll, svenskfotboll
It was a quite even match between these two teams, and Sunnanå had several good counter attacks early on, although LdB took the lead already in the 9th minute. SSK's Emelie Lövgren's yellow card was issued at the same time that LdB's Lina Nilsson scored her goal, which suggests that something interesting may have happened but I don't know what. LdB went into the locker room two goals up, and apparently came out fighting as well, with several good chances in the second half. SSK's Perpetua Nkwocha reduced LdB's lead in the 80th, and SSK then took over the game as they tried to equalize, but LdB held on.
SSK coach Krister Lundgren congratulated LdB and was proud that his team showed that it could keep up with the best. Hanna Marklund was on the field again for SSK, and it was the last game in a SSK shirt for their Brazilian Luana Gomes.
LdB coach Martin Sjögren was much less pleased, saying it was his team's worst game of the year and that they lost the ball too easily. Still, LdB FC now leads the league, with Kopparbergs/Göteborg one point behind; LdB hosts K/G next weekend in a game with obvious implications for the league title. Sjögren is looking forward to it, and thinks that his players are better on an individual basis.
Jitex BK v. Kristianstads DFF 2 - 2 (1-1)
Goals: 36' Kajsa Tornfalk (passning Elin Carlsson) 1-0; 40' Margret Lara Vidarsdottir (passning Susanne Moberg) 1-1; 54' Kajsa Tornfalk (passning Annica Sjölund) 2-1; 68' Margret Lara Vidarsdottir 2-2
Warnings: JBK Kajsa Tornfalk 37'; JBK Elin Sandgren 90+' (ejection)
Source: damfotboll, Jitex, still and moving pictures also courtesy of Jitex (I recommend the movie for the excellent work of the trumpet section, audible in the first few seconds)
Also, here's a short video about Jitex, including the goals of this game, a short history about them (Pia Sundhage played for them), and a peek inside the locker room (go to minute 29; the clip on Jitex is about 4 minutes long). I am not entirely sure if this will be viewable in the US.
By all reports this was the best game of the weekend: the air was cold and the wind biting but the game was a good fight and a fair result ("a tough but honest game"), with the visitors coming back to tie it up twice, and one player on each side scoring twice (a "doublefish"). The home side thought they had won it with a goal in the 90th minute but it was called back on account of roughing KDFF goalkeeper Sandra Wahldén, who is back from a several games off due to concussion. She says that she was "attacked" by two JBK players and if the referee had not blown the whistle, she would have gotten protested enough to get a card. (In the video linked above, it's kind of hard to see the contact, though...)
Kajsa Tornfalk's first goal came from a nice ball headed through the middle by Elin Carlsson, leaving her in a one-on-one with Wahldén, who got a piece of the ball but not enough to keep it out. Margret Lara Vidarsdottir's equalizer came from a nice simple though ball from Susanne Moberg; her run took her far to the left side, from which she made the shot from an acute angle. Tornfalk's second was a really nice one-touch off her right foot into the left side of the goal, from a ball headed back to her after a throw-in. Vidarsdottir's second equalizer came after the ball was bouncing around in the box a bit after a KDFF free-kick.
Besides the goalscorers, other players singled out for praise were Wahldén, Antonia Göransson, Emelie Johnsson, and Katrin Omarsdottirs for KDFF ; for JBK, Frida Höglund, Sofia Karlsson, and Annica Sjöland.
The game was marred only by the poor field conditions, and the red card issued to Elin Sandgren two minutes into stoppage time (the reason for her ejection is either kicking an opponent's shin guard instead of the ball, or protesting that she should get penalized for doing so). Italian goalkeeper Anna Maria Picarelli, who was brought to the club to substitute for Wahldén, will remain with KDFF for at least the rest of the month.
AIK v. Tyresö FF 0 - 2 (0-1)
Goals: 23' Jennifer Egelryd (passning Elin Ekblom Bak) 0-1; 66' Karin Lissel 0-2
Warnings: TFF Line Roddik Hansen 17'; AIK Emelie Ölander 65'; AIK Hanna Folkesson 77'; TFF Azra Durakovic 86'
Source: damfotboll
This was AIK's third game in a row in which they did not score any goals, and it was also TFF's second away win within Stockholm. TFF played aggresively from the start, pushing back the AIK defense, and wasting several good chances to score. AIK came back a little bit in the second half, but their offense is young; 16-year-olds like Therese Boström and Malin Diaz are talented, but are not going to get the better of experienced defenders like Elin Ekblom Bak and Line Röddick Hansen.
Defenders Karin Lissel and Johanna Frisk did not start again for TFF, but Lissel came in shortly after the second half started, and made the second goal. TFF coach Tino Katsoulakis said that he was pleased with the game, but also that his team needs to take their chances at goal and not shoot straight at the goalkeeper.
KIF Örebro DFF v. Hammarby IF DFF 2 - 1 (0-1)
Goals: 45' Nazanin Vaseghpanah (penalty) 0-1; 55' Marie Hammarström (passning Edda Gardarsdottir) 1-1; 70' Sanna Talonen (passning Elin Magnusson) 2-1
Warnings: KIF Marina Pettersson 29'; KIF Edda Gardarsdottir 33'
Source: damfotboll
HIF's goal came through a penalty kick, after KIF defender Susanna Lehtinen dragged down HIF's Daniela Chamoun. KIF's Marie Hammarström equalized early in the second half through a low shot on a corner kick. KIF dominated the start of the half, with halftime substitute Sanna Talonen eventually scoring their second goal. Coach Richard Holmlund thought his team was too passive in the first, and should have scored, but he praised their character in the come-back.
HIF goalkeeper Minna Merluoto was singled out for praise, making several good saves. Coach Lars Pihl said they had their chances, but the they played okay and their only really poorly played game was against Jitex.
Linköpings FC v. Djurgården 2 - 1 (1-1)
Goals: 6' Josefine Öqvist 1-0; 9' Ellinor Lindbom (passning Emma Lundh) 1-1; 57' Josefine Öqvist 2-1
Warnings: DIF Caroline Frånberg 73'
Source: damfotboll, svenskfotboll, LFC
LFC ended their goalless streak at two games, as Josefine Öqvist scored two classy goals and seems to be on her way back to her national team form. As the match went on LFC became more dominant, but the second half seems to have been better than the first. DIF had some chances from corner kicks, and Emma Lundh nearly scored from a long-distance shot early; she later provided the assist for Ellinor Lindblom to score her first goal in the league.
Jessica Samuelsson made her debut for LFC, and seemed to be working well with Öqvist—"We will certainly be seeing more of her," said LFC coach Jörgen Petersson. LFC's Maria "Kalle" Karlsson replaced Faith Ikidi, who is away for a World Cup qualifier with her national team Nigeria. There's a little confusion about whether Jonna Andersson replaced Linda Sällström in the starting eleven, or at halftime—one source conflicts with the other two—I'll take the majority vote and say that Sällström, who had a stomach bug yesterday, was subbed out after the first half.
Djurgården coach Daniel Kalles Petersson praised Ann-Marie Norlin (who was hastily called back to duty "but showed no lack of fitness") and the play of keeper Gudbjörg Gunnarsdottir.
Kopparbergs/Göteborg v. Umeå IK 5 - 0 (3-0)
Goals: 5' Own goal 1-0; 25' Sara Lindén (passning Lisa Ek) 2-0; 28' Lisa Ek (passning Marlene Sjöberg) 3-0; 71' Lisa Ek (penalty) 4-0; 86' Linnea Liljegärd 5-0
Warnings: K/G Lisa Dahlkvist 41'; UIK Emma Berglund 45'
Sources: damfotboll, KGFC, svenskfotboll
Pictures here
K/G's Johanna Almgren started for the first time the year, and could not have had a better time of it; already in the 5th minute, she made a good run on the right side, got the ball and caused the first goal, which has since been officially credited as an own goal as it went off of UIK's Frida Östberg. Almgren and Linnea Liljegärd continued to create confusion in the UIK defense, which was trying to play in an unfamiliar low style. Lisa Ek dominated the midfield with hard running and precision passing, serving a ball to Sara Lindén who scored with her head, and then getting a goal of her own a few minutes later. Ek added a penalty goal to her tally late in the 70th minute, and then late in the game Liljegärd added a goal with an elegant lifted ball, after some sloppy play in the UIK defense. Defender Stina Segerström is also mentioned as being a key player in the game.
K/G went into the locker room up by three goals to nil for the fourth game in a row; and perhaps not too surprisingly, their play deteriorated a little early in the second half, but coach Torbjörn Nilsson admonished his players which seems to have worked to good effect. He was not too happy with their perceived lapse in concentration, saying afterward that his team did not hold up well, although he also credited UIK with playing the ball around well. UIK defender Emma Berglund also said that her team played better in the second half even though it is not reflected in the game statistics.
K/G now lies second in the league, one point behind LdB FC after the latter's win against Sunnanå. In their next game they travel to Malmö, in a game that will be televised and should be quite good. "It will be fun, we have a really good feeling in the team right now," said Nilsson.
Sunnanå SK v. LdB FC Malmö 1 - 2 (0-2)
Goals: 9' Manon Melis (passning Therese Sjögran) 0-1; 27' Lina Nilsson 0-2; 80' Perpetua Nkwocha 1-2
Warnings: SSK Emelie Lövgren 27'; LdB Emma Wilhelmsson 65'; LdB Malin Levenstad 75'
Source: damfotboll, svenskfotboll
It was a quite even match between these two teams, and Sunnanå had several good counter attacks early on, although LdB took the lead already in the 9th minute. SSK's Emelie Lövgren's yellow card was issued at the same time that LdB's Lina Nilsson scored her goal, which suggests that something interesting may have happened but I don't know what. LdB went into the locker room two goals up, and apparently came out fighting as well, with several good chances in the second half. SSK's Perpetua Nkwocha reduced LdB's lead in the 80th, and SSK then took over the game as they tried to equalize, but LdB held on.
SSK coach Krister Lundgren congratulated LdB and was proud that his team showed that it could keep up with the best. Hanna Marklund was on the field again for SSK, and it was the last game in a SSK shirt for their Brazilian Luana Gomes.
LdB coach Martin Sjögren was much less pleased, saying it was his team's worst game of the year and that they lost the ball too easily. Still, LdB FC now leads the league, with Kopparbergs/Göteborg one point behind; LdB hosts K/G next weekend in a game with obvious implications for the league title. Sjögren is looking forward to it, and thinks that his players are better on an individual basis.
Jitex BK v. Kristianstads DFF 2 - 2 (1-1)
Goals: 36' Kajsa Tornfalk (passning Elin Carlsson) 1-0; 40' Margret Lara Vidarsdottir (passning Susanne Moberg) 1-1; 54' Kajsa Tornfalk (passning Annica Sjölund) 2-1; 68' Margret Lara Vidarsdottir 2-2
Warnings: JBK Kajsa Tornfalk 37'; JBK Elin Sandgren 90+' (ejection)
Source: damfotboll, Jitex, still and moving pictures also courtesy of Jitex (I recommend the movie for the excellent work of the trumpet section, audible in the first few seconds)
Also, here's a short video about Jitex, including the goals of this game, a short history about them (Pia Sundhage played for them), and a peek inside the locker room (go to minute 29; the clip on Jitex is about 4 minutes long). I am not entirely sure if this will be viewable in the US.
By all reports this was the best game of the weekend: the air was cold and the wind biting but the game was a good fight and a fair result ("a tough but honest game"), with the visitors coming back to tie it up twice, and one player on each side scoring twice (a "doublefish"). The home side thought they had won it with a goal in the 90th minute but it was called back on account of roughing KDFF goalkeeper Sandra Wahldén, who is back from a several games off due to concussion. She says that she was "attacked" by two JBK players and if the referee had not blown the whistle, she would have gotten protested enough to get a card. (In the video linked above, it's kind of hard to see the contact, though...)
Kajsa Tornfalk's first goal came from a nice ball headed through the middle by Elin Carlsson, leaving her in a one-on-one with Wahldén, who got a piece of the ball but not enough to keep it out. Margret Lara Vidarsdottir's equalizer came from a nice simple though ball from Susanne Moberg; her run took her far to the left side, from which she made the shot from an acute angle. Tornfalk's second was a really nice one-touch off her right foot into the left side of the goal, from a ball headed back to her after a throw-in. Vidarsdottir's second equalizer came after the ball was bouncing around in the box a bit after a KDFF free-kick.
Besides the goalscorers, other players singled out for praise were Wahldén, Antonia Göransson, Emelie Johnsson, and Katrin Omarsdottirs for KDFF ; for JBK, Frida Höglund, Sofia Karlsson, and Annica Sjöland.
The game was marred only by the poor field conditions, and the red card issued to Elin Sandgren two minutes into stoppage time (the reason for her ejection is either kicking an opponent's shin guard instead of the ball, or protesting that she should get penalized for doing so). Italian goalkeeper Anna Maria Picarelli, who was brought to the club to substitute for Wahldén, will remain with KDFF for at least the rest of the month.
AIK v. Tyresö FF 0 - 2 (0-1)
Goals: 23' Jennifer Egelryd (passning Elin Ekblom Bak) 0-1; 66' Karin Lissel 0-2
Warnings: TFF Line Roddik Hansen 17'; AIK Emelie Ölander 65'; AIK Hanna Folkesson 77'; TFF Azra Durakovic 86'
Source: damfotboll
This was AIK's third game in a row in which they did not score any goals, and it was also TFF's second away win within Stockholm. TFF played aggresively from the start, pushing back the AIK defense, and wasting several good chances to score. AIK came back a little bit in the second half, but their offense is young; 16-year-olds like Therese Boström and Malin Diaz are talented, but are not going to get the better of experienced defenders like Elin Ekblom Bak and Line Röddick Hansen.
Defenders Karin Lissel and Johanna Frisk did not start again for TFF, but Lissel came in shortly after the second half started, and made the second goal. TFF coach Tino Katsoulakis said that he was pleased with the game, but also that his team needs to take their chances at goal and not shoot straight at the goalkeeper.
KIF Örebro DFF v. Hammarby IF DFF 2 - 1 (0-1)
Goals: 45' Nazanin Vaseghpanah (penalty) 0-1; 55' Marie Hammarström (passning Edda Gardarsdottir) 1-1; 70' Sanna Talonen (passning Elin Magnusson) 2-1
Warnings: KIF Marina Pettersson 29'; KIF Edda Gardarsdottir 33'
Source: damfotboll
HIF's goal came through a penalty kick, after KIF defender Susanna Lehtinen dragged down HIF's Daniela Chamoun. KIF's Marie Hammarström equalized early in the second half through a low shot on a corner kick. KIF dominated the start of the half, with halftime substitute Sanna Talonen eventually scoring their second goal. Coach Richard Holmlund thought his team was too passive in the first, and should have scored, but he praised their character in the come-back.
HIF goalkeeper Minna Merluoto was singled out for praise, making several good saves. Coach Lars Pihl said they had their chances, but the they played okay and their only really poorly played game was against Jitex.
Linköpings FC v. Djurgården 2 - 1 (1-1)
Goals: 6' Josefine Öqvist 1-0; 9' Ellinor Lindbom (passning Emma Lundh) 1-1; 57' Josefine Öqvist 2-1
Warnings: DIF Caroline Frånberg 73'
Source: damfotboll, svenskfotboll, LFC
LFC ended their goalless streak at two games, as Josefine Öqvist scored two classy goals and seems to be on her way back to her national team form. As the match went on LFC became more dominant, but the second half seems to have been better than the first. DIF had some chances from corner kicks, and Emma Lundh nearly scored from a long-distance shot early; she later provided the assist for Ellinor Lindblom to score her first goal in the league.
Jessica Samuelsson made her debut for LFC, and seemed to be working well with Öqvist—"We will certainly be seeing more of her," said LFC coach Jörgen Petersson. LFC's Maria "Kalle" Karlsson replaced Faith Ikidi, who is away for a World Cup qualifier with her national team Nigeria. There's a little confusion about whether Jonna Andersson replaced Linda Sällström in the starting eleven, or at halftime—one source conflicts with the other two—I'll take the majority vote and say that Sällström, who had a stomach bug yesterday, was subbed out after the first half.
Djurgården coach Daniel Kalles Petersson praised Ann-Marie Norlin (who was hastily called back to duty "but showed no lack of fitness") and the play of keeper Gudbjörg Gunnarsdottir.
May 16, 2010
Weekend Wrap - Athletica & Sky Blue Battle To a Draw
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Labels: 2010 WPS, Atlanta Beat, Chicago Red Stars, Eniola Aluko, Laura Kalmari, Philadelphia Independence, Saint Louis Athletica, Sky Blue FC, Washington Freedom
Labels: 2010 WPS, Atlanta Beat, Chicago Red Stars, Eniola Aluko, Laura Kalmari, Philadelphia Independence, Saint Louis Athletica, Sky Blue FC, Washington Freedom
Saint Louis and Sky Blue battled to a 2-2 draw at Soccer Park in Fenton. Athletica struck first when Elaine was taken down in the penalty area by Yael Averbuch. Shannon Boxx converted the penalty to give Athletica a 1-0 lead 8 minutes into the match.
In the 2nd half, Athletica controlled play early, but it was Sky Blue that struck twice. In the 57th, a Kiersten Dallstream cross was headed home by Laura Kalmari. Kalmari got her 2nd goal of the match just minutes later. Heather O'Reilly was able to get by Tina Ellertson who had slid down on the wet turf. O'Reilly sent a perfect cross to an unmarked Kalmari who volleyed it into the left corner of the net to put Sky Blue up 2-1.
Athletica kept creating chances and finally was able to knock one home. In the 85th minute, Shannon Boxx was able to win the ball and sent a perfect ball through to Eniola Aluko who calmly finished lower left to beat Karen Bardsley and tie the score.
Jessica Landström had a late chance on a header, but it was saved by Hope Solo and the match ended in a draw.
For my full recap of the game check it out at Goal.com.
In other games...
Philadelphia 1, Chicago 0
The Independence took over sole possession of 2nd place with a victory on the road in Chicago. Joanna Lohman scored 7 minutes into the 1st half and Philly's defense made the goal hold up. Karina LeBlanc earned the shutout for Philadelphia.
Washington 2, Atlanta 0
The Freedom got goals from Lene Mykjåland and Abby Wambach to defeat Atlanta 2-0. Erin McLeod got the shutout for Washington. The Beat continue to have trouble scoring, in spite of having several chances. They outshot the Freedom 21-10, but only got 7 on frame with none going in. The game also featured a hard collision between Sonia Bompastor of the Freedom and McCall Zerboni of the Beat. Zerboni was taken to the hospital as a precaution, while Bompastor later returned, bandaged with stitches.
In the 2nd half, Athletica controlled play early, but it was Sky Blue that struck twice. In the 57th, a Kiersten Dallstream cross was headed home by Laura Kalmari. Kalmari got her 2nd goal of the match just minutes later. Heather O'Reilly was able to get by Tina Ellertson who had slid down on the wet turf. O'Reilly sent a perfect cross to an unmarked Kalmari who volleyed it into the left corner of the net to put Sky Blue up 2-1.
Athletica kept creating chances and finally was able to knock one home. In the 85th minute, Shannon Boxx was able to win the ball and sent a perfect ball through to Eniola Aluko who calmly finished lower left to beat Karen Bardsley and tie the score.
Jessica Landström had a late chance on a header, but it was saved by Hope Solo and the match ended in a draw.
For my full recap of the game check it out at Goal.com.
In other games...
Philadelphia 1, Chicago 0
The Independence took over sole possession of 2nd place with a victory on the road in Chicago. Joanna Lohman scored 7 minutes into the 1st half and Philly's defense made the goal hold up. Karina LeBlanc earned the shutout for Philadelphia.
Washington 2, Atlanta 0
The Freedom got goals from Lene Mykjåland and Abby Wambach to defeat Atlanta 2-0. Erin McLeod got the shutout for Washington. The Beat continue to have trouble scoring, in spite of having several chances. They outshot the Freedom 21-10, but only got 7 on frame with none going in. The game also featured a hard collision between Sonia Bompastor of the Freedom and McCall Zerboni of the Beat. Zerboni was taken to the hospital as a precaution, while Bompastor later returned, bandaged with stitches.
May 14, 2010
WPS Weekend Previews - May 15 & 16
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Labels: 2010 WPS, Atlanta Beat, Chicago Red Stars, Philadelphia Independence, Saint Louis Athletica, Sky Blue FC, Washington Freedom
Labels: 2010 WPS, Atlanta Beat, Chicago Red Stars, Philadelphia Independence, Saint Louis Athletica, Sky Blue FC, Washington Freedom
Philadelphia Independence at Chicago Red Stars – May 15 (7 pm ET, 6 pm CT)
Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL.
Rosters:
Philadelphia: GK-K. LeBlanc, V. Henderson; D-S. Larsson, N. Krzysik, A. Falk, H. Magnusdottir, H. Mitts, S. Senty; MF-L. Lindsey, C. Seger, J. Lohman, J. Buczkowski; F-A. Rodriguez, L. Sanderson, L. Patterson, D. Adams.
Not Active: G. DiMartino, K. Maruyama, E. Johnson, K. Reynolds, C. Patterson, R. Jones.
Chicago: GK-J. Loyden, K. Davis; D-K. Markgraf, W. Engen, M. Dalmy, N. Spilger, L. Vandenbergh; MF-B. Klein, K. Chapman, K. Carney, Formiga, M. Rapinoe, J. Santacaterina; F-Cristiane, C. Nogueira, K. Asllani, E. Masar, J. McDonald.
Not Active: I. Dieke (suspended), M. Weissenhofer, J. Sitch.
Previous Meetings:
This will be the first meeting between the two teams.
What to Look For: This should be a very interesting matchup. Philadelphia suffered their first loss last weekend in St. Louis and it will be interesting to see how they respond on the road in Chicago. The Red Stars have probably been better than their record, but have managed only 3 goals so far and sit in 7th place. Dieke will miss the match on red card suspension, meaning that Spilger will most likely line up in back with Dalmy, Markgraf, and Engen. Nogueira has given the Red Stars some spark on offense, but otherwise, goals have been hard to come by. Rapinoe and Carney need to get untracked. Philadelphia relies heavily on veteran midfielder Lindsey, and with Seger out with injury last week, Saint Louis was able to hold her in check most of the match. Seger's return will help considerably. It will also be interesting to see who Paul Riley starts in goal between Henderson and LeBlanc, as he seemed less than pleased with LeBlanc’s performance last week. The Independence have good speed which could cause Chicago’s defense some problems. Philadelphia can be deadly on set pieces and Falk is the leading scoring defender in WPS.
Storylines: This is Chicago’s first match against an expansion team. Nikki Krzysik and Danesha Adams return to Chicago for the first time. Chicago’s Cristiane and Philadelphia’s Rodriguez rank 1-2 in shots attempted this season. Chapman (Red Stars) and Magnusdottir (Independence) are tied for the lead in most fouls committed.
Sky Blue FC at Saint Louis Athletica – May 16 (4 pm ET, 3 pm CT)
Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Fenton, MO.
Rosters:
Sky Blue FC: GK-K. Bardsley, S. Myers; D-D. Koster, B. Taylor, K. Dowling, K. Dallstream, D. Johnson; MF-Y. Averbuch, H. O’Reilly, Rosana, K. White; F-L. Kalmari, J. Landström, K. Schoepfer, I. Trotter, M. Snell.
Not Active: N. Kai (hamstring), C. Lloyd (ankle), M. Schnur (knee), C. Rampone (maternity), J. Branam (knee), A. Salem.
Saint Louis: GK-H. Solo, A. Harris; D-T. Ellertson, K. Fletcher, Elaine, E. Weber, A. Asante, N. Cross, S. Wagenfuhr, S. Teegarden; MF-L. Chalupny, S. Boxx, C. Blank, T. DiMartino; F-E. Aluko, L. Tarpley, M. Edlund, V. Perez.
Not Active: K. Larsen (foot), A. Miyama (national team), E. Walter, K. Spisak.
Previous Meetings (2009):
Sky Blue FC 0 @ Saint Louis 1
Saint Louis 2 @ Sky Blue FC 1
Sky Blue FC 0 @ Saint Louis 1
Sky Blue FC 1 @ Saint Louis 0 (WPS Semifinal)
What To Look For: Last season, Saint Louis swept the 3 regular season meetings, only to fall to Sky Blue at home in the playoff semifinals. Both teams will only have 5 players active that started in that match. The goalkeeper matchup has to be the headliner in this game. USWNT starter Solo goes against the hottest goalkeeper in WPS in Bardsley. Sky Blue’s injury list is long and they will be without several key players. Athletica will be missing Miyama who is away on national team duty, but Asante has been activated which could help the defense. Aluko may have finally found a complementary front line mate in Tarpley. Sky Blue needs to find some offense, but the scorer of only one goal (Kalmari) will be active for Sunday’s match. Perhaps the best way to describe Sky Blue’s 2010 performance so far is gritty, winning three matches by 1-0 margins, while being outshot by wide margins. Dutch import Koster and rookie Taylor have been solid on SBFC’s back line. Jersey’s midfield needs to start contributing more on the offensive end.
Storylines: Saint Louis looks to continue their regular season dominance at home where they are 5-0-2 in their last 7 matches. Sky Blue’s last 5 wins dating back to last year’s playoffs have been by a 1-0 margin. Asante is active for the 1st time since her serious knee injury, however it is doubtful that she would start. Boxx is dangerously close to suspension, having already accumulated 3 yellows this season. 2nd place in the table is on the line for these two teams.
Washington Freedom at Atlanta Beat – May 16 (6 pm ET) – FSC Game of the Week
KSU Soccer Stadium, Kennesaw, GA.
Rosters:
Washington: GK-E. McLeod, M. McCray; D-C. Whitehill, N. Marshall, S. Bompastor, B. Bock (questionable-foot), A. Singer, K. Eveland, M. Abegg; MF-B. Sauerbrunn, A. Long, S. Huffman, R. Moros , J. Gilbeau, B. Goebel; F-Abby Wambach (probable-nose), L. Mykjåland, C. Welsh.
Not Active: L. De Vanna (national team), H. Sawa (national team), B. Scurry (head), C. Miskel, M. Casey.
Atlanta: GK-A. Whitworth, B. Maron; D-K. McNeill, S. Bishop, L. Robinson, L. Sesselmann, S. Mundy, T. Hamm, B. Mattern; MF-M. Yamaguchi, M. Zerboni, A. Kerr, K. Larkin, R. Nolin; F-R. Bachmann, J. Rasmussen, S. Thompson, M. Ocampo, A. Cinalli.
Not Active: T. Heath (ankle), M. Yamaguchi (national team), M. Schumacher-Hodge, M. Lofton-Malachi.
Previous Meetings (2010):
Atlanta 1 @ Washington 3
What to Look For: Both teams will be missing key players due to national team duty, De Vanna and Sawa for the Freedom and Yamaguchi for the Beat. Wambach is listed as probable after having her nose broken late in last week’s match against Boston. She had a huge game against the Beat the first time around with a goal and two assists. The Beat defense has to find a way to stop Washington. Last time, Washington scored 3 goals and McNeill landed a suspension, in spite of not being carded on the play in question. Atlanta needs to get their offense unleashed. After 5 matches, I would have expected a lot more goals from this group. Bachmann had several chances last week, but was unable to finish. McLeod is coming off of her 1st shutout this season and looks to double up in this match. This is only the Freedom’s 2nd road match, the first of which ended with a disappointing 3-1 loss in Philadelphia.
Storylines: Will this be the game where Atlanta gets its first win? While Abby Wambach is listed as probable, it will be interesting to see how much she plays, which will likely depend on how much problem she has breathing with the injury. She was a major force in the 1st meeting between these two teams and likely will be again, if she can play. Becky Sauerbrunn continues her iron woman streak.
Trivia Question – Behind Becky Sauerbrunn, which current WPS player has the 2nd longest active streak for consecutive minutes played in the regular season? Answer – Marta, who has played 1980 consecutive minutes after tonight’s match against Boston. She hasn’t missed a minute of a match since April 25, 2009 when she was away on national duty and missed the Sol’s match against Saint Louis.
Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL.
Rosters:
Philadelphia: GK-K. LeBlanc, V. Henderson; D-S. Larsson, N. Krzysik, A. Falk, H. Magnusdottir, H. Mitts, S. Senty; MF-L. Lindsey, C. Seger, J. Lohman, J. Buczkowski; F-A. Rodriguez, L. Sanderson, L. Patterson, D. Adams.
Not Active: G. DiMartino, K. Maruyama, E. Johnson, K. Reynolds, C. Patterson, R. Jones.
Chicago: GK-J. Loyden, K. Davis; D-K. Markgraf, W. Engen, M. Dalmy, N. Spilger, L. Vandenbergh; MF-B. Klein, K. Chapman, K. Carney, Formiga, M. Rapinoe, J. Santacaterina; F-Cristiane, C. Nogueira, K. Asllani, E. Masar, J. McDonald.
Not Active: I. Dieke (suspended), M. Weissenhofer, J. Sitch.
Previous Meetings:
This will be the first meeting between the two teams.
What to Look For: This should be a very interesting matchup. Philadelphia suffered their first loss last weekend in St. Louis and it will be interesting to see how they respond on the road in Chicago. The Red Stars have probably been better than their record, but have managed only 3 goals so far and sit in 7th place. Dieke will miss the match on red card suspension, meaning that Spilger will most likely line up in back with Dalmy, Markgraf, and Engen. Nogueira has given the Red Stars some spark on offense, but otherwise, goals have been hard to come by. Rapinoe and Carney need to get untracked. Philadelphia relies heavily on veteran midfielder Lindsey, and with Seger out with injury last week, Saint Louis was able to hold her in check most of the match. Seger's return will help considerably. It will also be interesting to see who Paul Riley starts in goal between Henderson and LeBlanc, as he seemed less than pleased with LeBlanc’s performance last week. The Independence have good speed which could cause Chicago’s defense some problems. Philadelphia can be deadly on set pieces and Falk is the leading scoring defender in WPS.
Storylines: This is Chicago’s first match against an expansion team. Nikki Krzysik and Danesha Adams return to Chicago for the first time. Chicago’s Cristiane and Philadelphia’s Rodriguez rank 1-2 in shots attempted this season. Chapman (Red Stars) and Magnusdottir (Independence) are tied for the lead in most fouls committed.
Sky Blue FC at Saint Louis Athletica – May 16 (4 pm ET, 3 pm CT)
Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Fenton, MO.
Rosters:
Sky Blue FC: GK-K. Bardsley, S. Myers; D-D. Koster, B. Taylor, K. Dowling, K. Dallstream, D. Johnson; MF-Y. Averbuch, H. O’Reilly, Rosana, K. White; F-L. Kalmari, J. Landström, K. Schoepfer, I. Trotter, M. Snell.
Not Active: N. Kai (hamstring), C. Lloyd (ankle), M. Schnur (knee), C. Rampone (maternity), J. Branam (knee), A. Salem.
Saint Louis: GK-H. Solo, A. Harris; D-T. Ellertson, K. Fletcher, Elaine, E. Weber, A. Asante, N. Cross, S. Wagenfuhr, S. Teegarden; MF-L. Chalupny, S. Boxx, C. Blank, T. DiMartino; F-E. Aluko, L. Tarpley, M. Edlund, V. Perez.
Not Active: K. Larsen (foot), A. Miyama (national team), E. Walter, K. Spisak.
Previous Meetings (2009):
Sky Blue FC 0 @ Saint Louis 1
Saint Louis 2 @ Sky Blue FC 1
Sky Blue FC 0 @ Saint Louis 1
Sky Blue FC 1 @ Saint Louis 0 (WPS Semifinal)
What To Look For: Last season, Saint Louis swept the 3 regular season meetings, only to fall to Sky Blue at home in the playoff semifinals. Both teams will only have 5 players active that started in that match. The goalkeeper matchup has to be the headliner in this game. USWNT starter Solo goes against the hottest goalkeeper in WPS in Bardsley. Sky Blue’s injury list is long and they will be without several key players. Athletica will be missing Miyama who is away on national team duty, but Asante has been activated which could help the defense. Aluko may have finally found a complementary front line mate in Tarpley. Sky Blue needs to find some offense, but the scorer of only one goal (Kalmari) will be active for Sunday’s match. Perhaps the best way to describe Sky Blue’s 2010 performance so far is gritty, winning three matches by 1-0 margins, while being outshot by wide margins. Dutch import Koster and rookie Taylor have been solid on SBFC’s back line. Jersey’s midfield needs to start contributing more on the offensive end.
Storylines: Saint Louis looks to continue their regular season dominance at home where they are 5-0-2 in their last 7 matches. Sky Blue’s last 5 wins dating back to last year’s playoffs have been by a 1-0 margin. Asante is active for the 1st time since her serious knee injury, however it is doubtful that she would start. Boxx is dangerously close to suspension, having already accumulated 3 yellows this season. 2nd place in the table is on the line for these two teams.
Washington Freedom at Atlanta Beat – May 16 (6 pm ET) – FSC Game of the Week
KSU Soccer Stadium, Kennesaw, GA.
Rosters:
Washington: GK-E. McLeod, M. McCray; D-C. Whitehill, N. Marshall, S. Bompastor, B. Bock (questionable-foot), A. Singer, K. Eveland, M. Abegg; MF-B. Sauerbrunn, A. Long, S. Huffman, R. Moros , J. Gilbeau, B. Goebel; F-Abby Wambach (probable-nose), L. Mykjåland, C. Welsh.
Not Active: L. De Vanna (national team), H. Sawa (national team), B. Scurry (head), C. Miskel, M. Casey.
Atlanta: GK-A. Whitworth, B. Maron; D-K. McNeill, S. Bishop, L. Robinson, L. Sesselmann, S. Mundy, T. Hamm, B. Mattern; MF-M. Yamaguchi, M. Zerboni, A. Kerr, K. Larkin, R. Nolin; F-R. Bachmann, J. Rasmussen, S. Thompson, M. Ocampo, A. Cinalli.
Not Active: T. Heath (ankle), M. Yamaguchi (national team), M. Schumacher-Hodge, M. Lofton-Malachi.
Previous Meetings (2010):
Atlanta 1 @ Washington 3
What to Look For: Both teams will be missing key players due to national team duty, De Vanna and Sawa for the Freedom and Yamaguchi for the Beat. Wambach is listed as probable after having her nose broken late in last week’s match against Boston. She had a huge game against the Beat the first time around with a goal and two assists. The Beat defense has to find a way to stop Washington. Last time, Washington scored 3 goals and McNeill landed a suspension, in spite of not being carded on the play in question. Atlanta needs to get their offense unleashed. After 5 matches, I would have expected a lot more goals from this group. Bachmann had several chances last week, but was unable to finish. McLeod is coming off of her 1st shutout this season and looks to double up in this match. This is only the Freedom’s 2nd road match, the first of which ended with a disappointing 3-1 loss in Philadelphia.
Storylines: Will this be the game where Atlanta gets its first win? While Abby Wambach is listed as probable, it will be interesting to see how much she plays, which will likely depend on how much problem she has breathing with the injury. She was a major force in the 1st meeting between these two teams and likely will be again, if she can play. Becky Sauerbrunn continues her iron woman streak.
Trivia Question – Behind Becky Sauerbrunn, which current WPS player has the 2nd longest active streak for consecutive minutes played in the regular season? Answer – Marta, who has played 1980 consecutive minutes after tonight’s match against Boston. She hasn’t missed a minute of a match since April 25, 2009 when she was away on national duty and missed the Sol’s match against Saint Louis.
Marta - Quiet No More in Gold Pride Win
In the preview I did for tonight's match, I mentioned that Marta had been "relatively quiet" so far this season. Well, not anymore. Tonight, Marta scored two 1st half goals leading Gold Pride to a 2-1 win over the Boston Breakers at Cambridge, Massachusetts. The victory was a record 5th in a row for Bay Area. Marta's former team, the LA Sol, had previously held the record at 4 consecutive wins. Kelly Smith scored the Breakers' only goal. Smith also picked up a yellow card, as did Christine Sinclair and Leslie Osborne. Boston's winless streak now stretches to 5. The match was played before a very good crowd of 5283 at Harvard Stadium.
Damallsvenskan 2010: Strays from rounds 3 and 6
Round-up of a couple stray games from this past week...
Round 6
Tyresö FF v. Kopparbergs/Göteborg 0 - 4 (0-2)
Goals: 33' Sara Lindén (passning Linnea Liljegärd) 0-1; 44' Sara Lindén 0-2; 51' Sara Lindén 0-3; 82' Emelie Johansson
Sources: damfotboll, Tyresö, K/Göteborg
Pictures of TFF supporters, and the game
A couple more details, including video highlights
Newcomers Tyresö have been having quite a good run so far this season, having beaten Djurgården and last year's champions Linköping. K/G for its part lost to Linköping in the opening game, but have been on an unbeaten streak since, and lie second in the league. More than a thousand enthusiastic fans were on hand despite the unseasonably cool weather, burning torches before the game, singing "well into the second half," and lending (occasionally rude) vocal support.
K/G had control of the match from the beginning, although TFF played quite well and had some chances early on. K/G didn't open the scoring until the 33', when Sara Lindén received a nice cross in on the ground and one-touched it in from s short distance directly in front of the goal. Her second came just about ten minutes later, a nice strike from the top left corner of the box over the reach of TFF goalkeeper Carola Söberg, as Lindén was running toward goal. Her third goal, coming just after the start of the half, was another nice one-touch, when the ball was sent back into the area after TFF maybe thought they had cleared it. The fourth goal, scored in the last few minues of the game, was perhaps less pretty, as Emelie Johansson trundled the ball in (perhaps getting help from her hand, according to the TFF defenders) after keeper Söberg was lying on the ground after having made a couple of quick saves.
TFF Defenders Karin Lissel and Johanna Frisk were not available for the match, although their substitutes Line Roddik Hansen and Petronella Ekroth did fine jobs and none of the goals were the result of obvious defensive miscues; the absence of the two starters just added up to too many changes. While TFF never looked like winning, they nevertheless had their chances to score; although they are not pleased to lose, they cannot be too unhappy with their showing against K/G, which is finally looking like the dominant team that they were predicted to be this year.
Lindén now leads the league in scoring after her hat-trick.
Round 3
KIF Örebro v. Umeå IK 0 - 0
Warnings: UIK Emma Berglund 28'; UIK Emma Kulberg 80'
Sources: damfotboll
The Örebro-UIK game match was finally played, having been delayed twice before, once directly and once indirectly because of the volcano. The UIK players must have been tired, playing their third game in a week, and KIF dominated the statistics, taking for instance 7 shots on goal to UIK's 3. The play of Caroline Jönsson in goal and Frida Östberg in defense were largely responsible for maintaining the draw, although KIF may have scored a legitimate goal on a first-half corner kick—KIF coach Richard Holmlund says that even from his position on the bench, he could see that the ball was in the goal. Still, he was happy that his team played together so well, and thinks that the goals will come if they keep on like this. UIK coach Joakim Blomqvist said that they played their game and he is pleased enough with that.
Round 6
Tyresö FF v. Kopparbergs/Göteborg 0 - 4 (0-2)
Goals: 33' Sara Lindén (passning Linnea Liljegärd) 0-1; 44' Sara Lindén 0-2; 51' Sara Lindén 0-3; 82' Emelie Johansson
Sources: damfotboll, Tyresö, K/Göteborg
Pictures of TFF supporters, and the game
A couple more details, including video highlights
Newcomers Tyresö have been having quite a good run so far this season, having beaten Djurgården and last year's champions Linköping. K/G for its part lost to Linköping in the opening game, but have been on an unbeaten streak since, and lie second in the league. More than a thousand enthusiastic fans were on hand despite the unseasonably cool weather, burning torches before the game, singing "well into the second half," and lending (occasionally rude) vocal support.
K/G had control of the match from the beginning, although TFF played quite well and had some chances early on. K/G didn't open the scoring until the 33', when Sara Lindén received a nice cross in on the ground and one-touched it in from s short distance directly in front of the goal. Her second came just about ten minutes later, a nice strike from the top left corner of the box over the reach of TFF goalkeeper Carola Söberg, as Lindén was running toward goal. Her third goal, coming just after the start of the half, was another nice one-touch, when the ball was sent back into the area after TFF maybe thought they had cleared it. The fourth goal, scored in the last few minues of the game, was perhaps less pretty, as Emelie Johansson trundled the ball in (perhaps getting help from her hand, according to the TFF defenders) after keeper Söberg was lying on the ground after having made a couple of quick saves.
TFF Defenders Karin Lissel and Johanna Frisk were not available for the match, although their substitutes Line Roddik Hansen and Petronella Ekroth did fine jobs and none of the goals were the result of obvious defensive miscues; the absence of the two starters just added up to too many changes. While TFF never looked like winning, they nevertheless had their chances to score; although they are not pleased to lose, they cannot be too unhappy with their showing against K/G, which is finally looking like the dominant team that they were predicted to be this year.
Lindén now leads the league in scoring after her hat-trick.
Round 3
KIF Örebro v. Umeå IK 0 - 0
Warnings: UIK Emma Berglund 28'; UIK Emma Kulberg 80'
Sources: damfotboll
The Örebro-UIK game match was finally played, having been delayed twice before, once directly and once indirectly because of the volcano. The UIK players must have been tired, playing their third game in a week, and KIF dominated the statistics, taking for instance 7 shots on goal to UIK's 3. The play of Caroline Jönsson in goal and Frida Östberg in defense were largely responsible for maintaining the draw, although KIF may have scored a legitimate goal on a first-half corner kick—KIF coach Richard Holmlund says that even from his position on the bench, he could see that the ball was in the goal. Still, he was happy that his team played together so well, and thinks that the goals will come if they keep on like this. UIK coach Joakim Blomqvist said that they played their game and he is pleased enough with that.
May 13, 2010
WPS Friday Night - FC Gold Pride at Boston
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Labels: 2010 WPS, Ashley Phillips, Boston Breakers, Christine Sinclair, FC Gold Pride, Kelly Smith, Nicole Barnhart
Labels: 2010 WPS, Ashley Phillips, Boston Breakers, Christine Sinclair, FC Gold Pride, Kelly Smith, Nicole Barnhart
This is a rare WPS Friday night contest, matching up 1st place FC Gold Pride with the Boston Breakers at Harvard Stadium. Rosters are tentative.
FC Gold Pride at Boston Breakers – May 14 (7:30 pm ET, 4:30 pm PT)
Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA.
Rosters:
FC Gold Pride: GK-N. Barnhart, B. Cameron; D-R. Buehler, A. Riley, K. Wilson, C. Chapman (questionable-shoulder), K. Graczyk, K. Fountain; MF-Marta, B. Edwards, S. Gulbrandsen (questionable-quad), C. Dew, K. Yokers; F-C. Sinclair, T. Milbrett, K. Bosio.
Not Active: K. O’Hara (heel), C. Abily (ankle), E. Guthrie, R. Tantillo, A. Bowyer.
Boston: GK-A. Phillips, A. Naeher, A. Lipsher; D-A. LePeilbet, K. Moore, A. Scott, S. Cox, J. Angeli; MF-L. Osborne, K. Lilly, Fabiana (probable-quad), C. Igwe, L. Bogus; F-K. Smith, L. Cheney, L. Del Rio, T. Weimer, T. Hemmings.
Not Active: S. Walsh (knee), M. Enyeart (knee), M. Tomecka (ankle), C. Zimmeck (foot), A. Marquez.
Previous Meetings (2009):
Boston 1 @ FC Gold Pride 2
FC Gold Pride 1 @ Boston 1
Boston 1 @ FC Gold Pride 0
What to Look For: FCGP rides a four game winning streak into this contest and will break a record if they can record a 5th. Gold Pride will be missing two key elements of their offense due to injuries, O’Hara and Abily. Barnhart has consecutive shutouts for the first time in her WPS career. While Sinclair and O’Hara have had good seasons so far, Marta has been relatively quiet with just 1 goal. Boston has been shutout in consecutive matches and needs to jumpstart their offense. They are winless since their opener, the only match in their last 14 in which they have scored more than one goal. Phillips earned her first career shutout last weekend and she has a solid defense in front of her with the quartet of LePeilbet, Scott, Cox, and Moore. Smith has two goals for Boston, exactly half of their season total. Last year's series between these two teams was very even.
Storylines: Gold Pride will be going after the record for consecutive wins. However, they have been outscored by an aggregate 2-1 in their two roads games and one has to wonder if the long road trips they must endure will have an effect on them. Boston’s home field advantage that we saw in early 2009 appears to have disappeared with only 2 points to show for their last 4 home games.
The previews for the other WPS weekend games will appear later in the week.
FC Gold Pride at Boston Breakers – May 14 (7:30 pm ET, 4:30 pm PT)
Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA.
Rosters:
FC Gold Pride: GK-N. Barnhart, B. Cameron; D-R. Buehler, A. Riley, K. Wilson, C. Chapman (questionable-shoulder), K. Graczyk, K. Fountain; MF-Marta, B. Edwards, S. Gulbrandsen (questionable-quad), C. Dew, K. Yokers; F-C. Sinclair, T. Milbrett, K. Bosio.
Not Active: K. O’Hara (heel), C. Abily (ankle), E. Guthrie, R. Tantillo, A. Bowyer.
Boston: GK-A. Phillips, A. Naeher, A. Lipsher; D-A. LePeilbet, K. Moore, A. Scott, S. Cox, J. Angeli; MF-L. Osborne, K. Lilly, Fabiana (probable-quad), C. Igwe, L. Bogus; F-K. Smith, L. Cheney, L. Del Rio, T. Weimer, T. Hemmings.
Not Active: S. Walsh (knee), M. Enyeart (knee), M. Tomecka (ankle), C. Zimmeck (foot), A. Marquez.
Previous Meetings (2009):
Boston 1 @ FC Gold Pride 2
FC Gold Pride 1 @ Boston 1
Boston 1 @ FC Gold Pride 0
What to Look For: FCGP rides a four game winning streak into this contest and will break a record if they can record a 5th. Gold Pride will be missing two key elements of their offense due to injuries, O’Hara and Abily. Barnhart has consecutive shutouts for the first time in her WPS career. While Sinclair and O’Hara have had good seasons so far, Marta has been relatively quiet with just 1 goal. Boston has been shutout in consecutive matches and needs to jumpstart their offense. They are winless since their opener, the only match in their last 14 in which they have scored more than one goal. Phillips earned her first career shutout last weekend and she has a solid defense in front of her with the quartet of LePeilbet, Scott, Cox, and Moore. Smith has two goals for Boston, exactly half of their season total. Last year's series between these two teams was very even.
Storylines: Gold Pride will be going after the record for consecutive wins. However, they have been outscored by an aggregate 2-1 in their two roads games and one has to wonder if the long road trips they must endure will have an effect on them. Boston’s home field advantage that we saw in early 2009 appears to have disappeared with only 2 points to show for their last 4 home games.
The previews for the other WPS weekend games will appear later in the week.
May 12, 2010
WPS Midweek Notes - May 12
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Labels: 2010 WPS, Atlanta Beat, Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Gold Pride, Karen Bardsley, Philadelphia Independence, Saint Louis Athletica, Sky Blue FC, Washington Freedom
Labels: 2010 WPS, Atlanta Beat, Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Gold Pride, Karen Bardsley, Philadelphia Independence, Saint Louis Athletica, Sky Blue FC, Washington Freedom
Bardsley Is WPS Player of the Week
Sky Blue goalkeeper, Karen Bardsley, has been named WPS Player of the Week. Bardsley posted her 3rd shutout of the season against the Atlanta Beat in Sky Blue’s 1-0 victory. Bardsley made 13 saves in the match, while keeping the Beat off the scoreboard. Bardsley currently leads WPS in saves, shots faced, shutouts, and goals against average, among those that have played enough to qualify. She became the 2nd Sky Blue goalkeeper to win the award. Jen Branam was named Player of the Week at the end of last season.
Athletica to Wear Special Uniforms to Support Breast Cancer Research
Saint Louis Athletica will wear special uniforms in their May 16 match against Sky Blue FC. To commemorate their support for the Susan G. Komen St. Louis Race for the Cure®, each Athletica uniform will bear the name of a person who has battled the disease on the front of the jersey, honoring 22 individuals who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
“It was quite an honor to be chosen as the honorary Race co-chairs,” stated Athletica Captain Lori Chalupny. “Wearing the names of these women who have battled breast cancer on our jersey is just a small way we can honor them and everyone who has ever been diagnosed with the disease. We feel like we are bringing them onto the field with us by doing this, and I think it will be inspiring to pull those jerseys on before the game on Sunday.”
The 22 names include local breast cancer survivors, and relatives or friends of Athletica players who have battled breast cancer. The uniform will be an all white kit with pink lettering and numbering. PUMA, the WPS uniform provider, has also designed a specific pink game ball that will be used exclusively for the match.
Around the League
Atlanta Beat – Ramona Bachmann managed to get off 8 shots in the match against Sky Blue, with 5 of them being on goal…..Only Stacy Bishop, Leigh Ann Robinson, and Mami Yamaguchi have played every minute of all 5 matches…..The Beat drew 7248 fans to the home opener in their new stadium. It’s the 2nd largest WPS crowd of the year to the game that Washington played Saint Louis at RFK Stadium.
Boston Breakers – Ashley Phillips earned her first career shutout against Washington last Saturday…..Kelly Smith continues to be the most fouled player with 15 fouls suffered. Last season she tied Lori Chalupny for the lead with 46…..The Breakers have only scored more than one goal once in their last 14 matches.
Chicago Red Stars – Although allowing two goals for the first time in her career, Jill Loyden stopped a penalty shot in Saturday’s match against Gold Pride…..There have been 6 players red carded in league history. Ifeoma Dieke became the 3rd Red Star to be red carded following Frida Östberg and Karen Carney last year…..Chicago is the only team that has yet to play at least one of the two expansion teams, but they will meet Philadephia at home this weekend.
FC Gold Pride – Kelley O’Hara became the first player from the January, 2010 draft to record a goal and an assist this season…..Gold Pride has attempted the only two penalty kicks this season in WPS, both unsuccessful…..With their victory over Chicago, Gold Pride became the 2nd team ever to win 4 consecutive regular season matches, the other being Los Angeles. Gold Pride will seek to break the record on Friday against the Breakers.
Philadelphia Independence – Amy Rodriguez leads the league in shots on goal with 15, 5 ahead of 2nd place Marta…..For the first time, Lori Lindsey did not figure in the scoring of an Independence goal, but her long pass from Philly’s side of the half line sent Rodriguez in alone, before Lyndsey Patterson banged home the rebound…..Japanese forward Karina Maruyama got her first start of the year against Saint Louis last Saturday.
Saint Louis Athletica – Lindsay Tarpley started her first match since coming back from an ACL injury and scored her 1st goal for Saint Louis…..Shannon Boxx picked up her 3rd caution of the season, meaning she will have to go 4 matches without a card to avoid suspension…..Athletica has a 7 game regular season home unbeaten streak with a 5-0-2 record over that stretch.
Sky Blue FC – In spite of missing the last two games with an injury, Tasha Kai has scored half of Sky Blue’s 4 goals, with another being an own goal. Laura Kalmari is the only other SBFC player to have scored…..Including the playoffs, Sky Blue’s last 5 wins have come by 1-0 margins…..Sky Blue has been outshot by an astounding 92-43 margin this season.
Washington Freedom – Erin McLeod earned her first shutout of the season against Boston on Saturday…..Becky Sauerbrunn is now the only player to have played in every minute of both the 2009 and 2010 seasons…..The game against the Breakers marked the first time the Freedom have been shutout since their 1-0 loss to the Los Angeles Sol on July 5, 2009.
Trivia Question - Behind Becky Sauerbrunn, which current WPS player now has the 2nd longest active streak for consecutive minutes played in the regular season?
Sky Blue goalkeeper, Karen Bardsley, has been named WPS Player of the Week. Bardsley posted her 3rd shutout of the season against the Atlanta Beat in Sky Blue’s 1-0 victory. Bardsley made 13 saves in the match, while keeping the Beat off the scoreboard. Bardsley currently leads WPS in saves, shots faced, shutouts, and goals against average, among those that have played enough to qualify. She became the 2nd Sky Blue goalkeeper to win the award. Jen Branam was named Player of the Week at the end of last season.
Athletica to Wear Special Uniforms to Support Breast Cancer Research
Saint Louis Athletica will wear special uniforms in their May 16 match against Sky Blue FC. To commemorate their support for the Susan G. Komen St. Louis Race for the Cure®, each Athletica uniform will bear the name of a person who has battled the disease on the front of the jersey, honoring 22 individuals who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
“It was quite an honor to be chosen as the honorary Race co-chairs,” stated Athletica Captain Lori Chalupny. “Wearing the names of these women who have battled breast cancer on our jersey is just a small way we can honor them and everyone who has ever been diagnosed with the disease. We feel like we are bringing them onto the field with us by doing this, and I think it will be inspiring to pull those jerseys on before the game on Sunday.”
The 22 names include local breast cancer survivors, and relatives or friends of Athletica players who have battled breast cancer. The uniform will be an all white kit with pink lettering and numbering. PUMA, the WPS uniform provider, has also designed a specific pink game ball that will be used exclusively for the match.
Around the League
Atlanta Beat – Ramona Bachmann managed to get off 8 shots in the match against Sky Blue, with 5 of them being on goal…..Only Stacy Bishop, Leigh Ann Robinson, and Mami Yamaguchi have played every minute of all 5 matches…..The Beat drew 7248 fans to the home opener in their new stadium. It’s the 2nd largest WPS crowd of the year to the game that Washington played Saint Louis at RFK Stadium.
Boston Breakers – Ashley Phillips earned her first career shutout against Washington last Saturday…..Kelly Smith continues to be the most fouled player with 15 fouls suffered. Last season she tied Lori Chalupny for the lead with 46…..The Breakers have only scored more than one goal once in their last 14 matches.
Chicago Red Stars – Although allowing two goals for the first time in her career, Jill Loyden stopped a penalty shot in Saturday’s match against Gold Pride…..There have been 6 players red carded in league history. Ifeoma Dieke became the 3rd Red Star to be red carded following Frida Östberg and Karen Carney last year…..Chicago is the only team that has yet to play at least one of the two expansion teams, but they will meet Philadephia at home this weekend.
FC Gold Pride – Kelley O’Hara became the first player from the January, 2010 draft to record a goal and an assist this season…..Gold Pride has attempted the only two penalty kicks this season in WPS, both unsuccessful…..With their victory over Chicago, Gold Pride became the 2nd team ever to win 4 consecutive regular season matches, the other being Los Angeles. Gold Pride will seek to break the record on Friday against the Breakers.
Philadelphia Independence – Amy Rodriguez leads the league in shots on goal with 15, 5 ahead of 2nd place Marta…..For the first time, Lori Lindsey did not figure in the scoring of an Independence goal, but her long pass from Philly’s side of the half line sent Rodriguez in alone, before Lyndsey Patterson banged home the rebound…..Japanese forward Karina Maruyama got her first start of the year against Saint Louis last Saturday.
Saint Louis Athletica – Lindsay Tarpley started her first match since coming back from an ACL injury and scored her 1st goal for Saint Louis…..Shannon Boxx picked up her 3rd caution of the season, meaning she will have to go 4 matches without a card to avoid suspension…..Athletica has a 7 game regular season home unbeaten streak with a 5-0-2 record over that stretch.
Sky Blue FC – In spite of missing the last two games with an injury, Tasha Kai has scored half of Sky Blue’s 4 goals, with another being an own goal. Laura Kalmari is the only other SBFC player to have scored…..Including the playoffs, Sky Blue’s last 5 wins have come by 1-0 margins…..Sky Blue has been outshot by an astounding 92-43 margin this season.
Washington Freedom – Erin McLeod earned her first shutout of the season against Boston on Saturday…..Becky Sauerbrunn is now the only player to have played in every minute of both the 2009 and 2010 seasons…..The game against the Breakers marked the first time the Freedom have been shutout since their 1-0 loss to the Los Angeles Sol on July 5, 2009.
Trivia Question - Behind Becky Sauerbrunn, which current WPS player now has the 2nd longest active streak for consecutive minutes played in the regular season?
Damallsvenskan 2010, Round 6: Derby Days
No fewer than three derbies this weekend, one in the far south, one in the far north, and one in the Big City. The southern one was well-played, the northern one featured lots of goals, and the Big City was... well...
Kristianstads DFF v. LdB FC Malmö 0 - 2 (0-2)
Goals: 18' Manon Melis (passning Therese Sjögran) 0-1; 37' Pavlina Scasna (passning Manon Melis) 0-2
Warnings: KDFF Therese Björck 12'; LdB Emma Wilhelmsson 67'; LdB Nilla Fischer 78'
Source: damfotboll
Southern Derby: These two teams both hail from Skåne, Sweden's deep south, and more than 1500 people braved the unseasonable chill to watch it; they were treated to a well-executed game by both teams. Last week Kristianstad shocked Umeå with a very quick goal: they nearly did the same against LdB, putting the ball in the net but having it called back for roughing the keeper. Therese Sjögran sent a long ball up the left wing to find Manon Melis, who scored in 18th. LdB's Frida Nordin took a shot that required Kristianstad's new goalkeeper Anna Maria Picarelli of Italy to stretch out her full length (162cm, or 5'4.25") to make the save. LdB's second goal was started by Elin Rubensson in the midfield, who played it up to Melis who in turn found Pavlina Scasna on the right, inside the box. At the start of the second half, KDFF's Susanne Moberg forced a leg save from LdB keeper Thora Helgadotrir, and LdB nearly had an own goal shortly thereafter.
LdB earned a penalty kick when Picarelli and Scasna collided; Sjögran took the shot, which was saved by "a panther's leap" from Picarelli. Picarelli explained afterwards that she recognized Sjögran from previous national team duties, "but I've never seen her take a penalty before."
KDFF coach Elizabeth Gunnarsdottir said that clearly the best team won, while LdB coach Martin Sjögren thought that his team should have scored again after KDFF started pressing forward in the second half.
Umeå IK v. Sunnanå SK 6 - 1 (3-0)
Goals: 6' Anna Westerlund (passning Sofia Jakobsson) 1-0; 30' Anna Westerlund (passning Emmelie Konradsson) 2-0; 44' Emmelie Konradsson (passning Rita Chikwelu) 3-0; 63' Perpetua Nkwocha (passning Linda Fransson) 3-1; 73' Pernilla Nordlund (passning Emmelie Konradsson) 4-1; 77' Maija Saari (passning Therese Kapstad) 5-1; 86' Therese Kapstad (passning Rita Chikwelu) 6-1
Warnings: UIK Frida Östberg 9'
Source: damfotboll
Northern Derby, this one in the far north, as Umeå hosted Sunnanå, which has Skellefteå as its home town. Skellefteå is even farther north than Umeå, and might be remembered by American fans as the town where the USWNT played Sweden in a friendly a while back. Or perhaps not. Anyway, UIK dominated without much difficulty, despite resting its tired defenders Anna Paulson and Emma Berglund; coach Joakim Blomkvist was happy with the team's offensive effort and hopes that this is the point when UIK turns its season around.
SSK's coach Krister Lundgren was not particularly pleased, saying that his team did not follow the game plan of playing a high and aggressive defense. He thought they did better in the second half, when they had reduced to a back line of three. Defender Hanna Marklund sat this one out, due to stomach flu.
Hammarby IF DFF v. AIK 0 - 0
Warning: HIF Tempest-Marie Norlin 69'
Source: damfotboll
Big City Derby: South-siders Hammarby hosted north-siders AIK. These two teams currently lie below the relegation line, and so you might think they would fight like the dickens to beat the other... but instead what happened was a nervous game with much struggling and not a lot of pretty play. Hammarby took 22 shots and vistors AIK took only 5, although both teams came close, banging the ball off the posts. AIK coach Patrik Jidefalk prasied his young team's defensive effort, singling out goalkeeper Maja Åström and defender Linda Sembrandt. Hammarby coach Lasse Pihl said that it's frustrating when one does all one planned to do in the game, except score a goal. Can't argue with that.
Djurgården v. KIF Örebro DFF 4 - 2 (1-0)
Goals: 21' Elin Cederroos 1-0 (corner kick from Emma Lundh); 50' Rebecca Johnson (passning Sarah Michael) 2-0; 72' Marie Hammarström 2-1; 79' Rebecca Johnson (passning Sarah Michael) 3-1; 82' Susanna Lehtinen 3-2; 88' Rebecca Johnson (passning Sarah Michael) 4-2
Source: damfotboll
Video highlights, including the Djurgården song
It was a chilly afternoon at Kristineberg, and at first it looked like it would settle in to defensive trench warfare. The first goal from Elin Cederroos off a corner kick may have last touched the leg of a KIF defender, but no one has called it an own goal yet. The second goal, by DIF's Rebecca Johnsson, fully woke up KIF and the two traded goals thereafter, with Johnsson going on to score a hat-trick.
Linköpings FC v. Jitex BK 0 - 1 (0-1)
Goal: 38' Elin Carlsson (passning Frida Höglund) 0-1
Warnings: LFC Josefine Öqvist 88'; LFC Maria Karlsson 90' ("Kalle," #16, not the other one )
Sources: Jitex, damfotboll
This was a good free-flowing game, with plenty of chances coming from both sides. Newcomers Jitex looked "nonchalent," sharing equally in time of possession, shots, and shots on goal in the home of last year's champions Linköping. LFC were awarded a penalty kick but goalkeeper Jenny Olsson saved Tilda Heimersson's shot in the 42nd minute. Josefine Öqvist apparently put the ball in the net in the 88th, but she was judged to be offsides, a call I will dare to assume that she disputed and thereby got her yellow.
Jitex has now beaten both Umeå and Linköping and have taken 12 points total in the first 6 games, a fabulous start for a newly-promoted team. Jitex coach Hans Prytz credited his team's success to their hard work in both training and games. He mentioned keeper Jenny Olsson and left back Sofia Karlsson in particular as forces in this particular game "but could have named the all 11 on the field."
LFC has scored only one goal in its last four games, and situation that coach Jörgen Pettersson says was "expected" since that is where they lost most of the strength from last year, with the departure of so many offensive players [Jessica Landström, Caroline Seger, and Kosovare Asllani] to the US league. LFC brought defenders Faith Ikidi and Charlotte Rohlin up to the front at the end but to no avail. "We are creating chances, but not taking them," he said.
Results for Tyresö v. Kopparbergs/Göteborg and the long-delayed KIF Örebro games coming up soon...
Kristianstads DFF v. LdB FC Malmö 0 - 2 (0-2)
Goals: 18' Manon Melis (passning Therese Sjögran) 0-1; 37' Pavlina Scasna (passning Manon Melis) 0-2
Warnings: KDFF Therese Björck 12'; LdB Emma Wilhelmsson 67'; LdB Nilla Fischer 78'
Source: damfotboll
Southern Derby: These two teams both hail from Skåne, Sweden's deep south, and more than 1500 people braved the unseasonable chill to watch it; they were treated to a well-executed game by both teams. Last week Kristianstad shocked Umeå with a very quick goal: they nearly did the same against LdB, putting the ball in the net but having it called back for roughing the keeper. Therese Sjögran sent a long ball up the left wing to find Manon Melis, who scored in 18th. LdB's Frida Nordin took a shot that required Kristianstad's new goalkeeper Anna Maria Picarelli of Italy to stretch out her full length (162cm, or 5'4.25") to make the save. LdB's second goal was started by Elin Rubensson in the midfield, who played it up to Melis who in turn found Pavlina Scasna on the right, inside the box. At the start of the second half, KDFF's Susanne Moberg forced a leg save from LdB keeper Thora Helgadotrir, and LdB nearly had an own goal shortly thereafter.
LdB earned a penalty kick when Picarelli and Scasna collided; Sjögran took the shot, which was saved by "a panther's leap" from Picarelli. Picarelli explained afterwards that she recognized Sjögran from previous national team duties, "but I've never seen her take a penalty before."
KDFF coach Elizabeth Gunnarsdottir said that clearly the best team won, while LdB coach Martin Sjögren thought that his team should have scored again after KDFF started pressing forward in the second half.
Umeå IK v. Sunnanå SK 6 - 1 (3-0)
Goals: 6' Anna Westerlund (passning Sofia Jakobsson) 1-0; 30' Anna Westerlund (passning Emmelie Konradsson) 2-0; 44' Emmelie Konradsson (passning Rita Chikwelu) 3-0; 63' Perpetua Nkwocha (passning Linda Fransson) 3-1; 73' Pernilla Nordlund (passning Emmelie Konradsson) 4-1; 77' Maija Saari (passning Therese Kapstad) 5-1; 86' Therese Kapstad (passning Rita Chikwelu) 6-1
Warnings: UIK Frida Östberg 9'
Source: damfotboll
Northern Derby, this one in the far north, as Umeå hosted Sunnanå, which has Skellefteå as its home town. Skellefteå is even farther north than Umeå, and might be remembered by American fans as the town where the USWNT played Sweden in a friendly a while back. Or perhaps not. Anyway, UIK dominated without much difficulty, despite resting its tired defenders Anna Paulson and Emma Berglund; coach Joakim Blomkvist was happy with the team's offensive effort and hopes that this is the point when UIK turns its season around.
SSK's coach Krister Lundgren was not particularly pleased, saying that his team did not follow the game plan of playing a high and aggressive defense. He thought they did better in the second half, when they had reduced to a back line of three. Defender Hanna Marklund sat this one out, due to stomach flu.
Hammarby IF DFF v. AIK 0 - 0
Warning: HIF Tempest-Marie Norlin 69'
Source: damfotboll
Big City Derby: South-siders Hammarby hosted north-siders AIK. These two teams currently lie below the relegation line, and so you might think they would fight like the dickens to beat the other... but instead what happened was a nervous game with much struggling and not a lot of pretty play. Hammarby took 22 shots and vistors AIK took only 5, although both teams came close, banging the ball off the posts. AIK coach Patrik Jidefalk prasied his young team's defensive effort, singling out goalkeeper Maja Åström and defender Linda Sembrandt. Hammarby coach Lasse Pihl said that it's frustrating when one does all one planned to do in the game, except score a goal. Can't argue with that.
Djurgården v. KIF Örebro DFF 4 - 2 (1-0)
Goals: 21' Elin Cederroos 1-0 (corner kick from Emma Lundh); 50' Rebecca Johnson (passning Sarah Michael) 2-0; 72' Marie Hammarström 2-1; 79' Rebecca Johnson (passning Sarah Michael) 3-1; 82' Susanna Lehtinen 3-2; 88' Rebecca Johnson (passning Sarah Michael) 4-2
Source: damfotboll
Video highlights, including the Djurgården song
It was a chilly afternoon at Kristineberg, and at first it looked like it would settle in to defensive trench warfare. The first goal from Elin Cederroos off a corner kick may have last touched the leg of a KIF defender, but no one has called it an own goal yet. The second goal, by DIF's Rebecca Johnsson, fully woke up KIF and the two traded goals thereafter, with Johnsson going on to score a hat-trick.
Linköpings FC v. Jitex BK 0 - 1 (0-1)
Goal: 38' Elin Carlsson (passning Frida Höglund) 0-1
Warnings: LFC Josefine Öqvist 88'; LFC Maria Karlsson 90' ("Kalle," #16, not the other one )
Sources: Jitex, damfotboll
This was a good free-flowing game, with plenty of chances coming from both sides. Newcomers Jitex looked "nonchalent," sharing equally in time of possession, shots, and shots on goal in the home of last year's champions Linköping. LFC were awarded a penalty kick but goalkeeper Jenny Olsson saved Tilda Heimersson's shot in the 42nd minute. Josefine Öqvist apparently put the ball in the net in the 88th, but she was judged to be offsides, a call I will dare to assume that she disputed and thereby got her yellow.
Jitex has now beaten both Umeå and Linköping and have taken 12 points total in the first 6 games, a fabulous start for a newly-promoted team. Jitex coach Hans Prytz credited his team's success to their hard work in both training and games. He mentioned keeper Jenny Olsson and left back Sofia Karlsson in particular as forces in this particular game "but could have named the all 11 on the field."
LFC has scored only one goal in its last four games, and situation that coach Jörgen Pettersson says was "expected" since that is where they lost most of the strength from last year, with the departure of so many offensive players [Jessica Landström, Caroline Seger, and Kosovare Asllani] to the US league. LFC brought defenders Faith Ikidi and Charlotte Rohlin up to the front at the end but to no avail. "We are creating chances, but not taking them," he said.
Results for Tyresö v. Kopparbergs/Göteborg and the long-delayed KIF Örebro games coming up soon...
May 10, 2010
WPS Weekend Wrap
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Labels: Atlanta Beat, Becky Sauerbrunn, Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Gold Pride, Karen Bardsley, Kristine Lilly, Ramona Bachmann, Sky Blue FC, Washington Freedom
Labels: Atlanta Beat, Becky Sauerbrunn, Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Gold Pride, Karen Bardsley, Kristine Lilly, Ramona Bachmann, Sky Blue FC, Washington Freedom
It was a unusual weekend in WPS, which included one red card, two own goals, 4 shutouts, a goal by the 2nd oldest player in the league, and another veteran player ending a streak of 2240 consecutive minutes on the field.
Boston 0, Washington 0
Battling wind gusts, the Breakers and Freedom played to a scoreless tie before 4198 fans at the Maryland SoccerPlex on Saturday. The Breakers outshot the Freedom by a 9-6 margin. Erin McLeod and Ashley Phillips both earned shutouts. It was only the 2nd scoreless tie in Freedom history, the last being at RFK Stadium to the Chicago Red Stars on June 13, 2009.
The game matched up the league's two remaining ironwomen, Kristine Lilly and Becky Sauerbrunn. Neither had missed a minute of action since league play started last March. Lilly, who is also the oldest player in WPS, came off at the 80 minute mark in favor of Laura Del Rio, ending her consecutive minutes streak at 2240 minutes, while Sauerbrunn's streak continues at 2250 (2340 if you count playoff matches).
FC Gold Pride 2, Chicago 0
Donning red jerseys, FC Gold Pride increased their 1st place margin to 3 points by defeating the Chicago Red Stars 2-0 at home on Saturday night. Nicole Barnhart earned her 2nd consecutive shutout. Ifeoma Dieke of the Red Stars was redcarded about midway through the 1st half for contact against Kelley O'Hara in the penalty area. Jill Loyden was able to stop Tiffeny Milbrett's ensuing penalty kick to keep the score tied at 0-0 into the break.
It was Milbrett who finally broke through in the opening minute of the 2nd half, recovering her own rebound after nailing the crossbar and knocking a sidewinding shot past Loyden. Kelley O'Hara added an insurance goal later in the half. Gold Pride outshot the shorthanded Red Stars by a 19-4 margin for the match.
Sky Blue FC 1, Atlanta 0
The women from Jersey spoiled Atlanta's stadium opening with a 1-0 victory on Sunday night before 7248 fans. It was the 3rd time this season that Sky Blue had won by that margin. It was a game in which Atlanta's Ramona Bachmann did everything but score and Sky Blue's Karen Bardsley stopped everything that came her way.
After a scoreless 1st half, Sky Blue scored in the 51st minute. Heather O'Reilly sent a dangerous cross into the penalty area. With Laura Kalmari on her heals, Leigh Ann Robinson attempted to head the ball out of trouble, but instead headed just past goalkeeper Brett Maron for an own goal.
Bachmann created chance after chance, but she either shot just wide or was thwarted by Bardsley who had a spectacular match. Bardsley had previously robbed McCall Zerboni of a goal in the 1st half of the match. Sky Blue was outshot by a 25-9 margin, which has been a fairly consistent theme in their matches this season.
Saint Louis Athletica 2, Philadelphia Independence 1
Saint Louis gets an own goal and Lindsey Tarpley scores in her first start of the season to give Athletica a 2-1 victory. Lyndsey Patterson brought the Independence to within one with a goal in the 75th minute, but Philadelphia was unable to equalize. It was game that saw Tarpley and Eniola Aluko create dangerous chances throughout the match.
Correction: In the original game story, I had reported that Aluko had sent a pass across to Tarpley when Falk connected with the ball for the own goal. In fact, it occured on the return pass from Tarpley and not vice versa. My apologies for the error.
Standings: (1) FC Gold Pride 4-1-0, 12 pts; (2) Sky Blue FC 3-2-0, 9 pts; (3) Philadelphia 2-1-2, 8 pts; (4) Saint Louis 2-1-2, 8 pts; (5) Washington 2-2-1, 7 pts; (6) Boston 1-1-3, 6 pts; (7) Chicago 1-3-1, 4 pts; (8) Atlanta 0-4-1, 1 pt.
Boston 0, Washington 0
Battling wind gusts, the Breakers and Freedom played to a scoreless tie before 4198 fans at the Maryland SoccerPlex on Saturday. The Breakers outshot the Freedom by a 9-6 margin. Erin McLeod and Ashley Phillips both earned shutouts. It was only the 2nd scoreless tie in Freedom history, the last being at RFK Stadium to the Chicago Red Stars on June 13, 2009.
The game matched up the league's two remaining ironwomen, Kristine Lilly and Becky Sauerbrunn. Neither had missed a minute of action since league play started last March. Lilly, who is also the oldest player in WPS, came off at the 80 minute mark in favor of Laura Del Rio, ending her consecutive minutes streak at 2240 minutes, while Sauerbrunn's streak continues at 2250 (2340 if you count playoff matches).
FC Gold Pride 2, Chicago 0
Donning red jerseys, FC Gold Pride increased their 1st place margin to 3 points by defeating the Chicago Red Stars 2-0 at home on Saturday night. Nicole Barnhart earned her 2nd consecutive shutout. Ifeoma Dieke of the Red Stars was redcarded about midway through the 1st half for contact against Kelley O'Hara in the penalty area. Jill Loyden was able to stop Tiffeny Milbrett's ensuing penalty kick to keep the score tied at 0-0 into the break.
It was Milbrett who finally broke through in the opening minute of the 2nd half, recovering her own rebound after nailing the crossbar and knocking a sidewinding shot past Loyden. Kelley O'Hara added an insurance goal later in the half. Gold Pride outshot the shorthanded Red Stars by a 19-4 margin for the match.
Sky Blue FC 1, Atlanta 0
The women from Jersey spoiled Atlanta's stadium opening with a 1-0 victory on Sunday night before 7248 fans. It was the 3rd time this season that Sky Blue had won by that margin. It was a game in which Atlanta's Ramona Bachmann did everything but score and Sky Blue's Karen Bardsley stopped everything that came her way.
After a scoreless 1st half, Sky Blue scored in the 51st minute. Heather O'Reilly sent a dangerous cross into the penalty area. With Laura Kalmari on her heals, Leigh Ann Robinson attempted to head the ball out of trouble, but instead headed just past goalkeeper Brett Maron for an own goal.
Bachmann created chance after chance, but she either shot just wide or was thwarted by Bardsley who had a spectacular match. Bardsley had previously robbed McCall Zerboni of a goal in the 1st half of the match. Sky Blue was outshot by a 25-9 margin, which has been a fairly consistent theme in their matches this season.
Saint Louis Athletica 2, Philadelphia Independence 1
Saint Louis gets an own goal and Lindsey Tarpley scores in her first start of the season to give Athletica a 2-1 victory. Lyndsey Patterson brought the Independence to within one with a goal in the 75th minute, but Philadelphia was unable to equalize. It was game that saw Tarpley and Eniola Aluko create dangerous chances throughout the match.
Correction: In the original game story, I had reported that Aluko had sent a pass across to Tarpley when Falk connected with the ball for the own goal. In fact, it occured on the return pass from Tarpley and not vice versa. My apologies for the error.
Standings: (1) FC Gold Pride 4-1-0, 12 pts; (2) Sky Blue FC 3-2-0, 9 pts; (3) Philadelphia 2-1-2, 8 pts; (4) Saint Louis 2-1-2, 8 pts; (5) Washington 2-2-1, 7 pts; (6) Boston 1-1-3, 6 pts; (7) Chicago 1-3-1, 4 pts; (8) Atlanta 0-4-1, 1 pt.
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