USWNT: The USA Defeats Australia 2:1 at The HDC

On Sunday, the United States Women’s National Team, in the second match of their Fan Tribute series, defeated Australia by a score of 2 to 1, via second half goals by Alex Morgan and Shannon Boxx (U.S. Soccer match report). The Matildas were quite dangerous in the first half, with at least two shots that rebounded off the posts, but an individual effort by the speedy Lisa deVanna gave the visitors a 1:0 half-time advantage.

Full U.S. Soccer highlights are not yet available, but the goals are: Continue reading “USWNT: The USA Defeats Australia 2:1 at The HDC”

USWNT – Search 2012: Who’s In, Who’s Out, Who’s Up, Who’s Down, And… Who? (Day 16)

It is two weeks after the announcement that Pia Sundhage would step down as head coach of the United States Women’s National Team and there has yet to be any sort of clarity regarding the potential candidates for the head coaching position.

Potential candidates who have said that they are not interested in the position at this time include U.S. Soccer Development Director Jill Ellis, Penn State head coach Erica Walsh, and former USWNT assistant coach Marcia McDermott.

Names still in the mix include past USWNT head coach Tony DiCicco, former Philadelphia Independence head coach Paul Riley, and Western New York Flash head coach Aaran Lines. However, things appear to still be in the résumé submission stage, so there is no short list of candidates yet, whether official or unofficial.
Continue reading “USWNT – Search 2012: Who’s In, Who’s Out, Who’s Up, Who’s Down, And… Who? (Day 16)”

Opponent Watch: Australia’s Travel Roster for its Friendlies with the USWNT

On Wednesday, the travel roster for the Australia Women National Team’s upcoming trip to the United States was released by their FA. The Matildas will be playing the United States Women’s National Team in two friendlies, on September 16th and the 19th, along with a tune-up match against the WNT of Haiti prior to those friendlies on September 13th.

Continue reading “Opponent Watch: Australia’s Travel Roster for its Friendlies with the USWNT”

USWNT: In Search Of… The Next Head Coach

Before Saturday’s friendly against Costa Rica, U.S. Soccer announced that Pia Sundhage would be stepping down after the Australia friendlies and returning to Sweden to pursue other opportunities. Well, before Sundhage even left Rochester, the SvFF announced on their website that Sundhage had been hired as the new head coach of Sweden’s Women’s National Team, starting on December 1st.

With Sundhage’s upcoming departure, the search for a new head coach of the United States Women’s National Team begins.

The rest of this article reviews (1) what is known about the search process for this cycle, which is very little, so details from past searches are also mentioned, and (2) a non-exhaustive, unofficial best guess of who some of the candidates may be.

Continue reading “USWNT: In Search Of… The Next Head Coach”

USWNT: The USA Defeats Costa Rica 8:0 In Rochester

On Saturday, before a crowd of a sell-out crowd of 13,208 at Sahlen’s Stadium in Rochester, New York, the United States Women’s National Team defeated Costa Rica 8:0 in the first friendly of the USA’s Fan Tribute Tour. In the match, Megan Rapinoe and Abby Wambach each scored twice, while Alex Morgan, Sydney Leroux, Carli Lloyd, and Heather O’Reilly also had goals.

The United States will next play Australia on September 16th, in Carson, California, at the Home Depot Center (12:30 p.m. PDT kick-off, televised live on NBC). Continue reading “USWNT: The USA Defeats Costa Rica 8:0 In Rochester”

USWNT: Costa Rica’s Roster For the September 1st Friendly

[Edit: The roster posted at EqualizerSoccer.com lists Fabiola Sanchez instead of Gabriela Alfaro. It is unclear whether that list or the list on Costa Rica’s website is more current, and thus correct.]

On Thursday, Costa Rica’s Women’s National Team released its roster for the September 1st friendly against the United States (2:30 p.m. EDT, live on NBC). Only half of the eighteen players traveling to Rochester were on Costa Rica’s roster for Olympic qualifying back in January, where the USA and Costa Rica met in the crucial qualifying, with the United States winning 3:0 on goals by Tobin Heath, Carli Lloyd, and Alex Morgan (USSoccer.com).

The most notable player not on the roster is team captain Shirley Cruz, who now plays for Paris Saint-Germain in France, after moving from Olympique Lyonnais over the summer. And, thus has a club commitment. Three other players who started against the USA during qualifying are also not on the roster: Karol Sanchez, Fabiola Sanchez (Martin Methodist), and Wendy Acosta (Virginia Commonwealth), who are all defenders. Continue reading “USWNT: Costa Rica’s Roster For the September 1st Friendly”

Americans Abroad: Notes for August (2012)

With Germany’s Frauen-Bundesliga kicking off its season soon, here’s a quick and non-exhaustive review of news about Americans who are playing abroad, primarily in Sweden and Germany, but also in other leagues. Continue reading “Americans Abroad: Notes for August (2012)”

Under-20 Women’s World Cup: TV and Online Information for the USA, Canada, and More

The Under-20 Women’s World Cup is just around the corner. The first match kicks-off Sunday, August 19th, at 2:00 a.m. EDT when Brazil clashes with Italy. Host Japan’s first match, versus Mexico, is actually the last one on Sunday, with a start time of 6:20 a.m. EDT. On Monday, the USA and Canada play their first matches, against Ghana (3:00 a.m. EDT) and Argentina (6:00 a.m.), respectively. (Full Schedule on FIFA.com)

The following is a quick summary of the TV and online options for those in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Continue reading “Under-20 Women’s World Cup: TV and Online Information for the USA, Canada, and More”

Olympics: The United States Takes Gold, Canada Wins Bronze

On Thursday, the United States Women’s National Team claimed its fourth Olympic Gold Medal by besting Japan 2:1 in front of eighty-thousand spectators at Wembley Stadium. Carli Lloyd scored both goals for the USA, the first in the 8th minute, and then the eventual game-winner in the 49th. Japan got one back via the foot of Yuki Ogimi in the 63rd, but was unlucky to not have an earlier chance for the equalizer when an obvious-on-replay handling foul was not called on Tobin Heath in the 27th minute. (Obligatory BigSoccer referee forum thread link.)

In the earlier Bronze Medal match, Canada claimed its first Olympic medal on a stoppage time goal by Diana Matheson against a France team that out-shot Canada 18 to 4, but only 4 of France’s shots were on goal. Continue reading “Olympics: The United States Takes Gold, Canada Wins Bronze”

Olympics: Preview Notes on the USA vs. Japan Gold Medal Match

On Thursday, at Wembley Stadium, the United States Women’s National Team will be seeking its fourth Gold Medal when it takes on reigning World Champions Japan in a rematch of the 2011 Women’s World Cup final. And, as in that 2011 match, the center referee will be Bibiana Steinhaus of Germany. Over 80,000 tickets have been sold for the match, although a sell-out is not expected due to the only remaining tickets being £125 or  $195 in U.S. dollars (WembleyStadium.com).

The Gold Medal match will be shown live on NBC Sports Network, with coverage beginning at 2:00 p.m. EDT. The kick-off is at 2:45 p.m. EDT.

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