US, Costa Rica, Canada, and Mexico Advance to Concacaf Semifinals

The USWNT has advanced to the Concacaf WC Qualifying Semifinals. They will be joined by Costa Rica, Canada, and Mexico. All four teams swept their first two contests in group qualifying.

The only thing left to be decided is exactly what the pairings will be. The US will play Costa Rica in the final Group B qualifier on Monday to determine who will win the group and who will finish second. Should there be a tie, the US would win the group based on goal differential. They easily disposed of Haiti 5-0 and Guatemala 9-0. Costa Rica edged Guatemala 1-0, before defeating Haiti 3-0.

In Group A action, Canada will face Mexico on Tuesday to determine first and second placements from that group. Canada slipped past Trinidad & Tobago 1-0 and had no trouble in winning an 8-0 decision over Guyana. Mexico defeated Guyana 7-2 and Trinidad & Tobago by a 2-0 score on Sunday evening.

The top two teams out of the Concacaf region will automatically qualify for the 2011 World Cup to be held in Germany. The third place finisher in the Concacaf region will face Italy for another berth in the 2011 World Cup.

Pac-10 Women's Soccer Recaps - Oct. 22nd 2010

Arizona Golden Goal Fells Bears, 1-0
TUCSON, Ariz. - With 40 seconds remaining in what would be the first overtime period, the Arizona women's soccer team scored the first and final goal of the Pac-10 Conference game on Friday night at Mulcahy Stadium. It was that 25th shot of the match that gave the Wildcats (5-8-2 overall, 1-3 in the Pac-10) the 1-0 victory over the Golden Bears (7-4-4, 2-3-0 in the Pac-10). + Read more game report at Cal Bears Athletic website

No. 19 Beavers Get Seventh Straight with 1-0 Shutout of the Cougars
PULLMAN, Wash. - Jenna Richardson scored her fifth goal of the season in the 35th minute which proved to be enough, as the 19th-ranked Oregon State women's soccer team extended its winning streak to seven games with a 1-0 win over Pacific-10 opponent Washington State Friday afternoon in Pullman, Wash. + Read more game report at OSU Athletic website

USC Beats UCLA 1-0 In Front Of Record Crowd
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - In front of a record-setting crowd at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the USC women's soccer team served up a long-awaited Pac-10 win over crosstown rival UCLA on Friday night. The Trojans and Bruins hauled 8,527 fans to the Coliseum to set a new NCAA regular-season attendance record, and the Women of Troy topped it off in the 86th minute of play with the game-winning goal from Autumn Altamirano for a 1-0 victory. + Read more game report at USC Athletic website

Webber And Joswick Score In 2-0 Shutout Over Oregon
SEATTLE - Junior Alex Webber and senior Kellye Joswick each scored in the second half as the UW women's soccer team shutout Oregon (4-8-3, 0-3-1) at Husky Soccer Stadium Friday night, 2-0. + Read more game report at UW Athletic website

Summaries and links courtesy of PAC-10 online newswire

Damallsvenskan 2010, round 22

This week saw the final round of Damallsvnskan 2010. All games were played simultaneously, 16 oktober 2010, at 14.00. Final standings for all teams are in parentheses. Sunnanå and AIK are relegated to the second tier; Piteå and Dalsjöfors will be promoted to Damallsvenskan next year.


(10) Hammarby IF DFF v. (9) Kristianstads DFF 2 - 0 (2 - 0)
Goals: 3' Annica Svensson (passning Lena Andersson) 1-0; 26' Leena Puranen (passning Kristin Bengtsson) 2-0
Warnings: KDFF Julia Molin 36'
Source: damfotboll, HIF, svenskfotboll, my own eyes
Pictures of happy players at HIF

"It feels fantastic and is a big relief for everyone," said veteran Kicki Bengtsson of her team's season-saving win. "It's unbelievably great to win this game, to make [their Damallsvenskan] contract for next year, and to end my career with a win. I didn't get that last autumn [her first last game]." The second-happiest player for HIF may have been birthday-girl Puranen, who scored the insurance goal for HIF, on a corner kick assist from Bengtsson. HIF's win combined with Sunnanå's loss to Linköping means that they will return to the top league in 2011.


(3) Linköpings FC v. (11) Sunnanå SK 3 - 0 (0 - 0)
Goals: 54' Linda Sällström (passning Josefine Öqvist) 1-0; 65' Linda Sällström (passning Maria Karlsson) 2-0; 79' Josefine Öqvist (passning Linda Sällström) 3-0
Warnings: SSK Emelie Lövgren 45', LFC Maja Krantz 76'
Source: damfotboll

Those of us at the Hammarby-Kristianstad game had our eyes on the scoreboard (which was reporting the results from all the games) almost as much as we had them on the pitch in front of us, as a win by SSK would have negated any heroics by Hammarby; these results were cheered mightily. Both teams had a tough time converting in the first half, as each team's defense played strong. LFC dominated the second half, and SSK was forced to play higher than they would have liked, according to SSK defender Hanna Marklund. She added that they are disappointed, and were not mentally tough enough, which lost them several matches.


(5) KIF Örebro v. (2) Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC 2 - 2 (2 - 2)
Goals: 3' Jane Törnqvist 0-1; 28' Sara Lindén 2-0; 36' Sanna Valkonen (passning Edda Gardarsdottir) 1-2; 45' Elin Magnusson (passning Hanna Ågren) 2-2
Source: damfotboll

K/G has for some reason had trouble with KIF at KIF's home arena— K/G's Stina Segerström, who played for KIF previously, said she can't remember K/G winning there, whichever team she was playing for at the time. Earning a draw with K/G tied KIF with Jitex on points, but put them ahead and into 5th place as a result of having a better goal differential. K/G coach Torbjörn Nilsson singled out the good play of defender Marlene Sjöberg, especially in the first half, and Johanna Almgren. KIF's asistant coach Bernard Nilsson named four players, Marie Hammarström, Marina Pettersson, Valkonen and Magnusson. (The svenskfotboll report lists Gardarsdottir as having both the assist and goal, but the damfotboll description gives the goal to Valkonen.)


(8) Djurgårdens IF DFF v. (12) AIK 2 - 0 (1 - 0)
Goals: 37' Sarah Michael (passning Ahkeela Darcel Mollon) 1-0; 47' Sarah Michael (passning Natalia Rickne) 2-0
Warnings: AIK Alexandra Lindberg 43', DIF Alexandra Höglund 74'
Source: damfotboll

The final Stockholm derby of the year, pitting DIF against already-relegated rivals AIK. "The match meant nothing for our placement but there's always prestige in a derby. It was good to win," said DIF coach Daniel Kalles Pettersson, and he reminds everyone that DIF still have one more game, the Swedish cup final against KIF Örebro on October 30. AIK coach Patric Jildefalk thinks that DIF's Elin Cederroos should have been shown out of the game for her handling of AIK's Tiffany Weimer. An apparently comic moment was had when a DIF player ran headlong into the referee, causing her to have to stop the game to catch her breath.


(6) Jitex BK v. (4) Tyresö 0 - 2 (0 - 0)
Goals: 62' Kirsten van de Ven 0-1; 65' Lisa Klinga 0-2
Warnings: JBK Elinor Ragnvaldsson 49'; TFF Azra Durakovic 51'; TFF Johanna Frisk 67'
Source: damfotboll
Pictures (see if you can spot the celebrity)

A 'derby' of sorts between this year's promoted teams, with TFF coming off the better in both this game and overall standing. It has never happened before that both newcomers have done so well, coming in 6th (JBK) and 4th (TFF). "We stayed with them well in the first half and a couple good chances were created from Kathlene Fernström's throw ins," said JBK assistant Mats Heed. Elin Sandgren in midfield was JBK's best player, while middle back Karin Lissel was singled out for TFF.


(1) LdB FC Malmö v. (7) Umeå IK 5 - 0 (3 - 0)
Goals: 12' Therese Sjögran 1-0; 22' Pavlina Scasna 2-0; 45' Manon Melis (passning Nilla Fischer) 3-0; 49' Frida Nordin (passning Therese Sjögran) 4-0; 51' Manon Melis 5-0
Source: damfotboll, LdB

A year-record-high crowd of 3546 were on hand to watch LdB cap their gold-medal season with a 5-0 pasting of UIK. UIK had trouble keeping up with LdB's tempo and play; according to national team coach Thomas Dennerby, LdB were simply in a class of their own this year. Go to the damfotboll report to see pictures of the orange-clad LdB players wearing tiaras and piling on; also, at the LdB site, there's a short video of season 'highlights' including clips from their fashion videos.

Boston University's Tiya Gallegos named America East Conference Player of the Week for Oct. 4th-10th

Tiya Gallegos, a junior from Lakewood, California, enjoyed an impressive showing in conference play ending the week with seven points as she lead her team to two victories.

The Terrier forward notched the gamewinning goal via header last Thursday in a 3-0 win over Hartford. She added two more goals and an assist in a 7-0 mauling of Vermont on Sunday.

Boston University now sits first in the America East table at 5-0 and is 10-5 overall.

LeBlanc to Red Stars for Draft Selections

The Philadelphia Independence have traded goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc to the Chicago Red Stars for two picks in the 2011 draft. The Independence will get the 3rd overall selection in the 2011 draft, plus Chicago's third round pick.

LeBlanc started 14 regular season matches for the Independence, but played backup to Val Henderson in the WPS playoffs. She finished the season with two shutouts and a 1.50 goals against average. It was a stark contrast to her 2009 campaign when she posted 12 shutouts and had a microscopic goals against of 0.53 with Los Angeles.

Philadelphia had acquired LeBlanc in the Los Angeles Sol dispersal draft. She was their starter for much of the early part of the season, but coach Paul Riley turned to Henderson with increasing regularity as the season progressed. Henderson got the starting call for the last two regular season matches and for all three playoff games.

The Independence now have two first round selections, a second round selection, and two third round selections in the 2011 draft. Chicago still has the second overall selection from a trade they made with Atlanta.

This trade will likely lead to a lot of speculation regarding Jill Loyden. Will Chicago protect both Loyden and LeBlanc in the expansion draft? Will they battle for the number one goalkeeper spot next season? Could Loyden be used in a trade, much as Athletica traded her to Chicago last season for Lindsay Tarpley? Only time will tell.

Celtic F.C.'s Ghirls score 19 in Scottish Women's Premier League action

This past Sunday, Celtic F.C. tallied three more points in Scottish Women's Premier League action as the Ghirls defeated Dundee United 19-0 at Lennoxtown.

Next up an away trip to Hibernian this weekend as the Hoops make a run at the team's first Scottish Women's Premier League title.

Suzanne Grant scored seven out of the 19 goals. Christie Murray added five and Jo Love contributed with four. Several other players added a single goal to the scoresheet.

Grant's seventh and final goal was her 51st goal of the current Premier League campaign.

Women's Soccer Weekly is always looking for news on the game out of Scotland as well as Scotland's Women's National Team updates.

Feel free to email us at -- contactwsw [ at ] womens-soccerweekly.com

~Thanks!

College Soccer: Big East: Rutger's faces important match-ups against Syracuse and St. John's

Rutgers (8-7, 3-4) continues its four-game road swing, heading to face the Orange on Friday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. and then off to visit St. John's at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 17.

On Oct. 10th, Rutgers women's soccer lost to #5 Notre Dame, 3-2, at Alumni Stadium. Redshirt junior Karla Schacher (Tofield, Alberta) was involved with both goals, scoring on one. She now has five on the season.

Damallsvenskan 2010, round 21

The penultimate week of the 2010 season, and Marta was on hand to watch Tyresö hand LdB FC Malmö its first defeat of the year, in what was almost surely the best game of the round...

The top two places are clear (LdB FC Malmö followed by Kopparbergs/Göteborg), but the fight for 3rd place (for mostly bragging rights) and for 10th (to avoid relegation) will remain exciting up until the very last games next week. Currently Linköping and Tyresö are tied on points for 3rd with Linköping holding the edge on goal differential; Jitex, which spent a good deal of the season in 4th, slipped to 5th with a loss against bottom-of-the-league AIK. AIK's recent American imports, Fiona O'Sullivan and Tiffany Weimer, have been doing quite a lot of good for the team at the end of the season.

At the other end of the table, Hammarby in 11th must win its last game (against 8th-place Kristianstad) to hope to stay in the league next year, while 10th-place Sunnanå must also win (against 3rd-place Linköping) to stay in the league for sure. If Sunnanå draws and Hammarby wins, the two teams would be tied on points but Hammarby's better goal differential (-17 to Sunnanå's -32) would see them through.

9 oktober 2010
Sunnanå SK v. KIF Örebro 0 - 1 (0 - 1)
Goals: 42' Sanna Talonen (passning Hanna Ågren) 0-1
Warnings: KIF Sanna Valkonen 51'; KIF Olina Vidarsdottir 78'; SSK Carolina Marklund 81'; SSK Magdalena Esseryd 90'
Source: damfotboll, Sunnanå, my own eyes (TV4Sport)

SSK's website was calling this perhaps the most important game of the year, as they are dancing just above the relegation line, and probably had a better chance to beat KIF than next week's Linköping. KIF looked the stronger of the two teams for most of the match, with better possession, but SSK and especially forward Perpetua Nkwocha looked dangerous on fast breaks.


Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC v. Djurgårdens IF DFF 0 - 0 (0 - 0)
Warnings: DIF Natalia Rickne 53'; DIF Rebecca Johnson 88'
Source: damfotboll



AIK v. Jitex BK 2 - 1 (0 - 1)
Goals: 37' Elin Sandgren 0-1; 69' Tiffany Weimer (passning Fiona O Sullivan) 1-1; 71' Clara Markstedt (passning Sofia Simonsson) 2-1
Ejection: AIK Sofia Simonsson 76'
Source: damfotboll

"Too late, AIK" says the headline, but at least they're going down fighting.


Umeå IK v. Hammarby IF DFF 3 - 0 (0 - 0)
Goals: 81' Sofia Jakobsson (passning Elin Landström) 1-0; 89' Anna Westerlund (passning Emmelie Konradsson) 2-0; 90' Linda Molin (passning Emmelie Konradsson) 3-0
Source: damfotboll, Hammarby

"The first half was Hammarby's. I've never seen UIK so pressured," according a witness from the large singing and confetti-flinging section of Hammarby supporters, "and for a while it was really good football." HIF's assistant coach Annelie Norén agreed with that, despite her team's nervous start, but "we didn't get the goals we need." She did praise her players Lena Andersson and Hodan Siid-Ahmed, and also the vocal fan support at this (very far) away game. "It means so much to the girls. They [the fans] work so hard and sing the whole match, we are very thankful." HIF's website is calling for a strong show of support at homefield Kanalplan next week, in which a win against Kristianstad might be enough to keep HIF in the top league next year, should Sunnanå lose to Linköping on the same day.


Tyresö FF v. LdB FC Malmö 1 - 0 (0 - 0)
Goals: 80' Madelaine Edlund (passning Elin Ekblom Bak) 1-0
Source: damfotboll, my own eyes (TV4), clip of the goal (and another rant about advertising)
Pictures of the fan support: Tyresö's website

"Marta was at the game!" squeals the damfotboll headline; apparently she was spotted at the snack stand. And she choose a quite good match to watch, as both teams played very well and each certainly had fair chances to score. Ekblom Bak's assist came after she blocked a hard pass from half way to TFF's goal box from LdB's Nilla Fisher; she managed to control it and send a lovely pass (curving away from the defenders) up to Edlund, who took one touch to control it, then sent a pinpoint shot at goal on the ground past the goalkeeper, a shot that hit the opposite side netting. Good stuff indeed. The large and partisan crowd were as impressive as usual, setting a record attendance for the year (2,219) and lighting off torches and cheering and singing throughout.


10 oktober 2010
Kristianstads DFF v. Linköpings FC 0 - 5 (0 - 3)
Goals: 34' Kosovare Asllani (passning Josefine Öqvist) 0-1; 42' Josefine Öqvist (passning Kosovare Asllani) 0-2; 45' Nora Holstad-Berge 0-3; 55' Linda Sällström (passning Tilda Heimersson) 0-4; 60' Charlotte Rohlin (passning Louise Fors) 0-5
Warnings: LFC Kosovare Asllani 46'; KDFF Katie Kelly 71'; KDFF Erla Arnardottir 78'
Source: damfotboll

Five different goalscorers for LFC this one, as they stopped their end-of-the-season slump (draws against middle-of-the-table teams, a loss against Hammarby last week).

Weekly Review - October 9

Two coaching decisions were made, the USWNT struggled to a tie in its last friendly before CONCACAF qualifying, the WPS Best XI were named, and the new WPS CEO gave us hints at what the league might look like next season.

United States Ties China in Last Warmup Match

A young squad from China pushed the USWNT to the limit in a 1-1 tie on Wednesday night in Chester, Pennsylvania. It took an Alex Morgan goal in the 83rd minute to prevent the US from losing on its home soil for the first time in six years.

While the US may have had the better of play for most of the match, their execution was very sloppy at times. The Chinese side continually frustrated the US, drawing several offsides calls, forcing several turnovers in the middle of the field, and limiting the US chances to a few headers through the first 75 minutes of the match. The Americans outshot the Chinese 16-8 and outcornered them 9-4, but few of the chances were particularly dangerous until late in the contest.

Ma Jun opened the scoring for China in the 37th minute with a beautiful volley off of a Zhou Gaoping cross. Several US players had gotten caught upfield which converted into a 4-on-3 situation for the Chinese and they were able to capitalize.

The USWNT were unable to solve the Chinese defense until less than 10 minutes remaining. With time growing short, Heather Mitts drove a long ball toward the Chinese goal. Abby Wambach was able to flick a header to Alex Morgan, who finished strongly to tie the match. It was Morgan's first goal for the senior National Team.

The US now heads into CONCACAF qualifying with a lot of unanswered questions after the tie with a Chinese side that didn't qualify for next year's World Cup. The USWNT will open against Haiti on October 28, followed by matches against Guatemala on October 30 and Costa Rica on November 1. While most think that their qualification for next year's World Cup is a foregone conclusion, it would only take a loss in the semis, presumably with their opponent being Canada or Mexico, to force them into playing a European team in a playoff for a World Cup berth.

Gabarra Takes Over at Sky Blue

Former Freedom head coach, Jim Gabarra, has been named the new head coach for Sky Blue FC. He was also named the team's Technical Director.

Gabarra had led the Washington Freedom to the playoffs in both seasons there with an overall regular season record of 16-16-12. The Freedom finished third in 2009 and fourth in 2010, but lost the playoff opener both times. Gabarra had resigned recently from his post with the Freedom.

For Sky Blue, this will be their sixth head coach in just over two seasons. Sky Blue won the 2009 WPS Championship under Christie Rampone, who finished that season as player/coach.

Galanis Named to Coach 2011 Beat

James Galanis, who took over as interim coach of the Atlanta Beat in August, has been named as their head coach for 2011. Galanis took over as Beat coach on August 17 following the dismissal of Gareth O'Sullivan.

The Beat finished in last place with a 5-13-6 mark in 2010. They were 1-3-1 in the five games with Galanis as head coach. The Beat got off to a very slow start, partially because of injuries to key personnel. An influx of talent from the folded Saint Louis Athletica squad helped Atlanta surge briefly in the middle of the season, only to see them fade again August.

The Beat will have a number of offseason decisions to make regarding personnel and one would guess that they might have to trim their payroll somewhat after picking up several large free agent contracts.

WPS Names Best XI

The WPS Best XI has been chosen by the media and the results were released last week. Five members of the champion FC Gold Pride squad were among the eleven chosen. Goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart, defender Rachel Buehler, defender Ali Riley, forward Marta, and forward Christine Sinclair were all named from FCGP.

Boston had the next highest representation with three selections including Defender of the Year Amy LePeilbet, rookie midfielder Jordan Angeli, and midfielder Kelly Smith. Midfielder Lori Lindsey and forward Amy Rodriguez were named for Philadelphia. Freedom forward Abby Wambach rounds out the eleven.

Riley and Angeli were the only two rookies selected to the squad. No players were named from the bottom three teams in the league, Sky Blue, Chicago, or Atlanta.

WPS CEO Gives Hints about 2011

New WPS CEO, Anne-Marie Eileraas, gave fans a few hints about the 2011 season in an interview with http://www.womensprosoccer.com/. Among the highlights, the 2011 season will likely be shorter in length due to the 2011 World Cup and will likely end earlier. There will be some sort of break for the World Cup, although the length of that break is yet to be determined. It also appears that there will not be an All-Star game next season, with players having so many commitments elsewhere.

Eileraas also stated that she "loved" the championship match and that the playoff format will be reviewed as it was after last season, but it was uncertain if there would be any changes to that format for 2011. She also spoke about positive developments regardings sponsorships and opportunities regarding fan base.

Damallsvenskan 2010, round 20

Only two games left to go, as Damallsvenskan 2010 comes to a close. The race for the top spots is over, the plummet to the lower league is confirmed for AIK. Attention now turns to the important question of who will manage to finish 10th and above the relegation line...


26 september
LdB FC v. AIK 3 - 0 (1 - 0)
Goals: 28' Kathryn Gill (passning Frida Nordin) 1-0; 86' Kathryn Gill (passning Frida Nordin) 2-0; 87' Frida Nordin 3-0
Warnings: AIK Petronella Ekroth 22'; LdB Nera Smajic 72'
Source: damfotboll

The first versus the worst. LdB had already won the league title with their 1-1 draw against Kopparbergs/Göteborg last week, and continued on their winning form against last-place AIK, who could earn at best only 6 more points on the season and are therefore now relegated for certain. LdB played without Therese Sjögran and Linda Forsberg, pushing Pavlina Scasna back to the midfield, and giving Gill a chance to start up front and shine with two goals. Nordin also showed her worth with two assists and a goal of her own.


Umeå IK v. Tyresö FF 0 - 3 (0 - 1)
Goals: 32' Helén Eke (passning Sofie Persson) 0-1; 51' UIK own goal 0-2; 62' Kirsten van de Ven 0-3
Warnings: UIK Anna Paulson 88'
Ejection: TFF Carola Söberg 79'
Source: damfotboll

Time was when a newly-promoted team beating UIK would have made the headlines, but UIK's slump is hardly news anymore and so the red card to TFF's keeper tops the reports. It is unclear to me exactly what happened here, although TFF coach Tino Katsoulakis called it unfortunate, and UIK coach Joakim Blomqvist says the expulsion was the least that could be done, given the foul. The result is the same: TFF will play LdB next week, without benefit of their top keeper.


Jitex BK v. Kopparbergs/Goteborg 0 - 4 (0 - 1)
Goals: 39' Johanna Almgren (passning Caroline Näfver) 0-1; 67' Jane Törnqvist (passning Lisa Dahlkvist) 0-2; 78' Lisa Dahlkvist (passning Sara Lindén) 0-3; 80' Sara Lindén (passning Olivia Schough) 0-4
Source: damfotboll

The second installment of this derby, with second-place K/G maintaining its bragging rights as the Best of the West.


Djurgården IF DFF v. Sunnanå SK 1 - 2 (0 - 0)
Goals: 53' Linda Fransson (passning Perpetua Nkwocha) 0-1; 68' Emma Lundh 1-1; 87' Alexandra Nilsson 1-2
Source: damfotboll

Sunnanå's win over Djurgården gives them valuable points as they try to avoid relegation; they maintain tenth place and two points over Hammarby.


27 september
KIF Örebro v. Kristianstads DFF 3 - 0 (1 - 0)
Goals: 45' Hanna Ågren (passning Sanna Valkonen) 1-0; 55' Sanna Talonen (passning Elin Magnusson) 2-0; 90' Sanna Talonen (passning Elin Magnusson) 3-0
Warnings: KDFF Margret Lara Vidarsdottir 83'
Source: damfotboll


Linköpings FC v. Hammarby IF DFF 1 - 2 (1 - 2)
Goals: 32' Madeleine Tegström 0-1; 38' Therese Brogårde (passning Hodan Siid-Ahmed) 0-2; 42' Josefine Öqvist (passning Louise Fors) 1-2
Warnings: HIF Minna Meriluoto 17'; HIF Tempest-Marie Norlin 73'
Source: damfotboll report, hope lives

'The hope is alive!' cries the first-report headline for this match, an important victory for 11th place HIF over 3rd place LFC, and surely the upset of the day. HIF, fighting for its place in Damallsvenskan 2011, started better than they could have hoped, with Tegström apparently beating LFC's offside trap, and then Brogårde heading in a long free kick. Everyone looked for a tough second half when LFC's Öqvist reduced the differential just before the break. But LFC did not play as if they were a top team, according to their coach Jörgen Petersson, who picked out Linda Sällström and Faith Ikidi as his best players. His team now faces other relegation contenders in their last two games, and surely this result gives those teams some heart.

HIF coach Lars Pihls credited Susan Varli and Siid-Ahmed as his most valuable players, and veteran Kicki Bengtsson makes the match report for having played a whole 80 minutes of the game.

USWNT Edges China in Qualifying Warmup

The United States Women's National Team, led by goals from Megan Rapinoe and Heather O'Reilly, defeated China 2-1 on Saturday evening at KSU Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia. O'Reilly also assisted on Rapinoe's goal in the a pre-qualifying warmup match for the USWNT played before 4759 fans.

Jill Loyden got her first cap in goal for the US and the victory. The United States outshot China by a 20-6 margin in the match.

Qu Shanshan scored China's only goal, with all of the scoring from both teams coming in the first half. The Chinese side did not qualify for the 2011 World Cup, finishing behind Australia, Japan, and Korea DPR in the Asian Cup held earlier this year.

The US will meet China again on Wednesday in Chester, Pennsylvania in their last game in preparation for CONCACAF qualifying which will start October 28.