US WNT - Olympic roster has Hope but no Scurry

Hope Solo is returning to China while Briana Scurry is staying home.

Less then a year after coach Greg Ryan set off a goalkeeper firestorm by benching Solo ahead of their World Cup semifinal match against Brazil in favor of Scurry, Hope will finally get her chance to win a big tournament in China.

New coach Pia Sundhage has decided that Solo is the better keeper at this time and will likely be her number one between the posts in August. Sundhage said that Scurry's national team duty might not be finished depending on how she does in the new Women's Pro League.

Nicole Barnhart will act as backup keeper.

The full roster is:

GK: Nicole Barnhart, Hope Solo

D: Rachel Buehler, Lori Chalupny, Stephanie Cox, Kate Markgraf, Heather Mitts, Christie Rampone

M: Shannon Boxx, Tobin Heath, Angela Hucles, Carli Lloyd, Heather O'Reilly, Lindsay Tarpley, Aly Wagner

F: Natasha Kai, Amy Rodriguez, Abby Wambach

Half these players were on the 2004 squad that took gold in Athens.

US beats Italy; face Canada in the Championship

Congratulations the US Women's team who beat Italy 2-0 today to win their group and a spot in the Peace Queen Cup finals on Saturday.

The win mean the women took all three-group games, including a 1-0 win against Brazil (a little better then their World Cup result from last year). Also, their offense seems to be back as they out scored their opposition 5-1.

The final will be a rematch of 2006 as America's neighbor to the north will try to extract their revenge. The Canadians walk out of their group as undisputed masters as they took all 9 points with a +9 goal difference (10-1). As impressive as this is, it must be noted that the US faced the number 4,12 & 13 teams in the world while Canada faced off against the 23,24 and 27th.

This is the fourth final the US women have played in this year and the second involving Canada. So far the US is 3-0.

US defender Cat Whitehill to miss Olympics

The US Women's team suffered another injury blow this week as defender Catherine Whitehill was diagnosed with a torn ACL. This injury will prevent her from heading to China in an attempt to win back-to-back gold medals.

Whitehill played every minute of the 2007 World Cup and held her own under very strong attacks. She is a key player in the US backfield and will be very difficult to replace.

This news comes three-weeks after midfielder Leslie Osborne was also ruled out of the Olympics due to an ACL tear.

With two similar injuries in less then a month, one has to wonder if training is to blame. Whitehill's father Phillip Reddick seems to suggest this might be the case:

They've really been working them hard," he said.

Whitehill tweaked the knee prior to the team's trip to South Korea for the Peace Queen Cup.

"They thought it was fine," Reddick said. "Yesterday (Tuesday) morning at practice, the knee buckled and it looks like it's a torn ACL.

This is a very serious situation and one the coach Pia Sundhage should be looking into.

Whitehill is expected to take 8-months to recover from this injury.

US Women know their road to the Olympics - Schedule

The US women know now who they are training to beat as Concacaf has released their 2008 Women’s Olympic Qualification. Six nations will take part in the competition for the 2 Concacaf spots in Bejing.

The teams have been divided into 2 groups of 3. The top 2 teams from each group will advance to the semifinals. Here is the full 2008 Women’s Olympic Qualification schedule:

Group A
USA
Mexico
Jamacia

April 2 - Mexico vs. Jamacia (7:30p)
April 4 - USA vs. Jamacia (7:30p)
April 6 - Mexico vs. USA (1:30p)

Group B
Trinidad & Tobago
Canada
Costa Rica

April 2 - Trinidad & Tobago vs. Canada (5:00p)
April 4 - Costa Rica vs. Trinidad & Tobago (5:00p)
April 6 - Canada vs. Costa Rica (11:00a)

Seminfinals
April 9 - A1 vs. B2 (5:00p)
April 9 - B1 vs. A2 (7:30p)

Finals
April 12 - Third Place (5:00p)
April 12 - Championship (7:30p)

All matches will take place at Estadio Olímpico Benito Juarez in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Although the US should have no problems making it through this tournament, the home pitch advantage for Mexico, combined with the short time between game number 1 & 2 (compared to Mexico), might cause a stubble in the first round.

My guess is the US will take group A with Mexico coming in second. Canada will sneaking by group B with Costa Rica claiming second. The big match will be the semifinal between Mexico and Canada as the US should easily handle Costa Rica (or T&T).

The finals are pretty meaningless in this one as both spots go to the teams in the championship match, but I still expect the US to end it on top.

NBA's Steve Nash invests in women's soccer league

The Phoenix Suns' Steve Nash is now a partner in the new Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league.

"I look at my childhood and realize how many athletes I had to look up to," Nash said in a phone interview. "I look at the opportunity to put some of these wonderfully talented athletes who are dedicated and committed and put them in a setting to inspire a whole generation below them."

This is just the type of invest the new WPS needs. Here you have a well-known player of a different sport preaching the wonder that is this game. It will not cause a huge rush of people to watch, but it does give the league a known face to help with the push.

Also, Nash Jeff Mallett, a former president and chief operating officer at Yahoo Inc.*, nails the advantage WPS has over MLS in that WPS will probably be able to get the best players in the world, including Brazilian World Cup stand out Marta.

* edit - as noted in the comments, Nash did not say this, the business man did.

Welcome to Women's Professional Soccer

The long awaited top-level women's soccer league now has a name and a logo. As you can see in the title, the name is Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). It might not be the most exciting of names, but it does tell you exactly what it is.

As far as the logo, much like the name, it gives you what it is, a woman playing the game of soccer. The fact that the woman in silhouette is none other then Mia Hamm kicking at the ball, just lets you know the level they are hoping to achieve.

The league will have their first kick in Spring of 2009 with teams based in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New Jersey/New York, St. Louis, and Washington D.C. It is very interesting that all but one of those teams is in a MLS city (hello St. Louis).

By the way, they provide the media with a great deal of information regarding the name and how to use it:

Please first reference the league in print or broadcast coverage using the full name of “Women’s Professional Soccer,” after which the “WPS” acronym can be incorporated. Please do not abbreviate the league’s name to “Women’s Pro Soccer,” or qualify it as “the Women’s Professional Soccer,” “the WPS,” “Women’s Professional Soccer league,” “WPS league,” “the Women’s Professional Soccer league,” or “the WPS league.”

Kind of reminds me of Toronto FC asking the media to not call them TFC. Let's hope WPS has better luck with the grammatical choices of reporters.

One last aspect of this launch that might be the most important thing, they are planning to have a large web presence. Their site will include "...access to behind-the-scenes videos on WPS TV, prospective player blogs, event and community calendars, league and team news, job and volunteer opportunities, links to individual team pages, and much more."

The people heading up this effort are smart so they must realize how little coverage they are going to get in most outlets. If they really want to reach people, they will need to take in on themselves and the web is a perfect way to do that. But they can't just slap some stuff up on a site and call it a win, instead they need to let it define itself. Find ways to allow readers to make things happen and encourage players to blog honestly about things. If they do this, they have a chance of standing out.

So we have a name, next step, finding players.

US women lose their captain

Congratulations to US women's national team captain Kristine Lilly who is pregnant with her first child. Now the down side of this news, she will miss the Olympics and all of 2008.

Lilly is an excellent player and has been the key to so much of what the US women have done, but at age 36, chances are she has played her final competitive match for the red, white and blue. Now the torch has truly been passed.

Greg Ryan gone at last

The time of Greg Ryan as US Women's boss is over as US Soccer boss Sunil Gulati has pulled a Bruce Arena on Mr. Ryan and decided against renewal of his contract.

Here is the official, thanks for coming, it has been fun, now get off my property note from Gulati:

At the conclusion of each world championship cycle, every national team's performance is closely analyzed. There are many factors considered in this analysis, and it certainly isn't just about one loss or one particular coaching decision. In this case, after looking closely at the last six weeks and the team's performance at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, we have made a decision to change leadership of the U.S. Women’s National Team. I want to thank Greg Ryan and his staff for their work over the last two-plus years. We look forward to the continued development of our National Team as one of the best in the world.

After the horrible play his side put on in the World Cup, topped off by one a horrible decision concerning the goalkeeper and the subsequent demand for the team to turn against the wronged keeper, Ryan's departure cannot come soon enough. That might be a little harsh for a coach that lost only one match in his 55 coached, but the loss was the result of all his stumbles up to that point.

Yet Ryan alone is not the only problem hitting the women's team. The lack of a quality league has also stunted the growth of the women's game. This has limited the player pool to those that Ryan and company think to make the cut as well as decreased the time players have to develop.

The biggest weak point for the team in this past World Cup was the midfield as it looked sloppy and unable to provide the connection needed to control games. The problem is, midfielders need games to develop far more then attackers or defenders. Till the new league starts up in 2009, the best thing US soccer could do to help this problem is double or triple the size of the residency program, but the cost on that might not be acceptable.

America was able to dominate the early years of the women's game mainly because Title IX gave women options in this country that they had in few other places, however now that more nations have taken an interest in the sport, this is not enough. Whoever the next coach might be will need to find a way to get this team moving again.

It will be up to a Gulati, U.S. Soccer Secretary General Dan Flynn and Mia Hamm to discover whom that person is.

MLS Expansion - Portland gets a second visit

MLS Commissioner Don Garber and league president Mark Abbott will be in Portland today to revisit PGE Park. The two are interested in seeing the park in full 'game condition' ahead of tonight's US Women's match against Mexico.

Garber first looked at PGE Park in March but at the time, it was not setup for a full soccer experience. The two will talk with Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson about the requirements needed to make PGE MLS ready.

"I'm sure they want to talk about the stadium and what it might take to bring it up to MLS standards," said Dan Courtemanche, a league senior vice president.

So if you are in the area and want to show Garber what Portland soccer fans are like, here is your chance.

2007 Women's World Cup Final Thoughts

So another World Cup has come and gone and what do you know, the Germans won it all. Hard to believe the three weeks went by as fast as it did.

So what did I learn? Getting up early is fun however it really hurts the blogging. Also, to relate this to the '06 men's World Cup, the US played the role of Brazil, Germany played the role of Italy and Brazil played the role of Germany. Think about it, the US came in expected to make it to the final, but never really looked amazing (until the third place match). Germany was a strong team whose defense did much of the heavy lifting. Brazil was a good team heading in but many didn't think they had what it would take to go deep. Also, the US lost in their second playoff game (like Brazil) and Brazil lost in their third playoff game (like Germany). Not perfect, but there are similarities.

But enough of that, here are my final thoughts are certain parts of the fifth Women's World Cup.

US WNT - Maybe calling yourself the greatest team no one has ever heard of was a bit too much. The style and skill that we have come to expect wasn't there till the third place match.

Coach Greg Ryan - So why exactly wasn't the team playing up to their skill till they weren't playing for anything? And who changes keepers going into the semifinals when the new keeper has only played seven games in the last 51? Coaches are paid to make the difficult decisions but they get fired for making the wrong ones.

Hope Solo - She said the right thing just in the wrong way. Okay, she probably shouldn't have said anything but come on, she was playing great leading up to the semifinal then her coach benches her for some crazy reason. I don't think she meant to attack Briana Scurry, just point out that Scurry wasn't the team's number one heading into the cup, so why make the change?

Briana Scurry - Someone who was placed into a bad situation by someone who should have known better. Still Scurry, when she has a game or two to get ready, is strong between the posts.

Kristine Lilly - Pure class and wonderful skill. She is the type of players that all children, male or female, should watch. She gave everything and was humble while doing it.

Abby Wambach - A joy to watch. The way she pushes through and opens up options is something that you seldom see.

ESPN - Their announcers were actually talking about the action on the pitch for the majority of the game. What a crazy concept. Maybe try to import that into the MLS broadcasts and you'll see better ratings.

US Soccer - Didn't send the team's psychiatrist or chef over to China. Odd choice to make.

German WNT - Wow, no goals allowed and people thought the Italian men had something amazing in the '06 World Cup. If it had to be someone other then the US, Germany was the best.

Birgit Prinz - Stands as a wonderful example of what a striker should be. Smart with the ball, quick and a danger in the air.

Nadine Angerer - Nice to know that Germany can produce fantastic keepers no matter what gender they might be.

Brazil WNT - If their country doesn't finally accept the amazing team they have before them, they are idiots. The US, Sweden and China wrote the first chapter of international soccer but Brazil is writing the second. Their physical style is new to the game and brings it to an even higher level. Best moment of the whole cup was when the team held up a banner reading 'Brazil - We need your support' while getting their picture taken after receiving the silver medal.

Marta - The best player of the whole tournament without a doubt. She danced and the world was stunned.

China - Way to pull off a good show and great job fixing the grass in Shanghai in only 7 days.

US Women's Soccer League - Who knows how much of a role the lack of a top women's league in the US played in this World Cup. As the quality of play improves across the globe, if the US wants to stay at the top, they need a good league producing quality players.

2007 Women's World Cup - US vs. Sweden preview

US (1pt) vs. Sweden (1pt)
5am ET/2am PT
TV: ESPN

This game might be the biggest game for US women's soccer ever. After a hard, unsatisfying tie against North Korea, the US women are all but in a must win position. And what is riding on this game? Perhaps the successful launch of the women's domestic league in 2009. With the new league counting on a strong World Cup and Olympic run, and failure could be a huge set back.

But enough about 2009, against Sweden the team will need to exercise better passing lanes then they did against North Korea. If they cannot find a way to get the ball out of their own third, it is going to be a long night. Shannon Boxx and Heather O’Reilly need to push things forward, which will open up the always strong Kristine Lilly and Abby Wambach (or the Brian McBride of the women's team).

The good news for the team is even though they were outplayed by North Korea, they found a way to get a couple goals. If soccer was a fair game, the US would not have any points right now but due to their own abilities, they are tied with all other teams in Group B.

I suspect that the women will want to make something happen fast, so expect a quick start to this game. Also, as long as it is not raining, don't expect Hope Solo to fumble anything in the box.

Predictions: Me US 3-2 Sweden, Wife US 2-1 Sweden

2007 Women's World Cup - US vs. North Korea preview

US (0pts) vs. North Korea (0pts)
5am ET/2am PT
TV: ESPN2

The top team in the world takes the pitch tomorrow (or later today for them) against one of the less known sides in the world. North Korea always fields a quality team but little is known about them so even though it is safe to say the US is the better team, they might be caught off guard by their opposition.

What is known about the Koreans from the North is that they like to play an aggressive attacking style, much like America. The question is can the US women force them to play their game. The answer might come with the opening lineup as we will finally discover just how hurt Abby Wambach is. If her injury is serious, that is a major striker option missing, which means the ever wonderful Kristine Lilly will have to carry the team.

For the US to win, they will need to find a way past keeper Phi Un Hui and a way of shutting down Ri Kum Suk. Hui is a good net minder but she can be caught flat footed while Suk is, well just about the best player at the finals. But if the US can keep her locked up, North Korea will be forced to find other options.

Since both teams see this as a must win (in a group with four of the top five teams in the world, you don't want to drop points early), expect to see some physical play. Although the US women are tough, they can get out muscled, so they need to keep their ground and be ready to cover for little slips.

In the end, I think Hope Solo will come up with a couple huge saves while Lilly will play a game that reminds us all why, even at the age of 36, she is still one of the best athletes in the world. And if Wambach is not ready, I think Natasha Kai will do us proud.

2007 Women's World Cup schedule

The women's World Cup gets underway tomorrow (10 Sept) when Germany (2003 Champions) take on Argentina in Shanghai. The 16 teams in China represent the best the world has to offer. Favorites coming in are Germany, the US, Sweden and host China. There is going to be a lot of great soccer played over the next 20 days, but most of it will take place during late, late night hours here in the states. So get the coffee brewing and enjoy.

Group A - Germany (7pts), England (5), Japan (4), Argentina (0)
G# Date Match Kickoff/TV
01 Sept. 10 Germany 11-0 Argentina
02 Sept. 11 Japan 2-2 England
09 Sept. 14 Argentina 0-1 Japan
10 Sept. 14 England 0-0 Germany
17 Sept. 17 Germany 2-0 Japan
18 Sept. 17 England 6-1 Argentina

Group B - USA (7), North Korea (4), Sweden (4), Nigeria (1)
G# Date Match Kickoff/TV
03 Sept. 11 United States 2-2 North Korea
04 Sept. 11 Nigeria 1-1 Sweden
11 Sept. 14 Sweden 0- 2 United States
12 Sept. 14 North Korea 2-0 Nigeria
19 Sept. 18 Nigeria 0-1 United States
20 Sept. 18 North Korea 1-2 Sweden

Group C - Norway (7), Australia (5), Canada (4), Ghana (0)
G# Date Match Kickoff/TV
05 Sept. 12 Ghana 1-4 Australia
06 Sept. 12 Norway 2-1 Canada
13 Sept. 15 Canada 4-0 Ghana
14 Sept. 15 Australia 1-1 Norway
21 Sept. 20 Norway 7-2 Ghana*
22 Sept. 20 Australia 2-2 Canada*
* Match moved back a day due to Typhoon Wipha

Group D - Brazil (9), China (6), Denmark (3), New Zealand (0)
G# Date Match Kickoff/TV
07 Sept. 12 New Zealand 0-5 Brazil
08 Sept. 12 China 3-2 Denmark
15 Sept. 15 Denmark 2-0 New Zealand
16 Sept. 15 Brazil 4-0 China
23 Sept. 20 China 2-0 New Zealand*
24 Sept. 20 Brazil 1-0 Denmark*
* Match moved back a day due to Typhoon Wipha

Quarterfinals
G# Date Match Kickoff/TV
25 Sept. 22 Germany 3-0 North Korea
26 Sept. 22 USA 3-0 England
27 Sept. 23 Norway 1-0 China
28 Sept. 23 Brazil 3-2 Australia

Semifinals
G# Date Match Kickoff/TV
29 Sept. 26 Germany 3-0 Norway
30 Sept. 26 USA 0-4 Brazil

Third Place Match
G# Date Match Kickoff/TV
31 Sept. 30 Norway 1-4 USA

Final
G# Date Match Kickoff/TV
32 Sept. 30 Germany 4-0 Brazil

2007 U-20 World Cup - USA vs. Austria plus US women's action

USA vs. Austria
2:15pm ET/11:15am PT
TV: ESPNU, TeleFutura (Spanish)
The U-20 men continue their run for history this afternoon as they face a defensive Austrian team in the quarterfinals. Austria has not looked overly strong during the tournament, but they do have the means to frustrate and confuse an attack. The US is coming off a weak outing against Uruguay where they had trouble putting connecting passes or clearing the ball. If they want to make it to their first U-20 semi-final since the cup expanded to 24 teams, they will need to seriously correct these issues.

The problems on offense are somewhat new. Freddy Adu (pictured) lacked his creativity against Uruguay and only had one well-placed corner (from which the US scored). With Jozy Altidore possibly out, look for even more coverage of Adu by the Austrian defense. However, this should allow Michael Bradley and Andre Akpan (or whomever takes Altidore's place) some extra room in which to move. The Austrians have a strong backline, but they have a way of missing players coming in along the back post. If the US can exploit this, is should be a happy time.

My biggest concern is the US backline, as there seems to be communication issues all over the place. The number of times I've seen two players go for a ball in the box with neither of them getting it due to a collision or other such event is crazy. Add that to the times the keeper is about to grab the ball only to have a defender pop a head or leg in and you've got a problem. Then you have the issue of the bad clearance. You cannot give a team multiple chances at your goal, but a weak boot of the ball to the center of the pitch will result in just that. Austria is not a heavy attacking side, but if you give them enough openings, they will find a way through.

This will be the first meeting of the U-20 teams. The only other time these two countries met was at the U-17 Championship in 1997 where the US won 4-0.
Predictions: Me USA 3-1 Austria, Wife USA 1-0 Austria


USA WNT vs. Norway
6pm ET/3pm PT
TV: ESPN2
The US women continue their tune up ahead of this fall's World Cup in China with a match in Connecticut against the always tough squad from Norway. It will be interesting to see if coach Greg Ryan uses this match as a dry run for the 18 players already named to the World Cup roster or if he gives a number of 'not-yet-named' players a chance to fill the final three spots. Either way, expect some good attacking play from both sides.
Predictions: Me USA 2-1 Norway, Wife USA 4-2 Norway

US Women name partial World Cup roster

Greg Ryan has named 18 of the 21 players he will take to the 2007 Women's World Cup this September in China. Ryan did not have to turn in his roster at this time but he felt that he owed it to the players to let them know where they stood.

“We named the 18 now because we’ve been in Residency Camp two years in a row, we’ve spent two years together and we know these players inside out,” said Ryan, who will coach in his first FIFA Women’s World Cup. “These 18 have earned the right to be on this World Cup Team. We want to remove the stress from trying out and just say, ‘you guys are the ones, you’re in, let’s get after it.’”

This group will be lead by the always fantastic Kristine Lilly who will compete in her fifth World Cup. During those years, she has played in all 24 World Cup matches the US has been a part of and has started 23 of them.

The list does not hold any big surprises but it is interesting that even though 10 of these players will be in their first World Cup, the average age for the team is still 27.

You can catch the women this Saturday when they play Norway in Connecticut at 6pm ET (live on ESPN2).

Here is the roster:

Players	Pos.	Hometown	College	Caps/Goals
Barnhart, Nicole	GK	Gilbertsville, Pa.	Stanford	3/0
Boxx, Shannon	M	Redondo Beach, Calif.	Notre Dame	66/14
Chalupny, Lori	M	St. Louis, Mo.	UNC	40/4
Ellertson, Tina	D	Vancouver, Wash.	Washington	22/0
Jobson, Marci	M	St. Charles, Ill.	SMU	14/0
Lilly, Kristine	F	Wlton, Conn.	UNC	327/123
Lloyd, Carli	M	Delran, N.J.	Rutgers	32/5
Lopez, Stephanie	D	Elk Grove, Calif.	Portland	20/0
Markgraf, Kate	D	Bloomfield Hills, Mich.	Notre Dame	159/0
O'Reilly, Heather	F	East Brunswick, N.J.	UNC	61/10
Osborne, Leslie	M	Brookfield, Wisc.	Santa Clara	40/2
Rampone, Chrstie	D	Point Pleasant, N.J.	Monmouth	164/4
Scurry, Brianna	GK	Dayton, Minn.	UMass	162/0
Solo, Hope	GK	Richland, Wash.	Washington	44/0
Tarpley, Lindsay	F	Kalamazoo, Mich.	UNC	69/15
Wagner, Aly	M	San Jose, Calif.	Santa Clara	112/21
Wambach, Abby	F	Rochester, N.Y.	Florida	92/74
Whitehill, Cat	D	Birmingham, Ala.	UNC	110/11

FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP – ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3): Nicole Barnhart (Gilbertsville, Pa.), Briana Scurry (Dayton, Minn.), Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.);
DEFENDERS (5): Tina Ellertson (Vancouver, Wash.), Stephanie Lopez (Elk Grove, Calif.), Kate Markgraf (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant, N.J.), Cat Whitehill (Birmingham, Ala.);
MIDFIELDERS (6): Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis, Mo.), Marci Jobson (St. Charles, Ill.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Leslie Osborne (Brookfield, Wis.), Aly Wagner (San Jose, Calif.);
FORWARDS (4): Kristine Lilly (Wilton, Conn.), Heather O’Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.).

FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP – ROSTER BY EXPERIENCE
GOALKEEPERS (3): Nicole Barnhart (2007), Briana Scurry (1995, 1999, 2003, 2007), Hope Solo (2007);
DEFENDERS (5): Tina Ellertson (2007), Stephanie Lopez (2007), Kate Markgraf (1999, 2003, 2007), Christie Rampone (1999, 2003, 2007), Cat Whitehill (2003, 2007);
MIDFIELDERS (6): Shannon Boxx (2003, 2007), Lori Chalupny (2007), Marci Jobson (2007), Carli Lloyd (2007), Leslie Osborne (2007), Aly Wagner (2003, 2007);
FORWARDS (4): Kristine Lilly (1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007), Heather O’Reilly (2007), Lindsay Tarpley (2007), Abby Wambach (2003, 2007).

US Soccer has a new online streaming partner

The US Soccer Federation has signed a deal with Limelight Networks to provide exclusive media streaming services. These services will include "select matches of the U.S. Men's and Women's National Teams, and U.S. Soccer's 11 Youth National Teams, as well as other informative and entertaining soccer-related content such as live pre- and post-game coverage, press conferences and breaking news."

From the press release:
U.S. Soccer will leverage the ability of Limelight's Windows Media Streaming service to let viewers flexibly tune in to their programming via the expanding universe of broadband Internet-connected devices, including PCs, handheld devices, and IPTV set-top boxes. An important benefit of the Limelight platform is the insight its LUX reporting facility provides U.S. Soccer for measuring and maximizing the effectiveness of its Web content.

David Hatfield, senior vice president of worldwide sales, services and marketing at Limelight said, "U.S. Soccer exemplifies the trend where any organization or company now has the ability to directly reach its audience with high quality programming via the Internet. We are committed to providing the highly reliable, massively scalable live video streaming infrastructure that U.S. Soccer requires to deliver a compelling experience to a global audience of soccer enthusiasts."
---

If you can't get coverage via traditional means then create your own.

Women's World Cup draw

The year and the country might be different, but the draw ended the same as the US women have the same group stage opponents this year as they had in 2003. Again the red, white and blue will face Nigeria, North Korea and Sweden, but will they be able to walk away with three victories in Group B play?

They will face North Korea, the top team in Asia, on 11 September, Sweden, the 2003 runner's up, on the 14th and Nigeria, winners of the African qualifying tournament, on the 18th. The top two teams from Group B will advance.

Without a doubt, this is a difficult draw as any of these teams could advance. That said, Nigeria is the weakest of the group, but it would be silly to count them out, as their speed alone will make them a threat. With all odds, the September 14th match between the US and Sweden will probably decide who gets first in the group, but North Korea might just steal second place from one of the favorites.

The Wolrd Cup gets underway on 10 September when Germany and Argentina take to the pitch in Shanghai.

Here are the other groups:
Group A
Germany
Japan
England
Argentina

Group C
Norway
Ghana
Australia
Canada

Group D
China PR
New Zealand
Brazil
Denmark

US Women set World Cup sendoff match; Breakers return to Boston

The US women will not know who they will play in this fall's World Cup till Sunday, but they now know who they will play in the lead up to those date.

Between June 16 and August 25th, the women will take on six of the world's best. Here is the list:

June 16 - China - Cleveland Browns Stadium (Cleveland, Ohio) 7 p.m. ET
June 23 - Brazil - Giants Stadium (East Rutherford, N.J.) 5 p.m. ET*
July 14 - Norway - Rentschler Field (East Hartford, Conn.) 6 p.m. ET*
July 28 - Japan - Spartan Stadium (San Jose, Calif.) 7 p.m. PT
Aug. 12 - New Zealand - Soldier Field (Chicago, Ill.) 12 p.m. CT*
Aug. 25 - Finland - The Home Depot Center (Carson, Calif.) TBA *
* Live on ESPN2

Five of these six teams will also travel to China for the World Cup.

In other women's soccer news, the new pro women's soccer league has announced the addition of a seventh team to their lineup. Joining LA, DC, St Louis, Dallas, Chicago and NY is Boston. The new team from bean town will keep the name of the former WUSA side Boston Breakers.

The Breakers were the best regular season team in the WUSA in 2003.

By the way, the league will announce one more location at a later date.

Women finally getting their league back

After a long wait, the news is official, professional women's soccer is coming back to the US starting next April. The first year will see five teams play in LA, Dallas, Chicago and Washington, DC. There will be a 20-match schedule running from April to August with some sort of post season to fallow.

It is not a coincidence that all but one of these teams will play in a city with a current MLS club (although St. Louis might just have a MLS club before the first ball is kicked) as Major League soccer is helping push this undertaking. Also, AEG, who operates the Galaxy in LA, will also own the LA based women's club.

This announcement tops of years of work by Tonya Antonucci of Women's Soccer Initiative. When the WUSA went bust in 2003, she kept the dream alive.

For me, after almost two-weeks of being sick, this is a great story to return to. The USL's W-league is needed, but it is no substitute for a true top league for women.

Congratulations to all involved.

US Women getting ready for Algarve Cup

Fresh off their win at the Four Nations Tournament, the US women are getting ready to head back into camp to prepare for the Algarve Cup next month.

US head coach Greg Ryan has named a 28-player roster for the Feb 14-21 camp in Carson, Calf. The roster is full of familiar names as only two players have yet to earn a national team cap (Rachel Buehler of Stanford and Keeley Dowling of U of Tennessee).

The Algarve Cup is the biggest yearly women's tournament and is only surpassed in prestige by the World Cup and the Olympics.

This year, 12 teams will meet in the Algarve region of Portugal between March 7 and 14th. The teams are divided into three groups. Groups A&B are the higher ranked teams while Group C is more of a second tier.

Teams play a round robin in their group, with their final group positioning deciding what playoff spot they play for. First place in A&B play form the Championship, second in A&B play for third and third in A&B play for fifth. The first place team in C plays the better fourth place team from A&B for seventh and the second place team place the worse team from A&B for ninth. The last two teams in C play for eleventh place.

Here are the groups:
Group A
Germany, Norway, France, Denmark
Group B
USA, China, Finland, Sweden
Group C
Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Iceland

The US will open against China on March 7. This will be a difficult test, even though the two sides will have played each other just a month earlier. The US then gets Finland (March 9), which should be the easiest of the three matches. Then comes the big show down with Sweden (March 12). There is a very good chance that the outcome of this game will decide the group.

The US has dominated the tournament since 2003, however, last year they fell to Germany in penalty kicks. In all, the US has played in 7 of the 13 Championship matches, winning four of them (2000, 03, 04, 05). They are currently tied with Norway for the most titles.

Here is the US roster for camp:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jenni Branam (Placentia, Calif.), Briana Scurry (Dayton, Minn.), Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.)

DEFENDERS (8): Rachel Buehler (Del Mar, Calif.), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis, Mo.), Keeley Dowling (Carmel, Ind.), Tina Frimpong (Vancouver, Wash.), Heather Mitts (Cincinnati, Ohio), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant, N.J.), India Trotter (Plantation, Fla.), Cat Whitehill (Birmingham, Ala.)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Yael Averbuch (Upper Montclair, N.J.), Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Angela Hucles (Virginia Beach, Va.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Joanna Lohman (Silver Spring, Md.), Marci Miller (St. Charles, Ill.), Leslie Osborne (Brookfield, Wis.), Aly Wagner (San Jose, Calif.)

FORWARDS (9): Lauren Cheney (Indianapolis, Ind.), Danielle Fotopoulos (Altamonte Springs, Fla.), Natasha Kai (Kahuku, Hawaii), Kristine Lilly (Wilton, Conn.), Casey Nogueira (Cedarburg, Wis.), Heather O’Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.), Kacey White (Arlington, Texas)