Tag: wpsl

soccer

Women’s soccer power rankings, politics and TV listings

Posted on by Beau Dure

It was the best of weeks, it was the worst of weeks for women’s soccer in the USA.

The W-League playoffs saw Pali Blues keep rival Seattle Sounders at bay, while D.C. United Women confirmed their status as the best in the East and Quebec City Amiral emerged as the best of the non-Ottawa teams in the Central.

The WPSL Elite regular season wrapped up with Boston taking first ahead of Western New York. Then New York, which just signed Casey Nogueira away from FC Dallas, held off Chicago for third. New England finished with a winning record. Chesapeake finally got its second win, 2-0 over Philadelphia, to finish sixth. Philadelphia and FC Indiana finished with identical 1-11-2 records.

Chicago may have dropped to fourth in the WPSL Elite, but the Red Stars won the Women’s Cup in a 3-2 thriller over New York Athletic Club after rallying to beat Turbo D’Feeters (featuring a couple of FC Dallas players) 5-3 in the semis. Chicago put roughly two-thirds of its regular starters in its WPSL Elite finale and the other third in the Women’s Cup games.

Then we have the WPSL playoffs. The West proceeded nicely, with Salt Lake United upsetting the San Diego SeaLions 3-1 even though half of United was also busy with the Women’s Cup.

The problems:

Continue reading →

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soccer

AmWoSo (W-League, WPSL) Power Rankings and playoff picture: July 16

Posted on by Beau Dure

It’s playoff time, and we’ve already seen some good teams’ seasons end — the W-League’s Atlanta Silverbacks, New Jersey Wildcats and Colorado Rush; the WPSL’s Beach FC and Maryland Capitols.

The WPSL Elite has one more week of the regular season, but the four pro teams are already in the playoffs. The regular-season title may come down to a Sunday showdown between the two teams tied for first — Western New York and Boston — playing in Rochester. But Chicago, three points, back, has a game in hand. Fourth-place New York will finish with three games in seven days after yesterday’s game at Philadelphia was rained out.

1. Pali Blues (13-0-1, W-League Western; Last Week: 1) – roster
Won 1-0 over Seattle in preview of Western playoff. Surprisingly didn’t rest many players — Sarah Huffman, Sasha Andrews and Whitney Engen all played 90.

2. Boston Breakers (10-3-0, WPSL Elite; LW: 3) – roster
Beat Philadelphia 2-0. Reminder: One of their losses (to Western New York) is on a technicality over player registration.

3. Western New York Flash (9-1-3, WPSL Elite; LW: 4) – roster
Routed FC Indiana 5-0 and had a big 2-1 win at Chicago. Turning the corner?

4. Chicago Red Stars (9-3-0, WPSL Elite; LW: 2) – roster
Lost to the surging Western New York Flash.

5. New York Fury (7-3-1, WPSL Elite; LW: 5) – roster
Busy week ahead after Sunday rainout.

6. Seattle Sounders Women (10-3-1, W-League Western; LW: 6) – roster
Won first two games on California swing before dropping decision to Pali.

7. D.C. United Women (11-0-1, W-League Atlantic; LW: 7) – roster
No trouble with Virginia Beach in regular-season finale. They’ll meet again in East semifinals; the Piranhas are the only team to take a point off them this year.

8. New England Mutiny (4-5-3, WPSL Elite; LW: 8) – roster
Injury problems were a factor in draw with Chesapeake that ended faint playoff hopes.

9. Charlotte Lady Eagles (8-1-2, W-League Southeast; LW: 11) – roster
Got early goal and held on to eliminate defending champion Atlanta Silverbacks.

10. Long Island Rough Riders (9-3-0, W-League Northeast; LW: 12) – roster
Strong finish in tough division.

11. Ottawa Fury (10-2-0, W-League Central; LW: 9) – roster
Meaningless game but still puzzling to see them lose finale to Quebec City.

12. Atlanta Silverbacks (8-1-3, W-League Southeast; LW: 10) – roster
Tough to drop them out of the top 12 even if they’re not going to the playoffs. Blame the W-League’s quirky playoff system — if they took the top runner-up in the Eastern Conference, the Silverbacks would be playoff-bound.

Bubbling under: Quebec City Amiral (top seed in W-League Central playoffs), FC Dallas (top seed in WPSL Big Sky South), Salt Lake United (top seed in WPSL Big Sky North; U.S. Women’s Cup semifinalist), New York Athletic Club (top seed from WPSL Northeast Atlantic-Mid), Aztec MA (top seed from WPSL Northeast Atlantic-North), Gulf Coast Texans (top seed from WPSL Southeast)

W-LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
all times Eastern

Eastern (D.C. United Women hosting)
Saturday – semifinals
Long Island vs. Charlotte, 3:30 p.m.
Virginia Beach vs. DCU Women, 6 p.m.
Sunday
Final, 4 p.m.

Central (Quebec City Amiral hosting)
Saturday – semifinals
Hamilton vs. Quebec City, 1 p.m.
Laval vs. Toronto, 4 p.m.
Sunday
Final, 1 p.m.

Western
Final – Sunday (at Cal State Fullerton; doubleheader with USL Pro’s LA Blues vs. Guatemala’s CSD Municipal)
Seattle at Pali Blues, 4 p.m.

Conference winners plus Ottawa advance to final four July 27 and 29 at Ottawa

WPSL

West

* Pacific South (one berth): San Diego SeaLions got it.

* Pacific North (one berth): California Storm took the berth with a 3-1 win over North Bay FC Wave and a 3-3 draw between fellow contenders West Coast Wildkats and Bay Area Breeze.

* Northwest (one berth): Spokane Shine also got everything to line up, beating Emerald City 1-0 Friday, routing Oregon Rush 6-0 and seeing Emerald City draw Issaquah 1-1 in the finale Sunday.

* Big Sky North (one berth): Salt Lake United drew with both Phoenix teams in Phoenix to clinch the berth.

Playoffs (San Diego hosting)
Saturday – semifinals
Spokane vs. San Diego, 8 p.m. ET
Salt Lake vs. California, 10:30 p.m. ET
Sunday
Final, 7 p.m. ET

Midwest

* Big Sky South (three berths): FC Dallas (12-1-0, +52 goal differential) clinched first place ahead of the only club to beat them, Oklahoma Football Club. American Eagles Soccer Club took third ahead of Houston South Select.

* Midwest (no berths): FC Milwaukee Nationals won all five games.

Playoffs
American Eagles at Oklahoma FC, 8;30 p.m. ET Thursday
AE-Oklahoma winner at FC Dallas, Saturday 

Southeast

* Sunshine (four berths): Tampa Bay Hellenic finally shed points, drawing Team Boca Blast 0-0, but clinched first place and home field throughout the divisional playoffs. Florida Sol FC took second, followed by Team Boca Blast and South Florida Strikers.

* Southeast (one berth): Gulf Coast Texans scored 31 and conceded 3 in seven games.

Playoffs
tba

Northeast

Playoffs already underway (home teams listed first in results):

First round – Sunday
New England Mutiny Reserves 1-0 FC Bucks
Maryland Capitols FC 0-2 Syracuse Lady Knights

Semifinals – Wednesday
New England at Aztec MA, 7 p.m. ET
Syracuse at New York Athletic Club, 8 p.m. ET

 

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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

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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soccer

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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soccer

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.

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