New Women's Professional Soccer League team for D.C. Identified today

GERMANTOWN, Md. (Dec. 11, 2012) – The Washington, D.C. area’s entry in the new U.S. women’s professional soccer league revealed its identity, home venue and head coach on Tuesday afternoon, the latest step in the exciting return of top-flight women’s pro soccer to the nation’s capital.

Continuing a proud tradition that began with the Washington Freedom of the Women’s United Soccer Association and Women’s Professional Soccer and continued over the past two years with D.C. United Women of the W-League, the new club’s name embodies the passion and dedication of the region’s soccer community and evokes the hopes of a bright new future for the women’s game.


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UVA's Caroline Miller Named Finalist for MAC Hermann Trophy

Senior forward becomes the first finalist in program history

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Virginia senior forward Caroline Miller (Rockville, Md.) was named one of the three women’s finalists for the 2012 Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America announced on Thursday. Miller is the first Cavalier women’s player to be named a finalist for the award, which is the most prestigious accolade in collegiate soccer.

Miller joins Crystal Dunn of North Carolina and Christine Nairn of Penn State as this year’s women’s finalists. Ryan Finley of Notre Dame, Jose Gomez of Creighton and Patrick Mullins of Maryland are the three men’s finalists.

The finalists will be honored and the men’s and women’s winners will be announced at the Hermann Trophy banquet on January 11 at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.

The 2012 ACC Offensive Player of the Year, Miller set single-season school records with 20 goals and 47 points this season. The conference leader in goals and points in 2012, she is one of just four players nationally to reach the 20-goal mark this season, and the first from the ACC in four years to accomplish the feat. A 2012 NSCAA first-team All-American, Miller ended her season on a school-record eight-game goal scoring streak, tallying 11 goals against those eight opponents, all of which made the NCAA Tournament. A two-time ACC Player of the Week, she was named first-team All-ACC for the second consecutive season and was selected to the ACC All-Tournament team as Virginia won the 2012 ACC Championship.

The Hermann Trophy is voted upon by NCAA Division I coaches who are NSCAA members. In addition, this season marked the first time an online fan vote contributed to the selection process. Miller received the most votes in the online fan balloting, which took place over the last week.

Alex Morgan U.S. Soccer 2012 Female Athlete of the Year

Alex Morgan at 2011 Mia Hamm Celebrity Soccer Match (photo by Chris Wimmer)

CHICAGO (Dec. 3, 2012) - For their excellence at the highest levels of the sport, U.S. Soccer announced U.S. Women's National Team forward Alex Morgan as the 2012 Female Athlete of the Year and U.S. Under-20 WNT defender Julie Johnston as the 2012 Young Female Athlete of the Year.

• Watch ussoccer.com's highlight video of 2012 Female Athlete of the Year Alex Morgan
• Read ussoccer.com's Q&A with Alex Morgan 
• Watch Julie Johnston meet her role model, U.S. captain Christie Rampone, on ussoccer.com.
• Read ussoccer.com's Q&A with Julie Johnston

The U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award is the highest honor awarded to soccer players in the United States. Online votes registered on U.S. Soccer's Facebook Page counted for 50 percent of the total votes, while the other 50 percent was represented by votes compiled from members of the national media and U.S. Soccer representatives, including National Team coaches and members of the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors.

The Female Athlete of the Year award is the first for Morgan and it comes in the Diamond Bar, Calif. native's first time on the ballot. The forward leads all U.S. scorers in 2012 with 28 goals which is good for third-best all time in a calendar year behind Abby Wambach (31 in 2004) and Michelle Akers (39 in 1991). Morgan has also compiled a team-leading 19 assists in 2012, the fourth-most in a single year. She still has three matches left to play as the USA finishes the Fan tribute Tour, presented by Panasonic, which matches against China on Dec. 8 in Detroit, Dec. 12 in Houston and Dec. 15 in Boca Raton, Fla.

Morgan's exploits have also earned her a place on the FIFA Ballon d'Or shortlist. The winner for FIFA's top honor will be announced on Jan. 7, 2013.

U-20 WNT defender Julie Johnston took home the Young Female Athlete of the Year award in one of the tightest races in the award's history, just edging out her U-20 teammates Kealia Ohai, who scored the winning goal in the U-20 Women's World Cup Final, and midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo.

The U-20 WNT captain was instrumental in helping the team win the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Japan, starting all six games on the backline and earning the Bronze Ball as the tournament's third-best player, an extremely rare feat for a defender. The Mesa, Ariz. native also made an impact with Santa Clara, where the junior was the team's leading scorer with eight goals and five assists in 14 appearances.

Morgan and Johnston complete this year's list of winners for U.S. Soccer Athletes of the Year in 2012. Last month Clint Dempsey was announced as the Male Athlete of the year, Rubio Rubin the Young Male Athlete of the Year, and Felicia Schroeder the Disabled Athlete of the Year.

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
1985: Sharon Remer
1986: April Heinrichs
1987: Carin Jennings
1988: Joy Biefeld
1989: April Heinrichs
1990: Michelle Akers
1991: Michelle Akers
1992: Carin Gabarra
1993: Kristine Lilly
1994: Mia Hamm
1995: Mia Hamm
1996: Mia Hamm
1997: Mia Hamm
1998: Mia Hamm
1999: Michelle Akers
2000: Tiffeny Milbrett
2001: Tiffeny Milbrett
2002: Shannon MacMillan
2003: Abby Wambach
2004: Abby Wambach
2005: Kristine Lilly
2006: Kristine Lilly
2007: Abby Wambach
2008: Carli Lloyd
2009: Hope Solo
2010: Abby Wambach
2011: Abby Wambach
2012: Alex Morgan

YOUNG FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
1998: Cindy Parlow
1999: Lorrie Fair
2000: Aly Wagner
2001: Aleisha Cramer
2002: Lindsay Tarpley
2003: Cat Reddick
2004: Heather O'Reilly
2005: Lori Chalupny
2006: Danesha Adams
2007: Lauren Cheney
2008: Kristie Mewis
2009: Tobin Heath
2010: Bianca Henninger
2011: Sydney Leroux
2012: Julie Johnston

Longwood Women Receive NSCAA Team Academic Award

FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood University women's soccer team has once again been named as a recipient of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Award.  This is the fourth consecutive year that the Lancers have attained this prestigious team academic honor with their overall team GPA of 3.41 attained during the 2011-12 academic year, as recognized by the NSCAA.  The NSCAA recently honored 504 intercollegiate women's programs from all Divisions that posted team grade point averages of 3.0 or higher for the most recent academic year.  Longwood was just outside the Top 40 in Division I that was led by Western Michigan University (3.65), along with Lafayette College, Providence College and the University of Idaho tying in the 39th spot at 3.45.
   
“This award is not only a reflection of the importance that our team places on academics, but it is a credit to the commitment and hard work our student-athletes demonstrate on a daily basis inside the classroom,” said 19th-year head coach Todd Dyer '93.  “Our teaching faculty and academic support staff also deserve recognition for enabling and empowering our student-athletes to achieve so much in the academic environment.  It is only fitting that our success on the soccer field this year is accompanied by such an important team honor.”
   
Longwood finished 2012 with a final record of 13-6-2, including 8-2-1 in its first season of Big South competition, tying for second place during the regular season, and advancing to the conference tournament semifinals.  The Lancers posted their highest win total as a Division I program while enjoying their finest season since 2002 (15-3-1), also equaling the sixth-highest win total in the 19-year history of the program.

Tribe Goalkeeper Caroline Casey U.S. National Team Camp

Courtesy TribeAthletics.com

Mon, December 03, 2012 

 

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - William and Mary freshman goalkeeper Caroline Casey will part take in the first annual U.S. Women's National Team Youth Goalkeeper Identification Camp on Dec. 7-10 in Chula Vista, Calif., which is home to the Olympic Training Center for U.S. Soccer.

The Chesapeake, Va., native is one of 16 goalies from around the country who will travel to the Olympic Training Center for the four-day camp.  The camp coaching staff, led by U.S. Women's Soccer Technical Director April Heinrichs, will identify the best keepers for spots on the 2014 U-20 and U-17 Women's World Cup Teams.

Casey capped an impressive freshman campaign by earning Colonial Athletic Association All-Rookie Team accolades.  Casey started all 20 contests between the posts for the College and finished the year with a goals against average of 0.71.  Additionally, she made 82 saves and only allowed 14 goals in 1771:58 minutes of action, while posting seven shutouts.