Los Angeles Sol of WPS to fold

Sol-Long. We hardly knew ya. After attending most of the home games at the Home Depot Center, and watching some great soccer, it is with huge sadness we learn that the Los Angeles Sol folded today.   The notice comes after one season, despite the star power of FIFA world player of the year Marta and a successful campaign that ended in the championship game.

Women’s Professional Soccer  announced the termination of the franchise  and the dispersal of the team’s 19 players via a draft Thursday to other teams. This is going to have have a big impact in the league, as top players such as  Marta, Aya Miyama, Shannon Boxx and Karina LeBlanc will be scattered throughout the league.  The team participated in the recent WPS draft – picking up Casey Nogueira and Nikke Washington – and was lining up some European stars to play for the franchise, although national team veteran Aly Wagner recently announced her retirement.

The dispersal draft will have expansion franchises Atlanta and Philadelphia holding the first two selections. Both teams will begin play in April, giving the league eight teams and a balanced schedule.

The league operated the Sol for the last couple of months after one of its two original ownership groups pulled out in mid-year, leaving Galaxy owners Anschutz Entertainment Group in charge  until the end of last season when they, too, pulled out. The Sol lost as much as $2 million last year, despite leading the league in attendance, WPS officials said.

The Sol had suspended season ticket sales while it was operated by the league.

Coach Abner Rogers was fired via e-mail two days before Christmas and General Manager Charlie Naimo took over in that post.

Apparently, the league had attempted to sell the team, but those negotiations  fell through.

“We’ve been in several weeks of negotiations with an ownership group and unfortunately it fell through at the last minute,” league commissioner Tonya Antonucci told The Associated Press. “In terms of the viability of Los Angeles as a WPS market, we don’t think that’s in question. Suspending operations doesn’t mean we won’t be trying to find new ownership for 2011.”

The Sol drew a crowd of 14,832 to their opener last season, and ended up averaging more than 6,200 fans for home games at Home Depot Center. They finished the regular season 12-3-5, the best record in the league, before losing 1-0 to Sky Blue FC in the championship game.

What does this mean for the WPS?  Does the Sol’s demise mean the end of the league? Do we hear echos of the now defunct WUSA?

Though the profitability of one team shouldn’t affect the profitability of any other, it’s never good to have a team shut down.  Apparently every team in the league lost money last season, some more than others. Everyone knew that  starting a league in the midst of a major economic downturn was going to be tough. The upcoming season will be pivotal for the league.

League officials note that this season will see two new expansion teams (the Philadelphia Independence and Atlanta Beat), a longer regular season with more home games for each team, increased sponsorship and a reformatted All-Star Game that will take place in mid-season rather than at the end of it.

Still, the end of a franchise in one of the nation’s two largest markets is a bummer – especially since it was my home team.  Were there things the Sol could have done better out of the gate?  For sure. But they consistently delivered great soccer to appreciative fans and their base was growing. It’s too bad the corporate powers gave up on the them before they really had a chance to prove themselves.

Condolences to LA fans. Let’s hope there are some exhibition games that will be played in LA this year and a chance to see more of  our fave players.

WPS Draft results – Tobin Heath is first pick

(via Womens Pro Soccer release)

As many had expected but the Atlanta Beat had yet to confirm until Draft Day, North Carolina’s Tobin Heath (Basking Ridge, NJ) was the first player selected in the 2010 WPS Draft on Friday by Atlanta at the Philadelphia Convention Center.  Heath was the first of four North Carolina Tarheels selected during the first round (and a total of 7 UNC players) including defender Whitney Engen at No. 4 (Chicago Red Stars/Rolling Hills Estates, CA), forward Nikki Washington at No. 5 (Los Angeles Sol/Mesquite, TX) and forward Casey Nogueira at No. 8 (Los Angeles Sol/Raleigh, NC) . The first round included 11 selections for the nine WPS teams with expansion teams Philadelphia Independence and Atlanta Beat both receiving additional picks at the end of the first round, which they traded away prior to the draft.

The first overall four picks went largely how the experts had predicted with Heath going first, the Boston Breakers then selecting attacking forward and 2008 Olympics gold medalist Lauren Cheney (UCLA/Indianapolis, IN), and 2009 MAC Hermann Trophy winner Kelley O’Hara (Fayetteville, GA) of Stanford going to FC Gold Pride with the third pick. Engen, the consensus top defender in the draft, went fourth, while Alyssa Naeher (Penn State/Seymour, CT) was the first goalkeeper selected at No. 11 by the Boston Breakers. Nogueira, predicted by many experts to be among the top four prospects, slipped to eighth and was snapped up by the Los Angeles Sol where the creative forward could partner up top with Marta for an interesting frontline.

Teams were busy with several trades towards the latter rounds, especially the expansion Philadelphia Independence. The Independence swapped their fifth round pick with Atlanta’s fifth round pick. They also sent their 49th overall selection, Jennifer Anzivino (Rutgers), to Sky Blue FC and received Sky Blue FC’s seventh round pick in return with which they selected local Philadelphia prospect Danielle Collins (William & Mary). Boston also traded up for the 56th selection that belonged to Los Angeles, choosing Gina DiMartino (Boston College) in that slot and giving LA future considerations in return.

After North Carolina, Santa Clara was second among colleges with five selections, UCLA and Wake Forest each featured three selections among the draftees.

The draft festivities included a Commissioner’s Welcome from WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci and appearances from NSCAA President Randy Waldrum, NSCAA Executive Director Joe Cummings and Los Angeles Sol goalkeeper and WPS All-Star Karina LeBlanc. Draft day began with a panel of coaches discussing the growth of the global professional women’s game including Boston Breakers Head Coach Tony DiCicco and North Carolina Head Coach Anson Dorrance.

2010 WPS Draft
FIRST ROUND
1. Atlanta Beat – Tobin Heath, M, UNC
2. Boston Breakers # – Lauren Cheney, F, UCLA
3. FC Gold Pride – Kelley O’Hara, F, Stanford
4. Chicago Red Stars – Whitney Engen, D, North Carolina
5. Los Angeles Sol # – Nikki Washington, F, North Carolina
6. Sky Blue FC – Brittany Taylor, D, Connecticut
7. Washington Freedom – Nikki Marshall, D/M/F, Colorado
8. Los Angeles Sol # – Casey Nogueira, F, North Carolina
9. Los Angeles Sol – Kiersten Dallstream, F, Washington St.
10. FC Gold Pride # – Ali Riley, D, Stanford
11. Boston Breakers # – Alyssa Naeher, GK, Penn State

SECOND ROUND
12. FC Gold Pride # – Becky Edwards, D/M, Florida State
13. Philadelphia Independence – Malorie Rutledge, M, LSU
14. Los Angeles Sol # – Michelle Enyeart, F, Portland
15. Chicago Red Stars – Jessica McDonald, F, North Carolina
16. Boston Breakers – Jordan Angeli, D, Santa Clara
17. Saint Louis Athletica # – Kristina Larsen, F, UCLA
18. Washington Freedom – Carly Dobratz, M, Washington State
19. Saint Louis Athletica – Ashlyn Harris, GK, North Carolina
20. FC Gold Pride # – Kaley Fountain, F, Wake Forest

THIRD ROUND
21. Atlanta Beat – Blakely Mattern, D, South Carolina
22. Los Angeles Sol # – Kiki Bosio, F, Santa Clara
23. Atlanta Beat # – Shameka Gordon, D/M, West Florida
24. Chicago Red Stars – Kelsey Davis, GK, Portland
25. Los Angeles Sol – Estelle Johnson,  D, Kansas
26. Sky Blue FC – Katie Schoepfer, F, Penn State
27. Washington Freedom – Beverly Goebel, M, Miami
28. Saint Louis Athletica – Amanda Poach, M, Santa Clara
29. Sky Blue FC # – Melissa Clarke, M, LSU

FOURTH ROUND
30. Atlanta Beat – Jill Hutchinson, F, Wake Forest
31. Philadelphia Independence – Kelly Henderson, D/M, Boston College
32. FC Gold Pride – Erin Guthrie, GK, Rutgers
33. Chicago Red Stars – Michele Weissenhofer, F, Notre Dame
34. Boston Breakers – Katherine Reynolds, D, Santa Clara
35. Sky Blue FC – Danielle Johnson, D, Ole Miss
36. Washington Freedom – Kristi Eveland, D, UNC
37. Saint Louis Athletica – Veronica Perez, M/F, Washington
38. Los Angeles Sol – Mary Casey, GK, Maryland

ROUND FIVE
39. Atlanta Beat – Mallori Lofton-Malachi, GK, South Florida (traded to Philadelphia)
40. Philadelphia Independence – Carrie Patterson, F, Georgia (traded to Atlanta)
41. FC Gold Pride – Ashley Bowyer, M/D, Ohio State
42. Chicago Red Stars – Sophie Reiser, M/F, Columbia
43. Boston Breakers – Cynthia Morote-Ariza, F, Loyola-Chicago
44. Sky Blue FC – Meagan Snell, F, Santa Clara
45. Washington Freedom – Lauren Robertson, GK, Ohio State
46. Saint Louis Athletica – Carolyn Blank, M/D, WVU
47. Los Angeles Sol – Lindsay Browne, M/F, Clemson

ROUND SIX
48. Atlanta Beat – Kasey Langdon, F, Oklahoma St.
49. Philadelphia Independence – Jennifer Anzivino, D/M, Rutgers (to Sky Blue FC)
50. FC Gold Pride – Eilzabeth Harkin, D, Arizona State
51. Chicago Red Stars – Fiona O’Sullivan, M/F, San Francisco
52. Boston Breakers – Carly Peetz, D, Nebraska
53. Sky Blue FC – Kelly Isleib, M, Utah
54. Washington Freedom – Mara Osher, D/M, Boston University
55. Saint Louis Athletica – Sarah Teegarden, M, Wisconsin-Milwaukee
56. Boston Breakers – Gina DiMartino, M/F, Boston College (pick traded from Los Angeles Sol)

ROUND SEVEN
57. Atlanta Beat – Shaneka Gordon, F, West Florida
58. Philadelphia Independence – Caitlin Farrell, D, Wake Forest
59. FC Gold Pride – Lauren Wilmoth, D, UCLA
60. Chicago Red Stars – Jackie Santacaterina, M, Illinois
61. Boston Breakers – Casey Brown, D, Boston University
62. Philadelphia Independence – Danielle Collins, D/M, William & Mary
63. Washington Freedom – Caitline Miskel, M/F, Virginia
64. Saint Louis Athletica – Elisabeth Redmond, M, Duke
65. Boston Breakers – Taryn Hemmings, F, Denver

#via trade

read more at womensprosoccer.com

Get to Know: Manya Makoski

Meet Manya Makoski, a midfielder from Trumbull, CT who is now living her dream of playing professional soccer playing for the LA Sol. From Gatorade State Player of the Year in 2001 to a stellar career at Arizona State University to numerous championships with US Youth National teams, she has quietly been one of the nation’s best soccer players.

She is part of the dominant backline that helped the LA Sol to a .5 goals against average in the regular season, and helped Karina LeBlanc post 12 shutouts in the season, good for best in the league. Next year, she will be back in LA ready to start a new season, with the same goal she, along with the rest of the team, had in mind last year: to win the WPS Championship.

For now, she is back at home in Connecticut, playing in coed teams, and training on her own to become stronger, fitter, and better in time for pre-season, which starts in February.

I got to ask her 22 questions (because she is #22) so fans could get to know her off the field a little better. It is always nice to know how players are off the pitch…Enjoy!

1. What was the best moment of your ASU career?

Making it to the NCAA tourney twice, becoming an Academic All American, and being awarded the ASU Coach Bill Kajikawa Outstanding Female Graduate Award and ASU Sparky Awards Female Scholar of the Year Award

2. Who from Hollywood would you like to meet?

Gerard Butler

3. What’s in your iPod?

A little bit of everything (except country)… MJ, Lady Gaga, NKOTB, James Morrison, Britney Spears, David Guetta, Timbaland, Far East Movement, Lil Wayne, Eric Hutchinson, Pat Monahan, Justin Nozuka, Joshua Radin, Matt Wertz, Matt Nathanson, Deadmau5, Akon, Craig David, Trans Siberian Orchestra

4. Do you have a favorite holiday?

My birthday

5. Guilty pleasure?

Starbucks Chai tea lattes

6. Who was the funniest person (or people) on the team last season?
Aya was definitely the team clown

7. What was your first soccer team called and what were its colors?
The Smurfs…  Ironically we were blue and white.

8. If the goalkeeper on your team got a red card or injured after the 3 subs were made and you were still on the field, would you go in goal?

Without a doubt.  I love playing in goal.  I am actually pretty good.

9. What’s your favorite movie(s)?

The Hangover, Wedding Crashers, Old School, Aladdin

10. What do you do when you’re not training?

Watching FSC, writing, studying for my real estate class, practicing my hip hop dance moves, watching It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia

11. When you were a kid, what was the most trouble you got into?

I never got into trouble.  I was an angel.  My brothers got blamed for everything I did.

12. What nicknames have you had throughout your life?

Monz, Monster, MJ, Eminem, Mañana

13. Do you have any special memory with or of a Sol fan from last season?

All of the fans were so great.  We couldn’t have done it without them.

14. What is your favorite food to eat?

Veggie burrito or gnocchi

15. Name your all-time favorite soccer player(s).

Ashley Cole, Lampard, Drogba, Essien, Joe Cole, Deco, John Terry, Ballack, Anelka… can you tell I am a Chelsea fan??

16. Name your favorite athlete of another sport.

Lance Armstrong

17. Has there been a player that made you stop and think “Wow, I’m really playing with/against them!”

All of my teammates from the Sol and all of the players in the WPS

18. If you could appear in any TV commercial, what product would you endorse? (Mia Hamm did Pert Plus. Julie Foudy did Bud Light.)

Hair dye

19. Name one interesting fact about yourself that you wouldn’t mind fans knowing.

I’m very ambidextrous.  In almost everything.

20. Give any thoughts on the next WPS season.

I am really excited because the level of play is going to get better and better. The support we get from our fans and the media will also increase, which is what we need to keep these league alive.

21. You have won the regular season title, but lost a tough game to Sky Blue FC. Do you feel that this has sown the seeds of a coast-to-coast rivalry with this club?

Against every team we played we had grown some sort rivalry. But since we lost to Sky Blue in the final, we will want to definitely beat them.

22. Has the defeat to Sky Blue FC made you hungrier to knock this club off their perch and in what ways?

Definitely.  We wanted to win the regular season title and the championship final.  Hopefully next year we can accomplish that.

WPS fans: Mom’s the word this weekend

The WPS is gearing up to celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend.

Saint Louis and Los Angeles are both marking the occasion with special ticket deals. The Athletica are giving ‘moms’ a free gift, even though they play on Saturday, while in California the Sol are offering post-match family photos with players.

Sol Guarantee: Attend the Los Angeles Sol’s May 10 home game against the Boston Breakers at Home Depot Center and if the team wins you’ll get a free ticket to the club’s June 3 home game against the Chicago Red Stars.

Sol General Manager Charlie Naimo explains:

“We are certainly not guaranteeing a victory on May 10,” he said. “Instead, we are potentially rewarding those who have decided to share their Mother’s Day with us.”

Until last week, this seemed like a pretty good bet: the Sol were undefeated and had yet to concede a goal. Now,  the May 10 win against the Breakers  isn’t looking quite so certain.

Last weekend, in a battle of perhaps the two best strikers in the league, Kelly Smith scored the fastest goal in WPS history for Boston in the second minute to lead the Breakers to their 2-1 win over the Sol. It was the first loss for the Sol this season. Can LA come back to beat Boston this weekend?  Come to the Home Depot Center to find out!

Going the extra mile for Mother’s Day are the Chicago Red Stars. Moms who turn up at Toyota Park this Sunday will not only get in free, but once inside they will be pampered with free massages, flowers and ‘chances to win great prizes’.

Red Stars general manager Marcia McDermott explains: ‘The Red Stars recognize that moms are the MVP of the family. Along with our partners, we’re pleased to have this opportunity to treat mothers as the VIPs that they are.’

English coach Emma Hayes,  directing WPS’s only unbeaten team, needs plenty of support and hopefully the moms can provide it.

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms!!

Mother’s Day Specials
LA Sol: 1-213-763-2683  or  www.LosAngelesSol.com

St. Louis Athletica 1-888-STL-GOAL or  www.saintlouisathletica.com

Chicago Redstars  1-866-WPS-2009 or www.chicagoredstars.com

LA Sol beats FC Gold Pride 1-0 on Marta’s goal

Marta scored once and Karina LeBlanc recorded her third consecutive shutout as the Los Angeles Sol blanked FC Gold Pride 1-0 on a hot Sunday at Home Depot Center.

Marta’s goal, her third consecutive, was all Los Angeles needed to beat FC and stay perfect in the Women’s Professional Soccer standings.

After a scoreless first half, Marta’s strike came via an assist from Aly Wagner in the 47th minute.

Throughout the match, the Sol (3-0) put a a lot of pressure on FC goalie Nicole Barnhart and had numerous chances to add to the score, but Marta was the only one to get through. She’s truly a magician that one.

When FC players did get through, LeBlanc made spectacular saves to keep the game at bay — she had two notable grabs in the 71st and 73rd minutes when she blocked hard shots, one by Erica Arakawa who is as much fun to watch as her compatriot on the Sol, Aya Miyama.

The Sol could be tested next week with three major players out because of international team duties. Marta will join the Brazilian National team for a pair of friendlies in Germany and Sweden while midfielder Camille Abily will play with France’s National team in Switzerland.

Han Duan missed the game against FC to play with China in the Chinese Provincial games and will also be absent when the Sol plays at St. Louis on April 25.

Despite the heat, fans seemed happy this afternoon – especially the Marta Maniacs!

Women’s pro soccer league to allow in-game ‘tweets’

I admit it – I’m addicted to Twitter.

So it comes as good news that while in-game Twitter posts might be a technical foul of sorts in the NBA, at least one sports league is embracing the idea of having players use the social networking Web site during a game.

The new Women’s Professional Soccer league will allow select players to tweet during its inaugural game between the Los Angeles Sol and Washington Freedom on March 29th.

General managers from the new seven-team league approved the idea Friday and depending on fan response, league officials are considering allowing players to tweet during games all season.

They still must work out some of the details, including which players will tweet and when they’ll be allowed to do so; starters, obviously, likely would be limited to pregame, postgame and halftime.

The league’s decision stands in sharp contrast to the NBA, where Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles reprimanded forward Charlie Villanueva for posting a tweet during halftime of Sunday’s victory over Boston. Skiles said it could be interpreted as a sign that Villanueva wasn’t focused on the game.

Villanueva agreed to stop tweeting during games but still isn’t sure he did anything wrong; he argued that posting to Twitter isn’t much different from doing a short television interview at halftime.

A number of pro female athletes have Twitter accounts and at WomenTalkSports.com we’ve even built a widget so you can keep track of them. Follow the convo and tweet along.

New women’s pro soccer team to be called LA Sol

October 24, 2008 - SoCal’s latest professional sports team, which will start play in April as part of Women’s Professional Soccer, will be known as the Los Angeles Sol (that’s sun  for non-spanish speakers).

The team’s name and logo will officially be announced at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California on Saturday.

According to the LA Times:

The name, logo and colors of blue, white and gold are supposed to reflect the local climate and geography — think sea and sunshine.

Until now, the team, one of seven WPA franchises along with the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, New York/New Jersey, St. Louis and Washington, D.C., had a general manager, a coach and seven players, but no identity.

Most prominent among the Sol players are U.S. Olympic gold medal winners Shannon Boxx, Aly Wagner and Stephanie Cox. General Manager Charlie Naimo and Coach Abner Rogers are hoping that the team’s co-owners, AEG and Blue Star LLC, will be able to land Brazilian forward Marta, the world’s top women’s player.

Marta was drafted by the Sol but is playing professionally in Sweden and has not yet agreed to a move to California.

The Sol will play its home games at the Home Depot Center in Carson, but there has been no word on whether the team will play doubleheaders with the Galaxy or will have separate playing dates.

The WPS has worked out a contract for weekly television coverage by Fox Soccer Channel.  The Soccer Channel will cover the All-Star Game and various Fox affiliates will air post-season play. The once-a-week coverage will be a live Sunday night game.  That’s good news for those who actually get the Fox Soccer channel.

As an Angeleno, I plan to see the Sol games in person.