I have just written an article for the WPS website about the biggest off-season player moves.
My list of top off-season moves are (not necessarily in any order):
1) Marta, Western New York Flash
2) Christine Sinclair, Western New York Flash
3) Ali Riley and Kandace Wilson, Western New York Flash
4) Rachel Buehler, Boston Breakers
5) Eniola Aluko, Tobin Heath, Angie Kerr trade, Sky Blue FC
6) Therese Sjögran, Sky Blue FC
7) Christie Rampone, Washington Freedom
8) Caroline Seger, Western New York Flash
9) Shannon Boxx, Washington Freedom
10) Johanna Rasmussen & 3rd overall pick in 2011 draft, Washington Freedom
Please check it out, along with all the latest WPS news, interviews, and information at http://www.womensprosoccer.com/.
Showing posts with label Kandace Wilson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kandace Wilson. Show all posts
February 9, 2011
September 26, 2010
Gold Pride Wins WPS Championship 4-0
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Labels: Christine Sinclair, FC Gold Pride, Kandace Wilson, Marta, Nicole Barnhart, Philadelphia Independence, Val Henderson
Labels: Christine Sinclair, FC Gold Pride, Kandace Wilson, Marta, Nicole Barnhart, Philadelphia Independence, Val Henderson
FC Gold Pride left no doubts as to who the better team was on Sunday, easily defeating the Philadelphia Independence 4-0. The championship game proved almost anticlimactic given the suspense and intensity of the first two playoff matches. A very weary looking Independence team proved no match for the regular season champions from the Bay Area.
Gold Pride got on the board first in the 16th minute. In what appeared to be pinball more than soccer, Independence goalkeeper Val Henderson made two point blank saves on Marta, followed by another save on Tiffeny Milbrett, only to have the following rebound go to Camille Abily who touched to Sinclair who tapped it in from inside the six.
One of the few chances of the first half for Philadelphia came in the 25th minute. Nikki Krzysik placed a free kick to 18 which was headed forward by Caroline Seger. Lianne Sanderson went up for the header, but Nicole Barnhart was able to outjump her for the save. Frida Magnusdottir was later able to get off a shot from distance which was easily saved by Barnhart, but the chances were few and far between for the Independence.
Gold Pride made it 2-0 in the 29th minute. Marta pushed the ball ahead to Kandace Wilson who was able to outfight Allison Falk to win the ball. She was able to finish from the right side of the box past Henderson to double the lead.
Gold Pride dominated possession as well as the scoreboard in the first half. Philadelphia offered very little defensive pressure to Gold Pride's back line, seemingly content to let Gold Pride gain the midfield uncontested, perhaps in an effort to conserve energy. Indeed, the Independence looked to be a very tired group on both the second and third goals surrendered, the result of playing 240 minutes of soccer in the past seven days and with only two days of rest between Thursday's late semifinal and Sunday morning's final.
Trailing 2-0 at halftime, Philadelphia attempted to press forward more in the 2nd half, but to no avail. Gold Pride had two chances in the first five minutes of the second half. A Shannon Boxx shot was saved by Henderson and a Camille Abily effort went just wide right.
Finally in the 53rd minute, Marta made her way up the left side to the endline and crossed to Sinclair, who finished into an open net to make it 3-0. For Sinclair, it was her second goal of the game and her sixth of the season against Philadelphia. From that point forward it was just a matter of playing out the match.
Val Henderson, in spite of the four goals surrendered, played a strong match. In addition to her saves in the 1st half, she took a ball right off the foot of Marta that looked to be a sure goal. She later took a shot off her face from close in. Later she made a diving save on Tiffeny Milbrett's hard shot.
Philadelphia threatened a few times in the latter stages of the match. Danesha Adams once again provided a 2nd half spark for the Independence. She had Philly's best scoring opportunity getting a 1-on-1 chance against Barnhart from eight yards only to slice it wide right.
With the game well in hand and in stoppage, Marta added to the margin by finishing on a Kandace Wilson cross to make the final tally 4-0.
FC Gold Pride put the finishing touches on its worst to first story in resounding fashion. They have not lost a match since June. Christine Sinclair was named Player of the Game by the Fox broadcast team for her two goals, but Marta was named the game's MVP. Nicole Barnhart got the shutout in goal. Albertin Montoya had his team ready to play and they spread Philadelphia very effectively throughout the early stages of the match.
Perhaps it was a little much to ask Philadelphia to play 120 minutes late on Thursday night, fly cross country and then play what was basically a Sunday morning match for the championship. Still, it was a great effort for the Independence to make it that far and a fine season for an expansion team under coach Paul Riley.
Gold Pride got on the board first in the 16th minute. In what appeared to be pinball more than soccer, Independence goalkeeper Val Henderson made two point blank saves on Marta, followed by another save on Tiffeny Milbrett, only to have the following rebound go to Camille Abily who touched to Sinclair who tapped it in from inside the six.
One of the few chances of the first half for Philadelphia came in the 25th minute. Nikki Krzysik placed a free kick to 18 which was headed forward by Caroline Seger. Lianne Sanderson went up for the header, but Nicole Barnhart was able to outjump her for the save. Frida Magnusdottir was later able to get off a shot from distance which was easily saved by Barnhart, but the chances were few and far between for the Independence.
Gold Pride made it 2-0 in the 29th minute. Marta pushed the ball ahead to Kandace Wilson who was able to outfight Allison Falk to win the ball. She was able to finish from the right side of the box past Henderson to double the lead.
Gold Pride dominated possession as well as the scoreboard in the first half. Philadelphia offered very little defensive pressure to Gold Pride's back line, seemingly content to let Gold Pride gain the midfield uncontested, perhaps in an effort to conserve energy. Indeed, the Independence looked to be a very tired group on both the second and third goals surrendered, the result of playing 240 minutes of soccer in the past seven days and with only two days of rest between Thursday's late semifinal and Sunday morning's final.
Trailing 2-0 at halftime, Philadelphia attempted to press forward more in the 2nd half, but to no avail. Gold Pride had two chances in the first five minutes of the second half. A Shannon Boxx shot was saved by Henderson and a Camille Abily effort went just wide right.
Finally in the 53rd minute, Marta made her way up the left side to the endline and crossed to Sinclair, who finished into an open net to make it 3-0. For Sinclair, it was her second goal of the game and her sixth of the season against Philadelphia. From that point forward it was just a matter of playing out the match.
Val Henderson, in spite of the four goals surrendered, played a strong match. In addition to her saves in the 1st half, she took a ball right off the foot of Marta that looked to be a sure goal. She later took a shot off her face from close in. Later she made a diving save on Tiffeny Milbrett's hard shot.
Philadelphia threatened a few times in the latter stages of the match. Danesha Adams once again provided a 2nd half spark for the Independence. She had Philly's best scoring opportunity getting a 1-on-1 chance against Barnhart from eight yards only to slice it wide right.
With the game well in hand and in stoppage, Marta added to the margin by finishing on a Kandace Wilson cross to make the final tally 4-0.
FC Gold Pride put the finishing touches on its worst to first story in resounding fashion. They have not lost a match since June. Christine Sinclair was named Player of the Game by the Fox broadcast team for her two goals, but Marta was named the game's MVP. Nicole Barnhart got the shutout in goal. Albertin Montoya had his team ready to play and they spread Philadelphia very effectively throughout the early stages of the match.
Perhaps it was a little much to ask Philadelphia to play 120 minutes late on Thursday night, fly cross country and then play what was basically a Sunday morning match for the championship. Still, it was a great effort for the Independence to make it that far and a fine season for an expansion team under coach Paul Riley.
September 15, 2010
WPS Awards - Who I Voted For and Why.....Part 2
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Labels: Abby Wambach, Amy Rodriguez, Joanna Lohman, Jordan Angeli, Kandace Wilson, Kate Markgraf, Kelly Smith, Lindsay Tarpley, Marta, Sarah Huffman
Labels: Abby Wambach, Amy Rodriguez, Joanna Lohman, Jordan Angeli, Kandace Wilson, Kate Markgraf, Kelly Smith, Lindsay Tarpley, Marta, Sarah Huffman
In Part 2, I'll look at the final two awards, plus one that wasn't voted on, but I feel deserves mention.
WPS Rookie of the Year - Jordan Angeli, Boston Breakers
This award was just flat out hard to vote on. Not only were the four players on the ballot all worthy choices, but there were about a half dozen more that could have and perhaps, should have been on the ballot.
Brittany Taylor, Ali Riley, and Lauren Cheney all had solid seasons from beginning to end. Meanwhile, Jordan Angeli only played 26 minutes in Boston's first four games and didn't become a regular starter until the 8th game of the season. But it was the definition of the award that put Angeli ahead of the others on my ballot.
Description: Awarded to the rookie – one year removed from playing in college – judged to have had the greatest impact on her team’s performance during the WPS regular season.
At the point Angeli was inserted into the starting lineup, the Breakers were floundering in 6th place. From that point on, Angeli had seven goals and three assists over the last 17 matches. In early July, she scored the game-tying goal against Atlanta, followed by the game-winning goal against Washington. She tallied both a goal and an assist in a late July game against the Freedom and again in mid-August against Sky Blue. In both cases, they were the first two goals of those games. Angeli had been expected to be a defender at the start of the season, but stepped right into the midfielder's role when needed. Her impact on the Breakers cannot be understated and for that reason, she was my choice for this award.
Ali Riley had a very strong season for FC Gold Pride. The speedy outside defender is dangerous on the attack as well as being a solid defender. She earned a respectable three assists from her back line position and was one of the reasons for the strong improvement of Gold Pride's defense compared with 2009.
Brittany Taylor was one of the few constants in the Sky Blue lineup this year. She started and finished every single game for New Jersey and played well throughout. And like Angeli, she showed the versatility to play midfield as well as defender. Taylor finished the season with two goals.
In my mind, Lauren Cheney is the heir apparent to Abby Wambach. She's a big strong forward with a lot of talent and is a constant threat to score. She is one of the most dangerous players in the league with her back to the goal, turning on her opponents with quick precision to get off that blast of a shot. Her arrival took some pressure off of Kelly Smith as well. I just felt her Breaker teammate, Angeli, had more of an impact in this season.
I feel that the mention of a few more worthy names that didn't make the ballot is called for here. The Freedom's Nikki Marshall showed unbelievable versatility, playing solidly at both forward and defender. She started on the back line, but then scored three goals in a brief stint as a forward, before being moved back to defender. Her return to the back line coincided with Washington's August resurgence, giving the Freedom the speed on defense that they had been lacking.
The Red Stars' Whitney Engen lacked just four minutes of duplicating Taylor's feat of playing every minute. She was solid and often overlooked on Chicago's back line, at least partly because of the Red Stars being out of contention most of the season. She helped lead a Chicago team that was second only to Gold Pride defensively.
Four other players worthy of strong praise were Ashlyn Harris, Alyssa Naeher, Becky Edwards, and Kelley O'Hara. Once Harris got her feet wet, she had a phenomenal month of August, giving up just two goals, one of which was an own goal. Naeher was the Breaker's starting keeper for the final two thirds of the season and did a solid job for them. Edwards is perhaps one of the most underrated and overlooked young players in the league for Gold Pride. O'Hara had outstanding rookie totals with six goals and four assists for Gold Pride. It will be hard for future rookie classes to match this one in shear talent and depth.
Michelle Akers Player of the Year Award - Marta, FC Gold Pride
For many people, choosing Marta as the winner of this award was cut and dry. She far surpassed everyone else with her 19 goals over 24 games. She didn't miss a minute for FC Gold Pride this year. She helped 2009's last place team become 2010's champion. Quite simply, she was the best player on the best team in WPS and her impact on Gold Pride's performance was immense.
For me, however, this was a lot tougher decision than it appeared, considering that Gold Pride was going to be a very good club, even without Marta. They certainly wouldn't have been 16-3-5 without her, but they still might have won the regular season. So I decided to look deeper, before making a final decision.
First, I wanted to look at high impact goals, goals that either tied the game or put a team in front. I did this before the final two weekends of the season, right before I submitted my ballot. At that point, between the four players on the ballot, it was very, very close overall:
Marta - 17 goals, 7 game-leading goals (2 PK's included), and one game-tying goal.
Rodriguez - 12 goals, 4 game-leading goals, and 3 game-tying goals.
Wambach - 12 goals, 5 game-leading goals, and 2 game-tying goals (1 PK included).
Smith - 11 goals, 6 game-leading goals (1 PK included), and 2 game-tying goals.
So at that point, Marta had 8 high-impact goals (two of which were penalty kicks), Smith had 8 high-impact goals (one of which was a penalty kick), Rodriguez had 7 high-impact goals (no penalties), and Wambach had 7 high-impact goals (one of which was a penalty kick). The other three candidates had as many high-impact goals as Marta did, which was somewhat of a surprise given how many games Gold Pride won. Both Marta and Wambach later added one game-leading goal apiece.
I also looked at assists. At the time I voted, Wambach had eight assists, Rodriguez had six, Smith five, and Marta just two. Marta did add three assists in Gold Pride's final game of the season, more than doubling her assist total in just one swoop.
Then I looked at each players impact on their respective teams and in all cases, it was tremendous. There is no doubt that Gold Pride became a good team because of overall excellence, but became a great team because of Marta. She helps others score because she draws defenders away from her teammates. She's the most talented player, one of the fastest, and has the best instincts of any player in the world.
But the other three candidates had a huge impact as well. Where would Philadelphia be without Rodriguez? She scored 12 goals for Philadelphia, while no one else on the team had more than five. Defenses could key on her, since the Independence didn't have a lot offensive threats.
Where would the Freedom have been without Wambach? Washington scored 33 goals and she had a part in 21 goals, nearly two-thirds of the Freedom's offensive output. She always draws multiple defenders, no matter which team she is playing.
Where would the Breakers have been without Smith? She is their leading scorer, leading assist getter, and along with Kristine Lilly, gives Boston veteran leadership that helped bring them back from near the basement to a legitimate contender for the title.
With all of the above factors in mind, it was nearly too close to call among the four. All had great seasons. All are extremely talented players. All had a tremendous impact on their team's performance. All are also leaders for their teams. In the end, I went with Marta. It all came back to her being the best player on the best team and having a large impact in making that team into a champion.
One Unofficial Award
There was one award that I don't think WPS awards and that we certainly did not vote on, but I think merits mention.
Comeback Player of the Year - Lindsay Tarpley, Boston Breakers
Had this been one of the categories we had voted on, it too would have been a tough decison. Several players come to mind, but I will mention five that stand out. Lindsay Tarpley, Sarah Huffman, and Kandace Wilson all came back from horrific injuries to make a huge impact on their teams this season. Kate Markgraf missed the entire 2009 season on maternity leave, but came back to lead the Red Stars' defense in a solid 2010 season. Joanna Lohman came back from virtual retirement to become Philly's second leading goal scorer. Each of these players are wonderful stories in perseverance and achievement.
Lindsay Tarpley's injury came at the very end of the 2009 WPS season in August. One had to wonder how much impact she could have in 2010, given the long recovery time of most ACL injuries. She scored one goal for Saint Louis, before signing with Boston and having a major impact on their season turnaround. She ended up with four goals and three assists, helping the Breakers to 2nd place.
Sarah Huffman missed nearly the entire 2009 season, save for a brief appearance in the Freedom's one playoff match. Her solid play helped the Freedom overcome the loss of Lori Lindsey in the expansion draft. Huffman's play was strong enough to impress Pia Sundhage, who named her to the preliminary USWNT roster for the next round of friendlies in October.
Kandace Wilson suffered a severe hip injury nearly midway through the 2009 campaign, but was back in Gold Pride's lineup for 2010, helping the most-improved defensive team in the league. Not to mention, her speed and ability on forward runs always presents a threat to opposing defenses.
Not many 33-year old players could take off a full year, have a child, and return the following year to have an excellent season on the field (only Kristine Lilly comes to mind immediately). But Kate Markgraf came back to captain and lead Chicago's defense through the 2010 season. It was great to see her back on the field.
Finally, Joanna Lohman showed that hard work does eventually pay off. Lohman was originally drafted by Saint Louis in the fall of 2008, then traded to Washington. Last year, she ended up playing a total of 248 minutes with the Freedom and there was talk about her retiring from professional soccer. However, she returned to the field with Philadelphia and had a great season in their midfield with five goals. She is being given a shot at USWNT camp for the upcoming October friendlies, this being several years since her last appearance with the team.
There are certainly other players worthy of mention including Anita Asante and Jen Branam. All of these players should be given huge praise for their accomplishments and they each have my admiration. I hope the league will establish an award for Comeback Player of the Year in the future.
WPS Rookie of the Year - Jordan Angeli, Boston Breakers
This award was just flat out hard to vote on. Not only were the four players on the ballot all worthy choices, but there were about a half dozen more that could have and perhaps, should have been on the ballot.
Brittany Taylor, Ali Riley, and Lauren Cheney all had solid seasons from beginning to end. Meanwhile, Jordan Angeli only played 26 minutes in Boston's first four games and didn't become a regular starter until the 8th game of the season. But it was the definition of the award that put Angeli ahead of the others on my ballot.
Description: Awarded to the rookie – one year removed from playing in college – judged to have had the greatest impact on her team’s performance during the WPS regular season.
At the point Angeli was inserted into the starting lineup, the Breakers were floundering in 6th place. From that point on, Angeli had seven goals and three assists over the last 17 matches. In early July, she scored the game-tying goal against Atlanta, followed by the game-winning goal against Washington. She tallied both a goal and an assist in a late July game against the Freedom and again in mid-August against Sky Blue. In both cases, they were the first two goals of those games. Angeli had been expected to be a defender at the start of the season, but stepped right into the midfielder's role when needed. Her impact on the Breakers cannot be understated and for that reason, she was my choice for this award.
Ali Riley had a very strong season for FC Gold Pride. The speedy outside defender is dangerous on the attack as well as being a solid defender. She earned a respectable three assists from her back line position and was one of the reasons for the strong improvement of Gold Pride's defense compared with 2009.
Brittany Taylor was one of the few constants in the Sky Blue lineup this year. She started and finished every single game for New Jersey and played well throughout. And like Angeli, she showed the versatility to play midfield as well as defender. Taylor finished the season with two goals.
In my mind, Lauren Cheney is the heir apparent to Abby Wambach. She's a big strong forward with a lot of talent and is a constant threat to score. She is one of the most dangerous players in the league with her back to the goal, turning on her opponents with quick precision to get off that blast of a shot. Her arrival took some pressure off of Kelly Smith as well. I just felt her Breaker teammate, Angeli, had more of an impact in this season.
I feel that the mention of a few more worthy names that didn't make the ballot is called for here. The Freedom's Nikki Marshall showed unbelievable versatility, playing solidly at both forward and defender. She started on the back line, but then scored three goals in a brief stint as a forward, before being moved back to defender. Her return to the back line coincided with Washington's August resurgence, giving the Freedom the speed on defense that they had been lacking.
The Red Stars' Whitney Engen lacked just four minutes of duplicating Taylor's feat of playing every minute. She was solid and often overlooked on Chicago's back line, at least partly because of the Red Stars being out of contention most of the season. She helped lead a Chicago team that was second only to Gold Pride defensively.
Four other players worthy of strong praise were Ashlyn Harris, Alyssa Naeher, Becky Edwards, and Kelley O'Hara. Once Harris got her feet wet, she had a phenomenal month of August, giving up just two goals, one of which was an own goal. Naeher was the Breaker's starting keeper for the final two thirds of the season and did a solid job for them. Edwards is perhaps one of the most underrated and overlooked young players in the league for Gold Pride. O'Hara had outstanding rookie totals with six goals and four assists for Gold Pride. It will be hard for future rookie classes to match this one in shear talent and depth.
Michelle Akers Player of the Year Award - Marta, FC Gold Pride
For many people, choosing Marta as the winner of this award was cut and dry. She far surpassed everyone else with her 19 goals over 24 games. She didn't miss a minute for FC Gold Pride this year. She helped 2009's last place team become 2010's champion. Quite simply, she was the best player on the best team in WPS and her impact on Gold Pride's performance was immense.
For me, however, this was a lot tougher decision than it appeared, considering that Gold Pride was going to be a very good club, even without Marta. They certainly wouldn't have been 16-3-5 without her, but they still might have won the regular season. So I decided to look deeper, before making a final decision.
First, I wanted to look at high impact goals, goals that either tied the game or put a team in front. I did this before the final two weekends of the season, right before I submitted my ballot. At that point, between the four players on the ballot, it was very, very close overall:
Marta - 17 goals, 7 game-leading goals (2 PK's included), and one game-tying goal.
Rodriguez - 12 goals, 4 game-leading goals, and 3 game-tying goals.
Wambach - 12 goals, 5 game-leading goals, and 2 game-tying goals (1 PK included).
Smith - 11 goals, 6 game-leading goals (1 PK included), and 2 game-tying goals.
So at that point, Marta had 8 high-impact goals (two of which were penalty kicks), Smith had 8 high-impact goals (one of which was a penalty kick), Rodriguez had 7 high-impact goals (no penalties), and Wambach had 7 high-impact goals (one of which was a penalty kick). The other three candidates had as many high-impact goals as Marta did, which was somewhat of a surprise given how many games Gold Pride won. Both Marta and Wambach later added one game-leading goal apiece.
I also looked at assists. At the time I voted, Wambach had eight assists, Rodriguez had six, Smith five, and Marta just two. Marta did add three assists in Gold Pride's final game of the season, more than doubling her assist total in just one swoop.
Then I looked at each players impact on their respective teams and in all cases, it was tremendous. There is no doubt that Gold Pride became a good team because of overall excellence, but became a great team because of Marta. She helps others score because she draws defenders away from her teammates. She's the most talented player, one of the fastest, and has the best instincts of any player in the world.
But the other three candidates had a huge impact as well. Where would Philadelphia be without Rodriguez? She scored 12 goals for Philadelphia, while no one else on the team had more than five. Defenses could key on her, since the Independence didn't have a lot offensive threats.
Where would the Freedom have been without Wambach? Washington scored 33 goals and she had a part in 21 goals, nearly two-thirds of the Freedom's offensive output. She always draws multiple defenders, no matter which team she is playing.
Where would the Breakers have been without Smith? She is their leading scorer, leading assist getter, and along with Kristine Lilly, gives Boston veteran leadership that helped bring them back from near the basement to a legitimate contender for the title.
With all of the above factors in mind, it was nearly too close to call among the four. All had great seasons. All are extremely talented players. All had a tremendous impact on their team's performance. All are also leaders for their teams. In the end, I went with Marta. It all came back to her being the best player on the best team and having a large impact in making that team into a champion.
One Unofficial Award
There was one award that I don't think WPS awards and that we certainly did not vote on, but I think merits mention.
Comeback Player of the Year - Lindsay Tarpley, Boston Breakers
Had this been one of the categories we had voted on, it too would have been a tough decison. Several players come to mind, but I will mention five that stand out. Lindsay Tarpley, Sarah Huffman, and Kandace Wilson all came back from horrific injuries to make a huge impact on their teams this season. Kate Markgraf missed the entire 2009 season on maternity leave, but came back to lead the Red Stars' defense in a solid 2010 season. Joanna Lohman came back from virtual retirement to become Philly's second leading goal scorer. Each of these players are wonderful stories in perseverance and achievement.
Lindsay Tarpley's injury came at the very end of the 2009 WPS season in August. One had to wonder how much impact she could have in 2010, given the long recovery time of most ACL injuries. She scored one goal for Saint Louis, before signing with Boston and having a major impact on their season turnaround. She ended up with four goals and three assists, helping the Breakers to 2nd place.
Sarah Huffman missed nearly the entire 2009 season, save for a brief appearance in the Freedom's one playoff match. Her solid play helped the Freedom overcome the loss of Lori Lindsey in the expansion draft. Huffman's play was strong enough to impress Pia Sundhage, who named her to the preliminary USWNT roster for the next round of friendlies in October.
Kandace Wilson suffered a severe hip injury nearly midway through the 2009 campaign, but was back in Gold Pride's lineup for 2010, helping the most-improved defensive team in the league. Not to mention, her speed and ability on forward runs always presents a threat to opposing defenses.
Not many 33-year old players could take off a full year, have a child, and return the following year to have an excellent season on the field (only Kristine Lilly comes to mind immediately). But Kate Markgraf came back to captain and lead Chicago's defense through the 2010 season. It was great to see her back on the field.
Finally, Joanna Lohman showed that hard work does eventually pay off. Lohman was originally drafted by Saint Louis in the fall of 2008, then traded to Washington. Last year, she ended up playing a total of 248 minutes with the Freedom and there was talk about her retiring from professional soccer. However, she returned to the field with Philadelphia and had a great season in their midfield with five goals. She is being given a shot at USWNT camp for the upcoming October friendlies, this being several years since her last appearance with the team.
There are certainly other players worthy of mention including Anita Asante and Jen Branam. All of these players should be given huge praise for their accomplishments and they each have my admiration. I hope the league will establish an award for Comeback Player of the Year in the future.
April 8, 2010
FC Gold Pride 2010 - Offseason Changes Make FCGP a Contender
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Labels: 2010 WPS, Ali Riley, Camille Abily, Christine Sinclair, FC Gold Pride, Kandace Wilson, Kelley O'Hara, Marta, Nicole Barnhart, Rachel Buehler, Solveig Gulbrandsen, Tiffeny Milbrett
Labels: 2010 WPS, Ali Riley, Camille Abily, Christine Sinclair, FC Gold Pride, Kandace Wilson, Kelley O'Hara, Marta, Nicole Barnhart, Rachel Buehler, Solveig Gulbrandsen, Tiffeny Milbrett
Coach: Albertin Montoya
2009 Record: 4-10-6 (7th place)
Postseason: Out of the playoffs.
Returnees (8): Nicole Barnhart, Rachel Buehler, Carrie Dew, Kristin Graczyk, Tiffeny Milbrett, Christine Sinclair, Kandace Wilson, Kim Yokers.
Draft Choices (6): Kelley O’Hara, Ali Riley, Becky Edwards, Kaley Fountain, Erin Guthrie, Ashley Bowyer.
LA Dispersal Draft (2): Marta, Kiki Bosio.
International Signings ( 1): Solveig Gulbrandsen.
Free Agents (3): Brittany Cameron, Candace Chapman, Rosie Tantillo.
Trades (1): Camille Abily.
After finishing last in 2009, Gold Pride was very aggressive in the offseason. Even before Marta joined the team, they had signed Solveig Gulbrandsen and Candace Chapman and traded for Camille Abily. They appear to have had the best draft of any team in the league, selecting quality players in areas of need. But no matter what else happened, the addition of Marta makes Gold Pride a contender.
Exactly two thirds of LA’s 2009 offense now make their home in the Bay Area. Marta scored 10 goals and Abily scored 8 in '09. Add to that Christine Sinclair’s 6 goals in WPS, Solveig Gulbrandsen 6 goals with Stabæk in the Toppserien, and Kelley O’Hara’s 26 goals on the college level for Stanford and we should see a scoring juggernaut this season from FCGP. But like many teams, there are question marks. Gold Pride gave up a lot of goals last season and it is yet to be seen whether newcomers Chapman, Ali Riley, and Becky Edwards can improve the defense enough to push Gold Pride to the top.
Goalkeeping-Bay Area returns starter and USWNT team goalkeeper, Nicole Barnhart. Barnhart posted a 1.44 GAA and 2 shutouts in 2009. With a better team in front of her, expect that to improve in 2010. Brittany Cameron spent 2009 as LA’s developmental keeper behind Karina LeBlanc and Val Henderson. She should get a better chance for action in 2010. Rutger’s Erin Guthrie, one of the top college prospects at goalkeeper, joins Gold Pride as their developmental keeper.
Defenders-Last year’s Gold Pride gave up 28 goals, the 2nd worst total in WPS. That has to improve. Leigh Ann Robinson is gone, but Bay Area will get a boost with the return of Kandace Wilson, a big part of FCGP’s early success before injury ended her season. Gold Pride also added two more players, Candace Chapman through free agency and Ali Riley through the draft. Chapman is a member of the Canadian National team and played for Boston last season. Riley had a stellar career at Stanford and is perhaps the best two-way outside back coming out of college. If Wilson and Riley start on the outside, opposing teams are going to have to contend with a lot of speed coming out of the back.
In the middle, USWNT defender Rachel Buehler leads the way. Buehler is solid defensively and known for her hard tackling. Kristen Graczyk also returns on defense. She is the only Gold Pride player to play in all 20 matches last season. Except for a couple of tough breaks, Carrie Dew had pretty good season at back last season and should continue to improve. Kaley Fountain, out of Wake Forest, will add depth on defense and can play forward as well. This defense should be improved from a year ago, but the question is how much.
Midfielders-No team revamped their midfield for 2010 more than FC Gold Pride. The two major additions are Camille Abily, obtained in a trade from Los Angeles, and Solveig Gulbrandsen, a longtime veteran of the Norwegian National Team. Abily’s eight goals were second only to LA teammate Marta’s league-leading total of 10 last season. Abily had an uncanny ability to find open space between defenders enabling her unleash her dangerous shot. Gulbrandsen comes over to the states with a distinguished career for Norway, where she ranks among the leaders in caps and goals scored. She has played in 15 World Cup and 9 Olympic matches over her career.
Past those two players, it gets a little more uncertain. Kim Yokers is one returnee in the midfield. She scored one goal in limited playing time in ’09. Gold Pride drafted top defensive midfielder Becky Edwards out of Florida State and later added Ashley Bowyer of Ohio State, who made the team as a developmental player. Ageless Tiffeny Milbrett can play attacking mid or forward. Milbrett proved she could still put it in the back of the net with 4 goals last season. Linking with Gold Pride’s talented forwards could be the key to the season. Expect Gulbrandsen to shoulder a lot of that load.
Forwards-At last year’s All-Star game in St. Louis, we saw the Marta-Sinclair connection for the first time and the two worked well together with Marta assisting on Sinclair’s first goal in that match. Sinclair’s talent was showcased in that game, giving a clinic in perfectly timed runs and scoring two goals. Marta is the best player in women’s soccer. A 4-time FIFA Player of the Year, she is not only talented, but her speed and determination make her very hard to stop. She also has the most lethal left foot in women’s soccer.
Even before Gold Pride secured Marta, they already had the makings of a great front line combo after drafting Kelley O’Hara out of Stanford. O’Hara, with teammate Riley, helped lead Stanford to the NCAA final before falling to perennial power UNC. Santa Clara’s Kiki Bosio and free agent Rosie Tantillo help add depth to this talented group of forwards. Bosio had 3 goals and 7 assists for the Broncos last season.
Summary-Last season, Bay Area had only two players (Sinclair and Milbrett) to score more than one goal over the course of the season. In fact, between May 3 and August 1 (a total of 12 matches), the only player that scored on anything other than a penalty kick was Sinclair. We won’t be seeing that kind of drought this year. My guess is Gold Pride will have 6 or 7 players with two or more goals this season.
That leads us to the midfield and defense. No organization did a better job at trying to fill their needs than FCGP. But will the midfield be deep enough and will the defense be good enough for Gold Pride to earn a title? No matter how many changes a team makes, it still isn’t easy to go from last to first in just one season. I’ve always said that any team that Marta is on will be a contender, but only time will tell whether Gold Pride’s other improvements will be enough to win it all.
2009 Record: 4-10-6 (7th place)
Postseason: Out of the playoffs.
Returnees (8): Nicole Barnhart, Rachel Buehler, Carrie Dew, Kristin Graczyk, Tiffeny Milbrett, Christine Sinclair, Kandace Wilson, Kim Yokers.
Draft Choices (6): Kelley O’Hara, Ali Riley, Becky Edwards, Kaley Fountain, Erin Guthrie, Ashley Bowyer.
LA Dispersal Draft (2): Marta, Kiki Bosio.
International Signings ( 1): Solveig Gulbrandsen.
Free Agents (3): Brittany Cameron, Candace Chapman, Rosie Tantillo.
Trades (1): Camille Abily.
After finishing last in 2009, Gold Pride was very aggressive in the offseason. Even before Marta joined the team, they had signed Solveig Gulbrandsen and Candace Chapman and traded for Camille Abily. They appear to have had the best draft of any team in the league, selecting quality players in areas of need. But no matter what else happened, the addition of Marta makes Gold Pride a contender.
Exactly two thirds of LA’s 2009 offense now make their home in the Bay Area. Marta scored 10 goals and Abily scored 8 in '09. Add to that Christine Sinclair’s 6 goals in WPS, Solveig Gulbrandsen 6 goals with Stabæk in the Toppserien, and Kelley O’Hara’s 26 goals on the college level for Stanford and we should see a scoring juggernaut this season from FCGP. But like many teams, there are question marks. Gold Pride gave up a lot of goals last season and it is yet to be seen whether newcomers Chapman, Ali Riley, and Becky Edwards can improve the defense enough to push Gold Pride to the top.
Goalkeeping-Bay Area returns starter and USWNT team goalkeeper, Nicole Barnhart. Barnhart posted a 1.44 GAA and 2 shutouts in 2009. With a better team in front of her, expect that to improve in 2010. Brittany Cameron spent 2009 as LA’s developmental keeper behind Karina LeBlanc and Val Henderson. She should get a better chance for action in 2010. Rutger’s Erin Guthrie, one of the top college prospects at goalkeeper, joins Gold Pride as their developmental keeper.
Defenders-Last year’s Gold Pride gave up 28 goals, the 2nd worst total in WPS. That has to improve. Leigh Ann Robinson is gone, but Bay Area will get a boost with the return of Kandace Wilson, a big part of FCGP’s early success before injury ended her season. Gold Pride also added two more players, Candace Chapman through free agency and Ali Riley through the draft. Chapman is a member of the Canadian National team and played for Boston last season. Riley had a stellar career at Stanford and is perhaps the best two-way outside back coming out of college. If Wilson and Riley start on the outside, opposing teams are going to have to contend with a lot of speed coming out of the back.
In the middle, USWNT defender Rachel Buehler leads the way. Buehler is solid defensively and known for her hard tackling. Kristen Graczyk also returns on defense. She is the only Gold Pride player to play in all 20 matches last season. Except for a couple of tough breaks, Carrie Dew had pretty good season at back last season and should continue to improve. Kaley Fountain, out of Wake Forest, will add depth on defense and can play forward as well. This defense should be improved from a year ago, but the question is how much.
Midfielders-No team revamped their midfield for 2010 more than FC Gold Pride. The two major additions are Camille Abily, obtained in a trade from Los Angeles, and Solveig Gulbrandsen, a longtime veteran of the Norwegian National Team. Abily’s eight goals were second only to LA teammate Marta’s league-leading total of 10 last season. Abily had an uncanny ability to find open space between defenders enabling her unleash her dangerous shot. Gulbrandsen comes over to the states with a distinguished career for Norway, where she ranks among the leaders in caps and goals scored. She has played in 15 World Cup and 9 Olympic matches over her career.
Past those two players, it gets a little more uncertain. Kim Yokers is one returnee in the midfield. She scored one goal in limited playing time in ’09. Gold Pride drafted top defensive midfielder Becky Edwards out of Florida State and later added Ashley Bowyer of Ohio State, who made the team as a developmental player. Ageless Tiffeny Milbrett can play attacking mid or forward. Milbrett proved she could still put it in the back of the net with 4 goals last season. Linking with Gold Pride’s talented forwards could be the key to the season. Expect Gulbrandsen to shoulder a lot of that load.
Forwards-At last year’s All-Star game in St. Louis, we saw the Marta-Sinclair connection for the first time and the two worked well together with Marta assisting on Sinclair’s first goal in that match. Sinclair’s talent was showcased in that game, giving a clinic in perfectly timed runs and scoring two goals. Marta is the best player in women’s soccer. A 4-time FIFA Player of the Year, she is not only talented, but her speed and determination make her very hard to stop. She also has the most lethal left foot in women’s soccer.
Even before Gold Pride secured Marta, they already had the makings of a great front line combo after drafting Kelley O’Hara out of Stanford. O’Hara, with teammate Riley, helped lead Stanford to the NCAA final before falling to perennial power UNC. Santa Clara’s Kiki Bosio and free agent Rosie Tantillo help add depth to this talented group of forwards. Bosio had 3 goals and 7 assists for the Broncos last season.
Summary-Last season, Bay Area had only two players (Sinclair and Milbrett) to score more than one goal over the course of the season. In fact, between May 3 and August 1 (a total of 12 matches), the only player that scored on anything other than a penalty kick was Sinclair. We won’t be seeing that kind of drought this year. My guess is Gold Pride will have 6 or 7 players with two or more goals this season.
That leads us to the midfield and defense. No organization did a better job at trying to fill their needs than FCGP. But will the midfield be deep enough and will the defense be good enough for Gold Pride to earn a title? No matter how many changes a team makes, it still isn’t easy to go from last to first in just one season. I’ve always said that any team that Marta is on will be a contender, but only time will tell whether Gold Pride’s other improvements will be enough to win it all.
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