Tasha v. Iceland

Natasha Kai scored a pretty goal in the last minute of regulation to lead the US to a 1-0 victory over Iceland in the Algarve Cup, propelling them into the final.



hat tip to JordanCornblog who is keeping me up with the women's soccer scene.

USWNT News

Only one of these players is having a good hair day.

Not new news, but news to me.

The former captain of the Norway WNT, Olympic Gold Medal and World Cup winner Hege Riise has been named Assistant Coach of the USWNT.

Abby Wambach is back training with the national team. She's featured in the 2nd half of this Studio 90 piece (the 1st half is on Frankie Hedjuk of the men's team.)



And finally, from the USWNT's blog, photos of Heather O'Reilly with Nando, Kaka and Messi. Wow, soccer royalty meets soccer royalty.

USWNT on Oprah Tomorrow

The WNT Blog: Gold Medalists on Oprah!

The gold-medal winning U.S. Women's National Soccer Team -- along with 175 U.S. Olympic medalists -- will appear on a very special season premier of the The Oprah Winfrey Show on Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. Check your local listings for air time.

Check your local listings.

More Video of USWNT Celebrations

From Martynnny, via JordanCornblog.

More Video of USWNT Celebration

From the same Swedish newspaper site, via JordanCornblog, which I am adding to the blogroll. Another blog that loves women's soccer, whoo-hoo!

Double Win For Pia

Pia rocking the black socks.

Head Coach Pia Sundhage takes the USWNT to the Olympics gold medal, and USSoccer, in a shockingly fast display of common sense, gives her a four-year contract extension, to 2012 according to Swedish news reports.

Watch Sunil Gulati drop to his knees to ask her to stay here. The clip is from a Swedish newspaper. Lots of video of the post-game celebration including Christie Rampone giving Pia her own gold medal. (Coaches don't get them.)

Congratulations to Pia, and congratulations to USSoccer for getting this right. Now, Sunil, do you have your calls in to Guus Hiddink for the men? Let's steal him from Russia while they're preoccupied with Georgia. A good international coach must be the priority for the USMNT and the 2010 World Cup

Hope is Golden and Redeemed

ussoccer
A good coach can make all the difference. A bad coach can ruin your World Cup and stomp on your dreams.

I am truth and I approve this message:

Nick Gholson, Times-Record News (TX): Made in China

They are calling the United States men’s basketball “The Redeem Team.”

Well, Hope Solo is “The Redeem Queen.”

Less than a year ago, this kid was blackballed by her U.S. teammates. They wouldn’t eat with her. They wouldn’t fly on the same airplane with her.

Her sin was telling the truth. – that her coach was an idiot.

Solo had been the U.S. team’s starting goalkeeper for the first four games of the 2007 World Cup. She was unbeaten with three straight shutouts.

So what does coach Greg Ryan do? He benches her in the semifinal game against Brazil. With 36-year-old veteran Briana Scurry minding the net, the U.S. lost 4-0.

After the game, Solo was on her way out the door when a reporter asked her what she thought of the coach’s decision. When a PR guy told the guy to only ask questions to the girls who played in the game, Solo got ticked off and gave this answer:

“It was the wrong decision and I think anybody who knows anything about the game knows that. There’s no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves,” she said “You can’t live in the past. It doesn’t matter what somebody did in a gold medal Olympic game three years ago. Now is what matters.”

Ryan benched Solo again for the third place game. Not long after that, he announced she was no longer on the team. Captain Kristine Lilly explained that it was a team decision made by the group.

And we all know the rest of the sorry story. Congratulations to Hope Solo for triumphing over the coach who made the worst decision in the history of sport.

The Golden Girls

Some videos on the USWNT's gold medal performance, with interviews with Pia, Christie, Kate, Hope, and Carli:





All stolen gleefully from Sideline Views.

For more videos and interviews, check out the team's blog: USWNT Blog

Golden Tasha

As a 10-year-old, Natasha Kai already had star potential. Tuesday, the University of Hawai'i sophomore leaves to play in an international tournament in China.
Kai family photo

Nice 2004 article on Natasha Kai, our first Hawaiian to win a gold medal. Pre-tats.

HonoluluAdvertiser: The Natural

As a young child, Kai, who is of English, Irish, Scottish, German, American Indian, Filipino, Chinese, Hawaiian and Spanish descent, was always active, participating in soccer, summer track, and even P.O.N.Y. baseball for one year.

"She would always be running around on the street, going to the beach in the summer, or jumping on the trampoline (in the Kai's yard)," Sharon [her mother] said.

She's a one-woman UN!

Natasha Kai of the U.S. (R) celebrates with teammates after winning their women's final soccer match against Brazil at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 21, 2008.
(Shaun Best/Reuters)

Golden!

Goal!

The USWNT won a hard-fought gold medal this morning, defeating hated Brazil 1-0 in overtime. Carli Lloyd scored the winner in the 96th minute. Christie Rampone was my MOTM; on USSoccer they selected Hope Solo, and I can live with that. She made a point blank reaction save on Marta in the 72nd minute that was amazing. Even watching the game as a spectator was exhausting. So I'm too tired to recap fully. Read these excellent recaps/liveblogs:

Boltgirl on the Loose, here, and here.

(from which I learned that after the 4-0 loss at the 2007 World Cup, the Brazilian players videotaped the US players crying in the hotel lobby. Stay classy, pretty losers. I'm going to start calling Brazil the Anna Kournikova of soccer.)


Andrea Canales at Sideline Views.

Jere Longman, NYTimes

Beau Dure, USAToady


Natasha Kai became the first Hawaiian athlete to win a gold medal. She ripped off her shirt to celebrate, showing the world her sports bra (yawn) and her tattoos (awesome).

How sweet it is!

Bonus video of the USWNTs of basketball and soccer meeting. Watch Tobin Heath make Kara Lawson look tall! See their ball skills. Watch Diana Taurasi tear it up in soccer tennis.

USSoccer Photo Gallery

Yahoo Photo Gallery

Cute soccer mom pics:

Rylie Cate, daughter of United States' Christie Rampone, jumps from the podium in joy after her mom's team won the gold over Brazil in the women's soccer final at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008.
(AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
United States' Christie Rampone, left, carries her daughter Rylie Cate and United States' Kate Markgraf carries her son Keegan on their shoulders as they are all smiles with teammate Carli Lloyd, center, during the medal ceremony for the women's soccer gold medal match at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008. The US won the gold medal by beating Brazil.
(AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Poor, poor Brazil, the greatest team that's never won anything.

Waaaaaahhhhhhhh! (Hey, Cristiane, there's NO CRYING IN BASEBALL)

Final note, a shoutout to Greg Ryan: She would have made those saves, you moron.

Congratulations to Kristine Lilly

She had her baby, a girl named Sidney Marie Heavey (6 lbs. 13 oz.), born July 22nd.

That's Kristine Lilly's birthday. And my dad's! Best wishes to the new parents.

USWNT Blog: Congrats to Kristine!

Disaster

bigsoccer
The US beat Brazil last night in a meaningless pre-Olympics friendly, 1-0. Brazil was again without Marta, Christiane and Daniela so it wasn't their A team. Natasha Kai scored late to win for the US.

The disaster? US striker Abby Wambach broke her leg. She went barreling into a Brazil defender -- probably steamed as Brazil had been fouling her all game -- and broke both the tibia and the fibula in her left leg. Amazingly, she maintained her composure and even gave the thumbs-up to the crowd as she was taken off the field on a gurney with her leg in an aircast. That is one tough woman. She is having surgery today to have a titanium rod placed in her leg. Ouch.

I didn't see the game as I had a class. Coach Mom reports that Brazil played dirty (as they always do) and the referee let way too much go. The team did not play well. Boxxy looked slow and couldn't connect her passes. The announcer Lori Walker is annoying and never stops talking. In general FoxSoccer's coverage was rather amateurish. All in all, a bad day at Black Rock for the USWNT.

The xinhua news says it best:

The heart, soul and leading scorer of a young U.S. Women's National Soccer Team will not play in the 2008 Olympic Games.

Your heart has to go out to Abby, who lives and dies for soccer and will miss one of the big tournaments where she was expected to lead the team. Get well soon, Wombat.

Boltgirl on the Loose: Oh, Sad. Sad!

NYTimes: Wambach Breaks Leg in Exhibition

WaPo: Wambach to Miss Olympics

xinhuanet.com: Double-leg fracture means no Olympics for Wambach




Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

Wambach will be on crutches for about two weeks and then is expected to face 12 weeks of rehabilitation for what Dr. John Gorczyca, an orthopedic surgeon at Strong Memorial Hospital who is familiar with such injuries, said could be a “career-altering injury.”

“Will she ever be as good as she has been? Perhaps. … It may be that this changes her career,” he said this morning. “Most people with a fracture like hers make a complete recovery. The fact that it’s (the fracture is) midshaft is good. If it’s closer to the knee or ankle we need to be a little more cautious. That’s a favorable prognosis for her to be able to get back to playing soccer more quickly.”

He said about 80 percent of these types of fractures heal in three months, but “the problem is they continue to hurt for more than a year and oftentimes for more than two years, especially with running and jumping and kicking activities, which is what she does.

“How bad will it hurt her? We don’t know. What’s her tolerance for pain? Probably great.”

But Gorczyca added, “I’m a fan of hers. She’s a great thing for Rochester soccer and U.S. soccer.”

What Happened in China in 2007?

Sounds like the only player on the USWNT who acquitted herself well in the L'Affaire Ryan/Solo/Scurry was Carli Lloyd, a smart Jersey girl. The Sports Illustrated article below (and Andrea Canales take, after that) lays out more of what really happened behind the scenes when Hope Solo was banned from the team after saying, hey, I would have made those saves. (She couldn't be charged with slander, because It. Was. The. Truth.)

I blame Greg Ryan, but clearly the rest of the team had a warped idea of "team". I mean, isn't the reason you stick together as a team that you want to win? I never understood them all going along with Greg Ryan's moronic bootball tactics. I guess there wasn't anyone on the team that understood that it was not the beautiful game they were playing. And they thought it was more important to be nice to each other than to win. Hey, put in the old goalie that can't kick the ball and hasn't played in a competitive game in six months. Take out the hot kid with two clean sheets under her belt. It's OK, we're a team! Dumb. I'm so disappointed in the juvenile attitudes of these athletes. Maybe with age will come wisdom.


SI.com: Hard Return
Her World Cup outburst violated the team-first ethos of women's sports and made her an outcast. Now Hope Solo is the U.S. goalie once again, bound for Beijing—and still trying to figure it all out

Sideline Views (Andrea Canales): The Feminine Mystique

P.S., Kristine Lilly is due on July 19th.

Damn

US midfielder Leslie Osborne will miss the Olympics after tearing her ACL this week.

We saw her score in the 6-0 victory over Canada on Mother's Day weekend.

Get well soon Leslie! Here's a little video clip of her that USSoccer put out before the Women's World Cup last year; note the Wisconsin accent.

Happy Birthday Damarcus Beasley

Beasley shows off the silverware with Ally McCoist.

Damarcus Beasley played his second game since returning from what was thought to be a season-ending knee injury. He started for Rangers in the Scottish Cup and scored a goal -- on his birthday! Looking forward to seeing Beasley with the US team at Wembley on Wednesday.

SportingLife.com: BEASLEY SURPRISED BY FINAL SPOT

Rangers midfielder DaMarcus Beasley admits his selection for the Scottish Cup final against Queen of the South caught him and his family by surprise.

The American's season looked to be over in November when he sustained a knee injury against Stuttgart in the Champions League.

However, the former PSV Eindhoven player regained his fitness ahead of schedule to make a substitute's appearance against St Mirren in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League last Monday.

Beasley then celebrated his 26th birthday by starting against Queens and scoring in Rangers' 3-2 win over the Irn-Bru First Division side.

Independent (uk): Beasley heads south to earn his stripes in team of no stars

ITV.com: Beasley to go for the Hart

USA winger DaMarcus Beasley has vowed to put a dent in Joe Hart's England debut with a Wembley goal.

Manchester City goalkeeper Hart is in line for his first cap on Wednesday night as England manager Fabio Capello tests a number of younger players who have caught his eye.

Beasley was the 21-year-old's team-mate at Eastlands during the 2006/07 season when the American enjoyed a loan spell from PSV Eindhoven before joining current club Rangers.

The pair have remained friends and Beasley, who is back to fitness following five months out with a knee injury, made it clear he would show no mercy should a goal-scoring opportunity come his way during the friendly.

DaMarcus Beasley celebrates his goal.

Get Well Soon, Christie Rampone

ussoccer: U.S. Captain Christie Rampone Has Surgery to Remove Her Gall Bladder
# 12-Year National Team Veteran Will Be Out Several Weeks

CHICAGO (May 15, 2008) -- U.S. Women’s National Team captain Christie Rampone had surgery yesterday morning to remove her gall bladder at the Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance, Calif. The procedure was performed by Dr. Craig Smith.

Rampone, who played the full 90 minutes against Canada on May 10 in the USA’s 6-0 victory over Canada at RFK Stadium, should be able to return to training in several weeks.

The laparoscopic surgery is deemed minor, but was necessary as Rampone had been suffering from abdominal pains. The surgery is usually done if the organ is inflamed or obstructed, and the incisions during the procedure are very small.

USWNT Looking Good

The United States' Natasha Kai (6) celebrates with teammate Carli Lloyd, left, after scoring a goal against Canada during the second half of an international friendly soccer match at RFK stadium in Washington Saturday, May 10, 2008. The United States won 6-0.
(AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
Coach Mom & I saw the USWNT crush Canada 6-0 at RFK Stadium in DC on Mother's Day weekend. A hat trick from Natasha Kai, great work by Abby Wambach, fantastic passing and possession. In general, more of the beautiful game that the US women haven't played since the departure of "the old bags" and the ascension of the reviled Greg Ryan. Here are some videos & reports of the action:





And on the Today show the following Monday:


SoccerAmerica: USA smashes Canada in Concacaf rematch

ESPNSoccerNet: U.S. continues stunning progress under Sundhage

WaPo: Kai Nets Hat Trick For U.S. Women
Tuneup Turns Into Rout in 2nd Half: United States 6, Canada 0

USAToady: U.S. women blank Canada 6-0 behind Kai's hat trick

Washington Times: Kai, USA Have Their Way

Women's Soccer Olympic Draw

NBC: Abby Wambach
The USWNT, the defending gold medalists, will face Norway, Japan and New Zealand in group stage of the 2008 Olympics. This is a fairly easy draw for Team USA. Japan is always technically good, but their team is small and they have problems finishing. New Zealand qualified for the 2007 World Cup, but didn't score a goal in their three group games. Norway isn't the team of "Viking bitches" (Kristine Lilly) that won the 1995 World Cup anymore. Coach Mom & I saw them in Hartford summer 2007 and weren't very impressed. (The U.S. defeated Norway handily, 4-1, in the third place game of the World Cup.)

The group of death is definitely Group B, which besides defending World Cup champions Germany contains Brazil, with Marta the most feared offense in the world; Nigeria, who tied Sweden in the group stage of the World Cup and came within a goal of tying the U.S., always a tough, physical team; and North Korea, who tied the U.S. in the opening game of the World Cup, also a very tough, physical team.

The top seeds for the tournament are China, Germany and the U.S., which is why Brazil and Germany are in the same group. Also, according to the U.S. Soccer website, the U.S. could not have been in the same group with Brazil to open the tournament, as we are considered to be from the same region, the Americas I guess. Lucky for us, not so lucky for Germany.

2008 Women's Soccer Olympic Draw

Group A: China, Canada, Argentina, Sweden.

Group B: North Korea, Brazil, Nigeria, Germany.

Group C: Norway, Japan, U.S., New Zealand.

ussoccer: U.S. Women Drawn Into Group G at 2008 Olympics; Will Face Norway, Japan and New Zealand
- U.S. Will Play First Two Games in Qinhuangdao and Final Group Match in Shenyang
- USA's First Match of Group G Pits Last Two Olympic Champions

ussoccer: Quote Sheet: Players and Coaches Reaction To Olympic Draw

USWNT News

USA celebrates penalty shot victory over Canada, 4/12/08
SanDiego.com: Change blowin' in the wind for women's team

Besides the news that Kate Markgraf is the team co-captain (yea Kate!) this article contains this interesting outline of Pia Sundhage's challenges:

Plenty of wrenching decisions, though, lie ahead.

There is goalkeeper Hope Solo and the scars from her much-publicized banishment at the 2007 World Cup last September. Solo and her teammates have worked to mend their tattered relationship, but Solo also has admitted “there are still some people who I realize I may never be close to again.”

There is the fitness level of hefty defender Cat Whitehill, a starter in the 2003 and '07 World Cups and 2004 Olympics. Sundhage has already made a subtle statement by benching Whitehall through most of the Algarve Cup and Olympic qualification.

There is the disposition of 5-foot-11 forward Abby Wambach, who is the team's most gifted player and whose abrasive personality can (and does) rub teammates and coaches the wrong way. She was the focal point in former coach Greg Ryan's bang-it-forward system, but Sundhage's offensive diversification ultimately means fewer touches for the No. 5 scorer in U.S. history.

There is the leadership void created when Kristine Lilly, the lone remaining link to the 1991 World Cup title, took the year off to start a family.

I am not surprised that Whitehill's fitness is an issue. One of the nightmares of Greg Ryan's foolish tactics was having Whitehill come forward to take all throw-ins, when she struggled to get back into position. Hopefully Sundhage will put her on the Juande Ramos diet.

I don't know about Wambach rubbing anyone else the wrong way, but I wager that she's had a few run-ins with this reporter. Is he trying to say that Abby is crabby because she's not getting the ball as much? I bet she's happy to be winning in a system that lets the team play soccer, not bootball.

ussoccer: U.S. Women's National Team Downs Canada in Penalty Kick Shootout to Win 2008 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying

Captain Christie Rampone with CONCACAF Trophy after win over Canada, 4/12/08

USWNT Announces Olympic Qualifying Roster & Schedule

ussoccer: U.S. WNT vs. Denmark - 03-12-08 - Algarve Cup
USSoccer announced the 20-player roster for 2008 Concacaf Olympic women's qualifying tournament yesterday. The squad includes five players who didn't play at the 2007 World Cup: Rachel Buehler (Stanford), Tobin Heath (North Carolina), Kacey White(North Carolina), Lauren Cheney(UCLA) and Amy Rodriguez (USC).

The six players from Greg Ryan's 21-player roster for the World Cup who aren't on the team are: Kristine Lilly, Tina Ellerton, Brianna Scurry, Marian Dalmy, Aly Wagner, and Marci Jobson. Lilly and Ellerton are pregnant and have not retired. Jobson has taken the job as the head women's soccer coach at Baylor. I don't think any of the others have retired, but Wagner has struggled with pace and Dalmy was very young, inexperienced and a surprise addition to the World Cup roster.

As to Brianna Scurry, I think Pia Sundhage handled the Scurry/Solo situation exactly right. She complimented both players when she got the job, invited them both to her early camps, then quietly dropped Scurry, first from the Algarve Cup roster, and now from the Olympic qualifying squad. Scurry was the greatest keeper in the world in the past, but her skills have eroded and her storied mental toughness is no longer enough to keep the ball out of the net. (See Brazil 4, USA 0)

Another omission from the squad I wonder about is Heather Mitts. I thought she would have been sufficiently rehabbed from her knee injury to compete for a spot, but it's her second major knee injury and that can take a long time to heal. This is not the final Olympic roster, either; it's the roster for qualifying, and there could be changes for the actual Olympic team.

GOALKEEPERS: Nicole Barnhart (Gilbertsville, Pa.), Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.);

DEFENDERS: Rachel Buehler (Del Mar, Calif.), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis, Mo.), Stephanie Cox (Elk Grove, Calif.), Kate Markgraf (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant, N.J.), Cat Whitehill (Birmingham, Ala.);

MIDFIELDERS: Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Tobin Heath (Basking Ridge, N.J.), Angela Hucles (Virginia Beach, Va.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Leslie Osborne (Brookfield, Wis.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Kacey White (Arlington, Texas);

FORWARDS: Lauren Cheney (Indianapolis, Ind.), Natasha Kai (Kahuku, Hawaii), Heather O'Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Amy Rodriguez (Lake Forest, Calif.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.).

Here's the qualifying schedule:

USA Olympic Qualification Schedule – Group A
Date Match-Up Kickoff Local / Pacific Time
April 4 USA vs. Jamaica 7:30 p.m. PT / 7:30 p.m. PT
April 6 USA vs. Mexico 1:30 p.m. MT / 12:30 p.m. PT

2008 CONCACAF WOMEN’S OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION SCHEDULE
Group A
Date Match-up Kickoff (Local)
April 2 Mexico vs. Jamaica 7:30 p.m. PT / 7:30 p.m. PT
April 4 USA vs. Jamaica 7:30 p.m. PT / 7:30 p.m. PT
April 6 Mexico vs. USA 1:30 p.m. MT / 12:30 p.m. PT

Group B
Date Match-up Kickoff (Local)
April 2 Trinidad & Tobago vs. Canada 5 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. PT
April 4 Costa Rica vs. Trinidad & Tobago 5 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. PT
April 6 Canada vs. Costa Rica 11 a.m. MT / 10 a.m. PT

Semifinals Kickoff (Local)
April 9 Winner Group A vs. Runner-up Group B 5 p.m. MT / 4 p.m. PT
April 9 Winner Group B vs. Runner-up Group A 7:30 p.m. MT / 6:30 p.m. PT

Final/Third-place Game Kickoff (Local)
April 12 Third-Place Game 5 p.m. MT / 4:00 p.m. PT
April 12 Championship 7:30 p.m. MT / 6:30 p.m. PT