RD Welch

NCAA D1 Tournament: Notable 2019 First Round Results and Highlights

Over the weekend, 32 first round matches in the 2019 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship. The following is a quick run-through of results for notable teams as well as noteworthy upsets. (Did I mention that there were 32 matches played over 3 days?)

Several USA youth internationals and players already with senior USWNT caps and/or call-ups had noteworthy offensive performances, including:

Sophia Smith (Stanford, eligible for 2020 U-20 WWC): 3 goals, 2 assists versus Prairie View A&M
2018 U-20 USWNT’er Penelope Hocking (USC): 4 goals against Cal. State Fullerton
UNC’s Emily Fox (USWNT capped) scored once against Belmont and had two assists

Two members of Canada’s 2016 Olympic Bronze Medal winning squad scored goals in the weekend’s matches:

Senior Jessie Fleming, netted the opening goal for UCLA in their 4:1 victory over Lamar University
Junior Deanne Rose scored a consolation goal in Florida’s 2:4 loss to South Florida (USF)

Continue reading “NCAA D1 Tournament: Notable 2019 First Round Results and Highlights”

NCAA D1 Tournament: 2019 First Round Match Schedule

The NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship kicks off today, Friday, November 15th, with 18 of the 32 First Round matches. On Saturday, 13 additional matches will be played, while just one lone match is scheduled for Sunday.

Almost all first round matches will be streamed live through various services, although most matches will either require an underlying cable or satellite subscription or a separate subscription to a digital-only service. However, some matches should be free, including all matches hosted by Pac-12 teams, as well as Santa Clara and West Virginia.

Continue reading “NCAA D1 Tournament: 2019 First Round Match Schedule”

Women’s Euro 2021 Qualifying: November 2019 Group Stage Window Recap and Highlights

UEFA Women's Euro logo

The year’s final qualifying matches for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2021 ended in disappointment for the Republic of Ireland and Portugal, who both saw late equalizers dash their hopes of full points, as well as Spain and Wales, who were each held to scoreless draws. Top contenders, the Netherlands, France, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and Austria all finish the year on full points, as all are yet to concede a draw or lost.

Qualifying for the 2021 Women’s Euro, which will be hosted by England, resumes in March 2020, although most of the top contenders do not restart their qualifying campaigns until April 2020.

England, was also in action this window, playing two friendlies: First, hosting Germany at Wembley in front of a home attendance record of 77,768 on Saturday, and then an away friendly at the Czech Republic on Tuesday.

Continue reading “Women’s Euro 2021 Qualifying: November 2019 Group Stage Window Recap and Highlights”

NCAA: Conference Championship Sunday Schedule (2019)

With the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Tournament right around the corner, today is the last day to earn a spot in the 64-team bracket. Of those 64 slots, 31 are automatic qualifiers, with most of those automatic slots being decided via conference championships. The bracket for the NCAA tournament will be announced on Monday afternoon. Continue reading “NCAA: Conference Championship Sunday Schedule (2019)”

Roster Round-Up: November 2019 International Window

A (belated) round-up of rosters for top national teams who will be playing (or have played) during the November international window, whether in friendlies or Women’s Euro qualifiers.

Roster covered in this article:

CONCACAF: Canada
CONMEBOL: Brazil
AFC: Australia, Japan
UEFA: England, Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain, Norway

The rosters for the United States and Sweden are analyzed in separate articles:

For Costa Rica roster analysis, see Opponent Watch: Costa Rica’s Roster and Depth Chart for November 2019 Friendly

Continue reading “Roster Round-Up: November 2019 International Window”

Opponent Watch: Costa Rica’s Roster and Depth Chart for November 2019 Friendly

For Sunday’s friendly against the United States Women’s National Team (8:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2), Costa Rica’s head coach, Amelia Valverde has called up 20 players, including 15 who recently won the Bronze Medal at this year’s Pan-American Games in Lima, Peru. Among those medal-winners is US-based player. Raquel “Rocky” Rodriguez of Sky Blue FC. (Correction: As of mid-September 2019 Gloriana Villalobos is no long on Florida State’s squad due to personal reasons. – Tallahassee Democrat article)

Update (10-Nov-2019): Here is U.S. Soccer’s preview for the friendly, which includes notes on Costa Rica’s roster, apparently with updated cap and goal details for some of their veteran players.

Costa Rica has been very active since the international break for the Women’s World Cup, playing in the Pan-American Games in late July and early August, a two-match friendly tournament hosted by Brazil during the August/September international window, and two official matches during the October international window for CONCACAF Olympic Pre-Qualifying. Continue reading “Opponent Watch: Costa Rica’s Roster and Depth Chart for November 2019 Friendly”

2020 Olympic Qualifying: Draw Results, Schedule, and Venue Details

Earlier today, CONCACAF held the group draw for the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualification Championship, which will be hosted by the United States. As hosts, the United States Women’s National Team were placed in Group A. The USA’s opponents in Group A are Costa Rica, Panama, and Haiti. Group B, headlined by Canada will consist of Mexico, Jamaica, and Saint Kitts & Nevis. Continue reading “2020 Olympic Qualifying: Draw Results, Schedule, and Venue Details”

U-17 USWNT: November 2019 Camp Roster: 32 Players Called In, 4 First-Timers

This week, from November 4th to the 10th, the Under-17 United States Women’s National Team is holding a domestic camp at the National Training Center in Carson, California. Tracey Kevins has called-in 32 players, including 4 players who are attending their first USA youth camp, and 3 other players who are in their first U-17 camp. (U.S. Soccer) Continue reading “U-17 USWNT: November 2019 Camp Roster: 32 Players Called In, 4 First-Timers”

U-20 USWNT: 2020 Cycle Camp Attendance Tables (as of November 2019)

With just two full camps left before next year’s CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship, the actual composition of the Under-20 United States Women’s National Team remains significantly nebulous, as a number of highly regarded players have only been in one or two U-20 camps this cycle. Continue reading “U-20 USWNT: 2020 Cycle Camp Attendance Tables (as of November 2019)”

U-20 USWNT: November 2019 Camp Roster

This week, from November 4th to 10th, the Under-20 United States Women’s National Team is holding a camp at the National Training Center in Carson, California. The team’s head coach, Mark Carr, called in 22 players. (U.S. Soccer press release) Of the players called in, only 4 of the 22 are current collegiate players.

Six players are attending their first U-20 camp this cycle: Aislynn Crowder, Dilary Heredia-Beltran, Smith Hunter, Emily Mason, Quincy McMahon, and Hannah Zaluski. This is also the first youth call-up for Zaluski, who is a sophomore at George Washington University (GWU profile). Continue reading “U-20 USWNT: November 2019 Camp Roster”