Photo: Earl Gardner

Le Toux talks

It just won't stop.

As suggested by the 130 readers' comments posted on PSP in less then 24 hours since the Le Toux transfer news broke, if the sadness felt by Union fans at the news of Sebastien Le Toux's transfer to Vancouver wasn't enough, subsequent comments from Peter Nowak and Le Toux will, for many, see that sadness turn to anger.

Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz

Philadelphia Union

Sebastien Le Toux tweets, "Just got traded to Vancouver ! Saddest day for me in my Philadelphia Union story.... Still can't believe it"

The Union host Vancouver Whitecaps on March 31.

Take a look at Adam Cann's roundup of the evolution of Sebastien Le Toux to Vancouver rumors for links, but to summarize, the Union appear to be trading Le Toux to Vancouver for allocation money.

Despite the numerous struggles WPS was faced with in 2011, the Boston Breakers remained a solid squad. Thanks to an impressive post-World Cup run, the club earned its second-consecutive playoff appearance. Although they may have fallen short of the Championship game, 2011 was a remarkable year nevertheless for the Breakers.

Check out the schedule for this weekend's Women's Professional Soccer matches. Be sure to catch your favorite WNT players in action!
Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011
Atlanta Beat vs. Western New York Flash
KSU Soccer Stadium – Kennesaw, Ga. (Ticket Info)
7 p.m. ET
Western New York Flash has clinched a playoff berth and currently sits in second place in WPS standings.

Check out the schedule for this weekend's Women's Professional Soccer matches. Be sure to catch your favorite WNT players in action!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Sky Blue FC vs. Western New York Flash
Yurcak Field – Piscataway, N.J. (Ticket Info)
7 p.m. ET
Sky Blue FC claims sole possession of third place and looks to avenge their July 17 loss to Western New York Flash in this Saturday's matchup.

By Oliver Sparrow, writing from London.

In the words of my unimpressed girlfriend as she caught me hunched in front of the computer screen in my darkened front room: "Bloody hell. You must be desperate!"

And in a sense, I was. My girlfriend was disappointed, but I was starting to get football withdrawal symptoms.

Karina Maruyama, #18 in blue, from AICFoto.com(Note: This is crossposted from our sister-site, MLSTalk.com).

July 9, 2011: One of the most memorable days in Women's World Cup history.

If there was anything that could upstage the brilliant cat-and-mouse match won by France over England, it was a determined Japanese squad that deposed the host nation Germany with a stunning extra time goal.

Karina Maruyama, #18 in blue, from AICFoto.com

July 9, 2011: One of the most memorable days in Women's World Cup history.

If there was anything that could upstage the brilliant cat-and-mouse match won by France over England, it was a determined Japanese squad that deposed the host nation Germany with a stunning extra time goal.

FIFA Womens World Cup 2011 Quarter-Finals
Japan 1:0 Germany aet
France 1:1 England aet; France won 4-3 on penalties
Japan's women's team recorded a famous victory in Wolfsburg by knocking out hosts and World Cup holders Germany 1-0 after extra time, while France needed penalties to get past a dogged England in Leverkusen.

Edge of seat stuff. This World Cup has captured the imagination of millions around the world because of the way women have chosen to play the sport.

An outclassed England hung on grimly as France with their superior game threatened to swamp them at every given moment. PK's finally decided the game.

Kickoff!
1 - It's on as Kelly Smith slices into the box - even two years ago, that would have been a shot on goal, but she hesitates and her eventual shot gets blocked.
3 - France recover from their bobbling start, look more comfortable in midfield.
4 - Abily from distance goes over, but not by much.

Rachel Yankey, Arsenal star takes on Les Bleus in the WWC quarters

In a few minutes, Hope Powell's squad take on Les Bleus in the quarterfinals. The English are finally gelling after a slow start with Kelly Smith, their top scorer yet to open her account. But their spark has come from other players like Rachel Yankey, Jill Scott, Stephanie Houghton, and Ellen White.

The group stage of the 2011 Women's World Cup has come to a close, with most of the traditional powerhouses moving through to the quarterfinals. We saw more parity than we've seen in the past World Cups: Nigeria got their first win, Equatorial Guinea notched two goals, and Australia moved out of the group stage for the first time ever.

Brandi Chastain and Ian Darke

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.

England players look a little resentful while singing their national anthem. I don't think they were expecting as much criticism as they got for their draw against Mexico.
FAIL - Announcer just said Hope Solo instead Hope Powell.
Kickoff!
2 - Bardsley catches an incoming pass.

Img courtesy: FIFA.com

The second day of the Women's World Cup picked up right where the first left off in front of buzzing German crowds. Japan got an expected win to top the group, and Mexico played England tight to pull off a draw.

Group B

Japan 2 – 1 New Zealand

The scoring started early in this one as Japan's Nagasato capitalized off a poor turnover.

Never before has women's football ever garnered such interest in England. That's because the Three Lionesses have a team in this World Cup that is considered the best in the nation's history.

The women's game was once banned in the UK, and often ignored, even after its legalization has soared in popularity recently.

Watch ALL six shorts here.
ESPN will present HERoics, a series of six short documentaries chronicling women's courage, perseverance, breaking through barriers, failure and redemption, as part of its unprecedented coverage of the FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011, it was announced today. The series, an ESPN global content development project, will live on www.

By Chris Wright

England Women got their World Cup campaign underway with a slightly disappointing 1-1 draw against Mexico in Wolfsburg yesterday afternoon going ahead through Fara Williams' looping 21st-minute header before being pegged back just 13 minutes on down the line thanks to a bit of a special effort from Monica Ocampo.

This will be considered a disappointing result for the Three Lionesses after Fara Williams gives them a dream start with a towering header. But the highlight goal has to be Monica Campo's 30 yard screamer which a flailing Karen Bardsley fails to fend off.

The shot takes her by surprise and she reacts too late.

Grant Wahl mentioned in the Gold Cup final that the El Tri male players no longer salute across their chest while the anthem plays. Not so the women - they still do it.
England have their superstar, Kelly Smith, but what makes them good is now it's not just the Kelly show, ala Jordan and the Jordanaires.

Grant Wahl mentioned in the Gold Cup final that the El Tri male players no longer salute across their chest while the anthem plays. Not so the women - they still do it.
England have their superstar, Kelly Smith, but what makes them good is now it's not just the Kelly show, ala Jordan and the Jordanaires.

Hope Powell is not taking Mexico lightly

England's preparations for the World Cup took a setback with training match losses to North Korea and Australia.

Hope Powell is worried about the lack of sharpness in some of her players before England's showdown with Mexico later today.

Stop the presses! England to win the next World Cup! This could be our year!

Well, not quite. I'm not talking about the men, I'm talking about the women. Hope Powell's England women's side has quietly been making great strides in the international arena, though you probably wouldn't have heard given the lack of coverage and focus that the national media places on women's sport in general.

Two games were played over the weekend, and new players got a chance to show what they're made of in Week 6 of Women's Professional Soccer. The Flash played yet another game at home on Friday night and handed the Boston Breakers a 3-2 loss. The Atlanta Beat was also at home this week, and the visiting Philadelphia Independence made a huge comeback to win the match 2-1 playing most of the match a man down on Sunday evening.

BOSTON, Mass. The Boston Breakers cruised to their first home victory of the season on Sunday night, beating Sky Blue FC 1-0 off a second half goal by Rachel Buehler. Buehler, who played the entire match in central defense, also helped the Breakers grab their first shutout of the season.

"I thought the defense played well for the whole 90 minutes," said goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who made three saves on the night.

Week 4 of Women's Professional soccer provided 3 games for east cost fans of the league. The Philadelphia Independence was on the road for their second game of the season against magicJack in Boca Raton, FL. The Boston Breakers hosted Sky Blue FC and came out with their 2nd win of the season. In Rochester, NY, the WNY Flash played their first game at home as they defeated the Atlanta Beat 3-0.

The 2nd week of Women's Professional Soccer is over and the season is well underway! The second week should have consistent three matches, but the Philadelphia Independence match versus magicJack was canceled because of severe thunder and lightning. Instead, just two matches were played. The Atlanta Beat earned a win over Sky Blue FC, and the Boston Breakers lost their home opener to the Western New York Flash.

LONDON (April 2, 2011) – In the U.S. Women's National Team's first ever match in England, the U.S. fell to the hosts 2-1 in front of a boisterous crowd at Brisbane Road. Megan Rapinoe scored the lone goal for the Americans in the first half after the U.S. went behind by two goals early in the match.

U.S. Women's National Team head coach Pia Sundhage finished third in the voting for FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women's Football, and two U.S. players finished in the two 10 with Abby Wambach coming in fifth and Hope Solo eighth. Not bad for the USA.
The USA was the only country besides Germany to have two players in the top 10.

The USA's 25-player camp that opened today features three players who received their first-ever call-ups to the full team. All played in a youth Women's World Cup for the USA and all are at different stages of their careers. Jordan Angeli (U-20s in Russia '06) had an excellent season with the Boston Breakers during her rookie year, scoring seven goals, second only to Kelly Smith.

Twenty ten was an eventful year for a number of New England-based teams.

Perhaps the most notable moment within the confines of the region was Boston Aztec's capture of the WPSL national championship back on August 1st. The Aztec (12-1-1, 37 pts.), who also serve as the feeder team for the Boston Breakers, claimed the title with a 2-1 win over Ajax America down in the oppressive, unforgiving Dallas heat thanks to goals from Becky Ryan and Becca Mays.