Weekly Review - October 9

Two coaching decisions were made, the USWNT struggled to a tie in its last friendly before CONCACAF qualifying, the WPS Best XI were named, and the new WPS CEO gave us hints at what the league might look like next season.

United States Ties China in Last Warmup Match

A young squad from China pushed the USWNT to the limit in a 1-1 tie on Wednesday night in Chester, Pennsylvania. It took an Alex Morgan goal in the 83rd minute to prevent the US from losing on its home soil for the first time in six years.

While the US may have had the better of play for most of the match, their execution was very sloppy at times. The Chinese side continually frustrated the US, drawing several offsides calls, forcing several turnovers in the middle of the field, and limiting the US chances to a few headers through the first 75 minutes of the match. The Americans outshot the Chinese 16-8 and outcornered them 9-4, but few of the chances were particularly dangerous until late in the contest.

Ma Jun opened the scoring for China in the 37th minute with a beautiful volley off of a Zhou Gaoping cross. Several US players had gotten caught upfield which converted into a 4-on-3 situation for the Chinese and they were able to capitalize.

The USWNT were unable to solve the Chinese defense until less than 10 minutes remaining. With time growing short, Heather Mitts drove a long ball toward the Chinese goal. Abby Wambach was able to flick a header to Alex Morgan, who finished strongly to tie the match. It was Morgan's first goal for the senior National Team.

The US now heads into CONCACAF qualifying with a lot of unanswered questions after the tie with a Chinese side that didn't qualify for next year's World Cup. The USWNT will open against Haiti on October 28, followed by matches against Guatemala on October 30 and Costa Rica on November 1. While most think that their qualification for next year's World Cup is a foregone conclusion, it would only take a loss in the semis, presumably with their opponent being Canada or Mexico, to force them into playing a European team in a playoff for a World Cup berth.

Gabarra Takes Over at Sky Blue

Former Freedom head coach, Jim Gabarra, has been named the new head coach for Sky Blue FC. He was also named the team's Technical Director.

Gabarra had led the Washington Freedom to the playoffs in both seasons there with an overall regular season record of 16-16-12. The Freedom finished third in 2009 and fourth in 2010, but lost the playoff opener both times. Gabarra had resigned recently from his post with the Freedom.

For Sky Blue, this will be their sixth head coach in just over two seasons. Sky Blue won the 2009 WPS Championship under Christie Rampone, who finished that season as player/coach.

Galanis Named to Coach 2011 Beat

James Galanis, who took over as interim coach of the Atlanta Beat in August, has been named as their head coach for 2011. Galanis took over as Beat coach on August 17 following the dismissal of Gareth O'Sullivan.

The Beat finished in last place with a 5-13-6 mark in 2010. They were 1-3-1 in the five games with Galanis as head coach. The Beat got off to a very slow start, partially because of injuries to key personnel. An influx of talent from the folded Saint Louis Athletica squad helped Atlanta surge briefly in the middle of the season, only to see them fade again August.

The Beat will have a number of offseason decisions to make regarding personnel and one would guess that they might have to trim their payroll somewhat after picking up several large free agent contracts.

WPS Names Best XI

The WPS Best XI has been chosen by the media and the results were released last week. Five members of the champion FC Gold Pride squad were among the eleven chosen. Goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart, defender Rachel Buehler, defender Ali Riley, forward Marta, and forward Christine Sinclair were all named from FCGP.

Boston had the next highest representation with three selections including Defender of the Year Amy LePeilbet, rookie midfielder Jordan Angeli, and midfielder Kelly Smith. Midfielder Lori Lindsey and forward Amy Rodriguez were named for Philadelphia. Freedom forward Abby Wambach rounds out the eleven.

Riley and Angeli were the only two rookies selected to the squad. No players were named from the bottom three teams in the league, Sky Blue, Chicago, or Atlanta.

WPS CEO Gives Hints about 2011

New WPS CEO, Anne-Marie Eileraas, gave fans a few hints about the 2011 season in an interview with http://www.womensprosoccer.com/. Among the highlights, the 2011 season will likely be shorter in length due to the 2011 World Cup and will likely end earlier. There will be some sort of break for the World Cup, although the length of that break is yet to be determined. It also appears that there will not be an All-Star game next season, with players having so many commitments elsewhere.

Eileraas also stated that she "loved" the championship match and that the playoff format will be reviewed as it was after last season, but it was uncertain if there would be any changes to that format for 2011. She also spoke about positive developments regardings sponsorships and opportunities regarding fan base.

WPS Commissioner Antonucci To Step Down

WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci has announced that she will be stepping down at the conclusion of the 2010 season. Antonucci has been the guiding force behind the launching and development of the league since inception. She has led the league from its very beginnings, through the first season, and expansion. She helped secure sponsorships with PUMA and Citi and negotiated a deal with Fox Soccer Channel. Over the course of the past couple of years, the league has seen strong growth in sponsorships and partnerships under her leadership. She has also helped the league navigate through the demise of two franchises.

WPS General Counsel Anne-Marie Eileraas will take the title of CEO, Women's Professional Soccer. She will work with the WPS board, heading up the business and organizational aspects of WPS, while the board will deal more with the strategic direction of the league.

"Commissioner Antonucci's contributions to this league and to women's soccer on the whole are too numerous to list," said T. Fitz Johnson, Chairman of the WPS Board of Governors. "No other person did more to bring this league from idea to fruition over the past six years than she did. WPS would not be here without Tonya Antonucci and without her tireless work and unending passion for launching this league."

"The Board is incredibly excited that Anne-Marie Eileraas has accepted our offer to take over from the Commissioner as the CEO of Women's Professional Soccer."

Best wishes on future endeavors to Commissioner Antonucci. Congratulations and good luck to Ms. Eileraas in her new position.

FC Gold Pride Presented with Regular Season Championship Trophy

Commissioner Tonya Antonucci presented FC Gold Pride with the regular season championship trophy before Saturday's match at Pioneer Stadium. It was presented to club owners Nancy and Brian NeSmith of FC Gold Pride.

The trophy was passed to general manager Ilisa Kessler, head coach Albertin Montoya, and captain Rachel Buehler before the the entire team was photographed with it.

FC Gold Pride finished with a 16-3-5 record and 53 points, 17 points ahead of 2nd place Boston. They will host the WPS Championship presented by Citi on September 26.

Solo Fined and Suspended for Twitter Remarks

Atlanta Beat goalkeeper Hope Solo has been fined and suspended by the WPS Disciplinary Committee for Twitter remarks following the Beat's 1-0 loss to the Washington Freedom on Saturday. She has been suspended for one game and fined $2500. Additionally, she will be required to do 8 hours of community service. She was deemed to have made "prejudicial statements and public criticism" which is covered by Section 13.1.3 of the League Operations Manual.

Solo openly criticized officials during several tweets after the Beat/Freedom match and appeared to question the objectivity of both the officials and the league. She will have seven days to appeal the suspension and community service and 30 days to appeal the fine.