Tag: USWNT

The USWNT’s First Doubleheader with the USMNT

The media guide for the United States Women’s National Team only notes one doubleheader* with the Men’s National Team: a pair of matches held at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., on May 30, 1998, in which the women played New Zealand and the men played Scotland. Contemporary news reports in 1998 state that this doubleheader was the “first-ever” (SoccerAmerica) and the “[f]irst time both the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams have played a doubleheader (Baltimore Sun).**

But, that would not be the first time the men’s and women’s national teams had played at the same stadium on the same day. Continue reading “The USWNT’s First Doubleheader with the USMNT”

USWNT Olympic Opponent Watch: North Korea Loses Twice Against the Netherlands

North Korea, an Olympic group stage opponent of the United States Women’s National Team, lost both a closed-door match and an official friendly against the #14 ranked Netherlands earlier this month. In the closed-door match, the Netherlands came back froom a goal down to win 4:1, while in the friendly, the Netherlands won 2:0, with the first goal coming in the 42nd minute. Both matches were played in the Netherlands. Details of North Korea’s line-up and substitutions are not readily available.

Sources (All in Dutch):
www.onsoranje.nl – Write-up on closed-door match (June 1st)
www.onsoranje.nl – Write-up, with box score, on the friendly (June 5th)
www.vrouwenvoetbalnederland.nl – Another write-up on the friendly, has the minute for NED’s first goal

More on the Netherlands: They are currently at the top of their group for Women’s Euro 2013 qualifying, with 5 wins and only 1 draw. The only draw was a 0:0 affair with England, whom they will play next on June 17th, in England. With a win, the Netherlands will lock up a ticket to Sweden.

US Soccer To Make U-17 and U-20 WNT Head Coach Positions Full-Time

Somewhat out of the blue, US Soccer announced last weekend that the head coach positions for the two main youth women’s national teams, the Under-17s and the Under-20s will be full-time, starting after the two youth Women’s World Cups later this year.

Also, a “development coach” will be hired to focus “on enhancing the player development environment for young players” across the USA and to oversee the Under-15 Girls’ National Team program. In other words, this sounds as if the U-15 GNT head coach position will also be made a full-time job, but with broader duties.

Continue reading “US Soccer To Make U-17 and U-20 WNT Head Coach Positions Full-Time”

USWNT: Notes From Memorial Day Weekend

On Sunday, May 27th, the USWNT defeated China 4:1, with Alex Morgan scoring two goals and getting an assist via a throw-in. Earlier in the day, the Olympic roster was released.

Also, on Wednesday (May 23rd), the USWNT defeated China 3:0 in a closed-door scrimmage.

Continue reading “USWNT: Notes From Memorial Day Weekend”

USWNT Olympic Opponent: France’s Semi-Official Final Roster, Plus Training Schedule

Earlier today, French WNT head coach Bruno Bini announced his team’s roster for the 2012 Summer Olympics, along with their training schedule. The most notable roster change from the 2011 Women’s World Cup is the inclusion of goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi, who is generally regarded as France’s best ‘keeper, but has had issues on and off the pitch , which led to her exclusion in 2011. Continue reading “USWNT Olympic Opponent: France’s Semi-Official Final Roster, Plus Training Schedule”

USWNT Olympic Opponent Watch: Colombia – Updated May Camp Roster

ColFutbol.org has posted a news item with a slightly different roster for its current camp. From the previous roster, three players were added, Liana Salazar and Ingrid Vidal, who both play collegiately for the University of Kansas Jayhawks (Salazar’s profile, Vidal’s profile), plus Florida native Catalina Perez (Team Boca; Boca Raton), who was a back-up goalkeeper for Colombia at the 2010 U-20 Women’s World Cup. Not included on the roster were Nataly Arias (U. of Maryland, 2004-2008) and the hard-to-find-info-on Kena Romero. (Edit, 5-June-2012: Nataly Arias is still on the roster, while Alexis Hermosa was removed from the roster.) Continue reading “USWNT Olympic Opponent Watch: Colombia – Updated May Camp Roster”

USWNT: May Camp Roster – Christen Press Unable to Attend, Two New Faces

US Soccer released the roster of players called into the USWNT’s next camp, which will be held in New Jersey, from May 10th to the 25th, prior to the team’s friendly versus China, which is on May 27th. Twenty-eight players were called up, including first-timers Adrianna Franch (goalkeeper) and Gina Lewandowski (centerback). Not included in the roster is Christen Press who was invited (per her interview in this video), but was presumably not released by her club, K/Göteborg FC. Continue reading “USWNT: May Camp Roster – Christen Press Unable to Attend, Two New Faces”

USWNT Olympic Opponent Watch: Colombia – May Camp Details and More

Earlier this month, USWNT group stage opponent Colombia ramped up its preparation for the 2012 Olympics by convening for a month-long training camp. Twenty-two players were called up, including at least eleven players with American connections. Along with a camp roster, Colombia also released details of its schedule ahead of the Olympics. (ColFutbol.org news release, in Spanish) Continue reading “USWNT Olympic Opponent Watch: Colombia – May Camp Details and More”

USWNT: The Forwards Situation for the 2012 Olympics

The deadline for Olympic rosters is two months away and Pia Sundhage has some challenging decisions to make regarding which players are included in the final roster for the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) and which players are left out.

In this first post of a potential series, the situation regarding forwards is examined. Continue reading “USWNT: The Forwards Situation for the 2012 Olympics”

USWNT: Thoughts on the Optimal Player Pool Size and Structure

This week in obscure USWNT topics: A discussion of the optimal size of the United States Women’s National Team player pool.

The main prompt for this discussion was the inclusion of Christen Press in the last camp roster, which highlighted a problem in the management of the team’s main player pool: The number of experienced true forwards was dwindling due to the use of Lauren Cheney and Amy Rodriguez as midfielders, while the need for true forwards was increasing due to the switch back to the 4-4-2 formation, from the 4-2-3-1 formation.

This is also relevant since the USWNT players’ collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of the year (USSoccer.com article announcing the current agreement back in 2006).

Continue reading “USWNT: Thoughts on the Optimal Player Pool Size and Structure”