Seven UNC soccer players turning pro

If you want to play women’s professional soccer,  there is one collegiate programs that seems to do a particularly good job prepping players for the big show.  In the recent 2010 Women’s Pro Soccer Draft,  seven Tar Heels were selected, including four of the first eight picks.

Tobin Heath was drafted first overall by the Atlanta Beat. Defender Whitney Engen was selected fourth by the Chicago Red Stars.

Two teammates will stick together. Midfielder Nikki Washington will once again set goals up for forward Casey Nogueria. The two were drafted by my local team – the Los Angeles Sol.

Forward Jessica McDonald was chosen in the second round. She’ll join Engen with the Chicago Red Stars. Goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris was also taken in the second round by the St. Louis team, Athletica.

On top of that, defender Kristi Eveland was taken in the fourth round by the DC Freedom.

Led by legendary coach Anson Dorrance this graduating Tar Heel class won three national championships in four years. Dorrance has been the head coach of the North Carolina women’s soccer program since its inception in 1979 and has won 20 NCAA titles.

Following North Carolina, Santa Clara had the next largest group of players picked in the recent draft with five players selected.

Defender Jordan Angeli was picked by Boston in the second round. In the third round, forward Kiki Bosio was picked by the LA Sol and midfielder Amanda Poach went to the St.  Louis Athletica.

Defender Katherine Reynolds will join Santa Clara teammate Angeli in Boston and forward Meagan Snell is heading to Sky Blue FC.

Other college programs that are sending multiple players to the WPS include UCLA (Lauren Cheney, Kristina Larsen, Lauren Wilmoth), Wake Forest (Kaley Fountain, Jill Hutchinson, Caitlin Farrell) and Boston College, Boston University, LSU, Ohio State, Penn State, Portland, Rutgers, Stanford,  Washington State and West Florida.

Playing in college isn’t a prerequisite for a WPS career, but it certainly provides a great opportunity to develop as a player and be seen by the pro coaches and managers.  If your goal is playing professionally, be sure to check out the colleges mentioned here to see if any are a good athletic and academic match.

UNC soccer player takes top national honors

Whitney Engen, a senior at North Carolina, has won the 2010 Honda Sports Award in soccer, designating her as the nation’s top collegiate female athlete in that sport. The honor was based on the results of national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards program, now in its 34th year.

“To end our season with a championship and then win the Honda Sports Award is beyond my wildest dreams,” Engen said. “I was really shocked when I heard the news.”

Engen’s win marks the 11th time that a University of North Carolina soccer player has been honored with the award.

Honda Award winners are selected in each of the 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports . Three other athletes are honored as the Division II Athlete of the Year, Division III Athlete of the Year and Inspiration Award winner. Each woman is selected not only for her superior athletic skills, but also for her leadership abilities, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service.

At the end of the year, one deserving athlete will be chosen as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and receive the coveted Honda-Broderick Cup. Past winners of this prestigious award include Jackie Joyner and Mia Hamm. In 2009, the honor went to gymnastics star Courtney Kupets of the University of Georgia.

Other winners for this year’s award include Angela Bizzari (University of Illinois) for cross-country and Katie O’Donnell (University of Maryland) for field hockey.

UCLA Stanford; UNC Notre Dame today

The College Cup is on.

The Pac-10 squads #1 Stanford vs. #3 UCLA face off in the NCAA semifinals today on national television at 2:30 p.m. PT/5:30 p.m. ET.

Following the UCLA Stanford game, #2 North Carolina takes on #4 Notre Dame. Atlantic Coast Conference champion Tar Heels and Fighting Irish will square off at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET.

The winners move on to the championship on Sunday. If you’re not in College Station, Texas to watch the games live, be sure to catch both matches on ESPN2.

The championship game will take place Sunday at 10:00 a.m.

Yesterday was Media Day and last night, all the players attended a banquet at A&M. For a peek at the UCLA women all dressed up for the big event – go to the NCAA College Cup Banquet Gallery

NCAA Website: Women’s College Cup Central
UCLA Website: Bruins Women’s Soccer
Stanford Website: Cardinal Women’s Soccer
UNC Website: Tar Heel Women’s Soccer
Notre Dame Website: Irish Women’s Soccer

On to the College Cup

While many sports fans in Los Angeles were at the Coliseum Saturday night for the UCLA – USC football game, it was a great night at Drake Stadium where the UCLA women  came back from an early Portland goal to win the NCAA quarterfinal soccer  game 2-1.

With the win last night, the Bruins advanced to their seventh consecutive NCAA Women’s College Cup. And, for the first time since 1986, the previous year’s field returns intact. The only difference this weekend, 12 months after North Carolina beat Stanford and Notre Dame beat UCLA in the 2008 semifinals, is the draw: Stanford and UCLA meet in a Pac-10 rematch and North Carolina and Notre Dame meet in a rematch of both last season’s championship game and a 6-0 win for the Tar Heels in South Bend three months ago.

One of the constants for the Bruins over the last four years has been the stellar play of forward Lauren Cheney. Cheney and sophomore forward Sydney Leroux are part of a potent offense that is averaging 2.91 goals per game (10th in nation). Both players have scored over 40 points this season, becoming the first UCLA tandem to accomplish the feat. They have combined for 85 of 195 of the team’s points, or 43.5 percent of UCLA’s scoring.

The finals will be played next weekend in College Station, Texas.

Check out this video recap of the UCLA-Portland game with former Bruin all-star Jill Oakes.  Note we missed the early Portland goal – which happened about 2 minutes into the game (sorry, we were still setting up) but you’ll see lots of great action by two of the top collegiate teams.

Sweet 16 round of NCAA Women’s Soccer tournament and Elite 8 predictions

The third round of the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament was played, and it came down to eight teams still standing strong. Stanford knocked out Santa Clara on a direct free kick earned in the 38^th minute. Sophmore Teresa  Noyola scored the goal headed to the top right of the goal, which was only tipped by Bronco goalkeeper Bianca Henninger off the inside of the crossbar.

Boston defeated Wisconsin 1-0, and is in the Elite 8 for the first time in program history. Victioria DiMartino collided with a Wisconsin defender, but Brooke Knowlton picked up the loose ball and ripped a shot to the upper left corner from 22 yards out to score the lone goal in the 68^th minute.

Portland got through Virginia Tech with a rousing 4-1 win to get into the quarterfinals. Danielle Foxhoven gave Kendra Chandoke at the top of the 18. Chandhoke finished it and scored the first goal of the match in just the 4^th minute (also the first shot on goal for the Pilots). Virgina Tech scored just 2 minutes later when Julian Johnson received a pass from Robin Chidester. Johnson, with her back to the goal, turned quickly and blasted a shot to the far post past the Portland goalkeeper, Kelsey Davis. The Pilots responded with 3 more goals in the half. In the 10^th minute, Chandoke scored her second goal when a VA Tech defender tried to clear a rebound off goalkeeper Kristin Carden, but Chandoke charged her and knocked the ball into the goal. Four minutes later, Chandoke slotted a pass to Foxhoven who went 1-on-1 with Cardin. Foxhoven finished to the left post and scored her 24^th goal for the Pilots this year. Chandoke finished the scoring in the 34^th minute when she one-touched a pass from Sophie Schimdt into the goal for her 9^th goal of the season.

UCLA beat Virginia 3-0 on 2 goals from tournament-leading goal-scorer Sydney Leroux. Dea Cook scored off a corner kick taken by Lauren Barnes in the 4^th minute. Leroux scored before the first half ended in the 42^nd minute with a shot to the left corner of the goal.  She then sealed the win in the 89^th minute when a scramble in the box led to the ball bouncing to her. She got around two defenders and scored her 23^rd goal this year, tying with fellow forward Lauren Cheney.

UNC beat Maryland 1-0 in a very close game. Casey Nogueira blasted a powerful shot that curved away from Terp goalkeeper Mary Casey in the 81^st minute after the Maryland defense gave her time and space to trap and shoot the ball which was thrown in from the left side by Jessica McDonald.

Wake Forest defeated South Carolina in a last-second goal from Bess Harrington to advance to the quarter finals for the first time in program season. “I saw Jill Hutchinson sprinting to get the ball and take the corner,” Harrington said. “I could hear the clock winding down. I was just there and nobody was marking me and she put the ball in a perfect place. As soon as I saw the ball coming to me I said to myself `It’s going in, it’s going in’ and it went in.”

Notre Dame is in the quarter finals for the 6^th straight time, after beating Oregon State 1-0 in a very close game. Melissa Henderson outran a defender on the right side, then got around another at the goal line, and poked a ball across the penalty area, which Rose Augustin.

Florida State moved past Texas A&M in double overtime after the two played to a 1-1 tie. Jessica Price would get her 3 game-winning goal in the post season after she collected a pass from Tiffany McCarty and was able to get around 3 defenders and slot a low shot into the goal.

Quarterfinals schedule:

Stanford will face-off against Boston College on Friday at 7pm PT at Stanford, and has already sold out.

-Stanford

Portland will come down to play against UCLA on Saturday at 5pm PT.

-This will be a close game I think, but I’m going with UCLA on this one.

North Carolina will play Wake Forest on Friday at 2pm ET.

-UNC is a tough team to break down, and they play with a high backline. They will take this one.

Notre Dame vs Florida State on Friday at 2pm ET also.

-I’m giving the edge to Notre Dame.

NCAA Tournament- First Round Results and Predictions

The NCAA Division 1 women’s soccer tournament is in full swing as the first round was played, with all of the top seeds getting through to the next round with no problems. And here are the results of the 32 matches played on Friday (Stanford played on Thursday)

1. Stanford 2, Northern Arizona 0
2. BYU 2, UCSB 0
3. Oklahoma St 0 (5) , USC 0 (4)
4. MIchigan St. 0, Santa Clara 1
5. UCF 3, Milwaukee 0
6. ASU 1 (3), Wisconsin 1 (4)
7. Boston U. 0, Connecticut 1
8. Harvard 0, Boston College 1
9. Portland 4, Denver 0
10. Washington 1, Mississippi 0
11. Marquette 0 (3), Dayton 0 (4)
12. Murray St. 0, Virginia Tech 2
13. Penn St. 5, Colgate 0
14. Virgina 0 (3), St. John’s 0 (1)
15. San Diego St. 1, San Diego 0
16. Boise St. 1, UCLA 7
17. UNC 1, High Point 0
18. UNC Wilmington 0, Georgia 3
19. Washington St. 1, Villanova 0
20. Monmouth 0, Maryland 4
21. Wake Forest 2, Kennesaw 0
22. Loyola 0, West Virginia 2
23. Rutgers 2, Duke 0
24. Davidson 0, South Carolina 4
25. Notre Dame 5, IUPUI 0
26. Central Michigan 2, Purdue 0
27. Ohio St. 1, Oregon St. 3
28. Illinois St. 0, Florida 2
29. LSU 7, Ark.-Pline Bluff 0
30. Memphis 1, Texas A&M 3
31. Auburn 1, Cal 2
32. Southeastern Louisiana 1, FSU 4

One match that stands out is the one between UCLA and Boise St., in which UCLA  came from behind to win 7-1. They went down in just the 6th minute after Maureen Fitzgerald put the Lions on top, but forward Sidney Leroux scored in the 12th, and 15th minute to put her Bruins on top.  Senior forward Lauren Cheney scored in the 23th minute to finish the scoring in the first half. Leroux scored 2 minutes into the second half, and yet again in the 51st minute. Cheney had another goal 8 minutes later, and Liz Zadro scored UCLA’s 7th goal of the night 4 minutes before regulation. Leroux tied the school’s record for matches in a  single game with 4 joining Traci Arkenberg, Danesha Adams, and Lauren Cheney.

The first round is over, and just like that, there are 16 matches to be played on Sunday, November 15, with the exception of Stanford vs BYU,  which kicks off Saturday at 1pm PT.

So here are my predictions for second-round action:

• Stanford vs BYU: Stanford
• Oklahoma St vs Santa Clara: Santa Clara
• UCF vs Wisconsin: UCF
• Connecticut vs. Boston College: Boston
• Portland vs Washington: Portland
• Dayton vs Virginia Tech: Dayton
• Penn St vs Virginia: Penn St
• San Diego St vs UCLA: UCLA
• UNC vs Georgia: UNC
• Washington St vs Maryland: Maryland
• Wake Forest vs West Virginia: Wake Forest
• Rutgers vs South Carolina: South Carolina
• Notre Dame vs Central Mich: Notre Dame
• Oregon St vs Florida: Florida
• LSU vs Texas A&M: LSU
• Cal vs Florida St: Florida St

Don’t forget to check out the interactive bracket for live updates!

College Cup: 2009 D-I soccer bracket released

Tourney season is on….

The field of 64 teams, which will compete for the 28th NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship, was announced today by the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Committee.

The top 16 teams are seeded and conference teams cannot play each other in the first or second rounds. When pairing teams, the committee follows geographic proximity parameters. Sites are selected for the first and second rounds to create the least number of flights.  Thirteen of the top 16 seeds will be hosting first- and second-round competition.

The four No. 1 seeds include Stanford University, an automatic qualifier from the Pacific-10 Conference, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, an automatic qualifier from the Atlantic Coast Conference, University of California, Los Angeles from the Pacific-10 and Florida State University from the Atlantic Coast.

Stanford will host Northern Arizona University, the Big Sky Conference champion, in a first-round match on Thursday, November 12. UCLA will host Boise State University, the Western Athletic Conference champion, in its opening-round game on Friday, Nov. 13. That same day North Carolina will host High Point University, the Big South Conference champion. Florida State, an at-large selection from the Atlantic Coast, will host Southeastern Louisiana University, the automatic qualifier from the Southland Conference.
North Carolina is the only team who has been invited to the tournament every year since its inception in 1982.

The No. 2 seeds include Boston College, University of Portland, University of South Carolina, Columbia and University of Notre Dame. Capturing No. 3 seeds are University of Central Florida, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and University of Florida. Santa Clara University, Penn State University, University of Maryland and Louisiana State University complete the top 16 seeded teams, each earning a No. 4 seed.

The Atlantic Coast and Pacific-10 lead all conferences with eight teams in the tournament. Seven teams will represent the Big East Conference. Six teams enter the tournament from the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten Conference will be represented by five teams.

Thirty conferences were granted automatic bids for the 2009 championship. The remaining 34 teams were selected at-large.

The automatic qualifying conferences and their representatives follow:  America East Conference, Boston University; Atlantic 10 Conference, University of Dayton; Atlantic Coast, North Carolina; Atlantic Sun Conference, Kennesaw State University; Big 12 Conference, Oklahoma State University; Big East, Notre Dame; Big Sky, Northern Arizona; Big South, High Point; Big Ten, Pennsylvania State University; Big West Conference, University of California, Santa Barbara; Colonial Athletic Association, University of North Carolina, Wilmington; Conference USA, University of Memphis; Horizon League, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Ivy Group, Harvard University; Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Loyola College (Maryland); Mid-American Conference, Central Michigan University; Missouri Valley Conference, Illinois State University; Mountain West Conference, San Diego State University; Northeast Conference, Monmouth University; Ohio Valley Conference, Murray State University; Pacific-10, Stanford; Patriot League, Colgate University; Southeastern, South Carolina; Southern Conference, Davidson College; Southland, Southeastern Louisiana; Southwestern Conference, University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff; The Summit League, Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis; Sun Belt Conference, University of Denver; West Coast Conference, University of Portland; and WAC, Boise State.

Nine teams are making their first appearance in the tournament and include: Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Boise State, Central Michigan, Davidson, Indiana/Purdue-Indianapolis, Murray State, North Carolina-Wilmington, Southeastern Louisiana and St. John’s (New York).

First-round matches will be played Friday, November 13, at campus sites, and second-round matches will be played Sunday, November 15, at the same campus sites.  The first-round contests hosted by Stanford will be played Thursday, November 12 with the second-round game to be played Saturday, November 14. Third-round games will be played at on-campus sites November 20, 21 or 22. Quarterfinal matches will be played November 27, 28 or 29. Times will be announced.

The 28th annual NCAA Women’s College Cup will be played December 4 and 6 at the Aggie Soccer Stadium in College Station, Texas. Texas A&M University, College Station will serve as host.

In the 2008 championship game, North Carolina captured its 19th NCAA title with a 2-1 victory over Notre Dame. Tarheel Casey Nogueira was named the Most Outstanding Player on offense and the Fighting Irish’s Carrie Dew was named the Most Outstanding Player on defense.

Interactive Bracket

(via release)

Carolina’s Nogueira named Soccer America Women’s Player of the Year

December 16, 2008 – Junior forward Casey Nogueira of Raleigh, N.C., put a signature achievement on her remarkable third season for the Tar Heels as she was named the National Player of the Year by Soccer America Magazine Tuesday. Nogueira, whose two goals in the national championship game lifted the Tar Heels to a 2-1 victory, led the nation this year in total goals with 25 and in total points with 58.This is the 12th time since Soccer America instituted the award in 1985 that a North Carolina player has been so honored.

Nogueira was also one of 11 players nationwide nation to the Soccer America MVP (All-America) first team while junior midfielder Tobin Heath and senior midfielder Yael Averbuch were both named Soccer America second-team MVPs. While NCAA runnerup Notre Dame and NCAA semifinalist UCLA both had two first-team choices, UNC led all schools with total selections to the first and second teams with three.

Nogueira, who wanted so badly to play for North Carolina that she moved from her home in Cedarburg, Wis., to Raleigh to be near the Tar Heels in high school, has backed up her commitment with superb performances in two Women’s College Cup finals in three years at UNC. (via press release)

Last week, Nogueira was named one of three finalists for the Hermann Trophy. Christina DiMartino from UCLA and Kerri Hanks of Notre Dame are also in the running for the the highest individual honor in intercollegiate soccer. The Hermann will be awarded at a banquet in January.

Casey Nogueira
Position: Forward
Class: Junior
Age: 19
Hometown: Raleigh, N.C.
High School: Needham Broughton
Youth Club: CASL Spartan Elite
International: U.S. national team (1 cap)
Major: Interpersonal Communications

It won’t be long before Nogueria is drafted by the WPS who today announced the home openers for the inaugural Season. Headlining the list of games is the “WPS Inaugural Match” featuring the Los Angeles Sol against the Washington Freedom at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. on Sunday, March 29, 2009.

Still Blue: UNC wins 19th women’s soccer crown

December 7, 2008 – North Carolina’s junior forward Casey Nogueira provided the heroics in the championship game of the Women’s College Cup for the second time in three years, scoring two second-half goals to lead the Tar Heels to a come from behind 2-1 victory over Notre Dame on Sunday.

Notre Dame, the only undefeated team remaining in D-I women’s soccer, opened the scoring just 17 seconds into the College Cup championship game on Sunday. But the Tar Heels overcame the fastest goal in Notre Dame history and never let up to win their 19th women’s soccer championship in the 27-year history of the tournament.

The Tar Heels ended the season on a 22-match unbeaten streak, beating the nation’s No. 2- and No. 1-ranked teams in the semifinals and finals of the NCAA Tournament and adding to their dynasty. Nogueira’s winning goal with only 2:06 left in the match dropped the Fighting Irish to 26-1-0 at season’s end.

Nogueira, who is from nearby Raleigh, North Carolina, played in high school state-championship games on the same field where she starred Sunday.

“She has every conceivable soccer skill, but that doesn’t necessarily make a player,” North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance said. “Her evolution as a player is to take all these remarkable tools she has and figure out how and when to use them. The two balls that she struck today were world-class finishes.”

Despite some questionable calls, it was truly a terrific series this year (even if UCLA didn’t go all the way!)

Recap

First loss ends season for UCLA women’s soccer team

December 5, 2008 – It’s no secret we were rooting for UCLA to win the national championship. So it’s no suprise we were incredibly bummed when the Bruins saw their undefeated season come to an end during the semifinals of the NCAA College Cup. They  gave up only their sixth goal of the year in the loss, but it was enough.

UCLA fell to North Carolina 1-0 before 8,926 fans at the WakeMed Soccer Park. The game’s only goal was scored in the 41st minute on a penalty kick by North Carolina’s Yael Averbuch.

The Bruins suffered some bad luck early on, as senior midfielder McCall Zerboni suffered an ankle injury in just the 18th minute and did not return the rest of the match. Zerboni , who was the Bruins’ emotional leader this year, led the team in scoring during the NCAA Tournament with nine points.

North Carolina’s goal came with less than five minutes left in the first half when the referee called a penalty kick after Tar Heel Brittani Bartok was brought down in the box on a tackle by Bruin defender Erin Hardy.

“I didn’t see a replay — they didn’t replay it on the big screen,” Hardy said afterward. “I didn’t think I got contact with her feet. I think it’s a hard call to make in the Final Four.”

Despite the loss, the Bruins still set a new school record for fewest losses in a season, suffering just one defeat in 25 matches. And UCLA fell just one win shy of breaking the school record for victories in a season, ending the season with 22 (the Bruins also had 22 wins in 2005).

UCLA (22-1-2) became the second team from the Pacific 10 Conference to lose Friday as Stanford (22-2-1) lost the first semifinal to Notre Dame (26-0-0) by the same 1-0 score. The Fighting Irish and North Carolina (24-1-2) will play for the championship Sunday.

It really felt like this would be UCLA’s year but it wasn’t to be…..great job and good luck to all the seniors who are moving on.

UCLA Recap

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