USWNT News and Notes

Because I am a fan of the women's game as well, I like to post from time to time about the USWNT.

They played their WC sendoff game today in NJ before heading to Germany. They were finally able to get a goal in the second minute of extra time at the end of the game. Mexico's 16 year old keeper, Santiago, was spectacular the entire game.

The goal that she did allow in was a spectacular one from Lauren Cheney.



I'm not sure about the USWNT's chances at this cup.

The worries: Wambach is in a slump and isn't scoring as often as we're used to seeing. Lloyd and Boxx are essentially the same player but they're continually on the field at the same time and it drives me batty to watch it. Rapinoe is a newer player that continually gets field time but I'm not a huge fan as she hasn't been effective at all.

The promising stuff: O'Reilly seems to be hitting good form and her creativity seems to be increasing each game. Solo, despite her off field shenanigans, is once again in the goal after having shoulder surgery less than a year ago. Ali Krieger is finally getting her due and plenty of time on the field with the full team. The new guard of players is starting to make their presence known, most notably Lauren Cheney and Alex Morgan. I just wish the younger players would get more time on the field instead of on the bench.

The schedule for their group games in Germany are as follows:

June 28, 2011	U.S. Women vs. Korea DPR Women	11:45 a.m. ET	Rudolf-Harbig Stadium Dresden, Germany	ESPN, ESPN3.com
July 2, 2011	U.S. Women vs. Colombia Women	11:30 a.m. ET	Rhein Neckar Arena Sinsheim, Germany	ESPN, ESPN3.com
July 6, 2011	U.S. Women vs. Sweden Women	2:30 p.m. ET	World Cup Stadium Wolfsburg Wolfsburg, Germany	ESPN, ESPN3.com

Cool story about the UW Women's Soccer coach and assistant coach road tripping to WWC in support of Hope Solo and Veronica Perez.

http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/062911aaa.html

Alex Morgan and Hope Solo at the "Entourage" season premiere

Interesting article with some savage quotes from WPS' Philadelphia Independence head coach Paul Riley.



http://www.phillysoccernews.com/teams/independence2.php?article_id=7095



From the end of the article in regards to Amy Rodriguez:

Quote :

“She’s destroyed mentally. It’s going to take a lot for us to get her up. I’m even thinking about just working with her for two weeks and not even playing her next week and see if we can just help her out. She’s just dead as a doornail right now. She needs help. Pia just absolutely destroyed her, sad to say.

“We did everything to help Pia out this year, but she did nothing to help WPS out this year. Nothing.”

I was just reminded that today is the 20th Anniversary of the USWNT winning the 1st ever Women's World Cup in Guangdong, China.

The game winning goal was scored by Michelle Akers, the all time best ever women's player to set foot on a pitch.

http://www.oleole.com/videos/fifa/1991fifawomensworldcupfinal/mv1.asp

gwar0127 wrote:

USSF: Rapinoe's 'do is hair-raising

It looks absolutely AWFUL!!!!!

I don't care about her hair. I love the way she plays.

I'm over the USWNT blog right now. It's jumped the damn shark this camp. Aside from a couple of good blogs about the types of tests the players do and an interview with Ashlyn Harris, the posts have been infrequent and sucked.

I want Heather Mitts to take it over. The girl has been cracking me up the entire camp.

NSFW

Alex Morgan full body-paint video for SI Swimsuit Issue

Sundhage Names 23-Player Roster for 2012 Algarve Cup

Quote :

GOALKEEPERS (3): Nicole Barnhart, Ashlyn Harris, Hope Solo
DEFENDERS (9):
Rachel Buehler, Stephanie Cox, Whitney Engen, Meghan Klingenberg, Amy
LePeilbet, Heather Mitts, Kelley O’Hara, Christie Rampone, Becky
Sauerbrunn
MIDFIELDERS (7): Shannon Boxx, Tobin Heath, Lori Lindsey, Carli Lloyd, Heather O’Reilly, Megan Rapinoe, Amy Rodriguez
FORWARDS (4): Lauren Cheney, Sydney Leroux, Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach

YAEL AVERBUCH: Differing Schools of Thought, Differing Styles of Play

Quote :

POTSDAM, Germany — Women’s soccer in the United States has always been
at the top of the game. The most recent Women’s World Cup, however,
showed that the women’s game is developing strong teams all over the
world.

In the U.S., we are taught to train and play at high intensity, at
times sacrificing quality for quantity and intensity of work. I was
shocked at how slow the game in Europe seemed at first. I thought, “Wow,
these women are missing something.” But then I realized, they aren’t
missing anything, they’re just approaching the puzzle from another point
of view. It was especially apparent in Spain that the players are
taught to play at a pace that ensures a large percentage of success in
performing skills and techniques. If this means slowing the game down,
so be it. It’s all about what is emphasized and encouraged.

Another
difference I have noticed is a tactical one, based on the physical and
technical makeup of the players. In the U.S., we have a large number of
very athletic, talented individual players. We breed great 1v1 attacking
and defending by encouraging those athletic qualities. In Europe, I
have seen far fewer players with that type of skill-set. Instead, it is
obvious players are encouraged to cooperate to find success, as opposed
to the “do it yourself” attitude. This encourages a level of
sophistication that I feel is sometimes lacking in American soccer.
Obviously though, both are very necessary in comprising a great team.

United States tops Brazil 3-0 in women’s Kirin Cup

Quote :

Carli Lloyd, Shannon Boxx and Amy Rodriguez scored to
power the United States to a 3-0 victory over Brazil in the three-team Kirin Cup
on Tuesday.

As an out U.S. Olympic soccer player, Megan Rapinoe's got balls

Quote :

“We need fans; we need people to watch our games,” she says. “I don’t think it happens like it does in male sports, just because we’re playing. We do a good job of opening up and having our fans know us. But there’s a line we don’t cross, because then they will dive in.”

Some fans already have. Who can blame them? Rapinoe -- also a member of the U.S. women’s national team and a midfielder for the Seattle Sounders Women -- is one of the most well-known women’s soccer players in the world. So it’s no wonder she’s inspired some enthusiastic fans—like the German guy who tattooed her likeness on the back of his calf.

Now, obsessed fans collect confessions of undying adoration on Tumblr pages. She has a lucrative endorsement deal with Nike. And she’ll be traveling to London to represent the United States at the Olympics this year. It’s a crowning achievement for the 27-year-old. But Rapinoe has decided to pull off another landmark in women’s soccer: to come out and publicly discuss her sexuality.