Tag: w-league

soccer

AmWoSo (W-League, WPSL) Power Rankings: July 10 — Playoffs??!!

Posted on by Beau Dure

By this time next week, we may know all our playoff teams. Instead of an “Also considered” this week, we’re going to look at the playoff races.

The big results this week: New England’s (controversial?) win over Boston, Atlanta’s draw at VSI Tampa.

1. Pali Blues (12-0-1, W-League Western; Last Week: 1) – roster
5-0 and 2-0 over the visiting Colorado teams. Last up in regular season: Sunday showdown with Seattle.

2. Chicago Red Stars (9-2-0, WPSL Elite; LW: 3) – roster
Slight struggle to beat Philadelphia 1-0. Remaining schedule is tough: Home vs. Western New York, then at New England and at New York.

3. Boston Breakers (9-3-0, WPSL Elite; LW: 2) – roster
Took care of business against Chesapeake 3-1 and seemed to be in control the next day against New England before conceding two very late goals and losing 2-1. Reminder: One of their losses (to Western New York) is on a technicality over player registration.

4. Western New York Flash (7-1-3, WPSL Elite; LW: 4) – roster
Beat Chesapeake 4-0. They haven’t played a pro team since June 13; Chicago and Boston await in their last two.

5. New York Fury (7-3-1, WPSL Elite; LW: 5) – roster
Practically clinched a playoff spot with 4-0 win over New England.

6. Seattle Sounders Women (8-2-1, W-League Western; LW: 6) – roster
No trouble with Victoria in home finale. The last week features a five-day, three-game California swing ending at Pali.

7. D.C. United Women (10-0-1, W-League Atlantic; LW: 7) – roster
Trounced Dayton 4-1 to clinch home field in the divisional playoffs.

8. New England Mutiny (4-5-2, WPSL Elite; LW: 9) – roster
The 4-0 loss at New York was deflating, but with two late goals vs. Boston, the Mutiny became the first amateur team to beat the pros in the Elite.

9. Ottawa Fury (10-1-0, W-League Central; LW: 10) – roster
3-2 over Laval; 1-0 over Toronto. Clinched first place in Central even though they have bye to Final Four as hosts.

10. Atlanta Silverbacks (8-0-3, W-League Southeast; LW: 8) – roster
Draw on Florida road trip leaves team needing a result this weekend in Charlotte.

11. Charlotte Lady Eagles (8-1-2, W-League Southeast; LW: 12) – roster
Held off Central SC Cobras 2-1 to set up showdown with Silverbacks.

12. Long Island Rough Riders (7-3-0, W-League Northeast; LW: NR) – roster
After two 1-0 wins over New York, the Rough Riders left a little less doubt in the teams’ third meeting of the season, winning 6-2 on Sunday.

Read on for the playoff picture:

Continue reading →

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soccer

Sauerbrunn’s sendoff, Sullivan’s smashing debut and a JoLi party

Posted on by Beau Dure

Scenes from D.C. United Women’s home regular-season finale at the Maryland SoccerPlex, in which DCU beat Dayton 4-1 and clinched home field for the W-League East playoffs:

1. Becky Sauerbrunn, the one-time “iron woman” of WPS who had played every minute for the Plex-residing Washington Freedom through 2009 and 2010, played her fourth and final game with D.C. United Women this season. She seemed to be cursed in her previous games. DCU Women needed a late goal to beat Dayton 3-2 in May, and Virginia Beach handed DCU its only tie in June. This time, DCU dominated the first half but only got one goal to show for it, then went in level at 1-1 when Dayton scrambled in an equalizer in stoppage time. But the curse was broken in a big way.

Here, she talks about her season, prospects for pro women’s soccer going forward, MLS involvement in women’s soccer, and Lauren Cheney’s non-British pregame music selection. Seriously — no Knights of Cydonia?

2. The DCU roster got even better this week with the addition of U.S. Under-17 player Andi Sullivan. The Bethesda SC player just finished her season in the ECNL, and to put it mildly, she didn’t seem intimidated facing older opposition in the W-League. She created several chances down the right wing, including one for herself when she sliced into the middle and ripped a shot just wide, and she scored from a holding midfield slot later in the game.

3. DCU teammates Joanna Lohman and Lianne Sanderson are continuing their work with JoLi Academy, with plans to return to India in January. Sanderson scored the game’s first goal. Here, Lohman talks about the Academy and her “shot” during the game.

Dayton — starting a murderous five-day, four-game swing through the sauna of Northern Virginia — defended well through the first half and managed to scramble the ball into the goal on one of its few chances. But once a team like DCU gets rolling, it’s very hard to stop.

Atlanta had drawn with VSI Tampa Flames earlier in the evening, which meant DCU’s win clinched home field for the Eastern playoffs.

The results also saved the W-League from an absurd situation.

In the current W-League playoff format, the three division winners in the East make the playoffs. The division winner with the best record is the top seed. The wild-card team is the team that finished second in the division with the top seed. So it could be in a second-place team’s best interest to make sure the first-place team has the best record.

This hypothetical problem so nearly became reality. Had Atlanta run the table — not that winning at Charlotte next weekend will be easy — the Silverbacks would’ve finished up their season this coming Saturday around 7:30 p.m. with 32 points. DCU has 31. So Virginia Beach, the second-place team behind DCU in the Atlantic, would have to hope DCU won its final game or at least drew and earned a tie-breaking edge.

The problem with that? DCU’s finale is at 8 p.m. Saturday … at Virginia Beach. So if Atlanta had won out, Virginia Beach would have entered its season finale at home knowing that a win or possibly even a draw would eliminate it from the playoffs. Lose, and the Piranhas would be in.

Crisis averted, but clearly, this playoff format can’t stand next year.

Fortunately, we don’t have to worry about that. Virginia Beach can focus on keeping second place and a playoff spot — the Piranhas’ Sunday game with third-place Fredericksburg has been postponed. And DCU can prep for the playoffs.

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AmWoSo (W-League, WPSL) Power Rankings: July 3

Posted on by Beau Dure

Not much action this week outside the top three. The big results were in the Boston-Chicago game and on Seattle’s road swing through Colorado.

1. Pali Blues (10-0-1, W-League Western; Last Week: 1) – roster
Survived challenge from Vancouver, winning 2-1. Colorado teams visit this week.

2. Boston Breakers (8-2-0, WPSL Elite; LW: 3) – roster
Won the big showdown with Chicago 1-0.

3. Chicago Red Stars (8-2-0, WPSL Elite; LW: 2) – roster
Lost at Boston.

4. Western New York Flash (6-1-3, WPSL Elite; LW: 4) – roster
In the midst of a long break.

5. New York Fury (6-3-1, WPSL Elite; LW: 5) – roster
Squeaked past ASA Chesapeake Charge 1-0.

6. Seattle Sounders Women (7-2-1, W-League Western; LW: 6) – roster
Split games on Colorado trip, losing 1-0 to Rapids and beating Rush 4-1.

7. D.C. United Women (9-0-1, W-League Atlantic; LW: 7) – roster
Clinched division title and remained in lead for home-field with wins over Northern Virginia and Fredericksburg.

8. Atlanta Silverbacks (7-0-2, W-League Southeast; LW: 8) – roster
Idle. Must make the grueling two-game, two-day Florida swing this week.

9. New England Mutiny (3-4-2, WPSL Elite; LW: 9) – roster
Idle last week; must make its playoff charge this week.

10. Ottawa Fury (8-1-0, W-League Central; LW: 12) – roster
Avenged sole loss with 3-0 win over Hamilton.

11. Colorado Rush (5-3-1, W-League Western; LW: 10) – roster
Lost to Sounders 4-1.

12. Charlotte Lady Eagles (7-1-2, W-League Southeast; LW: 11) – roster
Idle

ALSO CONSIDERED (alphabetical order)

Beach Futbol Club (3-1-0, WPSL Pacific South) – roster
Idle — will finish six-game regular season with two games Saturday and Sunday.

FC Dallas (8-0-0, WPSL Big Sky South) – roster
Stunner – lost 4-2 at Oklahoma Football Club.

Laval Comets (5-2-2, W-League Central) – roster
Lost 1-0 to Quebec

Long Island Rough Riders (7-3-0, W-League Northeast) – roster
Won 6-0 over New Jersey Rangers. (Not Wildcats.)

New Jersey Wildcats (5-2-2, W-League Northeast) – roster
Won 3-1 over New York. Will likely have to catch Rough Riders and win division to make playoffs. Won’t play again until playing three in four days July 11-14.

San Diego SeaLions (5-0-0, WPSL Pacific South) – roster
Idle — will face Beach FC on Sunday with division at stake.

Toronto Lady Lynx (5-3-1, W-League Central) – roster
Idle

Virginia Beach Piranhas (4-2-3, W-League Atlantic) – roster
Idle

GAMES TO WATCH (times Eastern and possibly incorrect)

Tuesday, July 3
WPSL Elite: New England Mutiny at New York Fury; 7 p.m.; Hofstra Univ.

Saturday, July 7
WPSL Elite: Boston Breakers at New England Mutiny; 6 p.m.; East Longmeadow, Mass.

Sunday, July 8
W-League Atlantic: Virginia Beach Piranhas at Fredericksburg Impact, 5 p.m.; Fredericksburg, Va. (possible playoff berth on the line)

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The elephant in the women’s soccer room: NCAA

Posted on by Beau Dure

NY Fury coach Paul Riley, who led the Philadelphia Independence to two runner-up finishes in WPS, has a few thoughts about the future of the game, and it differs a bit from the Peter Wilt plan — more money, more months in the season:

The money issue is really just a question of what owners are willing to put on the table. If it’s $1.5 million per team, great. If it’s closer to the $300,000 at the low end of Wilt’s range, then that’s what it is.

The more interesting question here is the length of the season. Riley may be overstating things a bit — is Marta really going to get nine months of playing time this season between a 22-game Swedish season and the chronically undersupported Brazilian women’s team? But he’s right that these condensed summer seasons aren’t leaving much time to develop teams … or players.

Riley, like many others in the women’s soccer community, want everyone to get together and talk about it. USSF. USL. WPSL.

NCAA?

When it comes to length of the season, college soccer is the problem. A lot of this country’s top players are still in school. And the NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, has pushed its season earlier and earlier into August while cutting the spring season.

That’s a problem — primarily for college players. They could get a compressed four-month college season and perhaps two months to play with a W-League or WPSL team in the summer. That’s a lot of downtime, then a lot of games in a short time — a good recipe for injuries.

Is it a problem for a future elite league? Directly, maybe not. For leagues below Division I — including the regular WPSL and W-League — it’s a problem because college players can’t play for pro teams. The WPSL Elite experiment of having amateur (college players allowed) and pro (NCAA? Stay away!) teams is intriguing. But that means the season’s length is beholden to colleges who won’t release their players until exams are complete and will demand their return in early August.

(This is a problem for men’s soccer, too. Suppose a PDL team made the U.S. Open Cup semifinals in August. Who could play?)

So I’ll toss out a trial balloon here, based on far less research and information than Peter’s plan:

1. Have a national league for full-time pros that splits its season between the fall and spring. Set the championship for late April.

2. Also enter those pro teams in summer regional leagues like the W-League or WPSL. (The leagues could still come together for a national playoff at the end of summer.) With national team call-ups, the pro teams would likely be weakened and would need to call in other players.

3. The pro teams would establish firm roots with youth programs. That would also give them extra players to call in for summer play — we might need an NCAA/amateurism expert to weigh in, but MLS academy kids have been able to compete in MLS reserve league games without sacrificing their college eligibility. So we could see someone like Morgan Andrews “play up” with these teams for the summer. (Current college players, no — they would play for summer-only teams in these regional leagues.)

The other side of the coin — get the NCAA to back off a bit. Beef up the spring season and let them start the fall season a couple of weeks later.

That’s the balloon. Take your shots …

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soccer

AmWoSo (W-League, WPSL) Power Rankings: June 25

Posted on by Beau Dure

We got upsets. And we’ve got teams in the W-League Western fighting for those two playoff spots.

In the East, the strange thing about the format is that the second-place team from the top seed’s division will advance. That means the Charlotte Lady Eagles and Virginia Beach Piranhas might have actually hurt themselves by getting draws with leaders Atlanta and D.C. United, who are battling for that top spot.

The Central is still a logjam, but four teams plus Ottawa will make it. Ottawa’s hosting the Final Four.

1. Pali Blues (9-0-1, W-League Western; Last Week: 1) – roster
Took the biggest win of the W-League season: 2-0 at Seattle, though Sounders lacked U.S. stars. Followed up with 4-0 win at Victoria. Then finally lost perfect record with 0-0 draw at Vancouver. Last four games are at home, and a playoff berth is all but assured.

2. Chicago Red Stars (8-1-0, WPSL Elite; LW: 2) – roster
No trouble on the Mid-Atlantic road swing — 3-1 at Chesapeake, 4-1 at Philadelphia after conceding early lead.

3. Boston Breakers (7-2-0, WPSL Elite; LW: 3) – roster
Took care of business with two home wins — 4-2 over feisty New England, 2-0 over New York.

4. Western New York Flash (6-1-3, WPSL Elite; LW: 4) – roster
Beat Philadelphia 2-0; held to 3-3 draw at New England.

5. New York Fury (5-3-1, WPSL Elite; LW: 5) – roster
Lost 2-0 at Boston.

6. Seattle Sounders Women (6-1-1, W-League Western; LW: 6) – roster
Lost 0-2 vs. Pali without national team stars. Got them back and demolished Santa Clarita 4-0 with two goals from Sydney Leroux and one from Alex Morgan. Will need to hold off Colorado Rush for playoff berth.

7. D.C. United Women (7-0-1, W-League Atlantic; LW: 7) – roster
Won 5-0 vs. Fredericksburg, knocking the Impact out of consideration for the rankings. Drew 1-1 vs. Virginia Beach Piranhas in a game that could be described as “physical.” Still nearly clinched first place in Atlantic.

8. Atlanta Silverbacks (7-0-2, W-League Southeast; LW: 8) – roster
Beat Charlotte 1-0 to take control of division; held 2-2 the next day at Central SC. Tied with Charlotte atop division, with a game in hand.

9. New England Mutiny (3-4-2, WPSL Elite; LW: 9) – roster
The class of the WPSL Elite’s amateur teams broke through with 3-3 draw vs. Western New York, with Morgan Andrews and Kate Haworth clearly ready for top-level league soccer. Lost 4-2 vs. Boston.

10. Colorado Rush (5-2-1, W-League Western; LW: 11) – roster
Made strong claim for playoff contention — won 2-1 in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Park showdown with Colorado Rapids Women; beat LA Strikers 2-1. California swing July 4-8 will be crucial.

11. Charlotte Lady Eagles (7-1-2, W-League Southeast; LW: 12) – roster
Lost 0-1 at Atlanta.

12. Ottawa Fury (7-1-0, W-League Central; LW: NR) – roster
Beat former division leader Laval 2-1, routed London 10-0 and took full command of Central with 1-0 win at Toronto.

ALSO CONSIDERED (alphabetical order)

Beach Futbol Club (3-1-0, WPSL Pacific South) – roster
Beat LA Vikings 6-0.

FC Dallas (8-0-0, WPSL Big Sky South) – roster
Beat Tulsa Spirit 3-0.

Laval Comets (5-1-2, W-League Central) – roster
Lost 1-2 at Ottawa Fury. Beat Hamilton 1-0 to remain firmly in playoff positions.

Long Island Rough Riders (6-3-0, W-League Northeast) – roster
Won 1-0 at North Jersey Valkyries. Lost 2-1 at New Jersey Wildcats, failing to put away division rival.

New Jersey Wildcats (4-2-2, W-League Northeast) – roster
Stayed in race with big 2-1 win over Long Island. Still four points back with four points to play, and second place almost certainly won’t do it.

San Diego SeaLions (5-0-0, WPSL Pacific South) – roster
Won 1-0 at Ajax America. Just one more game listed on schedule — a July 8 visit from Beach FC.

Santa Clarita Blue Heat (3-4-2, W-League Western; LW: 10) – roster
Won 4-2 at Victoria Highlanders, then lost 0-2 at resurgent Vancouver, then crushed by star-laden Seattle team 4-0. Last five are at home, so playoffs aren’t out of question.

Toronto Lady Lynx (5-3-1, W-League Central) – roster
Won 1-0 at London Gryphons; lost 1-0 vs. Ottawa.

Virginia Beach Piranhas (4-2-3, W-League Atlantic) – roster
New to the rankings after winning 1-0 vs. Northern Virginia Majestics and drawing 1-1 at runaway leaders D.C. United Women.

GAMES TO WATCH (times Eastern and possibly incorrect)

Saturday, June 30
WPSL Elite: Chicago Red Stars at Boston Breakers, 6 p.m.;  Somerville, Mass.
W-League Western: Seattle Sounders Women at Colorado Rapids Women, 6:30 p.m.; Commerce City, Colo.

Sunday, July 1
W-League Western: Seattle Sounders Women at Colorado Rush, 3 p.m.; Highlands Ranch, Colo.

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U.S. Women’s Open Cup 2012: Quest for results!

Posted on by Beau Dure

Yes, there is a Women’s Open Cup. No, you don’t know most of the teams involved.

But I started digging around a bit in the past two weeks, and so did some folks at BigSoccer. Here’s what we’ve found so far, and any crowd-sourcing is welcome.

The finals for this and the other USASA Cups (men’s open, men’s amateur, men’s over-30, men’s under-23, women’s under-23) will be at the Chicago Fire’s Toyota Park (Bridgeview, Ill.) July 20-22.

REGION I

First round – April 22
at Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh United (W.Pa.) 7-0 Maryland Capitols FC (WPSL)

Second round – May 17
at New York
Battle Row (E.NY) 8-1 Pittsburgh United
at Rochester
Rochester Lazers (W.NY) 4-0 United German Hungarians Fury (E.Pa.)

Semifinals – June 7
at New York
Battle Row 1-0 Rochester Lazers
New York Athletic Club (WPSL) 4-0 Peninsula Aztecs (NJ)

Final – June 17
at New York
New York Athletic Club 5-0 Battle Row

NYAC
New York Athletic Club

I got some details on this game: scorers were Princeton’s Liana Cornacchio (2), Duke’s Laura Weinberg (2) and Stanford’s Allison McCann. The team picture is at right. Both courtesy Charles Spingler at NYAC.

New York Athletic Club advances

REGION II (PDF)
at Fort Wayne, Ind.

June 15
Chicago Red Stars (WPSL) 2-0 Croatian Eagles (Wisc.)
Fort Wayne SC (Ind.) 2-2 United Metro (Kansas)

June 16
Chicago Red Stars 3-0 United Metro
Croatian Eagles 2-2 JB Marine (Mo.)
Chicago Red Stars 2-0 Fort Wayne SC
JB Marine 5-0 Fort Wayne SC
Croatian Eagles 3-0 United Metro

June 17
JB Marine 2-1 United Metro
Croatian Eagles 3-1 Fort Wayne SC
Chicago Red Stars 0-0 JB Marine

Round-robin scores: Chicago Red Stars 10,  JB Marine 8, Croatian Eagles 7, United Metro 1, Fort Wayne SC 1

Chicago Red Stars advance

REGION III

May 25
Houston Challengers 2-1 Houston Aces
Turbo D’Feeters (S.Texas) 2-1 San Antonio FC

May 26
Turbo D’Feeters 3-0 Houston Challengers
San Antonio FC 5-0 Lazers (Ga.)
Houston Aces 4-1 Turbo D’Feeters
Houston Challengers 4-1 Lazers

May 27
Houston Aces 7-0 Lazers
Houston Challengers 1-1 San Antonio FC

May 28
Houston Aces 0-0 San Antonio FC
Turbo D’Feeters 6-0 Lazers

Round-robin scores: Turbo D’Feeters 9, Houston Aces 7, Houston Challengers 7, San Antonio FC 5, Lazers 0

Turbo D’Feeters advance

REGION IV

Haven’t found results; region hasn’t had qualifying tournaments in recent years.

Continue reading →

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AmWoSo (WPSL, W-League) Power Rankings: June 19

Posted on by Beau Dure

Some order is settling into the W-League, and our rankings include the top two teams in every division along with a couple of third- and fourth-placed teams in the strongest divisions.

The WPSL Elite had an interesting week: The Philadelphia Fever became the first amateur team to take a point off a pro team, holding Western New York 0-0. And the Boston Breakers had a win scrubbed off their record.

Here’s what we have so far (at the bottom, check out the games to watch — or follow on Twitter — this week):

1. Pali Blues (7-0-0, W-League Western; Last Week: 1) – roster
Beat the WPSL San Diego SeaLions in an exhibition without several of their top players. 

2. Chicago Red Stars (6-1-0, WPSL Elite; LW: 2) – roster
Lost 3-0 at Western New York; took out frustration with 4-0 win over New England. Also advanced with split squad in U.S. Open Cup.

3. Boston Breakers (5-2-0, WPSL Elite; LW: 3) – roster
Technically dropped to fourth place in the league due to an eligibility issue, but that says more about draconian player transfer regulations than it does about the team.

4. Western New York Flash (5-1-2, WPSL Elite; LW: 5) – roster
Up-and-down week — handed Chicago its first loss, beat Chesapeake, then couldn’t get past Philadelphia defense in 0-0 draw the next day.

5. New York Fury (5-2-1, WPSL Elite; LW: 4) – roster
Won 2-0 at Chesapeake.

6. Seattle Sounders Women (5-0-1, W-League Western; LW: 6) – roster
Routine rout over LA Strikers.

7. D.C. United Women (6-0-0, W-League Atlantic; LW: 7) – roster
Lost 1-0 in exhibition vs. Paul Riley’s Supergroup (we’ll soon be forming a band by that name); won 5-1 in league play against Northern Virginia.

8. Atlanta Silverbacks (6-0-1, W-League Southeast; LW: 8) – roster
Routed VSI Tampa and moved into Southeast driver’s seat with 2-2 draw at Charlotte.

9. New England Mutiny (3-3-1, WPSL Elite; LW: 9) – roster
Won 3-0 at FC Indiana, then fell prey to Chicago. Just signed experienced pro Tiffany Weimer.

10. Santa Clarita Blue Heat (2-2-2, W-League Western; LW: 10) – roster
Modestly successful Colorado trip — 0-0 at Rapids, 1-1 at Rush.

11. Colorado Rush (3-2-1, W-League Western; LW: NR) – roster
Defended turf with 1-1 draw vs. Santa Clarita.

12. Charlotte Lady Eagles (7-0-2, W-League Southeast; LW: 11) – roster
Draws in back-to-back division showdowns: 2-2 at Central SC, 2-2 vs. Atlanta.

Continue reading →

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AmWoSo (WPSL, W-League) Power Rankings: June 11

Posted on by Beau Dure

Rankings may not usually shuffle unbeaten teams, but Pali Blues had an impressive road swing through Colorado to move up to #1. They still have to go through the rest of the stacked W-League Western Division, though.

Here’s what we have so far (at the bottom, check out the games to watch — or follow on Twitter — this week):

1. Pali Blues (7-0-0, W-League Western; Last Week: 3) – roster
Unscathed in busy week — 8-0 home win over Victoria, 2-1 win at Colorado Rapids Women, 3-0 win at Colorado Rush. Liz Bogus and Nikki Washington had first-half goals in the last of those wins.

2. Chicago Red Stars (5-0-0, WPSL Elite; LW: 1) – roster
Beat NY Fury 2-1 and wiped out Chesapeake 5-0 behind a Lauren Fowlkes hat trick. Big road test this week at Western New York.

3. Boston Breakers (6-1-0, WPSL Elite; LW: 2) – roster
Got back into action late Sunday with 1-0 squeaker at Philadelphia. Aussie Kyah Simon had the lone goal.

4. New York Fury (4-2-1, WPSL Elite; LW: 4) – roster
Fell 1-2 at Chicago; won 1-0 at FC Indiana.

5. Western New York Flash (2-2-1, WPSL Elite; LW: 5) – roster
Turned in a convincing 3-1 win against New England.

6. Seattle Sounders Women (4-0-1, W-League Western; LW: 6) – roster
Cruised in showdown with Colorado (3-0 at home) but lost perfect record with 0-0 draw against Vancouver when national teamers left. Still drew 4,500 fans.

7. D.C. United Women (5-0-0, W-League Atlantic; LW: 7) – roster
Turned back challenge in division, winning 3-2 at Fredericksburg with Joanna Lohman and Lianne Sanderson starting.

8. Atlanta Silverbacks (5-0-0, W-League Southeast; LW: 8) – roster
Won 3-0 at FC Jax.

9. New England Mutiny (2-2-1, WPSL Elite; LW: 10) – roster
Still a good claim to be the “best of the rest” after the four WPSL teams with WPS ties, but lost 3-1 at Western New York.

10. Santa Clarita Blue Heat (2-2-0, W-League Western; LW: 11) – roster
Won 6-0 over Victoria.

11. Charlotte Lady Eagles (7-0-0, W-League Southeast; LW: NR) – roster
Three days in Florida, three wins — 4-1 and 3-1 over VSI Tampa Flames, 2-1 over FC Jax Destroyers.

12. New Jersey Wildcats (3-1-2, W-League Northeast; LW: NR) – roster
Two goals and an assist for Yael Averbuch in 4-1 win vs. New Jersey Rangers.

ALSO CONSIDERED (alphabetical order)

Beach Futbol Club (1-1-0 WPSL Pacific South) – roster
Lost 2-0 at home to San Diego. Too much talent to drop all the way out.

Colorado Rapids Women (2-2-1, W-League Western) – roster
Lost 3-0 at Seattle and 2-1 at home vs. Pali Blues.

Colorado Rush (3-2-0, W-League Western; LW: 9) – roster
Suffered a 3-0 home loss to Pali Blues.

FC Dallas (5-0-0, WPSL Big Sky South) – roster
Scored 31. Allowed 2. Scored 17 goals in two games over the weekend, apparently without Casey Nogueira or Kerri Hanks. Yikes.

Fredericksburg Impact (3-1-0, W-League Atlantic) – roster
Respectable showing in 3-2 loss against loaded D.C. United Women.

Hamilton FC Rage (3-1-1, W-League Central) – roster
Had the weekend off after 2-0 win Wednesday at Rochester Ravens.

Ottawa Fury (3-1-0, W-League Central) – roster
Routine 6-1 dispatching of visiting London Gryphons.

San Diego SeaLions (3-0-0 WPSL Pacific South) – roster
Big road win — 2-0 at Beach FC — could push them toward top 12.

Toronto Lady Lynx (3-2-1, W-League Central; LW: 12) – roster
Disastrous road trip — lost 1-0 at Quebec City Amiral and 3-0 at Laval Comets. Still leading division.

GAMES TO WATCH (times Eastern and possibly incorrect)

Wednesday, June 13

WPSL Elite: Chicago Red Stars at Western New York Flash; 7 p.m.; Rochester, N.Y.

Thursday, June 14

W-League Western: Santa Clarita Blue Heat at Colorado Rapids Women; 8 p.m.; Commerce City, Colo.

Saturday, June 16

W-League Southeast: Atlanta Silverbacks at Charlotte Lady Eagles; 5:30 p.m.; Charlotte, N.C.
WPSL Elite: New England Mutiny at Chicago Red Stars; 7 p.m. CHECK; Evanston, Ill.
W-League Western: Santa Clarita Blue Heat at Colorado Rush; 9 p.m.; Highlands Ranch, Colo.

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AmWoSo (American Women’s Soccer) Power Rankings: June 4

Posted on by Beau Dure

Which teams are best in the post-WPS American women’s soccer scene? We’ll tell you (at least, we’ll give a consensus opinion) in our AmWoSo Power Rankings. This is a joint project of The Equalizer, All White Kit and SportsMyriad.

Comparing between the W-League and WPSL Elite — or even comparing WPSL Elite to regular WPSL — is difficult because teams don’t have many common opponents. One exception: The WPSL Elite’s Boston Breakers won 1-0 at the W-League’s D.C. United Women when the Breakers were nearly at full strength. United had just flown in Joanna Lohman and Lianne Sanderson, and Becky Sauerbrunn wasn’t available.

So to some extent, the rankings are based on players who have built reputations elsewhere. A team that has 7-8 players with WPS experience is going to be ranked higher than one built entirely on unknown players — until results convince us otherwise.

The results, though, can be confusing. Consider the W-League Northeast. The Long Island Rough Riders beat the New Jersey Rangers 10-0 and 7-0. Then the Rangers beat the New York Magic 2-0. Then the Magic beat Long Island. Go figure.

We do have one great resource on the W-League, though: AWK’s Chris Henderson did a lot of roster-crunching in the preseason and named seven favorites: Ottawa Fury, D.C. United Women, Atlanta Silverbacks, Pali Blues, Santa Clarita Blue Heat, Seattle Sounders Women and Vancouver Whitecaps. Vancouver has been disappointing, though its division is stacked. Ottawa suffered a surprising loss but should be watched the rest of the way.

The WPSL Elite is more clear-cut. Four teams are stacked with WPS talent. Four aren’t, though one of those teams (New England) has what appears to be a competitive squad. Yet we still have a question at the top — Boston has run off some terrific early wins but lost on the road to a well-rested Chicago team. Chicago takes the top spot for now, but Boston may easily claim it at some point.

Here’s what we have so far (at the bottom, check out the games to watch — or follow on Twitter — this week):

1. Chicago Red Stars (3-0-0, WPSL Elite) – roster
The Red Stars moved down from WPS after the 2010 season and kept a handful of experienced players. They also added WPS stars Lori Chalupny and Jen Buczkowski. The Boston game was their first real test, and they passed, winning 1-0.

Continue reading →

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Video: D.C. United Women vs. Virginia Beach Piranhas interviews

Posted on by Beau Dure

Still testing various video editors. The Flip video editor did some unnecessary transitions, and I lost the caption for D.C. United Women goalkeeper Didi Haracic.

The topics covered here:

1. Mikaela Howell, a youth teammate of Lianne Sanderson’s back in England, scored both goals for D.C. United Women. (Sanderson and Joanna Lohman weren’t eligible to play in this one. Marisa Abegg also was out because her boyfriend is briefly back from Afghanistan. And Becky Sauerbrunn is still busy with the national team.) The first was a beautiful turn at the top of the box. One day, I’ll get a goal on video. D.C. United Women had highlights from the Breakers exhibition, so maybe they’ll post these highlights later.

2. The Piranhas have a diverse roster, to say the least. They have a couple of players from Sweden and three Nigerian players — goalkeeper Marbel Egwuenu and skilled speedsters Linda Chukwuji and Esther Anyanwu. Coach Wendy Waddell’s comments are recruiting them sight unseen are interesting.

3. After seeing the United-Breakers exhibition a week ago, the physicality of this game was stunning. I counted three blatant Piranhas fouls in the first 80 seconds. United adjusted and started to shove back as well. The ref was generally consistent, at least, and she started to take more control with a few whistles late in the first half.

4. D.C. United Women have three talented college goalkeepers on the roster. Didi Haracic (Loyola, Md.) was fantastic against the Breakers last week, and she played well in the first half in this game. Danielle DeLisle (Virginia) played the second half. Britt Eckerstrom (Penn State) was unable to play Saturday. As you’ll see in the video, the team plans to rotate to make sure the players are developing.

5. For about 10 minutes, no matter where I stood on the sideline, the ball followed. I trapped one, and another whipped past me to the wall of the bleachers. It was a little eerie, like I had a magnet for the ball or something.

Anyway, here are a few comments on video …

(And yes, I’m aware of the glitch in which the video freezes on Jorden’s face. The interviews that follow: Haracic on goalkeeping at 2:30 mark, Jorden on rotating goalkeepers, Haracic on rotating goalkeepers)

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