Author: RD Welch

USWNT: December 2019 Identification Camp Roster Announced (Overview)

Update  #1 (09-Dec-2019):  Emily Fox has been replaced by Florida State junior Jaelin Howell, who is primarily a holding midfielder. (U.S. Soccer)  Also, per Jenn Hildreth (during the College Cup final broadcast), Catarina Macario had been invited to this camp, but declined due to a family commitment in Brazil.  The camp also overlaps with finals week at Stanford. (stanford.edu)

Update #2 (09-Dec-2019):  Naomi Girma, Madison Haley, and Danielle Colaprico will not attend due to injuries.  Two NCAA players, both from Washington State, forward Morgan Weaver and midfielder Makamae Gomera-Stevens, have been added to the roster. (U.S. Soccer)

Update #3 (11-Dec-2019):  Center back Kaleigh Riehl was added to the roster on Tuesday.  For more about her, go here.

Last Wednesday, U.S. Soccer officially announced that the United States Women’s National Team will hold an identification camp during the second week of December (Monday, the 9th, to Saturday, the 14th) in Bradenton, Florida.  New head coach Vlatko Andonovski has called in 24 players, including 10 current collegiate players.  Of the remaining 14 players, all but one, UCLA alumna Hailie Mace, played in the NWSL during the 2019 season.  Of the ten collegiate players, four are age-eligible for next year’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup:  Maycee Bell, Naomi Girma, Brianna Pinto, and Sophia Smith.

External Link:  Andonovski Names 24-Player Roster For U.S. Women’s National Team December Identification Training Camp In Florida (USSoccer.com)

Among the 24 players, 14 players have attended at least one prior USWNT camp, while 7 of those players have at least one senior USWNT cap.  The most capped player called up is the Houston Dash’s Kristie Mewis, who has 15 senior USWNT caps and 1 senior USWNT goal, with her last cap coming back in March 2014.

Not yet Now confirmed by U.S. Soccer:  North Carolina junior Emily Fox is apparently a scratch due to an ACL tear suffered during UNC’s NCAA Championship quarterfinal match versus USC .

Continue reading “USWNT: December 2019 Identification Camp Roster Announced (Overview)”

USWNT: 2019 ID Camp Player Capsules – Forwards and Midfielders

For the USWNT’s December 2019 identification camp, head coach Vlatko Andonovski has called up six forwards and seven midfielders:

Forwards:

  • Bethany Balcer
  • Madison Haley
  • Ashley Hatch
  • Paige Monaghan
  • Sophia Smith
  • Ally Watt

Midfielders:

  • Danielle Colaprico
  • Vanessa DiBernardo
  • Jordan DiBiasi
  • Sarah Killion
  • Kristie Mewis
  • Brianna Pinto
  • Ashley Sanchez

This article includes basic summary capsules for each of these players, along with highlights and other useful videos, if available. Continue reading “USWNT: 2019 ID Camp Player Capsules – Forwards and Midfielders”

USWNT: 2019 ID Camp Player Capsules – Defenders and Goalkeepers

For the USWNT’s December 2019 identification camp, head coach Vlatko Andonovski has called up nine defenders and two goalkeepers:

Defenders:

  • Maycee Bell (center back)
  • Malia Berkely (center back or outside back)
  • Imani Dorsey (outside back)
  • Emily Fox (outside back) – probably a scratch
  • Naomi Girma (center back)
  • Sarah Gorden (outside back or center back)
  • Kiara “Kiki” Pickett (outside back)
  • Margaret “Midge” Purce (outside back)

Goalkeepers:

  • Jane Campbell
  • Casey Murphy

This article includes basic summary capsules for each of these players, along with highlights and other useful videos, if available. Continue reading “USWNT: 2019 ID Camp Player Capsules – Defenders and Goalkeepers”

2019 NCAA D1 Championship: Quarterfinal Highlights

On Black Friday, Stanford, UCLA, North Carolina, and Washington State punched their golden tickets to this year’s College Cup.  Stanford and UCLA cruised to victories over BYU and Florida State, respectively, while North Carolina survived a 3:2 back-and-forth match over USC, and Washington State needed a golden goal to vanquish South Carolina.

Thus, Friday’s (December 6th) College Cup semifinal match-ups will be:

  • North Carolina vs. Washington State – 7:00 p.m. EST
  • Stanford vs. UCLA – 9:30 p.m. EST

Both matches will be televised live on ESPNU, as will the Championship match, which is scheduled for Sunday, December 8th, at 8:30 p.m. EST.

Read on for brief recaps and video highlights of all the quarterfinal goals…

Continue reading “2019 NCAA D1 Championship: Quarterfinal Highlights”

2019 NCAA D1 Championship: Sweet Sixteen Highlights

A quick round-up of the available highlights for the “Sweet Sixteen” Third Round matches in the 2019 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship.

Matches are in chronological order:

  • #2 BYU blanks NC State 3-nil
  • #1 Florida State with a 2:1 comeback win over South Florida, Castellanos with the game-winner
  • #1 North Carolina dominates Michigan 4-nil
  • #2 South Carolina gets past Kansas 2-nil
  • #1 Stanford scores twice on #4 Penn State, off Macario and Doms goals
  • #2 Southern California slips past Santa Clara 1-nil
  • Washington State defeats West Virginia 3-nil
  • #2 UCLA takes out #3 Wisconsin; Fishel and Villacorta score

Continue reading “2019 NCAA D1 Championship: Sweet Sixteen Highlights”

2019 NCAA D1 Championship: Second Round Highlights – Part 2

A quick round-up of available highlights for other Second Round matches in this year’s NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship.

In this post:

  • Stanford blanks Hofstra 4-nil; Macario (2x), Haley, and Smith score
  • BYU defeats Louisville 4-nil
  • UCLA dominates Clemson 5-nil
  • North Carolina survives Colorado via an Alessia Russo strike
  • Southern California defeats Texas Tech 2:1, Watt, Hocking, and McKeown score
  • Florida State fends off Brown, 2-nil; McFarland with another brace
  • Wisconsin gets past Duke, 1-nil
  • South Carolina advances 1-nil over Notre Dame
  • Kansas, via a Katie McClure hat-trick, defeat Xavier

For other Second Round Highlights, see:  2019 NCAA D1 Championship: Second Round Highlights – Upsets and Golden Goals. Continue reading “2019 NCAA D1 Championship: Second Round Highlights – Part 2”

2019 NCAA D1 Championship: Second Round Highlights – Upsets and Golden Goals

A quick round-up of available highlights for the most notable Second Round matches of this year’s NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship.

In this post:

  • #1 seed Virginia is upset by Washington State
  • #4 seed Penn State survives Arizona via a Tagliaferri golden goal
  • West Virginia needed a golden goal to get pass Central Connecticut State
  • Michigan upsets #4 seed Texas Tech
  • Carolyne Viens and South Florida take down #4 seed Washington
  • Santa Clara defeats #3 seed Oklahoma State
  • NC State knocks out #3 seed Arkansas

For Second Round highlights of the remaining nine matches, see 2019 NCAA D1 Championship: Second Round Highlights – Part 2. Continue reading “2019 NCAA D1 Championship: Second Round Highlights – Upsets and Golden Goals”

USWNT: High Performance Coach Dawn Scott Returns to England FA

On Wednesday, U.S. Soccer and the Football Association (FA) confirmed that Dawn Scott, who was the United States Women’s National Team’s High Performance Coach, is leaving U.S. Soccer for a similar position with the FA as the Physical Performance Manager for England’s senior women’s national team.  Scott’s sudden departure was surprising as newly installed USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski had said that he was “retaining” Scott (SI.com).  The news was broken over the previous weekend by Simon Austin at Training Ground Guru and confirmed by Jeff Kassouf of Equalizer Soccer.

Details about the circumstances of Scott’s departure and hiring are limited, although her departure was described as “amicable.” (The Athletic article, subscription required) Continue reading “USWNT: High Performance Coach Dawn Scott Returns to England FA”

2020 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship: Host, Dates, and Knock-Out Bracket Confirmed

See CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship: Costa Rica and Panama Out, Bermuda and Barbados In for current schedule and bracket details.

Update (31-Jan-2020):  THIS ARTICLE IS NO LONGER CURRENT FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:  

  • THE DATES FOR THIS TOURNAMENT HAVE BEEN CHANGED.  (They are now February 22nd to March 8th).
  • COSTA RICA AND PANAMA ARE NOT PARTICIPATING IN THIS TOURNAMENT.  THEIR GROUPS AND THE KNOCK-OUT BRACKET HAVE BEEN ALTERED.

Update (20-Dec-2019):  FIFA has confirmed that Costa Rica and Panama will be joint hosts for this cycle’s FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, which will be held in August 2020 (FIFA.com). Not yet confirmed is how this will affect qualifying in CONCACAF.  Absent exceptional circumstances, the most likely result is that the number of open qualification slots will be reduced to 2, as Costa Rica and Panama will be given the host slot plus 1 slot from CONCACAF’s allocation.  Another uncertain wrinkle is whether Costa Rica and Panama will be participating in this CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship, as they are currently assigned to Group D (with Mexico) and Group F (with Haiti), respectively.  Given the timing of this announcement, right before the end-of-the-year holiday break, it is possible that these qualifying matters may not be resolved until January 2020.

On Tuesday, CONCACAF confirmed that the Dominican Republic will be hosting the confederation’s final qualifying tournament for next year’s FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. (CONCACAF.com)  As things currently stand, CONCACAF has three open qualifying slots, though that could change depending on who actually ends up hosting the U-20 WWC in 2020.

The qualifying tournament, which is officially known as the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship, is scheduled for February 15, 2020 to March 1, 2020, and in a departure from past tournaments, will feature twenty teams instead of the usual eight.  The tournament will have a Group Stage involving the top sixteen U-20 women’s national teams, based on historical rankings (CONCACAF.com).  Those sixteen teams will be divided into four standard round-robin groups of four.  The top three teams in each group will advance to the knock-out stage.

The knock-out stage will start with a Round of Sixteen that includes the twelve advancing teams from the Group Stage, plus four teams from a preliminary qualifying stage for teams outside the top sixteen.  (Wikipedia has a decent summary article on the preliminary qualifying stage.)  After the Round of Sixteen, the knockout round will proceed normally, with a Final to determine the champion and a Third Place match.
Continue reading “2020 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship: Host, Dates, and Knock-Out Bracket Confirmed”

NCAA D1 Tournament: 2019 Second and Third Rounds Match Schedule

(Updated 23-Nov-2019)  The NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship continues this week with a total of 24 matches being played from Thursday, November 21st to Sunday, November 24th, as the tournament field is whittled down from 32 teams to just 8.

Unlike the First Round matches, which were each hosted by one of the teams involved, Second Round matches are paired off based on the tournament bracket and hosted by one of the four teams involved.   Third Round matches, between the winners of each paired Second Round match, are also played at the same site.

All Second Round matches and most Third Round matches have confirmed live streams and/or television broadcasts scheduled. (As of when the article was published.  Updates are shown in green.)

Continue reading “NCAA D1 Tournament: 2019 Second and Third Rounds Match Schedule”