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.

Soccer: U.S. Women score twice in each half to defeat Canada 4-0

TORONTO, Canada (May 25, 2009) – The U.S. Women’s National Team scored twice in each half, getting goals from four different players to defeat Canada 4-0 in front of 10,255 fans at BMO Field. It was the USA’s first match in Canada since 2001.

Midfielder Shannon Boxx opened the scoring just 93 seconds into the match and midfielder Megan Rapinoe added a second just before the halftime. The USA put two more in the net during a four-minute span late in the game. Both second-half goals came from substitutes, as Lindsay Tarpley scored her 30th career goal in the 77th minute and 21-year-old Lauren Cheney knocked in a fantastic header in the 80th minute.

The USA dominated possession in a match played on the artificial surface at BMO Field and put together some excellent attacking soccer while out-shooting its northern neighbor by a 19-6 margin.

“I am happy about the performance and I am happy that we scored a goal on a corner kick,” said U.S. WNT head coach Pia Sundhage. “That’s something we are starting to work on and I believe that come 2011, when the games are so tight, that set plays will be very, very important. So, four nice goals and a pretty good game on turf.”

Boxx’s strike, which was the USA’s first shot of the game, was her second goal of the year after scoring just once in 2008 and it came against her club teammate on the Los Angeles Sol in Canadian goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc. It was also Boxx’s 20th international goal as she became the 16th female player in U.S. history to score 20 or more goals in her career.

The goal was created on the USA’s first piece of possession as right back Heather Mitts played a penetrating pass forward to Boxx from the right side of the field. Boxx dribbled hard toward the edge of the penalty area, and when no Canadian defender stepped up to challenge, unleashed a 20-yard shot from 10 yards right of the penalty arc that skidded into the lower left side netting.

Canada’s only good chance of the first half came in the 43rd minute on a long free kick from Kara Lang, but the shot flew wide right of Hope Solo’s goal.

The USA got a huge score just seconds before the halftime whistle after Heather O’Reilly fed Rapinoe above the penalty area on the left side. Rapinoe collected and dribbled toward her defender before cutting hard inside, losing Canadian back Brittany Timko. The nifty dribble created a sliver of space for her bending 16-yard shot that actually curved around Abby Wambach and her defender, who were screening LeBlanc, and then spun perfectly into the lower right corner. It was Rapinoe’s fourth international goal in just nine career caps.

The USA struggled to find its rhythm early in the second half as Canada picked up the pressure, but settled down and regained control before putting the match away in the 77th minute after Wambach earned a corner kick on the right side. It was Wambach who jumped over two defenders to get a head on the ball, sending it powerfully toward goal. The ball hit Canadian captain Christine Sinclair near the goal line, but Tarpley pounced on the loose ball to force it over the line and into the open net.

Wambach, who came into the match with 99 goals, will now have the chance to bag her historic 100th goal in her hometown of Rochester, N.Y., where the USA will play Canada in its next match on July 19. Canadian forward Christine Sinclair, who also came into the game with 99 goals, failed to hit the century mark as the U.S. defense did a fine job of keeping the star striker out of dangerous positions.

The final goal came after O’Reilly ran down a long pass on the right flank and struck a hard cross from the wing that deflected off a Canadian defender’s foot, but it had enough steam on it to sail towards the near post. Cheney was making a hard near post run and deftly re-directed the ball with a superbly angled header into the upper right corner from about five yards outside the post. It was Cheney’s fourth international goal in 17 career caps.

Amy LePeilbet got the start in the center defense with team captain Christie Rampone and played an excellent first half in her first cap since Sept. 13, 2006. She was replaced at halftime by Rachel Buehler, who also played an extremely solid 45 minutes, highlighted by a thunderous tackle on Canadian Melissa Tancredi in the waning minutes.

Canada’s best chance of the second half came in the 54th minute as the USA lost a ball in the back, but the Maple Leafs couldn’t capitalize as Jodi-Ann Robinson launched her shot over the goal from 25 yards out.

Besides the header off the corner kick that led to Tarpley’s goal, Wambach didn’t get too many clear chances for her 100th goal, but she did take a good swipe at a loose ball in the 62nd minute that fell close to her after a long free kick.

The USA hit a flurry of shots in the second half, highlighted by an O’Reilly blast from the top of the penalty area on the right side, but couldn’t bust through until Tarpley’s 77th minute score effectively put the game away.

U.S. goalkeepers Solo and Nicole Barnhart split the match, with Solo hitting some booming punts in the first half that caused some danger for the Canadian backline. Barnhart had a bit more to do in the second half in tidying up her penalty area, but was not forced to make a save.

Eighteen-year-old midfielder Christine Nairn became the first member of the USA’s 2008 U-20 Women’s World Cup championship team to earn a senior team cap, coming on for Angela Hucles in the 83rd minute. Nairn was the eighth player to be given her first cap by U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage.

The U.S. players now head back to join their WPS clubs and will not come together again until mid-July for two more matches against Canada, on Sunday, July 19, at Rochester Rhinos Stadium in Rochester, N.Y., and then again three days later on Wednesday, July 22, at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C. These will be the USA’s first domestic matches of the year after playing the first five on the road and compiling a record of 4-0-1.

The game in Rochester kicks off at 3 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on ESPN. The match in Charleston kicks off at 8 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports en Español. Both matches will be available online via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.

(via press release)

Best of 2008 Soccer Awards

November 22, 2008 – It’s that time of year again. Time to vote for your favorites of 2008.

If you’re a soccer fan, you’ll want to take part in the on-line voting for U.S. Soccer’s “Best of” awards honoring standout performances on and off the field during the year.

Female Athlete of the Year: With the finalists announced for the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year Awards,  fans collectively decide 50 percent of the final vote, with media and U.S. Soccer officials getting the other 50 percent of the vote.

Nominees:
Shannon Boxx – Midfielder
Lori Chalupny – Midfielder
Angela Hucles – Midfielder/Forward
Carli Lloyd – Midfielder
Christie Rampone – Defender
Hope Solo – Keeper
Vote

Best Goal - WNT: Best thing in soccer? Goals, goals, goals. This award crowns the top strike by a U.S. Women’s National Team player during 2008.

Nominees:
Carli Lloyd vs. BRA – Aug. 21
Carli Lloyd vs. JPN – Aug. 9
Lori Chalupny vs. JPN – Aug. 18
Amy Rodriguez vs. BRA – July 13
Kate Markgraf vs. IRL – Sept. 20
Heather O’Reilly vs. NZL – Aug. 12
Angela Hucles vs. AUS – May 3
Becky Edwards vs. CUB – June 20
Vote

In all, the “Best of” series has handed out 54 awards out to soccer players, bars, stores and even fans in the United States over the past five years check out the list of winner’s here.

Fans can vote once a day until Dec. 8th.

Soccer: 2008 FIFA Player of the Year

October 30, 2008 – A 10-name shortlist for the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award has been published, including Arsenal’s Kelly Smith and Brazil’s Marta, who is aiming to win the award for the third year running.

Other female nominees include Canadian Christine Sinclair, Birgit Prinz of Germany and Americans Hope Solo and Shannon Boxx.

On the men’s side 23 players are in the running for the accolade including front-runner Cristiano Ronaldo.

Three finalists for each award will be named in December, before the winners are announced at a gala event Jan. 12 at the Zurich Opera House. Voting is done by head coaches and captains of men’s and women’s national teams.

Full Women’s List: Nadine Angerer (Germany), Shannon Boxx (United States), Cristiane (Brazil), Daniela (Brazil), Marta (Brazil), Birgit Prinz (Germany), Christine Sinclair (Burnaby, B.C.), Kelly Smith (England), Hope Solo (U.S.), Ingvild Stensland (Norway).

Soccer: Peace Queen Cup begins this weekend

June 10, 2008 – Get Ready! On June 14, 2008 South Korea will host the second annual Peace Queen Cup.

The Peace Queen Cup is a women’s soccer tournament  created after the success of the Men’s Peace Cup. The goal of the Peace Cup is “to harness the splendor and energy of football, the most popular international sport, to promote the unity of mankind and help realize a World of Peace.” Cool mission.

Eight different teams from around the world compete with the hopes of becoming number one. This year participating teams include: Korea Republic USA, Brazil, Korea DPR, Canada, Australia, Italy, and Argentina (tough competition)!

Last year the US had a tough time playing against Denmark, where they tied 1-1. Luckily this year Denmark isn’t competing, so this could give US an edge. During the Peace Queen Cup of 2006, the final came down to Canada v. USA, with USA barely taking the win, 1-0.

USA’s first game takes places on June 15, 2008 against Australia. The second game will take place on June 17 against Brazil and the third game will take place on June 19 against Italy. New coach Pia Sundhage has chosen a roster consisting of three goalkeepers, six defenders, eight midfielders, and four forwards.

The Goalkeepers include: Hope Solo, Nicole Barnhart, and Briana Scurry. The Defenders are: Christie Rampone, Kate Markgraf, Cat Whitehill, Heather Mitts, Lori Chalupny, Rachel Buehler. Midfielders are: Aly Wagner, Angela Hucles, Shannon Boxx, Carli Lloyd, Heather O’Reilly, Lindsay Tarpley, Tobin Heath, Kacey White. Last but not least the Forwards for this tournament are: Abby Wambach, Natasha Kai, Amy Rodriguez, and Lauren Cheney.

This year’s team has a very strong line up, with a solid midfield. They are the defending champs, so lets hope this is a good tune-up for the Olympics and they can bring home another gold medal.

For more information visit: Peace Queen Cup