Bale and Messi are hurt, Real Madrid conquers Istanbul, and the United States Soccer Federation celebrates 100 years by taking over Times Square today, it's time for your Friday goals, but with a twist.
Twas a year of slower football, long passes to no one, really, Shannon MacMillan as super sub,
Brandi Chastain with her top off, and, of course, the reign of one Mia Hamm. Reminisce:
On July 10, 1999 my Dad took me and my best friend to the Women's World Cup Final at the Rose
Bowl in Pasadena, California. We wore our Blue Streaks soccer jerseys and were as excited as we
could be.
I remember standing in the frozen lemonade stand for what seemed like centuries. I remember the
sun beating so strong that paramedics rushed fans out of the crowded stadium from heat
exhaustion.
Hope Solo's New Book Sparks Rampant Controversy: Villain or Victim? - originally posted on
Soccerlens.com
Never one to shy away from publicly exposed quarrels or full on media bouts, Olympic gold
medalist Hope Solo (and her newly published memoir) has, yet again, placed herself at the epicenter
of a highly scrutinized controversy.
USA: Solo; LePeilbet, Rampone (c), Buehler, O'Hara; O'Reilly, Lloyd, Cheney, Rapinoe;
Morgan, Wambach North Korea: O Chang Ran; Kim Nam Hui, Kim Myong Gum, Choe Un Ju, Ri Ye Gyong; Jon Myong
Hwa, Kim Chung Sim (C), Pong Son Hwa; Kim Song Hui, Choe Yong Sim
2 - Megan Rapino with a great run up the wing - leads to an angled shot that's out for a corner
kick.
If you don't' already follow U.S Goalkeeper Hope Solo's twitter stream, you really should.
Solo's twitter rant was in response to former WNT defender Brandi Chastain's remarks when the
U.S. women's soccer team played Colombia on Saturday. During the first half, Chastain disparaged
defender Rachel Buehler's ball control.
Article by Leanne Elston In thrilling fashion, the USWNT beat Canada 4-3 to advance
to the gold medal final of the Olympics, where they will meet Japan, who defeated France 2-1
earlier in the day. The final will be a rematch of last year's World Cup final, which saw Japan
come away victors after topping the US through penalty kicks.
Pia Sundhage should be proud. Her squad made history today at legendary Old Trafford, the home
of Manchester United. This match marked the first time that an international women's soccer game
was played at the Theatre of Dreams, with 29,000+ in attendance to watch the historic event. To top
that, the USWNT defeated Korea, completing their clean sweep of Group G.
Recaps and reaction to Union's comeback win. Wambach on being sucker-punched. Another Hope Solo
controversy, hurray! Califf scores gamewinner. Lehigh Valley's FC Sonic NPSL national champions.
More news
There were fireworks both on and off the field for the US Women's National Team who defeated
Colombia 3-0 on Saturday in Glasgow, Scotland. Abby Wambach has called for the Olympic Committee to
review and discipline the Colombian player who "sucker-punched" her during the game. And after the
match Hope Solo went pubic on Twitter [.
The highest level of women's pro Soccer in the U.S. played its final Saturday. The Women's Premier
Soccer League (WPSL) Elite match was played in Rochester, New York, home of the Western New York
Flash.
The game went to Pk's after the two finalists, the Flash and Chicago Red Stars, played 120 minutes
to a 1-1 tie.
The USWNT started its Olympic run today with a come-from-behind 4-2 win against France at Hampden
Park in Glasgow, Scotland. Besides France, Colombia and North Korea join the USA in Group G for
this tournament.
After going down 2-0 in less than 20 minutes, the USWNT fought back to tie the game going into
halftime before ultimately bagging the win in the second half.
Since the first women's soccer tournament at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, the USWNT has won three
gold medals and one silver. A look back at how they got it done.
VANCOUVER, Canada – The U.S. Women's National Team rolled past a young and over-matched Dominican
Republic side to open the 2012 CONCACAF Olympic Women's Qualifying Tournament with a dominating
14-0 victory in a match played indoors at BC Place.
Sky Sports reports that Bolton manager Owen Coyle "claims no decision has been taken as yet
regarding a permanent deal" for Sebastien Le Toux.
Jonathan Tannenwald tweets, "A Union source says the team 'would not use Tim Ream as a
benchmark' in any negotiations over Le Toux regarding transfer fee.
The 1991 US team broke new ground winning the first ever World Cup and repeated the feat eight
years later. By that time Michelle Akers, Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, and Kristine Lilly were
household names. US women's soccer and success are so inextricably intertwined with those names
leaving each succeeding squad aspiring to reach the same heights and write their names into
history.
Head and shoulders above the rest: U.S. forward Abby Wambach scores the latest goal in a
game in Women's World Cup history and sends the quarterfinal against Brazil to penalty kicks in
Germany (AP Photo).
It was quite simply, one of the most enthralling, drama-filled, soccer games I've ever seen.
Freddy Adu and John Hackworth on taking Sunday's penalty kick. Union moves up in power rankings.
USA face North Korea today. Colombian Lady banned for punching Abby. Locals receive PDL
All-Conference honors. Man U stock and Chevy. More news.
If you aren't following Hope Solo's twitter feed, do.
Today's tweets were in response to Brandi Chastain's remarks during the US game against Colombia.
At about 18 minutes, Chastain disparaged defender Rachel Bheuler's ball control. She said that
Bheuler gives the ball away too much, and "needs to work on an improve on" her trapping skills.
By Sean McElroy My Grandmother, who is ninety-three, has absolutely no reason to care about soccer.
She is sharp as can be—her memory for her age is quite remarkable—and when I visit her she
often asks about the various matches I am going to go see or have seen. Always, one conversation
or question seems [.
No need to reinvent the wheel so we will simply state the obvious, the U.S. Women have played
better than expected so far this World Cup and are in the perfect position to coast into the
quarterfinal...
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With four Seattle Sounders Women on the United States National Team there will be greater
interest in this year's Olympics Women's soccer tournament than in year's past. The USA starts off
with France a team that is clearly on the rise. Similar to the US, the French squad is strengthened
by several players playing on one team, in this case Lyon.
Article by Leanne Elston
In disappointing but not altogether surprising news, Women's Professional Soccer announced today
that after three seasons, it has folded. The league had already ceased operations for the 2012
season and had hoped to return in 2013, but the cancellation is now permanent.
The U.S. WNT finds itself in an unfamiliar postion -- the third-place game of the Algarve Cup after
nine straight finals -- but still with an excellent match to end the tournament.
Sweden has had the USA's number for the past three matches with the Americans out-playing the
fifth-ranked Swedes three times last year, and failing to win each time.
ESPN has shown a remarkable commitment to properly covering the Women's World Cup this year.
While previous World Cups were well covered by the ESPN family of networks, this summer's event has
demonstrated an enhanced understanding of the audience that watches this competition and the type
of coverage that would be appealing to those viewers.
Looks like Hope Solo has written an epilogue that published this week with her new book, "Solo: A
Memoir of Hope," (Christ on a crutch, this title....) explaining the fallout, or lack of fallout,
from her Twitter attack ('Twittack"?) on ex-U.S. women's national team player turned NBC
commentator, Brandi Chastain.
John Hackworth on the New York Red Bulls: "I don't think they like us and I don't think we like
them."
Sheanon Williams on the Red Bulls: "Regardless how many years we've been around, it's Philly and
New York, and nobody in Philly likes any teams in New York, and that is definitely how it goes with
the Union and Red Bulls.
(Please click play to create a suitable atmosphere for perusing these photos...)
Right let's set the scene.
The cloying, suffocating heat sends up shimmering mirages from the dust as Sgt. Elias is mowed
down from behind by an entire squadron of Vietcong guerillas.
My recent post on Louisa Necib has been the most read popular I've ever written on this blog.
That's a great testament to the burst of interest this Women's World Cup has generated around the
world. (France's semi-final game, for instance, attracted 4 million viewers in a country that has
been very slow to adopt women's football).
Absolutely great game yesterday. I was watching the game with a couple of friends who don't
follow the Sounders, or sports in general, even they got caught up in the drama in the 2nd half.
You don't have to be a soccer fan to appreciate the sublime beauty of the Fredy Montero free kick
(check out the highlights here).
