The Women's Game

California High School Champions

2010-03-13T23:25:00.001-08:00

Here's a list of prep girls soccer champs from California. Some girls titles are determined during the spring season:

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONALS

Division I: Esperanza (Anaheim)

Division II: Granite Hills (Apple Valley)

Division III: Flintridge Sacred Heart (La Canada Flintridge)

SOUTHERN SECTION

Division 1: Esperanza (Anaheim)

Division 2: Harvard-Westlake (Studio City)

Division 3: M.L. King (Riverside)

Division 4: Sultana (Hesperia)

Division 5: Notre Dame Academy (Los Angeles)

Division 6: Malibu (Malibu)

Division 7: Sierra Vista (Baldwin Park)

L.A. CITY SECTION

Divisional: El Camino Real (Woodland Hills)

Invitational: Fremont (Los Angeles)

Small Schools: LACES/Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (Los Angeles)

SAN DIEGO SECTION

Division I: La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad)

Division II: West Hills (Santee)

Division III: Coronado (Coronado)

Division IV: Francis Parker (San Diego)

CENTRAL SECTION

Division I: Buchanan (Clovis)

Division II: Garces (Bakersfield)

Division III: Clovis North (Fresno)

Division IV: Central Valley Christian (Visalia)

Division V: Liberty (Madera Ranchos)

Division VI: Strathmore (Strathmore)

CENTRAL COAST SECTION

Division I: St. Francis (Mountain View)

Division II: Presentation (San Jose)

and Aragon (San Mateo), co-champions

Division III: Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz)

NORTH COAST SECTION

Fall Division I: Montgomery (Santa Rosa)

Fall Division III: Sonoma Academy (Santa Rosa)

Winter Division I: Castro Valley (Castro Valley)

Winter Division II: Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland)

Spring: TBD

SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION

Division I: Spring – TBD

Division II: Spring – TBD

Division III: Spring – TBD

Division IV: Spring – TBD

Division V: Spring – TBD

Division VI: Spring – TBD

Division VII: Spring – TBD

NORTHERN SECTION

Division I: Lassen (Susanville)

Division II: Sutter (Sutter)

Division III: Colusa (Colusa)

SAN FRANCISCO SECTION

AAA: Spring – TBD

OAKLAND SECTION

OAL: Skyline (Oakland)

Let's give the boys some equal time, OK?

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONALS

Division I: Paramount (Paramount)

Division II: Corona del Mar (Newport Beach)

Division III: Salesian (Los Angeles)

SOUTHERN SECTION

Division 1: JSerra (San Juan Capistrano)

Division 2: Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara)

Division 3: Paramount (Paramount)

Division 4: Corona del Mar (Newport Beach)

Division 5: Salesian (Los Angeles)

Division 6: Mountain View (El Monte)

Division 7: Avalon (Avalon)

L.A. CITY SECTION

Large Schools: San Fernando (San Fernando)

Small Schools: Elizabeth Learning Center (Cudahy)

SAN DIEGO SECTION

Division I: San Pasqual (Escondido)

Division II: Orange Glen (Escondido)

Division III: Castle Park (Chula Vista)

Division IV: The Bishop’s School (La Jolla)

CENTRAL SECTION

Division I: Stockdale (Bakersfield)

Division II: Redwood (Visalia)

Division III: Dinuba (Dinuba)

Division IV: Shafter (Shafter)

Division V: Mission Prep (San Luis Obispo)

Division VI: Farmersville (Farmersville)

CENTRAL COAST SECTION

Division I: Alisal (Salinas)

Division II: St. Francis (Mountain View)

Division III: Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz)

NORTH COAST SECTION

Fall Division I: Marin Catholic (Kentfield)

Fall Division III: Branson (Ross)

Winter Division I: De La Salle (Concord)

Winter Division II: Dublin (Dublin)

SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION

Division I: Jesuit (Carmichael)

Division II: Rocklin (Rocklin)

Division III: El Camino (Sacramento)

Division IV: Ceres (Ceres)

Division V: Patterson (Patterson)

Division VI: Encina (Sacramento)

Division VII: Tioga (Groveland)

NORTHERN SECTION

Division I: Corning (Corning)

Division II: Orland (Orland)

Division III: Hamilton (Hamilton City)

SAN FRANCISCO SECTION

AAA: O’Connell (San Francisco)

OAKLAND SECTION

OAL: Skyline (Oakland)

U.S. trumps Germans for Algarve Cup title

2010-03-04T12:56:00.000-08:00

The U.S. women's national team won its seventh Algarve Cup title Monday with a 3-2 victory over two-time defending Women's World Cup champion Germany in the championship game in Faro, Portugal.

Sky Blue FC's Carli Lloyd, Washington Freedom's Abby Wambach and Boston Breakers rookie Lauren Cheney tallied for the U.S., who built 2-0 and 3-1 leads en route to their fifth victory in as many games in the annual showcase. It is the Americans' sixth Algarve title in eight years. Germany's only trophy, in 2006, was captured in a title-game with over the U.S.

Inka Grings, the heroine of Germany's European Championship triumph last year (and who I believe should have won the FIFA World Player of the Year Award, which went to the L.A. Sol's Marta, now with FC Gold Pride), scored both goals for the Germans.

Lloyd gave the Americans an 18th-minute lead, scoring on a deflected shot from a poorly cleared cross, and Wambach made it 2-0 four minutes later, scoring on a powerful header from Sky Blue FC winger Heather O'Reilly's cross.

Wambach's goal, her 104th in international play, was her 20th in Algarve Cup history, pulling her into a tie with Swedish striker Hanna Ljungberg for the all-time lead.

Cheney, the No. 2 pick in January's Women's Professional Soccer draft out of UCLA, netted her fourth goal of the tournament in the 69th minute after German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer failed to hold onto a pass from Philadelphia Independence midfielder Lori Lindsey.

Grings scored in the 40th and 74th minutes, the first from a through ball from former Women's United Soccer Association star Birgit Prinz and the second from a Melanie Behringer feed.

Sweden finished third with a 2-0 victory over China, and Denmark topped Norway, 2-1, for fifth.

The Americans' next games are March 28 in San Diego and March 31 in Sandy, Utah, against Mexico.

United States 3, Germany 2. Goals: Carli Lloyd 18, Abby Wambach (Heather O'Reilly) 22, Lauren Cheney 69; Inka Grings (Birgit Prinz) 40, Inka Grings (Melanie Behringer) 74.
United States: Hope Solo; Heather Mitts, Rachel Buehler, Amy LePeilbet, Meghan Schnur; Heather O’Reilly, Shannon Boxx, Carli Lloyd, Amy Rodriguez (Lori Lindsey, 59); Lauren Cheney (Casey Nogueira, 84), Abby Wambach.
Germany: Nadine Angerer; Babett Peter, Sonja Fuss, Bianca Schmidt, Lena Goebling (Jennifer Zietz, 29); Melanie Behringer (Martina Müller, 87), Birgit Prinz, Anja Mittag (Alexandra Popp, 70), Kerstin Garefrekes, Fatmire Bajramaj (Célia Okoyino da Mbabi, 46), Inka Grings.
Misconduct: Cautions --Mitts 41, Lloyd 46.
Referee: Kirsi Heikkinen (Finland). Att.: 1,200.

ALGARVE CUP CHAMPIONS
1994 Norway
1995 Sweden
1996 Norway
1997 Norway
1998 Norway
1999 China
2000 United States
2001 Sweden
2002 China
2003 United States
2004 United States
2005 United States
2006 Germany
2007 United States
2008 United States
2009 Sweden
2010 United States

Cheney's goals take U.S. to Algarve final

2010-03-01T16:34:00.000-08:00

Boston Breakers rookie Lauren Cheney scored twice Monday in Ferreiras, Portugal, to lead the U.S. women's national team past Sweden, 2-0, and into its eighth successive Algarve Cup title game.

Cheney, an Olympic veteran from UCLA who came on at halftime, scored in the 56th and 87th minutes to give the Americans (3-0-0) the Group B title. They'll meet Germany (3-0-0), which destroyed China, 5-0, in Group A's decisive match. The Germans are the reigning Women's World Cup champions, and the U.S. is the reigning Olympic gold medalist.

The U.S. and Germany faced off in the 2005 and 2006 Algarve finals. The U.S. won the first, 1-0, and dropped the second on penalties. Sweden defeated the U.S. on penalty kicks in last year's final.

The goals were the sixth and seventh in Cheney's international career and gave her three in the tournament. She scored from Chicago Red Stars rookie Casey Nogueira's through ball to give the Americans a 1-0 lead, then scored on a 20-yard blast to the upper-left corner following a give-and-go with Philadelphia Independence midfielder Lori Lindsey for the second goal. Lindsey had assists in all three U.S. victories.

Sweden and China will meet for third place. Norway, which topped Iceland, 3-2, in the other Group B game, will take on Denmark, a 2-1 winner over Finland, in the fifth-place game.

United States 2, Sweden 0. Goals: Lauren Cheney (Casey Nogueira) 56, Lauren Cheney (Lori Lindsey) 87.
United States: Hope Solo; Heather Mitts, Rachel Buehler, Amy LePeilbet, Stephanie Cox; Heather O’Reilly (Casey Nogueira, 46), Shannon Boxx, Yael Averbuch (Carli Lloyd, 46), Lori Lindsey; Amy Rodriguez (Lauren Cheney, 46), Abby Wambach.
Sweden: Hedvid Lindahl; Charlotte Rohlin (Linda Sembrandt, 71), Anna Paulson, Sara Thunebro, Sara Larsson; Caroline Seger (Petra Larsson, 71), Therese Sjögran (Lina Nilsson, 80), Lisa Dahlkvist (Nilla Fischer, 19), Kosovare Asllani (Louise Fors, 80), Lotta Schelin, Jessica Landstrom (Linnea Liljegard, 80).
Misconduct: None.
Referee: Efthalia Mitsi (Greece). Att.: 500.

Wambach carries U.S. past Norway at Algarve

2010-02-26T14:23:00.000-08:00

Washington Freedom forward Abby Wambach scored two goals, with the winner in stoppage, to lift the U.S. women's national team past Norway, 2-1, at Vila Real de San Antonio, Portugal, giving the Americans a 2-0-0 record in Group B.

Wambach also scored in the 13th minute for the U.S., which needs only a tie in its group finale Monday against Sweden to advance to the championship game. The Swedes routed Iceland, 5-1, after a 2-2 draw with Norway in their opener.

Wambach gave the Americans the lead on a through ball from former Freedom teammate Lori Lindsey, now with the expansion Philadelphia Independence. She scored the winner with a volley from Boston Breakers rookie Lauren Cheney's cross.

Isabel Herlovsen netted Norway's goal in the 63rd minute.

China topped Denmark, 2-0, and Germany routed Finland, 7-0, in Group A. Germany needs just a draw against China in its final group game to reach the final; China would advance with a victory.

United States 2, Norway 0. Goals: Abby Wambach (Lori Lindsey) 13, Abby Wambach (Lauren Cheney) 92+; Isabel Herlovsen (Leni Larsen Kaurin) 63.
United States: Nicole Barnhart; Heather Mitts, Rachel Buehler, Stephanie Cox, Meghan Schnur (Catherine Whitehill, 46); Heather O’Reilly, Shannon Boxx (Yael Averbuch, 64), Carli Lloyd, Lori Lindsey (Amy Rodriguez, 77); Lauren Cheney, Abby Wambach.
Norway: Christine Nilsen; Toril Akerhaugen, Marit Christensen, Lise Marie Woods (Solveig Gulbrandsen, 61), Hedda Gardsjord, Maren Mjelde, Lise Klaveness, Guro Knutsen Mienna (Leni Larsen Kaurin, 61), Lena Storløkken (Ingvild Stensland, 61); Elisa Thorsnes (Isabel Herlovsen, 61), Lene Mykjaland (Lindy Melissa Wiik, 75).
Misconduct: Cautions -- Christensen 11, Lloyd 76.
Referee: Unavailable. A: 300.

Spectacular Solo saves U.S. in Algarve opener

2010-02-24T13:39:00.000-08:00

Saint Louis Athletica goalkeeper Hope Solo saved two penalty kicks to lead the U.S. women's national team to a 2-0 victory over Iceland in its Algarve Cup opener Wednesday in Vila Real de San Antonio, Portugal.

The Americans went ahead on Silf Atladottir's own goal in the 60th minute and made it 2-0 on Boston Breakers rookie Lauren Cheney's goal a minute later.

Solo dived to her right to save Margret Lara Vidarsdottir's penalty in the 13th minute (Vidarsdottir had been taken down in the box by Catherine Whitehill) and Birglind Bjorg Thorvaldsdottir's penalty deep into second-half stoppage (Rachel Buehler carded for tugging Holmfrigur Magnusdottir's jersey in the box).

Atladottir's own goal was a header past goalkeeper Gudbjorg Gunnarsdottir from a cross by Sky Blue FC defender Megan Schnurr, making her international debut, from the left side on Iceland's box. Cheney scored from Philadelphia Independence midfielder Lori Lindsey's through ball.

The U.S. faces Norway on Friday and Sweden on Monday in its remaining Group B matches.

United States 2, Iceland 0. Goals: own goal Silf Altadottir 60, Lauren Cheney (Lori Lindsey) 61.
United States: Hope Solo; Catherine Whitehill, Rachel Buehler, Amy LePeilbet, Meghan Schnur (Stephanie Cox, 75); Heather O’Reilly, Shannon Boxx (Casey Nogueira, 75), Carli Lloyd, Yael Averbuch (Lori Lindsey, 58); Lauren Cheney (Amy Rodriguez, 66), Abby Wambach.
Iceland: Gudbjörg Gunnarsdóttir; Sif Atladóttir, Ólína Gudbjörg Vidarsdóttir, Katrín Jónsdóttir, Rakel Hönnudóttir, Hólmfrídur Magnúsdóttir (Fanndís Fridriksdóttir, 89), Katrín Ómarsdóttir (Elínborg Ingvarsdóttir, 85), Dóra María Lárusdóttir (Rakel Logadóttir, 64), Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir (Erna Björk Sigurdardóttir, 81), Dagný Brynjarsdóttir (Gudný Björk Ódinsdóttir, 73), Margrét Lára Vidarsdóttir (Berglind Björg Thorvaldsdóttir, 63).
Misconduct: Cautions -- Whitehill 29, Buehler 93+.
Referee: Christine Beck (Germany). A: 250.

WPS 2010 Schedule

2010-02-18T23:26:00.001-08:00

Saturday, April 10, 2010
Washington Freedom	Boston Breakers	Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, MD	7pm		Tickets
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Saint Louis Athletica	FC Gold Pride	The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Fenton, MO	4pm		Tickets
Philadelphia Independence	Atlanta Beat	John A. Farrell Stadium, West Chester, PA	6pm		Tickets
Sky Blue FC	Chicago Red Stars	Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ	6pm	FSC	Tickets
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Chicago Red Stars	Saint Louis Athletica	Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL	8pm		Tickets
FC Gold Pride	Sky Blue FC	Castro Valley Athletic Stadium, Castro Valley, CA	10pm		Tickets
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Washington Freedom	Atlanta Beat	Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, MD	4pm		Tickets
Boston Breakers	Philadelphia Independence	Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA	6pm	FSC	Tickets
Saturday, April 24, 2010
FC Gold Pride	Atlanta Beat	Castro Valley Athletic Stadium, Castro Valley, CA	10pm		Tickets
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Philadelphia Independence	Washington Freedom	John A. Farrell Stadium, West Chester, PA	6pm		Tickets
Chicago Red Stars	Sky Blue FC	Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL	6pm		Tickets
Saint Louis Athletica	Boston Breakers	The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Fenton, MO	6pm	FSC	Tickets
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Boston Breakers	Chicago Red Stars	Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA	6pm		Tickets
Philadelphia Independence	Atlanta Beat	John A. Farrell Stadium, West Chester, PA	6pm		Tickets
Sky Blue FC	FC Gold Pride	Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ	6pm	FSC	Tickets
Washington Freedom	Saint Louis Athletica	TBD	TBD		Tickets
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Washington Freedom	Boston Breakers	Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, MD	7pm		Tickets
Saint Louis Athletica	Philadelphia Independence	The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Fenton, MO	8:10pm		Tickets
FC Gold Pride	Chicago Red Stars	Castro Valley Athletic Stadium, Castro Valley, CA	10pm		Tickets
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Atlanta Beat	Sky Blue FC	Atlanta Beat's stadium, Kennesaw, GA	7pm	FSC	Tickets
Friday, May 14, 2010
Boston Breakers	FC Gold Pride	Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA	7:30pm		Tickets
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Chicago Red Stars	Philadelphia Independence	Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL	7pm		Tickets
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Saint Louis Athletica	Sky Blue FC	The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Fenton, MO	4pm		Tickets
Atlanta Beat	Washington Freedom	Atlanta Beat's stadium, Kennesaw, GA	6pm	FSC	Tickets
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Atlanta Beat	Saint Louis Athletica	Atlanta Beat's stadium, Kennesaw, GA	7pm		Tickets
Sky Blue FC	Boston Breakers	Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ	7pm		Tickets
Chicago Red Stars	FC Gold Pride	Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL	8pm		Tickets
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Washington Freedom	Philadelphia Independence	Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, MD	6pm	FSC	Tickets
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Boston Breakers	Saint Louis Athletica	Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA	6pm		Tickets
FC Gold Pride	Washington Freedom	Castro Valley Athletic Stadium, Castro Valley, CA	10pm		Tickets
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Philadelphia Independence	Sky Blue FC	John A. Farrell Stadium, West Chester, PA	6pm		Tickets
Chicago Red Stars	Atlanta Beat	Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL	6pm	FSC	Tickets
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Saint Louis Athletica	FC Gold Pride	The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Fenton, MO	8:10pm		Tickets
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Washington Freedom	Chicago Red Stars	Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, MD	7pm		Tickets
Saint Louis Athletica	Atlanta Beat	The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Fenton, MO	5:45pm		Tickets
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Boston Breakers	Sky Blue FC	Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA	4pm		Tickets
Philadelphia Independence	FC Gold Pride	John A. Farrell Stadium, West Chester, PA	6pm	FSC	Tickets
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Sky Blue FC	Philadelphia Independence	Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ	7pm		Tickets
Atlanta Beat	Chicago Red Stars	Atlanta Beat's stadium, Kennesaw, GA	7pm		Tickets
FC Gold Pride	Boston Breakers	Pioneer Stadium, Hayward, CA	10pm		Tickets
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Saint Louis Athletica	Washington Freedom	The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Fenton, MO	6pm	FSC	Tickets
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Atlanta Beat	Philadelphia Independence	Atlanta Beat's stadium, Kennesaw, GA	7:30pm		Tickets
Friday, June 25, 2010
Boston Breakers	Chicago Red Stars	Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA	7:30pm		Tickets
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Philadelphia Independence	Washington Freedom	John A. Farrell Stadium, West Chester, PA	6pm		Tickets
Sunday, June 27, 2010
FC Gold Pride	Saint Louis Athletica	Pioneer Stadium, Hayward, CA	6pm	FSC	Tickets
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
WPS All-Star Game presented by U.S. Coast Guard		TBA	TBA	FSC
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Atlanta Beat	FC Gold Pride	Atlanta Beat's stadium, Kennesaw, GA	7pm		Tickets
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Philadelphia Independence	Boston Breakers	John A. Farrell Stadium, West Chester, PA	4pm		Tickets
Washington Freedom	Sky Blue FC	Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, MD	6pm		Tickets
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Sky Blue FC	Saint Louis Athletica	Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ	7pm		Tickets
Chicago Red Stars	Washington Freedom	Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL	8:30pm		Tickets
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Washington Freedom	Saint Louis Athletica	Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, MD	7pm		Tickets
Chicago Red Stars	Philadelphia Independence	Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL	7pm		Tickets
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Boston Breakers	Atlanta Beat	Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA	4pm		Tickets
FC Gold Pride	Sky Blue FC	Pioneer Stadium, Hayward, CA	6pm	FSC	Tickets
Saturday, July 17, 2010
FC Gold Pride	Philadelphia Independence	Pioneer Stadium, Hayward, CA	10pm		Tickets
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Boston Breakers	Washington Freedom	Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA	5pm	FSC	Tickets
Sky Blue FC	Atlanta Beat	Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ	7pm		Tickets
Saint Louis Athletica	Chicago Red Stars	The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Fenton, MO	8:10pm		Tickets
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Boston Breakers	FC Gold Pride	Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA	7pm		Tickets
Atlanta Beat	Chicago Red Stars	Atlanta Beat's stadium, Kennesaw, GA	7:30pm		Tickets
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Philadelphia Independence	Sky Blue FC	John A. Farrell Stadium, West Chester, PA	6pm		Tickets
Washington Freedom	FC Gold Pride	Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, MD	7pm		Tickets
Saint Louis Athletica	Atlanta Beat	The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Fenton, MO	8:10pm		Tickets
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Chicago Red Stars	Boston Breakers	Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL	4pm		Tickets
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Sky Blue FC	Saint Louis Athletica	Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ	7pm		Tickets
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Boston Breakers	Philadelphia Independence	Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA	6pm		Tickets
Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010
Atlanta Beat	Washington Freedom	Atlanta Beat's stadium, Kennesaw, GA	5pm	FSC	Tickets
Sky Blue FC	Chicago Red Stars	Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ	7pm		Tickets
Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010
Washington Freedom	Philadelphia Independence	Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, MD	7:30pm		Tickets
Saturday, Aug. 7, 2010
Atlanta Beat	Boston Breakers	Atlanta Beat's stadium, Kennesaw, GA	7pm		Tickets
FC Gold Pride	Chicago Red Stars	Pioneer Stadium, Hayward, CA	10pm		Tickets
Sunday, Aug. 8, 2010
Philadelphia Independence	Saint Louis Athletica	John A. Farrell Stadium, West Chester, PA	7:30pm	FSC	Tickets
Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2010
Sky Blue FC	Washington Freedom	Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ	7pm		Tickets
Chicago Red Stars	Atlanta Beat	Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL	8:30pm		Tickets
Saint Louis Athletica	Boston Breakers	The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Fenton, MO	8:10pm	FSC	Tickets
Saturday, Aug. 14, 2010
Atlanta Beat	Saint Louis Athletica	Atlanta Beat's stadium, Kennesaw, GA	7pm		Tickets
FC Gold Pride	Washington Freedom	Pioneer Stadium, Hayward, CA	10pm		Tickets
Sunday, Aug. 15, 2010
Boston Breakers	Sky Blue FC	Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA	6pm	FSC	Tickets
Philadelphia Independence	Chicago Red Stars	John A. Farrell Stadium, West Chester, PA	6pm		Tickets
Saturday, Aug. 21, 2010
Boston Breakers	Atlanta Beat	TBD	TBD		Tickets
Sunday, Aug. 22, 2010
Sky Blue FC	Philadelphia Independence	Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ	4pm		Tickets
Saint Louis Athletica	Washington Freedom	The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Fenton, MO	4pm		Tickets
Chicago Red Stars	FC Gold Pride	Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL	6pm	FSC	Tickets
Saturday, Aug. 28, 2010
Atlanta Beat	FC Gold Pride	Atlanta Beat's stadium, Kennesaw, GA	7pm		Tickets
Washington Freedom	Sky Blue FC	Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, MD	7pm		Tickets
Saint Louis Athletica	Chicago Red Stars	The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Fenton, MO	8:10pm		Tickets
Sunday, Aug. 29, 2010
Philadelphia Independence	Boston Breakers	John A. Farrell Stadium, West Chester, PA	6pm	FSC	Tickets
Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010
Sky Blue FC	FC Gold Pride	Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ	7pm		Tickets
Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010
Chicago Red Stars	Washington Freedom	Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL	TBD		Tickets
Atlanta Beat	Sky Blue FC	Atlanta Beat's stadium, Kennesaw, GA	TBD		Tickets
FC Gold Pride	Boston Breakers	Pioneer Stadium, Hayward, CA	TBD		Tickets
Philadelphia Independence	Saint Louis Athletica	John A. Farrell Stadium, West Chester, PA	6pm		Tickets
Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010
Sky Blue FC	Boston Breakers	Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ	7pm		Tickets
Chicago Red Stars	Saint Louis Athletica	Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL	7pm		Tickets
FC Gold Pride	Philadelphia Independence	Pioneer Stadium, Hayward, CA	TBD		Tickets
Sunday, Sept. 12, 2010
Washington Freedom	Atlanta Beat	Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, MD	TBD		Tickets
WPS First Round - Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010
No. 3 Seed	No. 4 Seed	TBD	2pm	FSN
WPS Super Semifinal - Wednesday/Thursday, Sept. 22/23, 2010
No. 2 Seed	Winner of WPS First Round	TBD	TBD	FSC
WPS Championship - Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010
No. 1 Seed	Winner of WPS Super Semifinal	TBD

U.S. U-20s battle Norway, England and Germany

2010-02-17T12:49:00.000-08:00

The U.S. team that won last month's CONCACAF U-20 women's championship to claim a berth in this summer's FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Germany, will face Norway, England and Germany as part of the La Manga Cup in Spain, which kicks off Thursday.

Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders will play in the tournament's primary event, an eight-club men's championship, and the U.S. U-18 women's team will compete in the Ten Nations Tournament that follows.

The U-20s will meet Norway on Feb. 22, Germany on Feb. 24 and England on Feb. 26. Coach Jill Ellis's 18-player roster includes 16 players from the CONCACAF-winning side. Additions are Oklahoma State goalkeeper Adrianna Franch and Stanford forward Courtney Verloo. Boston College freshmen Vicki DiMartino and Kristie Mewis won't play because of school commitments

The Sounders meet Norwegian power Rosenborg on Thursday in the first round of the men's knockout competition. Also competing are Denmark's FC Nordsjaelland and FC Midtjylland, Norway's SK Brann, Molde FK and Stabaek, and Russia's FC Krylia. The final is Feb. 26.

The U-18s will meet Norway on March 1, Germany on March 3 and Sweden on March 5 in the U-19 Ten Nations Tournament.

Here are the U.S. rosters for these events

U.S. U-20
Head coach: Jill Ellis

Goalkeepers
Adrianna Franch (Oklahoma State), Salina, Kan.
Bianca Henninger (Santa Clara), Los Gatos, Calif.

Defenders
Amber Brooks (North Carolina), New Hope, Pa.
Crystal Dunn (Albertson S.C.), Rockville Centre, N.Y.
Kendall Johnson (Portland), Portland, Ore.
Lucretia Lee (UCLA), Bothell, Wash.
Toni Pressley (Florida State), Melbourne, Fla.
Rachel Quon (Stanford), Lake Forrest, Ill.

Midfielders
Zakiya Bywaters (UCLA), Las Vegas
Samantha Mewis (Scorpions SC), Hanson, Mass.
Teresa Noyola (Stanford), Palo Alto, Calif.
Jenna Richmond (McLean SC), Centreville, Va.
Casey Short (Florida State), Naperville, Ill.

Forwards
Maya Hayes (Aristocrats), West Orange, N.J.
Sydney Leroux (UCLA), Phoenix
Morgan Marlborough (Nebraska), Raymore, Mo.
Tiffany McCarty (Florida State), Laurel, Md.
Courtney Verloo (Stanford), Tualatin, Ore.

U.S. U-18
Head coach: Dave Chesler

Goalkeepers
Aubrey Bledsoe (Kings Soccer Academy), Cincinnati
Anna Sieloff (Vardar), Troy, Mich.

Defenders
Torri Allen (McLean Dragons), Stafford, Va.
Arin Gilliland (Ohio Elite), Wilmore, Ky.
Meg Morris (Aristocrats), Montclair, N.J.
Mollie Pathman (Triangle FC), Durham, N.C.
Kendall Romine (So Cal Blues), Coto de Caza, Calif.
Carrie Whigham (Sereno SC), Phoenix

Midfielders
Michelle Cruz (Real So Cal), Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Gloria Douglas (Triangle FC), Fayetteville, N.C.
Lindsay Elston (Crossfire Premier), Sammamish, Wash.
Julie Johnston (Sereno SC), Mesa, Ariz.
Mandy Laddish (Blue Valley Stars), Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Tiffini Smith (Polaris SC), Fort Worth, Texas
Chioma Ubogagu (D’Feeters), Coppell, Texas

Forwards
Natalia Ledezma (Slammers FC), La Mirada, Calif.
Rachel Nuzzolese (Oceanside), Melville, N.Y.
Katie Stengel (Space Coast United), West Melbourne, Fla.

Rapinoe replaces Heath on Algarve roster

2010-02-17T12:24:00.000-08:00

Chicago Red Stars attacker Megan Rapinoe has been added to the U.S. women's national team roster for the Feb. 24-March 3 Algarve Cup in Portugal, stepping in for Atlanta Beat rookie Tobin Heath.

Heath, a University of North Carolina All-American taken by the Beat with the No. 1 selection in last month's Women's Professional Soccer draft, pulled out with illness.

Rapinoe was the most dynamic rookie in WPS last season, and would have been the Rookie of the Year favorite had the league decided to honor its first-season rookies.

The U.S. opens Algarve play Feb. 24 against Iceland.

Japan tops Korea to win East Asian title

2010-02-13T02:37:00.000-08:00

Shinobu Ono and Atlanta Beat forward Mami Yamaguchi scored goals to lead Japan past South Korea, 2-1, Saturday to win the East Asian women's championship in Tokyo.

Ono scored in the seventh minute and Yamaguchi, a former Florida State All-American, tallied in the 17th. Yoo Young-A scored for South Korea in the 75th.

Yamaguchi left Florida State for Swedish powerhouse Umea IK following her junior season, after winning the MAC Hermann Award in January 2008 as college soccer's top player. She was taken by Atlanta in Women's Professional Soccer 's international draft for expansion teams.

China routed Taiwan, 3-0, to finish second.

FINAL STANDINGS (with W-L-T, GF-GA and Pts)
Japan 3-0-0 7-1 9
China 2-1-0 5-3 6
South Korea 1-2-0 6-4 3
Taiwan 0-3-0 0-10 0

Chalupny steps away for concussion-related issues

2010-02-12T14:13:00.000-08:00

Lori Chalupny, arguably the best American in Women's Professional Soccer's first season, is taking an indefinite leave of absence to deal with concussion issues, her club, Saint Louis Athletica, has announced.

Chalupny, Athletica's captain, is a fixture on the U.S. women's national team, either at left back or in midfield. She's among the most dynamic and versatile players the U.S. has produced.

She is skipping the Algarve Cup, which begins later this month, and is expected to miss at least some of Athletica's preseason training camp, which opens March 1. The club said there is no timetable for her return.

“I am taking some time off so I can get some additional testing done for these concussion-related issues,” Chalupny said in a release. “I need to go through this process now to insure my health for the future. I certainly don’t like the idea of missing a tournament like the Algarve Cup, or missing any time with Athletica. I just need to get some rest and take care of these issues.”

Chalupny was a WPS All-Star, playing in 19 of 21 games for Athletica with two goals and an assist. She has 92 international caps with eight goals.

Gold Pride lets Brandi go: Chastain released

2010-02-12T14:00:00.000-08:00

FC Gold Pride on Friday released U.S. women's soccer legend Brandi Chastain, a move head coach Albertin Montoya said "was necessary for us to construct the roster for the coming season." Sounds like code for "salary-cap move," necessary to bring in Marta's big contract.

Chastain, 41, is best-known, of course, for her sports bra-bearing celebration of her decisive penalty kick in the U.S. women's national team's shootout triumph over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup final at the Rose Bowl. She represented the U.S. team 192 times over 16 years, making her final appearance in 2004.

As most of her contemporaries retired -- only Kristine Lilly remains from the late '80s group -- Chastain continued on, playing for Sacramento-based California Storm in the Women's Premier Soccer League until joining FC Gold Pride for Women's Professional Soccer's inaugural campaign.

Injuries limited her to 10 games, with five starts, last season.

"Brandi has the heart and spirit of a champion," Montoya said in a statement. "This was a tough decision, but one that was necessary for us to construct the roster for the coming season. She is a great leader, and we all wish her the best as she moves forward with her career."

Japan crushes Taiwan, cruising to East Asian title

2010-02-11T12:49:00.000-08:00

Mana Iwabuchi scored two goals and Japan routed Taiwan, 3-0, Thursday in Tokyo to move closer to the East Asian Women's Championship title. A draw in Saturday's finale against South Korea will be enough to give the Japanese (2-0-0) the crown.

Iwabuchi scored in the 36th and 59th minutes, and Megume Takase made it 3-0 in the 85th minute. Saint Louis Athletica's Aya Miyama, Japan's captain, assisted on the first goal, and Washington Freedom star Homare Sawa came off the bench to assist Takase's goal.

Japan held a 24-1 advantage in shots.

STANDINGS (with W-L-T, GF-GA and Pts)
Japan 2-0-0 5-0 6
South Korea 1-1-0 5-2 3
China 1-1-0 2-3 3
Taiwan 0-2-0 0-7 0

U.S. Algarve schedule has Nordic feel; roster announced

2010-02-11T12:31:00.000-08:00

The U.S. women's national team will take on Iceland, Norway and Sweden during group play at the 17th Algarve Cup, which begins later this month, and coach Pia Sundhage released her 19-player roster Thursday.

This is the Americans' 15th trek to the annual tournament, which is played at small venues across Portugal's Algarve region. They have won six Algarve titles, narrowly missing a seventh last year when they fell on penalty kicks to Sweden in the final. The U.S. has captured five of the past seven championships.

The Americans are in Group B. Group A contains reigning two-time Women's World Cup champion Germany, China, Finland and Denmark. Group C, which does not play for the championship, features Austria, Romania, Faroe Islands and the host Portuguese.

The tournament runs Feb. 24-March 3.

The big names missing from Sundhage's roster are midfielders Kristine Lilly, Lori Chalupny (concussion issues) and Lindsay Tarpley (knee injury) and defenders Christie Rampone (pregnancy) and Kate Markgraf (post-pregnancy).

Two uncapped players -- Chicago Red Stars goalkeeper Jillian Loyden and Sky Blue FC defender Meghan Schnurr -- are on the roster. Another xx players have less than five caps: Sky Blue midfielder Yael Averbuch (3), Philadelphia Independence midfielder Lori Lindsey (1) and Chicago Red Stars forward Casey Nogueira (1).

Nogueira is joined by fellow Women's Professional Soccer rookies Tobin Heath (Atlanta Beat) and Lauren Cheney (Boston Breakers), both of whom were on the gold-medal winning team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

U.S. ROSTER
Goalkeepers
Nicole Barnhart (FC Gold Pride)
Jill Loyden (Chicago Red Stars)
Hope Solo (Saint Louis Athletica)

Defenders
Rachel Buehler (FC Gold Pride)
Stephanie Cox (Boston Breakers)
Amy LePeilbet (Boston Breakers)
Heather Mitts (Philadelphia Independence)
Meghan Schnur (Sky Blue FC)
Catherine Whitehill (Washington Freedom)

Midfielders
Yael Averbuch (Sky Blue FC)
Shannon Boxx (Saint Louis Athletica)
Tobin Heath (Atlanta Beat)
Lori Lindsey (Philadelphia Independence)
Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC)
Heather O’Reilly (Sky Blue FC)

Forwards
Lauren Cheney (Boston Breakers)
Casey Nogueira (Chicago Red Stars)
Amy Rodriguez (Philadelphia Independence)
Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom)

ALGARVE CUP
Group A: Germany, China, Finland, Denmark
Group B: USA, Norway, Iceland, Sweden,
Group C: Portugal, Austria, Romania, Faroe Islands

Feb. 24
A        Germany vs. Denmark
A        Finland vs. China
B       USA vs. Iceland
B       Sweden vs. Norway
C        Portugal vs. Faroe Islands
C        Romania vs. Austria

Feb. 26
A       Denmark vs. China
A       Germany vs. Finland
B       Norway vs. USA
B       Iceland vs. Sweden
C        Portugal vs. Romania
C        Faroe Islands vs. Austria

March 1
A       Denmark vs. Finland
A       China vs. Germany
B        USA vs. Sweden
B       Iceland vs. Norway
C       Portugal vs. Austria
C       Romania vs. Faroe Islands

March 3
Placement matches

ALGARVE CUP CHAMPIONS
1994 Norway
1995 Sweden
1996 Norway
1997 Norway
1998 Norway
1999 China
2000 United States
2001 Sweden
2002 China
2003 United States
2004 United States
2005 United States
2006 Germany
2007 United States
2008 United States
2009 Sweden

U.S. schedules matches against Mexico in San Diego and Sandy, Utah

2010-02-11T12:03:00.000-08:00

The U.S. women’s national team has scheduled matches against Mexico on March 28 in San Diego and March 31 in Sandy, Utah.

Tickets for the games go on sale Friday.

The San Diego game will be played at 2 p.m. PT at Torero Stadium at the University of San Diego. The second game will be played at Major League Soccer champion Real Salt Lake's Rio Tinto Stadium at 7 p.m. MT.

Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports en Español will televise the first game, and ESPN2 will show the second game.

For more information, go here.

China tops South Korea in East Asian finals

2010-02-10T23:40:00.000-08:00

Ma Xiaoxu and Yuan Fan scored second-half goals to lead China past South Korea, 2-1, Thursday at the East Asian Women's Championship in Tokyo.

Ma scored in the 51st minute and Yuan in the 63rd for China (1-1-0), which was beaten by Japan in its tournament opener. South Korea (1-1) halved the deficit on Ji So Yun's goal in the 85th.

Japan meets Taiwan on Friday.

STANDINGS (with W-L-T, GF-GA and Pts)
South Korea 1-1-0 5-2 3
Japan 1-0-0 2-0 3
China 1-1-0 2-3 3
Taiwan 0-1-0 0-4 0

South Korea wins East Asian opener

2010-02-07T22:55:00.000-08:00

Lee Jang Mi scored two goals to lead South Korea in a 4-0 rout of Taiwan in its opener Sunday at the East Asian Women's Championship in Tokyo.

Lee scored in the 28th minute and in first-half stoppage as South Korea romped to a 3-0 halftime lead. Jeon Ga Yul tallied in the 27th minute and Yoo Young A in the 74th for the Koreans, who lost two games to the U.S. women last month in Carson, Calif.

Taiwan replaced North Korea in the four-nation regional tournament after Asia's top team ran into visa problems.

Japan beat China, 2-0, in Saturday's opener.

STANDINGS (with W-L-T, GF-GA and Pts)
South Korea 1-0-0 4-0 3
Japan 1-0-0 2-0 3
China 0-1-0 0-2 0
Taiwan 0-1-0 0-4 0

Tonya Antonucci's letter to L.A. Sol fans

2010-02-06T23:32:00.000-08:00

Here's a letter from Women's Professional Soccer commissioner Tonya Antonucci to fans of the Los Angeles Sol:

Dear Los Angeles Sol Fans,

I know for all Los Angeles Sol fans out there that this past week and Thursday's dispersal draft of the LA Sol players has been very difficult news to take. Let me tell you, it was equally as tough for us in the league office.

The decision to shut down the operations of the Los Angeles Sol was not an easy decision to make but it was a necessary decision as we began final preparations for the 2010 WPS Season without the proper ownership group in place for the LA franchise. The league and our ownership committee worked incredibly hard over the past month to complete the transaction to new owners but the deal fell through and we ran out of time.

The Los Angeles Sol brought us all such great memories in 2009, from hosting the WPS Inaugural Match in front of nearly 15,000 fans at The Home Depot Center in March to winning the WPS regular season title in July. The team’s players made headlines throughout the season from Karina LeBlanc’s fantastic saves to Shannon Boxx’s midfield prowess; from Aya Miyama’s pinpoint passing to Marta’s exquisite goals and footwork.

But none of these memories would have been possible this past year without the support of you – the fans – who purchased season tickets, attended games, watched on television and came out to cheer on your team proudly wearing blue and yellow. Los Angeles had a very special group of players and I know they'll be successful with whatever club they were drafted to. We hope you will continue to cheer them on as Sol faithful even if they are wearing another team’s colors.

Looking ahead, we are committed as a league to having the world’s best soccer league for women. The commitment of our other eight owners is stronger than ever and the talent that the league has assembled for the 2010 season is even deeper than last year. In 2010, we are looking forward to a longer season, several new stadiums, two new franchises in Atlanta and Philadelphia, and a mid-season WPS All-Star Game.

As a group, we firmly believe that the Los Angeles is a viable market for WPS and a terrific soccer community, where a WPS team can thrive in the future. It is my pledge to you as WPS Commissioner that the league office will do all that it can to put a WPS team back in the Los Angeles market for 2011 and beyond.

I wanted to finish by jotting down some comments from fans that I have read over the past week. One fan, who lives in Chicago, said she flew to LA three times to watch the Sol during the season including the WPS Inaugural Match and WPS Championship. After hearing the news, she wrote, “I am dedicated to this team… to this league.”

Another fan, who was a season ticket holder posted on Facebook: “I truly miss the team. Actually the SOL are my greatest joy. I try to live without, but it will be way hard.”

And one media member, who covered the Sol, wrote to the league office and said, “I believe that my time covering the Sol for this season was one of the greatest joys of my life.”

To all of you, I give you my sincere and heartfelt thanks for your loyalty towards the Los Angeles Sol and your continuing support of Women’s Professional Soccer. During this tough time, we also hope you are keeping up with all of the exciting developments in store for the 2010 WPS Season.

Sincerely,

Tonya Antonucci
WPS Commissioner

Miyama scores as Japan tops China

2010-02-06T03:08:00.000-08:00

New Saint Louis Athletica midfielder Aya Miyama scored the first goal as Japan beat China, 2-0, in the opener of the East Asian Championship in Tokyo.

Miyama, who shared the Women's Professional Soccer assists title as a member of the Los Angeles Sol last year, was selected by Saint Louis with the No. 8 selection in Thursday's Sol dispersal draft. She scored on a 33-yard blast off the left post to give Japan, the defending champions, a 19th-minute lead.

Defender Yukari Kinga netted the second in the 61st, intercepting Pang Fengyue's attempted header back to goalkeeper Zhang Yanru.

South Korea and Taiwan also are participating in the four-nation tournament. Taiwan was a replacement for North Korea, which withdrew because of difficulties acquiring visas.

Pluses to prep soccer, and a nod to a friend's daughter's success

2010-02-04T16:25:00.000-08:00

High school soccer is often ignored, or at least given little attention, in the grand scheme of things for a number of reasons, the biggest being that players get their scholarships based on what they accomplish as club players, not what they do for their school.

I've long been a fan of prep soccer, both boys and girls, and one of my favorite times of year -- CIF soccer playoffs -- begins in about two weeks. I like to hit a game in each round of the Southern Section playoffs (all of SoCal except the City of Los Angeles and San Diego County, plus a few points farther north) and always plan to see the finals (14 divisions' worth) the first Saturday in March, followed by the Southern California Regionals. (No state championship yet.)

I've seen some great high school players -- I saw Eddie Lewis as a 4-foot-10 freshman for Cerritos High School, where his older teammates were Jorge Salcedo and Eddie Soto. And I saw that Cerritos team, with Salcedo and Soto gone for a youth national team camp, lose to a Joe-Max Moore-led Mission Viejo High team.

Best prep player I ever saw: Bell High's Waldir Guerra, a future El Salvador national-teamer, in 1985.

Best prep teams I've seen: Upland High's girls, about three years ago, and Fresno Bullard's boys, in a SoCal Regional title-game loss last year to Woodland Hills El Camino Real.

Two of my fondest memories from high school are our soccer team (Garden Grove Pacifica's) reaching the CIF-SS 3-A final in 1978 (knocked off No. 1 Whittier Pioneer in the quarterfinals; lost to Calexico in eight OTs in the final) and winning the 2-A title in 1980 (rallying to beat Manhattan Beach Aviation to become the first Orange County school to win a soccer championship).

(I should note here: I did not play high school soccer, although I played while growing up with everybody on that team. I believe I could have sat on the bench and seen spot duty as a senior on that team, but by then I was concentrating fully on becoming a sportswriter and had given up most of my other extracurricular options.)

Anyway, what I'm leading to is a note I received today on Facebook from a friend from high school, Cheri (Mason) Naudin. She's very proud of her daugher, Chele, a freshman at Princeton High, about 30 miles northeast of Dallas, who has scored 13 goals and is the No. 4 goalscorer among public-school girls in the Dallas metro area.

You can find the list here.

Chele also plays for the Dallas Texans, perhaps the nation's premier youth club, and she used to play for Southern California Blues, another national powerhouse.

Here's to Chele Naudin!

Quick thoughts on the Sol dispersal draft

2010-02-04T14:01:00.000-08:00

Saint Louis Athletica made the biggest splash at Women's Professional Soccer's Los Angeles Sol dispersal draft Thursday, taking four players and making U.S. national team holding midfielder Shannon Boxx the top pick.

WPS MVP Marta slipped to third in the draft, taken by FC Gold Pride, but it's difficult to make assumptions about how much her $500,000-per-year contract impacted things. Saint Louis clearly coveted Boxx, and the expansion Philadelphia Independence needed a first-line goalkeeper and acquired one with Canadian Karina LeBlanc with the No. 2 pick.

Gold Pride coach Albertin Montoya was hoping either Boxx or Marta would drop to the third spot, and he got his wish. Gold Pride added two more forwards, rookies Kiki Bosio from Santa Clara and Lindsay Browne from Clemson.

Athletica, which finished second to the Sol in WPS's inaugural regular season, on Monday traded defender Kia McNeill, midfielder Angie Woznuk, rookie midfielder Amanda Poach and its second-round pick in the dispersal draft to the Atlanta Beat for the chance to make Boxx the No. 1 selection. Saint Louis also received the expansion Beat's second-round pick in next year's draft.

“Ultimately, Shannon Boxx was the player we wanted and the one we felt best fit our needs," Athletica chairman Jeff Cooper said.

Saint Louis also traded to take playmaking midfielder Tina DiMartino in the second round, and it picked up Japanese midfielder Aya Miyama with the final pick of the first round and Danish midfielder Cathrine Sorenson with the last pick of the draft.

Miyama had six assists in 2009, tied for best in WPS, but she was an at-times maddeningly inconsistent player.

The Sol had acquired DiMartino from FC Gold Pride for French midfielder Camille Abily, who might have been L.A.'s true MVP in year one. When the Bay Area team had a chance to reacquire DiMiartino, with the 13th pick, it instead opted for Bosio.

Rookie Casey Nogueira, a first-round pick out of North Carolina, was the fourth selection, by Chicago, followed by defender Stephanie Cox (to Boston), rookie winger Nikki Washington (to Sky Blue FC) and defender-forward Brittany Bock (to Washington). Miyama's selection finished the first round.

There was one previously unannounced player in the draft. Nigerian defender-forward Faith Ikidi, who has played in Sweden, was taken with the No. 10 pick by Washington. The Sol held Ikidi's rights as an unsigned discovery player.

All but two Sol players were selected. Rookie goalkeeper Mary Casey, out of Maryland, becomes a free agent, and Danish midfielder Julie Rydahl Bukh's rights are released.

KEY DRAFT ISSUES

MARTA GOES THIRD: It's difficult to assess how much Marta's $500,000 contract -- with two years remaining -- affected Atlanta's decision to trade the No. 1 pick to Saint Louis or Philadelphia's decision to take LeBlanc. Atlanta got two decent players in Kia McNeill and Angie Woznuk and a rookie midfielder with potential, Amanda Poach, if she can regain her pre-injury form. None of them are going to be stars, but Woznuk in particular is a gifted player. Saint Louis wanted Boxx, and it's a smart pick. Philly needed a top goalkeeper -- there are so few -- and got one with the second pick. So Marta fell to third, which delighted FC Gold Pride.

CURIOUS CHOICE: DiMartino failed to live up to expectations at Gold Pride last year, but she's a dynamic creative midfielder. L.A.'s decision to trade Abily for DiMartino made little sense from a technical standpoint, but salary, foreign-player slots and other considerations appear to have forced L.A.'s hand. Gold Pride could have reacquired DiMartino in the second round but instead went for rookie forward Bosio. She played at Santa Clara -- which is where Gold Pride played in season one; they're moving to Cal State East Bay in Hayward for 2010 -- and is very talented. She also has perhaps the best flip-throw in women's soccer. But she wasn't a first-round pick last month and is seen as a contributor rather than a future star. DiMartino's stock appears to have fallen mightily; how much of that has to do with her size (5-foot-2, no bulk) -- there's always been questions how she would handle the top flight, league and international, and more physical play.

POOR VAL: Former UCLA goalkeeper Val Henderson was LeBlanc's backup with the Sol. She's good enough to start in WPS, and she finally found a starting position, it appeared, when she went to expansion Philadelphia. The Independence took LeBlanc, so Henderson is again the Canadian's backup.

VALUE PICKS: Boxx at No. 1 is a great value. She might be the most important player in WPS because she can do so much from a position that is so important in the women's game.

Brittany Bock, who went to Washington with the seventh selection, is capable of playing nearly anywhere on the field. She primarily played in central defense for the Sol, but saw some action up front and as a defensive midfielder. Some thought she would have been WPS Rookie of the Year had the league had the foresight to choose one. (I would have gone with Chicago's Megan Rapinoe, but either Bock or Sol defender Allison Falk, now with Philly, would have been fine choices.)

Everyone is high on Kiersten Dahlsteam, a rookie forward out of Washington State. Sky Blue got her in the second round, with the No. 11 pick. Might she make a bigger impact than North Carolina product Casey Noguiera, who preceded her by one slot in the collegiate draft but was taken with the No. 4 pick Thursday by Chicago?

TEAM BY TEAM

Atlanta: D//M Manya Makoski and F Pavlina Scasna -- Makoski is versatile; Scasna played for the WUSA's Philadelphia Charge. Add in McNeill, Woznuk and Poach, and it's not a bad draft. But they still need more attack. Grade: B

Boston: D Stephanie Cox and M/F Michelle Enyeart. Breakers go after two Portland alums. Cox was up and down in season one, but few players deliver a better ball from the left flank. Enyeart is coming off a bad knee injury, but if she comes back fully, she can be a star. Grade: A

Chicago: F Casey Nogueira. The Red Stars also picked up two second-round draft picks next year, and Nogueira certainly fits Emma Hayes' system. But she was inconsistent at UNC and still needs to prove herself, even after a dynamite national team camp last month at Home Depot Center. Grade: B.

FC Gold Pride: F Marta, Kiki Bosio and Lindsay Browne: Marta is a big prize, and she and Christine Sinclair might be the best 1-2 punch in WPS this year. Bosio and Browne provide depth. Grade: A

Philadelphia: G Karina LeBlanc and D Estelle Johnson: LeBlanc is a smart pick, but Marta probably would have been smarter. Grade: C.

Saint Louis: M Shannon Boxx, Aya Miyama, Tina DiMartino and Cathrine Sorenson: Athletica improves itself immensely, especially with Boxx. Miyama adds another dimension, and DiMartino more or less cancels out the loss of Woznuk. Grade: A+

Sky Blue FC: M Nikki Washington and F Kiersten Dahlstream: New Jersey's team takes two rookies, and they're both good ones -- and both first-rounders last month. Grade: A

Washington: D/F Brittany Bock and Faith Ikidi: Nice job by the Freedom. Bock is versatile, and Ikidi has Swedish experience that will help. She needs to show she can play in this league. Grade: A-.

WPS's Los Angeles Sol Dispersal Draft

2010-02-04T12:41:00.001-08:00

Round 1
1.    Shannon Boxx, M – Saint Louis Athletica (pre-draft trade with Atlanta, in which Athletica sent D Kia McNeill, M Angie Woznuk, rookie M Amanda Poach and their second-round dispersal-draft pick. Beat also gives up 2011 draft second-round pick)
2.    Karina LeBlanc, GK – Philadelphia Independence
3.    Marta, F – FC Gold Pride
4.    Casey Nogueira, F – Chicago Red Stars (rookie, from North Carolina)
5.    Stephanie Cox, D – Boston Breakers
6.    Nikki Washington, M – Sky Blue (rookie, from North Carolina)
7.    Brittany Bock, D – Washington Freedom
8.    Aya Miyama, M – Saint Louis Athletica
Round 2
9.    Manya Makoski, M – Atlanta Beat (acquired in trade for No. 1 pick)
10.    Faith Ikidi, D/F – Washington Freedom (previously unannounced Sol international discovery player)
11.    Kiersten Dallstream, F – Sky Blue FC (rookie, from Washington State)
12.    Michelle Enyeart, F – Boston Breakers (rookie, from Portland)
13.    Kiki Bosio, F – FC Gold Pride (trade with Chicago for 2011 draft second-round pick)
14.    Tina DiMartino, M – Saint Louis Athletica (trade with Chicago for 2011 draft second-round pick)
15.    Estelle Johnson, D – Philadelphia Independence
16.    Pavlina Scasna, F – Atlanta Beat
Round 3
17.    Pass – Atlanta Beat
18.    Pass – Philadelphia Independence
19.    Lindsay Browne, F – FC Gold Pride (Bay Area)
20.    Pass – Chicago Red Stars
21.    Pass – Boston Breakers
22.    Pass – Sky Blue FC (NJ/NY)
23.    Pass – Washington Freedom
24.    Catherine Sorenson, M – Saint Louis Athletica

Rookie G Mary Casey becomes a free agent; Danish M Julie Rydahl Bukh’s WPS rights are released.

Sol's demise, Part 2

2010-02-02T12:38:00.000-08:00

The second part of my look at the Sol's demise, at ESPN Los Angeles.

U.S. wins CONCACAF U-20 title

2010-01-30T16:57:00.000-08:00

UCLA's Sydney Leroux scored her tournament-best sixth goal with three minutes to play to lift the United States past Mexico, 1-0, in Saturday's CONCACAF U-20 Women's Championship title game in Guatemala.

Leroux scored from a through ball by Boston College's Kristie Mewis, taking the ball into the left side of Mexico's box and firing into the ceiling of the goal.

It was the U.S. team's second win over Mexico in less than a week. Leroux also scored in the Americans' 2-1 win in a group finale Monday. The Canadian-born forward won the Golden Ball (as MVP) and Golden Shoe (as top scorer) after the U.S. won the 2008 FIFA U-20 World Cup title.

The U.S. and Mexico had qualified for next summer's World Cup in Germany with semifinal wins Thursday. Costa Rica claimed CONCACAF's third berth with a 1-0 upset of Canada in the third-place game earlier Saturday.

GOALSCORING TOTALS
6 Sydney Leroux (U.S.)
2 Kristie Mewis (U.S.), Christine Nairn (U.S.), Teresa Noyolas (U.S.), Ana Martinez (Guatemala), Liliana Godoy (Mexico), Charlyn Corral (Mexico), Yezenia Gallardo (Cuba), Adriana Leon (Canada), Raquel Rodriguez Cedeno (Costa Rica)
1 Tiffany McCarty (U.S.), Morgan Marlborough (U.S.), Vicki DiMartino (U.S.), Alina Garciamendez (Mexico), Natali Lagunas (Mexico), Natasha St. Louis (T&T), Candace Seaton (T&T), Chelsea Stewart (Canada), Jenna Richardson (Canada), Vanessa Legault-Cordisco (Canada), Bryanna McCarthy (Canada), Mariane Ugalde (Costa Rica), Paola Alvarado (Costa Rica), Raquel Rodriguez Vasquez (Costa Rica), Daniela Cruz (Costa Rica), Ana Aguilar (Costa Rica), Katherine Alvarado (Costa Rica)

Sol's demise, at ESPN Los Angeles

2010-01-30T13:55:00.000-08:00

Read my story on the demise of the Los Angeles Sol at ESPN Los Angeles.

A second piece, more analytical, is slated to appear Monday evening.

Costa Rica tops Canada, heads to U-20 World Cup

2010-01-30T13:52:00.000-08:00

Katherine Alvarado's 19th-minute free kick Saturday lifted Costa Rica past Canada and into next summer's FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

The Ticas' 1-0 upset in the CONCACAF U-20 Women's Championship third-place game in Guatemala denied Canada a berth in the World Cup for the first time since the event debuted, as a U-19 championship, in 2002. The 2010 championship, to be played in Germany, is the fifth edition.

Costa Rica claimed its first berth in the tournament and will join CONCACAF finalists United States and Mexico, who met in the regional championship later Saturday, at the World Cup.

Alvarado's shot from 38 yards was misplayed by goalkeeper Cynthia LeBlanc, who came off her line, then had to retreat as the ball sailed over her head.

19 Sol players available in dispersal draft

2010-01-29T00:55:00.000-08:00

The L.A. Sol's demise means there will be a dispersal draft Thursday, Feb. 4, for the 19 players on their roster, including those drafted two weeks ago.

Here are the 19:

GOALKEEPERS
Mary Casey: Maryland netminder was taken in fourth round of WPS draft.
Karina LeBlanc: Canadian international led the league with 0.53 GAA.

DEFENDERS
Brittany Bock: Notre Dame product played in the back, up top for Sol.
Julie Rydahl Bukh: Attacking defender from Denmark had just signed contract.
Stephanie Cox: Veteran left back has represented U.S. in World Cup, at Olympics.
Estelle Johnson: Kansas back was taken in third round of WPS draft.

MIDFIELDERS
Shannon Boxx: WPS's best central midfielder might be the world's best defensive MF.
Tina DiMarco: UCLA product came to Sol in trade with FC Gold Pride for Camille Abily.
Michelle Enyeart: Portland star taken in second round of WPS draft, rehabbing knee injury.
Manya Makoski: Former U.S. youth national team star saw action at right back.
Aya Miyama: Japanese attacker shared WPS lead for assists.
Cathrine Paaske-Sorensen: Danish playmaker joined Sol last week.
Nikki Washington: North Carolina winger was Sol's first pick, with No. 5 selection, at WPS draft.

FORWARDS
Kiki Bosio: Santa Clara product, taken in third round of draft, can also play in midfield.
Lindsay Browne: Clemson product taken in fifth round of draft, was Sol's final pick.
Kiersten Dallstream: Washington State star went to Sol with No. 9 pick of WPS draft.
Marta: Four-time FIFA World Player of the Year, from Brazil, led WPS in scoring, won MVP award.
Casey Nogueira: North Carolina star, daughter of indoor icon Victor Nogueira, taken with No. 8 pick at WUSA Draft.
Paulina Scasna: Czech striker, just signed, played for Philadelphia Charge in WUSA.

THE DRAFT ORDER
Round 1
1. Atlanta Beat
2. Philadelphia Independence
3. FC Gold Pride (Bay Area)
4. Chicago Red Stars
5. Boston Breakers
6. Sky Blue FC (NJ/NY)
7. Washington Freedom
8. Saint Louis Athletica

Round 2
9. Saint Louis Athletica
10. Washington Freedom
11. Sky Blue FC (NJ/NY)
12. Boston Breakers
13. Chicago Red Stars
14. FC Gold Pride (Bay Area)
15. Philadelphia Independence
16. Atlanta Beat

Round 3
17. Atlanta Beat
18. Philadelphia Independence
19. FC Gold Pride (Bay Area)
20. Chicago Red Stars
21. Boston Breakers
22. Sky Blue FC (NJ/NY)
23. Washington Freedom
24. Saint Louis Athletica

Today's big news: Sol goes down, U.S. goes to Germany

2010-01-29T00:42:00.000-08:00

Sorry I'm behind. Tons of non-soccer work today, and I'm also working on a Sol/WPS story for another Web site.

Today's big news, in short:

1. Women's Professional Soccer has disbanded the Los Angeles Sol after negotiations for new ownership broke down. The Sol's 19 players will be dispersed in a draft next Thursday, with the Atlanta Beat having first dibs.

2. Boston College's Kristie Mewis and Stanford's Teresa Noyola scored second-half goals to lift the U.S. to a 2-1 win over Costa Rica in the semifinals of the CONCACAF U-20 Women's Championship in Guatemala. The U.S. clinched a berth for next summer's FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup with the victory. Mewis scored in the 60th minute and Noyola in the 71st. Raquel Rodriguez Cedeno scored in the 77th for Costa Rica.

3. Mexico also clinched a U-20 World Cup berth, beating Canada, 1-0, in overtime in the other semifinal. The U.S. and Mexico will meet in Saturday's final. Canada and Costa Rica will play for third, with the winner also advancing to the World Cup. Charlyn Corral scored the goal in the 104th minute, curling a corner kick that went through Canada goalkeeper Cynthia LeBlanc's hands, off her face and into the net.

Off-topic: Cabanas shot in the head, in serious condition

2010-01-25T18:55:00.000-08:00

The soccer world is in shock following reports from Mexico City that Club America striker Salvador Cabanas, expected to feature mightily for Paraguay at next summer's World Cup, was shot in the head in an attack at a bar late Sunday.

Cabanas, America's top scorer, was reported in serious condition following surgery. The bullet has not been removed from his head.

I saw Cabanas play twice this month at Home Depot Center in the annual InterLiga, which determines Mexican qualifiers for Copa Libertadores, South America's club championship. Cabanas scored four goals in this year's competition and is the competition's all-time leader with nine.

To read more, go to ESPN Soccernet.

Aly Wagner calls it quits

2010-01-25T18:45:00.000-08:00

Aly Wagner, one of most skillful players to ever pull on a U.S. jersey and without question the finest passer in the American women's game, announced her retirement from pro soccer on Sunday.

Wagner made 131 appearances in 10 years with the U.S. women's national team, taking part in two Women's World Cups (2003 and 2007) and winning gold medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. She scored 21 goals and 42 assists for the U.S. -- the assist mark is No. 2 all-time among U.S. midfielders, to former captain Julie Foudy's 55.

The decision to retire did not come as a surprise. Wagner, 29, dealt with injury much of her career and was slowed by hamstring and calf injuries the past few years. She played in 15 games and was limited to 11 starts last summer with Women's Professional Soccer's Los Angeles Sol, contributing four assists to the WPS runner-up.

I covered Wagner the past decade, at Santa Clara, in the WUSA and WPS and with the women's national team, and she was a delightful personality and whip-smart woman. She was always a joy to work with.

Wagner, primarily a playmaking midfielder, was a youth phenom, leading Northern California's Central Valley Mercury to three national titles and winning the Gatorade National High School Player of the Year award as a senior at Presentation High School in San Jose.

She was a four-time All-America selection at Santa Clara University, winning the MAC Hermann Award as the nation's top player after leading the Broncos to the 2001 NCAA Division I title, their only women's soccer championship, as a junior. As senior editor at Soccer America in charge of women's soccer, I chose her as the magazine's Player of the Year.

As a senior, she led the Broncos back to the NCAA title game, which they lost to West Coast Conference rival Portland.

Wagner was the No. 1 overall draft choice, by the San Diego Spirit, heading into the Women's United Soccer Association's third season. She had two goals and four assists in that 2003 season for the Spirit and was traded to the Boston Breakers before the WUSA went on a hiatus from which it never returned. She also played in WUSA festivals in 2004.

Wagner carried a 4.1 grade-point average at Presentation and graduated from Santa Clara with a degree in combined sciences and a GPA near 3.50.

Tough win for U.S. U-20s in group finale

2010-01-25T17:57:00.000-08:00

UCLA's Sydney Leroux netted her fifth goal of the tournament and the United States completed a perfect run through group play with a tougher-than-expected 2-1 triumph over Mexico at the CONCACAF U-20 Women's Championship on Monday in Guatemala.

Boston College's Vicki DiMartino also scored for the Yanks, who captured the Group B title with a 3-0-0 record and will meet Costa Rica in a semifinal Thursday. A victory in that game, universally expected, will send the U.S. to this summer's FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Germany.

Leroux was the Golden Ball (as MVP) and Golden Shoe (as top scorer) winner when the U.S. won the 2006 U-20 World Cup.

Mexico will face Group A winner Canada, the defending CONCACAF champ, in the other semifinal. The top three teams head to Germany.

DiMartino, the younger sister of WPS players Tina (Los Angeles Sol) and Gina (Boston Breakers), fired the U.S. ahead in the 30th minute with a 32-yard rocket off a feed from Stanford University's Teresa Noyola. Leroux, who scored two goals apiece in victories over Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, made it 2-0 in the 65th, slotting a rebound after Boston College's Kristie Mewis hit a post.

Stanford's Alina Garciamendez, from Texas, scored Mexico's goal in second-half stoppage, heading in Natalia Gomez-Junco's corner kick. It's the only goal the U.S. surrendered in group play.

Mexico's packed-in defense and offside trap frustrated the U.S. most of the game.

Candace Seaton's 65th-minute goal carried Trinidad & Tobago past Jamaica, 1-0, in the first game of the doubleheader.

STANDINGS (with W-L-T, GF-GA and Points)
GROUP A
x-Canada 3-0-0 6-1 9
x-Costa Rica 2-1-0 6-2 6
Guatemala 1-2-0 3-7 3
Cuba 0-3-0 2-7 0

GROUP B
x-United States 3-0-0 12-1 9
x-Mexico 2-1-0 5-3 6
Trinidad & Tobago 1-2-0 2-6 3
Jamaica 0-3-0 0-9 0

x - advances to semifinals

SCORING LEADERS
5 Sydney Leroux (U.S.)
2 Christine Nairn (U.S.), Ana Martinez (Guatemala), Liliana Godoy (Mexico), Yezenia Gallardo (Cuba), Adriana Leon (Canada)
1 Teresa Noyola (U.S.), Tiffany McCarty (U.S.), Kristie Mewis (U.S.), Morgan Marlborough (U.S.), Vicki DiMartino (U.S.), Alina Garciamendez (Mexico), Natali Lagunas (Mexico), Charlyn Corral (Mexico), Natasha St. Louis (T&T), Candace Seaton (T&T), Chelsea Stewart (Canada), Jenna Richardson (Canada), Vanessa Legault-Cordisco (Canada), Bryanna McCarthy (Canada), Mariane Ugalde (Costa Rica), Paola Alvarado (Costa Rica), Raquel Rodriguez Cedeno (Costa Rica), Raquel Rodriguez Vasquez (Costa Rica), Daniela Cruz (Costa Rica), Ana Aguilar (Costa Rica)

REMAINING GAMES
Thursday, Jan. 28: Semifinals -- USA vs. Costa Rica, Mexico vs. Canada
Saturday, Jan. 30: Final and third-place game

U.S. again tops South Korea in scrimmage

2010-01-25T10:37:00.000-08:00

The U.S. women's national team completed a two-scrimmage sweep of South Korea with a 4-0 romp Sunday at Home Depot Center. Coach Pia Sundhage's team has spent the past two weeks in camp at the Carson, Calif., facility.

Los Angeles Sol draftee Casey Nogueria, a first-round pick out of the University of North Carolina, scored three goals and Washington Freedom striker Abby Wambach had the fourth.

Canada U-20s win Group A; Likely U.S. semifinal foe: Costa Rica

2010-01-24T18:05:00.000-08:00

Canada completed an unbeaten run through Group A at the CONCACAF U-20 Women's Championship in Guatemala, beating the host nation, 3-1, Sunday to claim a berth in Thursday's semifinals.

Costa Rica won the other Group A final-four berth with a 3-1 victory over Cuba. Barring a mammoth upset in Monday's U.S.-Mexico game in Group B, Costa Rica will face the United States in the semifinals, and Canada will take on Mexico. The tournament finalists and third-place-game winner will advance to next summer's FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Germany.

Adriana Leon scored her second goal of the tournament for the defending CONCACAF champion, firing Canada ahead in the 14th minute.

Vanessa Legault-Cordisco converted a 26th-minute penalty kick, and West Virginia University's Bryanna McCarthy made it 3-0 in the 38th.

Shannon Brooks, a freshman at North Dakota State from California, scored Guatemala's goal in the 55th minute.

Costa Rica received goals from Raquel Rodriguez Vasquez in the 18th minute, Daniela Cruz in the 44th and Ana Aguilar in the 83rd, the last two after mistakes by Cuban goalkeeper Lucylena Martinez. Yezenia Gallardo scored for Cuba, her second goal of the tournament.

STANDINGS (with W-L-T, GF-GA and Points)
GROUP A
x-Canada 3-0-0 6-1 9
x-Costa Rica 2-1-0 6-2 6
Guatemala 1-2-0 3-7 3
Cuba 0-3-0 2-7 0

GROUP B
x-United States 2-0-0 10-0 6
x-Mexico 2-0-0 4-1 6
Trinidad & Tobago 0-2-0 1-6 0
Jamaica 0-2-0 0-8 0

x - advances to semifinals

SCORING LEADERS
4 Sydney Leroux (U.S.)
2 Christine Nairn (U.S.), Ana Martinez (Guatemala), Liliana Godoy (Mexico), Yezenia Gallardo (Cuba), Adriana Leon (Canada)
1 Teresa Noyola (U.S.), Tiffany McCarty (U.S.), Kristie Mewis (U.S.), Morgan Marlborough (U.S.), Natali Lagunas (Mexico), Charlyn Corral (Mexico), Natasha St. Louis (T&T), Chelsea Stewart (Canada), Jenna Richardson (Canada), Vanessa Legault-Cordisco (Canada), Bryanna McCarthy (Canada), Mariane Ugalde (Costa Rica), Paola Alvarado (Costa Rica), Raquel Rodriguez Cedeno (Costa Rica), Raquel Rodriguez Vasquez (Costa Rica), Daniela Cruz (Costa Rica), Ana Aguilar (Costa Rica)

REMAINING GAMES
Monday, Jan. 25: USA vs. Mexico, Jamaica vs. Trinidad & Tobago.
Thursday, Jan. 28: USA vs. Canada/Costa Rica, Mexico vs. Canada/Costa Rica.
Saturday, Jan. 30: Final and third-place game.

Leroux nets two more as U-20s roll

2010-01-23T17:37:00.000-08:00

Sydney Leroux scored two goals for the second successive game as the U.S. routed Trinidad & Tobago, 4-0, to book its final-four berth at the CONCACAF U-20 Women's Championship in Guatemala.

Mexico also qualified for the semifinals, topping Jamaica, 2-0. The U.S. and Mexico, both 2-0-0, will meet Monday in the Group B finale.

The University of Nebraska's Morgan Marlborough and Boston College's Kristie Mewis also tallied for the U.S., which romped, 6-0, past Jamaica in its tournament opener Thursday.

Marlborough gave the U.S. a fifth-minute lead, finishing a free kick by Stanford's Rachel Quon flicked on by Massachusetts high-schooler Samantha Mewis, Kristie's younger sister. Kristie Mewis doubled the advantage in the 23rd minute, and Leroux tallied in the 35th minute -- heading home a corner kick by Penn State's Christine Nairn -- and in first-half stoppage.

Leroux, a Canadian-born UCLA All-American, was Golden Ball and Golden Shoe winner (as MVP and top scorer) when the U.S. won the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. The top three teams in the CONCACAF tournament will advance to this summer's World Cup in Germany.

Liliana Godoy and FC Indiana veteran Charlyn Corral scored in Mexico's victory.

STANDINGS (with W-L-T, GF-GA and Points)
GROUP A
Canada 2-0-0 3-0 6
Costa Rica 1-1-0 3-1 3
Guatemala 1-1-0 2-4 3
Cuba 0-2-0 1-4 0

GROUP B
x-United States 2-0-0 10-0 6
x-Mexico 2-0-0 4-1 6
Trinidad & Tobago 0-2-0 1-6 0
Jamaica 0-2-0 0-8 0

x - advances to semifinals

SCORING LEADERS
4 Sydney Leroux (U.S.)
2 Christine Nairn (U.S.), Ana Martinez (Guatemala), Liliana Godoy (Mexico)
1 Teresa Noyola (U.S.), Tiffany McCarty (U.S.), Kristie Mewis (U.S.), Morgan Marlborough (U.S.), Natali Lagunas (Mexico), Charlyn Corral (Mexico), Adriana Leon (Canada), Yezenia Gallardo (Cuba), Natasha St. Louis (T&T), Chelsea Stewart (Canada), Jenna Richardson (Canada), Mariane Ugalde (Costa Rica), Paola Alvarado (Costa Rica), Raquel Rodriguez Cedeno (Costa Rica).

REMAINING GAMES

Sunday, Jan. 24: Canada vs. Guatemala, Costa Rica vs. Cuba.
Monday, Jan. 25: USA vs. Mexico, Jamaica vs. Trinidad & Tobago.
Thursday, Jan. 28: USA vs. Group A TBA, Mexico vs. Group A TBA.
Saturday, Jan. 30: Final and third-place game.

Lloyd leads U.S. past South Korea in first of two scrimmages

2010-01-23T17:14:00.000-08:00

Carli Lloyd scored the goal as the U.S. women's national team beat South Korea, 1-0, Friday evening in a scrimmage on Home Depot Center's artificial-turf field.

My sources say defender Amy LePeilbet (Boston Breakers), wing Lori Chalupny (Saint Louis Athletica), central midfielder Shannon Boxx (Los Angeles Sol) and forward Amy Rodriguez (Philadelphia Independence), in a 30-minute stint, had nice performances. Uncapped players seeing action included MAC Hermann Award winner Kelley O'Hara (drafted by FC Gold Pride out of Stanford) and Ella Masar (Chicago Red Stars).

Lloyd played for the Red Stars and has signed to play with Sky Blue FC this year.

A second scrimmage is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Home Depot Center.

Canada goes to 2-0 at U-20 qualifiers

2010-01-22T14:25:00.000-08:00

Chelsea Stewart and Jenna Richardson scored goals to lead Canada past Cuba, 2-0, Friday's CONCACAF U-20 Women's Championship in Guatemala, putting it on the cusp of a semifinal berth.

The Canadians (2-0-0) dominated play but couldn't beat Cuban goalkeeper Lucylena Martinez until Stewart, from Vanderbilt University, took advantage of a poor clearance by Yamara Lopez in the 59th minute. Richardson doubled the advantage in the 89th, heading home a long cross from Laura Chenard.

Costa Rica routed the hosts, 3-0, in the second game of the doubleheader as errors by Guatemala goalkeeper Yoselin Franco led to goals by Mariane Ugalde in the 35th minute and Paola Alvarado in the 40th. Raquel Rodriguez Cedeno converted a 60th-minute penalty kick for the third goal.

The top three teams will advance to next summer's FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Germany.

STANDINGS (with W-L-T, GF-GA and Points)
GROUP A
Canada 2-0-0 3-0 6
Costa Rica 1-1-0 3-1 3
Guatemala 1-1-0 2-4 3
Cuba 0-2-0 1-4 0

GROUP B
United States 1-0-0 6-0 3
Mexico 1-0-0 2-1 3
Trinidad & Tobago 0-1-0 1-2
Jamaica 0-1-0 0-6 0

SCORING LEADERS
2 Sydney Leroux (U.S.), Christine Nairn (U.S.), Ana Martinez (Guatemala)
1 Teresa Noyola (U.S.), Tiffany McCarty (U.S.), Natali Lagunas (Mexico), Liliana Godoy (Mexico), Adriana Leon (Canada), Yezenia Gallardo (Cuba), Natasha St. Louis (T&T), Chelsea Stewart (Canada), Jenna Richardson (Canada), Mariane Ugalde (Costa Rica), Paola Alvarado (Costa Rica), Raquel Rodriguez Cedeno (Costa Rica).

REMAINING GAMES

Saturday, Jan. 23: USA vs. Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica vs. Mexico.
Sunday, Jan. 24: Canada vs. Guatemala, Costa Rica vs. Cuba.
Monday, Jan. 25: USA vs. Mexico, Jamaica vs. Trinidad & Tobago.
Thursday, Jan. 28: Semifinals.
Saturday, Jan. 30: Final and third-place game.

U.S. romps in U-20 opener

2010-01-21T18:04:00.000-08:00

UCLA's Sydney Leroux scored twice and assisted another goal to lead the U.S. to a 6-0 rout over Jamaica in its Group B opener at the CONCACAF U-20 women's qualifiers in Guatemala.

Penn State's Christine Nairn also tallied twice, and Stanford's Teresa Noyola and Florida State's Tiffany McCarthy added goals.

Mexico edged Trinidad & Tobago, 2-1, in the other Group B opener.

Leroux, the Canadian-born forward who won the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe (as MVP and top scorer) as the U.S. won the 2008 U-20 World Cup, also hit the crossbar and post with shots as the Americans outshot Jamaica, 21-3.

Nairn, the other U-20 World Cup veteran on the U.S. roster, finished a feed from McCarty to give the U.S. a ninth-minute lead, and Leroux scored in the 25th and 35th minutes, ripping in a 27-yarder off the right post after beating two defenders, then punishing the Reggae Girlz for a defensive error.

Noyola volleyed home a long pass from Leroux four minutes into the second half to make it 4-0, and Nairn (in the 72nd) and McCarty (83rd) extended the advantage late in the match.

The U.S. will face Trinidad & Tobago on Saturday and Mexico on Monday.

FC Indiana veteran Charlyn Corral, who played in the 2006 and 2008 U-20 World Cups, set up both goals as Mexico rallied from a first-minute deficit. Liliana Godoy headed in Corral's bending free kick in the 45th minute, and Real So Cal's Natali Lagunas scored the winner from Corral's pass in the 80th.

Natasha St. Louis scored the T&T goal.

STANDINGS (with W-L-T, GF-GA and Points)
GROUP A
Guatemala 1-0-0 2-1 3
Canada 1-0-0 1-0 3
Cuba 0-1-0 1-2 0
Costa Rica 0-1-0 0-1 0

GROUP B
United States 1-0-0 6-0 3
Mexico 1-0-0 2-1 3
Trinidad & Tobago 0-1-0 1-2
Jamaica 0-1-0 0-6 0

SCORING LEADERS
2 Sydney Leroux (U.S.), Christine Nairn (U.S.), Ana Martinez (Guatemala)
1 Teresa Noyola (U.S.), Tiffany McCarty (U.S.), Natali Lagunas (Mexico), Liliana Godoy (Mexico), Adriana Leon (Canada), Yezenia Gallardo (Cuba), Natasha St. Louis (T&T)

REMAINING GAMES

Friday, Jan. 22: Canada vs. Cuba, Costa Rica vs. Guatemala.
Saturday, Jan. 23: USA vs. Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica vs. Mexico.
Sunday, Jan. 24: Canada vs. Guatemala, Costa Rica vs. Cuba.
Monday, Jan. 25: USA vs. Mexico, Jamaica vs. Trinidad & Tobago.
Thursday, Jan. 28: Semifinals.
Saturday, Jan. 30: Final and third-place game.

Canada, Guatemala win U-20 openers

2010-01-20T23:49:00.000-08:00

Canada and host Guatemala won Group A openers Wednesday at the CONCACAF U-20 qualifying tournament. Group B play begins Thursday, with the United States taking on Jamaica and Mexico facing Trinidad & Tobago.

Canada beat Costa Rica, 1-0, on Adriana Leon's first-half goal, and Guatemala topped Cuba, 2-1, as Ana Martinez scored twice.

Leon, just 17, scored the Canadians' goal in the 28th minute. University of Maryland midfielder Rachel Lamarre drew three defenders as she took the ball to the right side of the box, dropped a pass back to University of South Florida's Gina Pacheco, who one-timed the ball to an open Leon. Her shot left Costa Rica goalkeeper Priscilla Tapia no chance.

Martinez scored in the eighth minute and seconds into first-half stoppage. Yezenia Gallardo tallied for Cuba in the 62nd minute.

STANDINGS (with W-L-T, GF-GA and Points)
GROUP A
Guatemala 1-0-0 2-1 3
Canada 1-0-0 1-0 3
Cuba 0-1-0 1-2 0
Costa Rica 0-1-0 0-1 0

SCORING LEADERS
2 Ana Martinez (Guatemala)
1 Adriana Leon (Canada), Yezenia Gallardo (Cuba)

REMAINING GAMES
Thursday, Jan. 21: USA vs. Jamaica, Mexico vs. Trinidad & Tobago.
Friday, Jan. 22: Canada vs. Cuba, Costa Rica vs. Guatemala.
Saturday, Jan. 23: USA vs. Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica vs. Mexico.
Sunday, Jan. 24: Canada vs. Guatemala, Costa Rica vs. Cuba.
Monday, Jan. 25: USA vs. Mexico, Jamaica vs. Trinidad & Tobago.
Thursday, Jan. 28: Semifinals.
Saturday, Jan. 30: Final and third-place game.

Ali Riley's draft diary at WPS's Web site

2010-01-20T13:25:00.001-08:00

This is a nice, short read:

U-20s: Expect dominance

2010-01-18T23:04:00.000-08:00

The U.S. women's under-20 team is in Guatemala "attempt(ing) to earn a berth to the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Germany," as it's termed in U.S. Soccer's media release.

"Attempt" is an understatement of unimaginable proportions. The U.S. will win the Jan. 20-30 CONCACAF U-20 qualifying tournament, rather easily, too, and if it doesn't, what a disaster! Now the Americans might not prevail in Germany this summer -- the Germans are good, and never count out Brazil or North Korea -- but they'll be battling, no question, for the World Cup title July 13-Aug. 1.

UCLA coach Jill Ellis has included in her qualifying roster two players from the U.S. team that won the 2008 U-20 World Cup in Chile and eight from the team that lost in the 2008 U-17 World Cup final to North Korea. The big star, among many, is UCLA sophomore forward Sydney Leroux, who scored five goals to win the Golden Shoe (as top scorer) and Golden Ball (as MVP) at the last U-20 championship.

Leroux, who was born near Vancouver and represented Canada at the 2004 U-19 World Cup -- the precursor to the U-20 tourament -- was a third-team NSCAA All-American last fall, scoring 23 goals in 24 games as the Bruins reached the NCAA Division I semifinals. Leroux's father is American and mother is Canadian.

Also from the 2008 U-20 squad is Penn State freshman midfielder Christine Nairn (7 goals, 10 assists), the only player on the team with a full international cap.

The U-17 veterans are led by 2008 Golden Glove winner (as top goalkeeper) Taylor Vancil, Silver Shoe recipient (as the tournament's No. 2 scorer) Vicki DiMartino and Bronze Ball winner (as the third-best player) Kristie Mewis.

DiMartino and Mewis just finished fine freshman seasons at Boston College. DiMartino, a forward for the Eagles but an outside back for the U-20s, was a second-team NSCAA All-American after scoring 14 goals (six of them game-winners) with six assists. She has two older sisters in Women's Professional Soccer: Tina, a second-year midfielder with the L.A. Sol, and Gina, a forward out of BC who was taken by Boston in the sixth round of Friday's WPS Draft.

Mewis, a midfielder, was BC's s No. 4 scorer with five goals and six assists. She's joined by her sister, Samantha, a high school senior who also played in the 2008 U-17 tournament.

Vancil was Louisville's No. 1 goalkeeper as a freshman.

The other U-17 World Cup vets are North Carolina defender Amber Brooks, Stanford defender Rachel Quon and high-schoolers Crystal Dunn, a defender, and Elizabeth Eddy, a midfielder. A full roster is below.

The U.S. will open Group B play Thursday (Jan. 21) against Jamaica, then face Trinidad & Tobago on Saturday (Jan. 23) and Mexico next Monday (Jan. 25). Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba and Guatemala are in Group A. Semifinals are Jan. 28, with the final and third-place game Jan. 30. The top three will advance to the World Cup.

Fox Soccer Channel will show both semifinals and the title game. All 16 games will be streamed for free at CONCACAF's video Web site: http://www.concacaftv.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Home/0,,12907,00.html

Canada coach Carolina Morace's roster features 10 players at U.S. universities: Virginia Commonwealth defender Molly Allen, Maryland midfielder Rachel Lamarre, Penn State defender Lexi Marton, West Virginia defender Bryanna McCarthy, South Florida defender Bahar Sansar and midfielders Rehana Murani, Gina Pachecho and Taylor Patterson,Vanderbilt midfielder/forward Chelsea Stewart, and Rutgers defender/midfielder Shannon Woeller.

Marton, Woeller and 2009 Canadian Player of the Year Stewart were on Canada's roster at the 2008 U-20 World Cup, and Lamarre, McCarthy, goalkeeper Cynthia Leblanc and defender Shelina Zadorsky were at the 2008 U-17 World Cup.

Mexico has six Americans on its roster, including defensive anchor Alina Garciamendez, a Stanford freshman from Texas. Most of the teams in the competition have players on the roster from the U.S. or based at U.S. schools.

Germany, England, France, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Sweden and Switzerland have already qualified for the World Cup, which will be played in Bochum, Bielefeld, Augsburg and Dresden.

A full schedule:

Wednesday, Jan. 20: Canada vs. Costa Rica, Cuba vs. Guatemala.
Thursday, Jan. 21: USA vs. Jamaica, Mexico vs. Trinidad & Tobago.
Friday, Jan. 22: Canada vs. Cuba, Costa Rica vs. Guatemala.
Saturday, Jan. 23: USA vs. Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica vs. Mexico.
Sunday, Jan. 24: Canada vs. Guatemala, Costa Rica vs. Cuba.
Monday, Jan. 25: USA vs. Mexico, Jamaica vs. Trinidad & Tobago.
Thursday, Jan. 28: Semifinals.
Saturday, Jan. 30: Final and third-place game.

U.S. ROSTER
With school/club and hometown and 2009 college Games-Starts/Goals-Against Average or Goals-Assists where warranted

Goalkeepers
Bianca Henninger (Santa Clara; Los Gatos, Calif.): 19-17/0.84
Taylor Vancil (Louisville; South Elgin, Ill.): 17-16/1.43

Defenders
Amber Brooks (North Carolina; New Hope, Pa.): 27-15/0-3
Vicki DiMartino (Boston College; Massapequa, N.Y.): 24-24/14-6
Crystal Dunn (South Side HS/Albertson SC; Rockville Centre, N.Y.), will attend North Carolina
Kendall Johnson (Portland; Portland, Ore.): 21-16/3-3
Toni Pressley (Florida State; Melbourne, Fla.): 25-25/2-6
Rachel Quon (Stanford; Lake Forest, Ill.): 24-24/0-4

Midfielders
Zakiya Bywaters (UCLA; Las Vegas): 25-23/2-7
Elizabeth Eddy (Newport Harbor HS/So Cal Blues, Costa Mesa, Calif.), will attend USC
Kristie Mewis (Boston College; Hanson, Mass.): 23-23/5-6
Samantha Mewis (Whitman-Hanson Regional HS/Scorpion SC; Hanson, Mass.), will attend UCLA
Christine Nairn (Penn State; Bowie, Md.): 21-19/7-10
Teresa Noyola (Stanford; Palo Alto, Calif.): 26-20/6-3
Jenna Richmond (Centreville HS/McLean SC; Centreville, Va.), will attend UCLA
Casey Short (Florida State; Naperville, Ill.): 13-7/0-5

Forwards
Maya Hayes (Newark Academy/Aristics Club; West Orange, N.J.), will attend Penn State
Sydney Leroux (UCLA; Vancouver, British Columbia/Phoenix): 24-24/23-2
Morgan Marlborough (Nebraska; Raymore, Mo.): 19-19/21-7
Tiffany McCarty (Florida State; Laurel, Md.): 25-25/17-7

Best Draft: FC Gold Pride

2010-01-15T23:43:00.000-08:00

FC Gold Pride put together a really impressive draft today in Philadelphia, grabbing very good to great players with every pick. Stanford forward Kelley O'Hara, the No. 3 overall selection, is the big prize, but Coach Albertin Montoya found good value all the way through the seventh round.

Might as well grade the drafts -- and, of course, we won't know how good these drafts really were until next summer, and perhaps not for another year or so.

In order from best to worst ...

FC GOLD PRIDE: A+
Two Stanford stars in the first round -- O'Hara and defender Ali Riley -- and that's not all. Florida State's Becky Edwards, taken with the first pick of the second round, could be the Bay Areans' midfield anchor. Wake Forest's Kaley Fountain, another second-rounder, offers versatility. Rutgers' Erin Guthrie is a fine backup keeper. Ohio State midfielder Ashley Bowyer, Arizona State defender Liz Harkin and UCLA defender Lauren Wilmoth, taken in the final three rounds, will compete for playing time.

BOSTON BREAKERS: A
UCLA forward Lauren Cheney makes this a great draft on her own. She's big, she's skillful, she's deceptively quick of foot (and quicker of mind), and she has international experience. She'll be a big star in WPS. Add Penn State goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher -- best netminder in the draft -- and Santa Clara outside backs Jordan Angeli and Katherine Reynolds, and this is a fine group. Tony DiCicco also made the local folks happy by taking Boston U.'s Carly Pretz and Boston College's Gina DiMartino (sister of L.A. Sol midfielder Tina DiMartino), and fifth-rounder Cynthia Morote-Ariza from Loyola-Chicago might be the, to borrow a cliche, diamond in this draft's rough.

SAINT LOUIS ATHLETICA: B+
When you figure in the draft-day trade (backup goalkeeper Jillian Loydon to Chicago for injured U.S. national team star Lindsay Tarpley), Brazilian coach Jorge Barcellos had himself a nice day. Ashlyn Harris, a longtime U.S. youth national team star (and one of seven North Carolina Tar Heels taken in the draft), more than makes up for the loss of Loydon, and UCLA midfielder Kristina Larson and Santa Clara midfielder Amanda Poach (who would have been a sixth-year senior for the Broncos next fall) are very useful players. Like Gold Pride, Athletica received good value in the later rounds.

LOS ANGELES SOL: B
This either was a brilliant draft or a subpar draft with some exceptional players, and we may not know which for awhile. Perhaps we should just trust GM Charlie Naimo, who has been the best team-builder in the women's game the past decade, First-rounders Nikki Washington and Casey Noguera, both from North Carolina, are supremely talented, but there are caveats: Washington is coming off a major injury; Nogueira's consistency is problematic. And then in the second round, with the fourth pick, L.A. goes for Portland's Michelle Enyeart, who has all the talent in the world but is coming off a particularly nasty knee injury. There's too many attacking personalities for my liking -- the best attackers in the league, Abby Wambach aside, were foreigners in year one -- and not enough defenders, which the Sol needs. I'd probably have taken Ali Riley over Wasshington State's Kiersten Dallstream with the third first-round selection, but Dallstream has a future. One more nice pick: Santa Clara's Kiki Bosio, who can play up front or in midfield and has one of the best flip-throws in the country. I had the privilege of watching her team up with Amy Rodriguez at Santa Margarita High School in south Orange County a few years ago, and I've always been a fan.

SKY BLUE FC: B-
UConn's Brittany Taylor is a coup -- she could step in for Christie Rampone, who's on maternity leave -- and Penn State's Katie Schoepfer was a bargain in the third round. Jury's out on the rest.

WASHINGTON FREEDOM: C
Colorado's Nikki Marshall can do a lot of things, and do them well, and Washington State's Carly Dobratz could work out. Kristi Eveland is coming out of UNC, and that's always a plus, but as a whole this draft list doesn't excite me.

ATLANTA BEAT: C-
Top overall pick Tobin Heath, from North Carolina, naturally, is a bona fide star. She was the slam dunk first pick in this draft, and she'll do great stuff in the expansion Beat's midfield. And Blakely Mattern, from South Carolina, is a defender with promise. But the Beat needed to get more out of this draft than it did.

CHICAGO RED STARS: C-
The Red Stars lose points for letting Tarpley go, even if she won't be at full strength this season. UNC defender Whitney Engen is a big plus -- she was the best backliner in the draft -- and her Tar Heels teammate Jessica McDonald, just a junior, has great potential. Portland's Kelsey Davis will battle Loydon for time in the nets, but will either provide what Swedish keeper Caroline Jonsson gave last year? The rest were curious choices, although if Notre Dame's Michele Weissenhofer can make the kind of impact she made early in her Fighting Irish career, bump that score up a full grade.

PHILADELPHIA INDEPENDENCE: D
The Independence already have a solid squad on paper -- they've been bringing in outstanding players from around the league and Europe. So this draft wasn't as important for them as it was for fellow expansionists Atlanta. Good thing, because it's not a great draft. Philly had just one pick in the first three rounds -- LSU's Malorie Rutledge with the 13th pick -- and I'm always suspicious of SEC talent that isn't from Florida.

Check out our draft lists

2010-01-15T13:51:00.000-08:00

Lots of draft lists below:

- By conference and school (18 from the ACC, 7 from NCAA champ North Carolina)
- By team
- The full draft
- Draft Best XI

Hope to get some team grades up, but it might not be until late tonight. Off the top of my head, I thought FC Gold Pride and Boston had good drafts. Questioning L.A.'s picks and thought Chicago was hit and miss.

WPS Draft: By Conference and School

2010-01-15T13:42:00.000-08:00

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE (18)
North Carolina (7)
1/1 Atlanta -- Tobin Heath, M
1/4 Chicago -- Whitney Engen, D
1/5 Los Angeles -- Nikki Washington, M
1/8 Los Angeles -- Casey Nogueira, F
2/15 Chicago -- Jessica McDonald, F
2/19 Saint Louis -- Ashlyn Harris, G
4/36 Washington -- Kristi Eveland, D

Wake Forest (3)
2/20 FC Gold Pride -- Kaley Fountain, D/F
4/30 Atlanta -- Jill Hutchinson, F
7/58 Philadelphia -- Caitlin Farrell, D

Boston College (2)
4/31 Philadelphia -- Kelly Henderson, D
6/56 Boston -- Gina DiMartino, F

Florida State (1)
2/12 FC Gold Pride -- Becky Edwards, M

Miami (1)
3/27 Washington -- Beverly Goebel, M

Maryland (1)
4/38 Los Angeles -- Mary Casey, G

Clemson (1)
5/47 Los Angeles -- Lindsay Browne, F

Virginia (1)
7/63 Washington -- Caitlin Miskel, F

Duke (1)
7/64 Saint Louis -- Elisabeth Redmond, F/M

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PACIFIC 10 CONFERENCE (9)

UCLA (3)
1/2 Boston -- Lauren Cheney, F
2/17 Saint Louis -- Kristina Larsen, M
7/59 FC Gold Pride -- Lauren Wilmoth, D

Stanford (2)
1/3 FC Gold Pride -- Kelley O'Hara, F
1/10 FC Gold Pride -- Ali Riley, D

Washington State (2)
1/9 Los Angeles -- Kiersten Dallstream, F
2/18 Washington -- Carly Dobratz, M

Washington (1)
4/37 Saint Louis -- Veronica Perez, F

Arizona State (1)
6/50 FC Gold Pride -- Liz Harkin, D

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WEST COAST CONFERENCE (8)

Santa Clara (5)
2/16 Boston -- Jordan Angeli, D
3/22 Los Angeles -- Kiki Bosio, F/M
3/28 Saint Louis -- Amanda Poach, M
4/34 Boston -- Katherine Reynolds, D
5/44 Sky Blue FC -- Meagan Snell, F

Portland (2)
2/14 Los Angeles -- Michelle Enyeart, F/M
3/24 Chicago -- Kelsey Davis, G

San Francisco (1)
6/51 Chicago -- Fiona O'Sullivan, F

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BIG EAST CONFERENCE (6)
Rutgers (2)
4/32 FC Gold Pride -- Erin Guthrie, G
6/49 Philadelphia -- Jennifer Anzivino, D

Connecticut (1)
1/6 Sky Blue FC -- Brittany Taylor, D

Notre Dame (1)
4/33 Chicago -- Michele Weissenhofer, M/F

South Florida (1)
5/39 -- Atlanta -- Mallori Lofton-Malachi, G (traded to Philadelphia)

West Virginia (1)
5/46 Saint Louis -- Carolyn Blank, M

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BIG TEN CONFERENCE (5)

Penn State (2)
1/11 Boston -- Alyssa Naeher, G
3/26 Sky Blue FC -- Katie Schoepfer, F

Ohio State (2)
5/41 FC Gold Pride -- Ashley Bowyer, M
5/45 Washington -- Lauren Robertson, G

Illinois (1)
7/60 Chicago -- Jackie Santacaterina, M

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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE (5)
LSU (2)
2/13 Philadelphia -- Malorie Rutledge, M
3/29 Sky Blue FC -- Melissa Clarke, M

South Carolina (1)
3/21 Atlanta -- Blakely Mattern, D

Mississippi (1)
4/35 Sky Blue FC -- Danielle Johnson, D

Georgia (1)
5/40 Philadelphia -- Carrie Patterson, F (traded to Atlanta)

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BIG 12 CONFERENCE (4)
Colorado (1)
1/7 Washington -- Nikki Marshall, D/M/F

Kansas (1)
3/25 Los Angeles -- Estelle Johnson, D

Oklahoma State (1)
6/48 Atlanta -- Kasey Langdon, F

Nebraska (1)
6/52 Boston -- Carly Peetz, D

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AMERICA EAST CONFERENCE (2)
Boston University (2)
6/54 Washington -- Mara Osher, M
7/61 Boston -- Casey Brown, D

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HORIZON LEAGUE (2)
Loyola-Chicago (1)
5/43 Boston -- Cynthia Morote-Ariza, F

UW Milwaukee (1)
6/55 Saint Louis -- Sarah Teegarden, M

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GULF SOUTH CONFERENCE/DIV. II (2)
West Florida (2)
3/23 Atlanta -- Shameka Gordon, D/M
7/57 Atlanta -- Shaneka Gordon, M/F

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COLONIAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (1)
William & Mary (1)
7/62 Philadelphia -- Danielle Collins, M

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IVY LEAGUE (1)
Columbia (1)
5/42 Chicago -- Sophie Reiser, M

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MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE (1)
Utah (1)
6/53 Sky Blue FC -- Kelly Isleib, F

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SUN BELT CONFERENCE (1)
Denver (1)
7/65 Boston -- Taryn Hemmings, F

WPS All-Draft Team

2010-01-15T12:54:00.000-08:00

The first XI, in a 3-4-3 formation, based on the draft:

Goalkeeper
Alyssa Naeher, Penn State (Boston, 1/11)

Defenders
Whitney Engen, North Carolina (Chicago, 1/4)
Brittany Taylor, Connecticut (Sky Blue FC, 1/6)
Ali Riley, Stanford (FC Gold Pride, 1/10)

Midfielders
Tobin Heath, North Carolina (Atlanta, 1/1)
Nikki Washington, North Carolina (Los Angeles, 1/5)
Nikki Marshall, Colorado (Washington, 1/7)
Becky Edwards, Florida State (FC Gold Pride, 2/1)

Forwards
Lauren Cheney, UCLA (Boston, 1/2)
Kelley O'Hara, Stanford (FC Gold Pride, 1/3)
Casey Nogueira, North Carolina (Los Angeles, 1/8)

WPS Draft: Team by Team

2010-01-15T11:10:00.000-08:00

ATLANTA BEAT
1/1 Tobin Heath, M, North Carolina
3/21 Blakely Mattern, D, South Carolina
3/23 Shameka Gordon, D/M, West Florida
4/30 Jill Hutchinson, F, Wake Forest
5/39 Mallori Lofton-Malachi, G, South Florida (traded to Philadelphia for 5/40 Carrie Patterson, F, Georgia)
6/48 Kasey Langdon, F, Oklahoma State
7/57 Shaneka Gordon, M/F, West Florida (Shameka's twin sister)

BOSTON BREAKERS
1/2 Lauren Cheney, F, UCLA
1/11 Alyssa Naeher, G, Penn State
2/16 Jordan Angeli, D, Santa Clara
4/34 Katherine Reynolds, D, Santa Clara
5/43 Cynthia Morote-Ariza, F, Loyola-Chicago
6/52 Carly Peetz, D, Nebraska
6/56 Gina DiMartino, F, Boston College
7/61 Casey Brown, D, Boston University
7/65 Taryn Hemmings, F, Denver

CHICAGO RED STARS
1/4 Whitney Engen, D, North Carolina
2/15 Jessica McDonald, F, North Carolina
3/24 Kelsey Davis, G, Portland
4/33 Michele Weissenhofer, M/F, Notre Dame
5/42 Sophie Reiser, M, Columbia
6/51 Fiona O'Sullivan, F, San Francisco
7/60 Jackie Santacaterina, M, Illinois

FC GOLD PRIDE
1/3 Kelley O'Hara, F, Stanford
1/10 Ali Riley, D, North Carolina
2/12 Becky Edwards, M, Florida State
2/20 Kaley Fountain, D/F, Wake Forest
4/32 Erin Guthrie, G, Rutgers
5/41 Ashley Bowyer, M, Ohio State
6/50 Liz Harkin, D, Arizona State
7/59 Lauren Wilmoth, D, UCLA

LOS ANGELES SOL
1/5 Nikki Washington, M, North Carolina
1/8 Casey Nogueira, F, North Carolina
1/9 Kiersten Dallstream, F, Washington State
2/14 Michelle Enyeart, F/M, Portland
3/22 Kiki Bosio, M/F, Santa Clara
3/25 Estelle Johnson, D, Kansas
4/38 Mary Casey, G, Maryland
5/47 Lindsay Browne, F, Clemson

PHILADELPHIA INDEPENDENCE
2/13 Malorie Rutledge, M, LSU
4/31 Kelly Henderson, D, Boston College
5/40 Carrie Patterson, F, Georgia (traded to Atlanta for 5/39 Mallori Lofton-Malachi, G, South Florida)
6/49 Jennifer Anzivino, D, Rutgers
7/58 Caitlin Farrell, D, Wake Forest
7/62 Danielle Collins, M, William & Mary (previously appointed the Independence's director of outreach programs)

SAINT LOUIS ATHLETICA
2/17 Kristina Larsen, M, UCLA
2/19 Ashlyn Harris, G, North Carolina
3/28 Amanda Poach, M, Santa Clara
4/37 Veronica Perez, F, Washington
5/46 Carolyn Blank, M, West Virginia
6/55 Sarah Teegarden, M, UW Milwaukee
7/64 Elisabeth Redmond, F/M, Duke

SKY BLUE FC
1/6 Brittany Taylor, D, Connecticut
3/26 Katie Schoepfer, F, Penn State
3/29 Melissa Clarke, M, LSU
4/35 Danielle Johnson, D, Mississippi
5/44 Meagan Snell, F, Santa Clara
6/53 Kelly Isleib, F, Utah

WASHINGTON FREEDOM
1/7 Nikki Marshall, D/M/F, Colorado
2/18 Carly Dobratz, M, Washington State
3/27 Beverly Goebel, M, Miami, Fla.
4/36 Kristi Eveland, D, North Carolina
5/45 Lauren Robertson, G, Ohio State
6/54 Mara Osher, M, Boston University
7/63 Caitlin Miskel, F, Virginia

WPS Draft: Round By Round

2010-01-15T10:49:00.000-08:00

FIRST ROUND

1. Atlanta -- Tobin Heath, M, North Carolina
2. Boston -- Lauren Cheney, F, UCLA
3. FC Gold Pride -- Kelley O'Hara, F, Stanford
4. Chicago -- Whitney Engen, D, North Carolina
5. Los Angeles -- Nikki Washington, M, North Carolina
6. Sky Blue FC -- Brittany Taylor, D, Connecticut
7. Washington -- Nikki Marshall, D/M/F, Colorado
8. Los Angeles -- Casey Nogueira, F, North Carolina
9. Los Angeles -- Kiersten Dallstream, F, Washington State
10. FC Gold Pride -- Ali Riley, D, Stanford
11. Boston -- Alyssa Naeher, G, Penn State

SECOND ROUND
12. FC Gold Pride -- Becky Edwards, M, Florida State
13. Philadelphia -- Malorie Rutledge, M, LSU
14. Los Angeles -- Michelle Enyeart, F/M, Portland
15. Chicago -- Jessica McDonald, F, North Carolina (a junior)
16. Boston -- Jordan Angeli, D, Santa Clara
17. Saint Louis -- Kristina Larsen, M, UCLA
18. Washington -- Carly Dobratz, M, Washington State
19. Saint Louis -- Ashlyn Harris, G, North Carolina
20. FC Gold Pride -- Kaley Fountain, F/D, Wake Forest

THIRD ROUND
21. Atlanta -- Blakely Mattern, D, South Carolina
22. Los Angeles -- Kiki Bosio, F/M, Santa Clara
23. Atlanta -- Shameka Gordon, D, West Florida (twin sister Shaneka taken by Atlanta in 7th round)
24. Chicago -- Kelsey Davis, G, Portland
25. Los Angeles -- Estelle Johnson, D, Kansas
26. Sky Blue FC -- Katie Schoepfer, F, Penn State
27. Washington -- Beverly Goebel, M, Miami
28. Saint Louis -- Amanda Poach, M, Santa Clara (a fifth-year junior)
29. Sky Blue FC -- Melissa Clarke, M, LSU

FOURTH ROUND
30. Atlanta -- Jill Hutchinson, F, Wake Forest
31. Philadelphia -- Kelly Henderson, D, Boston College
32. FC Gold Pride -- Erin Guthrie, G, Rutgers
33. Chicago -- Michele Weissenhofer, F/M, Notre Dame
34. Boston -- Katherine Reynolds, D, Santa Clara
35. Sky Blue FC -- Danielle Johnson, D, Mississippi
36. Washington -- Kristi Eveland, D, North Carolina
37. Saint Louis -- Veronica Perez, F, Washington
38. Los Angeles -- Mary Casey, G, Maryland

FIFTH ROUND
39. Atlanta -- Mallori Lofton-Malachi, G, South Florida (traded to Philadelphia for 40. Carrie Patterson, F, Georgia)
40. Philadelphia -- Carrie Patterson, F, Georgia (traded to Atlanta for 39. Mallori Lofton-Malachi, G, South Florida)
41. FC Gold Pride -- Ashley Bowyer, M, Ohio State
42. Chicago -- Sophie Reiser, M, Columbia
43. Boston -- Cynthia Morote-Ariza, F, Loyola-Chicago
44. Sky Blue FC -- Meaghan Snell, F, Santa Clara
45. Washington -- Lauren Robertson, G, Ohio State
46. Saint Louis -- Carolyn Blank, M, West Virginia
47. Los Angeles -- Lindsay Browne, F, Clemson

SIXTH ROUND
48. Atlanta -- Kasey Langdon, F, Oklahoma State
49. Philadelphia -- Jennifer Anzivino, D, Rutgers
50. FC Gold Pride -- Liz Harkin, D, Arizona State
51. Chicago -- Fiona O'Sullivan, F, San Francisco
52. Boston -- Carly Peetz, D, Nebraska
53. Sky Blue FC -- Kelly Isleib, F, Utah
54. Washington -- Mara Osher, M, Boston University
55. Saint Louis -- Sarah Teegarden, M, UW Milwaukee
56. Boston -- Gina DiMartino, F, Boston College

SEVENTH ROUND
57. Atlanta -- Shaneka Gordon, M/F, West Florida (twin sister Shameka was taken by Atlanta in the third round)
58. Philadelphia -- Caitlin Farrell, D, Wake Forest
59. FC Gold Pride -- Lauren Wilmoth, D, UCLA
60. Chicago -- Jackie Santacaterina, M, Illinois
61. Boston -- Casey Brown, D, Boston University
62. Philadelphia -- Danielle Collins, M, William & Mary (previously appointed the Independence's director of outreach programs)
63. Washington -- Caitlin Miskel, F, Virginia
64. Saint Louis -- Elisabeth Redmond, F/M, Duke
65. Boston -- Taryn Hemmings, F, Denver

WPS First Round

2010-01-15T10:40:00.000-08:00

Well, 7 a.m. wasn'tt quite doable. I was up until 4:30 doing research on two stories, and I cover an event tonight, so I slept a little later and. voila, it was already the fourth round by the time I was at the computer.

Turns out my first guess at the first round was closer than my second. I pegged the first six picks, and my Nos. 7 and 8 went 8th and 10th.

Here's the first round:

1. Atlanta -- Tobin Heath, M, North Carolina
2. Boston -- Lauren Cheney, F, UCLA
3. FC Gold Pride -- Kelley O'Hara, F, Stanford
4. Chicago -- Whitney Engen, D, North Carolina
5. Los Angeles -- Nikki Washington, M, North Carolina
6. Sky Blue FC -- Brittany Taylor, D, Connecticut
7. Washington -- Nikki Marshall, D/M/F, Colorado
8. Los Angeles -- Casey Nogueira, F, North Carolina
9. Los Angeles -- Kiersten Dallstrom, F, Washington State
10. FC Gold Pride -- Ali Riley, D, Stanford
11. Boston -- Alyssa Naeher, G, Penn State

I'm a little surprised L.A. took Nogueira. Not sure she fits, with Marta already on the field, but she's certainly a talented forward. The first four picks are solid, and so is Nos. 6 and 7. L.A. took Michelle Enyeart in the second round, so it gets two players -- Washington and Enyeart -- coming off major injuries.

Naeher was a smart choice for Boston. I think she's the best of a good class of GKs.

I'll be putting the rest of the draft up as I get it typed in, but heading to fifth round, I'm a little surprised that UCLA's Kara Lang and Lauren Wilmoth are still out there. I know some aren't as high on Wilmoth as I am, but Lang is another matter. She's had two ACL surgeries, her ball skills have never been very good, and she's Canadian -- would count as an "international" player. What she provides, if she can come back at full strength, is intensity and experience of playing as a forward, in midfield and on the backline. My gut feeling is that her skill deficiencies and nationality are hurting her as much as the injuries.

USC goalkeeper Kristin Olsen, rated among the top three netminders, has chosen to finish her degree before deciding whether to pursue pro soccer.

Dan Lauletta looks at each teams needs

2010-01-14T22:20:00.000-08:00

Dan Lauletta from WPS's Web site does a nice job of analyzing what each team needs heading into Friday's draft. Draft starts at 10 a.m. ET -- way to early for this hombre, but we'll set a 6:50 PT alarm anyway -- and we'll be posting round-by-round result here.

To see Dan's analysis, follow this link:

http://www.womensprosoccer.com/Home/news/columnist/100114-lauletta-draft-preview.aspx

Cristiane back for Red Stars

2010-01-14T13:15:00.000-08:00

The Red Stars re-signed Brazilian forward Cristiane, which is no big surprise. She was one of the bright spots on a team that underachieved in year one.

Coach Emma Hayes will have some new talent to work with this year, including hometown girl Julianne Sitch, a midfielder who played for WPS champ Sky Blue FC last season, English midfielder Katie Chapman and Swedish forward Kosovare Asllani.

WPS Draft ::: Mocking the first round

2010-01-12T17:19:00.000-08:00

Women's Professional Soccer will hold its second annual draft on Friday, Jan. 15, at the NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia. I won't be there, which I regret, aside from weather. It seems the entire country is in a freeze except here in Southern California, where it's been beautiful the past week or so. Ah, but rain tonight, they say.

Anyway, there are at least four real prizes in this year's draft, led by U.S. women's national-teamers Tobin Heath (North Carolina) and Lauren Cheney (UCLA). Both figure to make immediate impacts in WPS. The other two are Stanford forward Kelley O'Hara, who is part of the 26-player roster U.S. coach Pia Sundhage has compiled for the training camp that begins Sunday at Home Depot Center, and North Carolina defender Whitney Engen.

Others who will be prized include North Carolina forward Casey Nogueira and winger Nikki Washington and Connecticut defender Brittany Taylor.

Below is version 2.0 of my first-round mock draft. (Version 1.0 was included in the WPS's release that went out, I believe, late Monday.) I reserve the right to alter this as we get closer to Friday (although I likely won't; I'm in the middle of another assignment -- covering InterLiga, the tournament that determines Mexico's qualifiers for Copa Libertadores -- and have three giant projects I need to wrap up at home). I also reserve the right to be wrong.

That said, here's my first round:

1. Atlanta Beat: Tobin Heath, M, North Carolina: She's the best player available, a remakable talent who reminds me a little of Lori Chalupny, who I thought was the top American in WPS's first season.

2. Boston Breakers: Lauren Cheney, F, UCLA: She's got size, strength, skill, a wonderful sense around the box and international experience.

3. FC Gold Pride: Kelley O'Hara, F, Stanford: The MAC Hermann Trophy winner completed a superb senior season (and wonderful college career) by leading the Cardinal to the NCAA title game. Would team nicely with Christine Sinclair.

4. Chicago Red Stars: Casey Nogueira, F, North Carolina: She has sublime skill and fits perfectly into Emma Hayes' scheme. Needs to be more consistent.

5. Los Angeles Sol: Whitney Engen, D, North Carolina: Sol will be excited to find the most accomplished defender in the draft still available. And it's a homecoming for her.

6. Sky Blue FC: Brittany Taylor, D, Connecticut: The WPS champs will look to improve depth, and Taylor is the best athlete available.

7. Washington Freedom: Becky Edwards, M, Florida State: Lori Lindsey, the WPS's second-best holding midfielder in season one (L.A.'s Shannon Boxx was No. 1), has left for expansion Philly. Enter Edwards, who has the potential to be as good.

8. Los Angeles Sol: Nikki Washington, M, North Carolina: The Sol went nuts for draft choices, snapping them up with some questionable trades. (I'm stunned GM Charlie Naimo didn't demand the No. 3 pick in the Camille Abily-for-Tina DiMartino deal). The speedy Washington is a real prize, as long as she can fully return from injury.

9. Los Angeles Sol -- Ali Riley, D, Stanford: Versatile New Zealand national-teamer is from L.A. and would be the Sol's outside back of the future.

10. FC Gold Pride -- Kara Lang, F/M/D, UCLA: The long-time Canadian national team star has questionable foot skills, and she suffered two major knee injuries as a Bruin, but she's played internationally up front, in midfield and at the back and can fill in where needed.

11. Boston Breakers -- Michelle Enyeart, M/F, Portland: Injury drops her several spots, but she's too good to pass up.

OTHER OPTIONS
Kaley Fountain, F/D, Wake Forest
Nikki Marshall, D/M/F, Colorado
Katie Schoepfer, F, Penn State
Lauren Wilmoth, D, UCLA

First post

2010-01-12T16:39:00.000-08:00

Hello, women's soccer fans. This is the start of a process that might lead to a regular blog -- sort of a tryout, to see if I enjoy doing this and believe I can do a decent job of it.

I've covered women's soccer the past decade or so. I was editor of Soccer America's 1999 Women's World Cup coverage and covered the women's game in all its permutations -- international, WUSA, college, elite youth and foreign leagues -- for SA from 2001 through the 2004 Olympics.

I've kept an eye on the women's game since but have not covered it with the intensity of my work at Soccer America. I've edited The Soccer Magazine (formerly MajorLeagueSoccer Magazine) the past two and a half years, and the women's game -- including the first season of WPS -- was part of what I did.

Now it's a matter of seeing how closely I am able/desire to follow women's soccer and write about it. There are other forces at work in this, and how they impact might not be certain for another month or two.

Welcome to this blog. Please feel free to comment, to recommend subject matter, to participate.

-- Scott