Meghan Lenczyk scored her first WPS goal and Allison Lipsher posted a shutout as the Atlanta Beat defeated Sky Blue FC 1-0 at KSU Soccer Stadium on Saturday evening.
Lipsher recorded 11 saves against Sky Blue in her first WPS action since the 2009 season. She spent the 2010 season as a developmental goalkeeper for the Boston Breakers after starting 10 matches in 2009.
"Allie is a class goalkeeper," said Beat coach James Galanis. "She played in Australia for a year and she's played every minute of every game there. She's gained the experience that she needed to take into the WPS. We're very, very proud of her."
Sky Blue appeared to have the edge for most of the match, outshooting Atlanta by an 18-4 margin, but were unable to put anything past Lipsher. The game was scoreless at the half.
Galanis subbed Lenczyk into the match for Kristina Larsen at the half and the move paid instant dividends. In the 50th minute, Lenczyk was able to get the ball past Sky Blue goalkeeper Karen Bardsley with Carrie Dew's sliding effort to keep the ball from crossing the line falling just a bit short.
"I think we worked really hard," said the former Virgina striker. "I think the goal came from us pushing up in the second half. India Trotter played it right in and all I had to do was touch it."
Galanis has shown a lot of confidence in his young players, including Lenczyk. "I just said to her, 'hang in there and the goal is going to come.' And we came out today, and it couldn’t have been more important."
Though Sky Blue was able to keep the pressure on throughout the match, they were never able to finish any of their chances. "Yeah it was very disappointing for us," said SBFC coach Jim Gabarra. "A number of chances were created but we hit the side of the bar, and the keeper kept making a save. We had three or four great opportunities in the first half and probably as many in the second half."
Atlanta improved their record to one win and one loss. They will host Western New York next Sunday. Sky Blue suffered their first loss of the season to go with last week's draw. They have a bye week before traveling to Boston for a May 1st matchup.
magicJack at Philadelphia Independence Match Postponed
The match between magicJack and Philadelphia that was to be played last evening at Widener University was postponed because of strong winds and lightning strikes. No date has been given as of yet for rescheduling the match.
MagicJack will play their home opener next Saturday against the Boston Breakers, before hosting Philadelphia the following Sunday, in what is the Independence's next scheduled match.
Note: Information and quotes for this story was obtained from WPS and Atlanta Beat press releases.
Showing posts with label James Galanis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Galanis. Show all posts
April 17, 2011
October 9, 2010
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.
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.
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