USWNT Featured on ABC's NIGHTLINE

Check out this ABC NIGHTLINE feature about the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team:

Washington Spirit held scoreless in 0-2 loss to Portland Thorns FC

PORTLAND, Or.  (May 19, 2013) -- The Washington Spirit ended their first west coast road trip Sunday afternoon falling 2-0 to league-leaders Portland Thorns FC in front of 12,474 fans at JELD-WEN Field in downtown Portland.

Goals by the dynamic tandem of Christine Sinclair and Alex Morgan came in the final five minutes of each half respectively after the teams played end-to-end action for the duration.

Despite hefty doses of possession for the Spirit through the midfield, the visitors failed to seriously threaten Thorns goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc, but did keep her and the Thorns defense honest throughout. 

NWSL Player Allocation announced, Washington Spirit player list revealed

Today US Soccer officially announced the National team player allocations for all eight of the clubs in the newly formed National Women's Soccer League. 

NWSL Announces Allocation of 55 National Team Players to Eight Clubs

The list of US National Team players allocated for the Washington Spirit is below:

Washington Spirit
Ashlyn Harris (USA)
Ali Krieger (USA)
Lori Lindsey (USA)
Robin Gayle (CAN)
Diana Matheson (CAN)
Alina Garciamendez (MEX)
Teresa Worbis (MEX)

Other notable players allocated to other league teams include FIFA Women's Player of the Year winner Abby Wambach (Western New York Flash), FIFA Women's Player of the Year nominee Alex Morgan (Portland Thorns FC), and often controversial goalkeeper Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC).

Wambach beats out Marta, teammate Alex Morgan to win FIFA Women's World Player of the Year

ussoccer.com News Release:

U.S. WNT FORWARD ABBY WAMBACH NAMED FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD PLAYER OF THE YEAR;
PIA SUNDHAGE NAMED WORLD COACH OF THE YEAR FOR WOMEN'S SOCCER

 

Alex Morgan Voted Third in Women's World Player of the Year Voting;
Wambach's Honor Marks Third Time American Woman Named World Player of the Year
Following Mia Hamm's 2001 and 2002 Selections

 

CHICAGO (Jan. 7, 2013) - Abby Wambach, the co-captain of the U.S. Women's National Team, has been named the 2012 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year, and Pia Sundhage, who led the USA to the 2012 Olympic gold medal, has been named the 2012 World Coach of the Year for Women's Soccer.

• Quote Sheet
• Wambach Climbs the Charts
• Sundhage Wins in Final U.S. WNT Game | Pia Plays Her Final Encore

Wambach and Sundhage received the awards today at the 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or gala in Zurich, Switzerland, as the world's governing body for soccer held its annual event. Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Argentina was named the FIFA World Player of the Year for the fourth year in a row.

Wambach and Morgan Nominated for FIFA Women's World Player of the Year

via ussoccerdotcom YouTube:

ussoccer.com talks to U.S. Women's National Team forwards Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan about their nominations for FIFA Women's World Player of the Year. The award will be given on Monday, Jan. 7, 2013.

More info: http://www.ussoccer.com

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

Why the U.S. women’s soccer team is sport’s greatest team and America’s best export

Exclusive Op-Ed: America's Band of Sisters

By Joe Donnelly, TakePart.com 

By MattGerlachPhotography

I’m not sure how I’m going to talk about USA women’s soccer without sounding like some babbling teenage, fanboy kook. I’m not. I’m well into middle age and generally sober, often skeptical and sometimes cynical. But I can’t do that here now, not after what I saw take place at venerable Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, on Monday.

I hope you saw it for yourself because words get real small and inadequate when they try to describe the bigger things that sometimes overwhelm us and make us feel humble and elevated at the same time. These things often happen in nature, but sometimes on the pitch, and that’s what happened yesterday when Alex Morgan headed a beautiful loping cross from the right wing off the foot of Heather O’Reilly to defeat Canada in the Olympic semifinals, 4-3.

The goal came in the 123rd minute, with 30 seconds left in the second and final overtime before the game would have been decided by the lottery of a penalty kick shootout. Calling the game one of the greatest soccer matches ever doesn’t do it justice.

Full Op-Ed at: http://www.takepart.com/article/2012/08/07/why-us-womens-soccer-team-sports-greatest-team-and-americas-best-export

USWNT Host China at PPL Park in May

D.C., Maryland, and Virginia fans of the U.S. Women's National Team will have a chance to catch the team in action at the somewhat nearby PPL Park in Pennsylvania. The two and a half hour drive from D.C.is well worth the trip to see the USWNT. The women are returning from Japan where a goal from Alex Morgan gave them a 1-1 draw against the defending Women's World Cup Champions.

USWNT players Tobin Heath, Alex Morgan, Yael Averbuch

From the U.S. Soccer Communications Center:

U.S. WOMEN WILL FACE CHINA AT PPL PARK IN CHESTER, PA., ON MAY 27

Match Will Serve as Valuable Preparation on the Road to the 2012 London Olympics

 

CHICAGO (March 30, 2012) - The next domestic match for the U.S. Women's National Team has been confirmed and the USA will take on China on May 27 at PPL Park in Chester, Pa.








Fans can follow the match on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker and via Twitter @ussoccer_wnt.

• Ticket Information for U.S. WNT vs. China (Tickets Page)

Tickets starting at $22 go on sale to the public Friday, April 6, at 10 a.m. ET through ussoccer.com, by phone at 1-800-298-4200 and at the PPL Park ticket office (open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Groups of 20 or more can obtain an order form at ussoccer.com or call 312-528-1290.








As a sponsor of U.S. Soccer, Visa® is pleased to offer all Visa cardholders access to an advance ticket sale for this match before the sale to the general public. This advance sale starts Thursday, April 5, at 10 a.m. ET and runs until Friday, April 6, at 8 a.m. at ussoccer.com. Visa will be the only payment method accepted through the Visa presale and is the preferred card of U.S. Soccer. Terms and conditions apply.








The U.S. WNT is currently in Japan for the Women's Kirin Challenge Cup and will play the first of two matches when it faces the hosts on April 1 at Yurtec Stadium in Sendai at 7:30 p.m. local time (6:30 a.m. ET). Two days later, the U.S. will take on Brazil in Chiba at 8 p.m. local time (7 a.m. ET). After these two matches, the next full international will be against China on May 27.








Both Kirin Challenge Cup matches will be televised live on ESPN2 and ESPN3, and fans can also follow the matches on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker and via Twitter @ussoccer_wnt.








The U.S. Women have a long history in Pennsylvania, having played 12 matches in the state, including a 5-0 victory against Nigeria in Philadelphia during the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, but this will be just the second match at PPL Park. The first was in October of 2010, also against China, and ended in a 1-1 draw as Alex Morgan scored her first career WNT goal with a late equalizer.








PPL Park is a part of the new wave of stadium construction for Major League Soccer. The stadium opened during the summer of 2010 and is the home of the Philadelphia Union.








The USA, which currently sits atop the FIFA Women's World Rankings, will be playing China for the first time since January of 2011 when it won 2-0 to take the title at the Four Nations Tournament in Chongqing, China, on goals from Carli Lloyd and Amy Rodriguez.

Alex Morgan on the Jared Montz Podcast

The Jared Montz Soccer Podcast on Virginia Online Soccer News is courtesy of Jared Montz Soccer.

Jared Montz is a former pro and the founder of Online Soccer Academy and  College Recruiting Website .

Virginia Online Soccer News syndicates his just about weekly Jared Montz Soccer Podcast and you can subscribe for free in iTunes.

You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter.

Mia Hamm Celebrity Challenge in D.C. a Huge Success

The 4th Annual Mia Hamm Celebrity Soccer Challenge made it's first ever appearance in Washington, D.C. on Sunday at Kastles Stadium at the Wharf and it was a huge success.

Despite the brutal heat on a classic D.C. summer day the fans came out in force to come see Mia Hamm, Nomar Garciaparra, Kobe Bryant, and multiple members of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. The event benefits the Mia Hamm Foundation & Children's National Medical Center as well as to raise awareness of the Be a Match program which educates and encourages people to take the first step to become a bone marrow donor.

    Fans where treated to an amazing event with opportunities to meet and get autographs from some of their favorite USWNT players including Alex Morgan, Heather O'Reilly, Tobin Heath, and Virginia native Ali Krieger. There where NBA stars, current and retired NFL Players, former USMNT players, actors, and even local media members taking part in the action on the court which pitted the previously undefeated team lead by Nomar Garciaparra (3-0) against the team led by his wife and the most popular soccer player in U.S. soccer history, Mia Hamm.




The action was fast-paced often leaving little time for accurate updates via Twitter as @VASoccerNews attempted to provide live updates often witnessing multiple goals in less than one minute of each other. In the end Mia's team battled back for an exciting golden goal win in extra time provided by John Harkes (90 USMNT caps).

By far the biggest celebrity draw was NBA 5-time NBA Champion Kobe Bryant who is a big fan of the beautiful game and a well know F.C. Barcelona supporter. Kobe held his own and putt on a great show along with the rest of the celebrity participants. To be certain the most positive thing to happen on this day was the fact that Be a Match actually ran out of test kits due to the overwhelming support and participation of the fans in attendance who where all clearly moved by the half-time stories of families and their donors. If you did not attend but would like to join the bone marrow registry you can easily do so Click HERE.

Always an amazing ambassador for the game of soccer, Mia Hamm will hopefully be encouraged to host the Celebrity Soccer Challenge every year here in D.C. Let them know you appreciate them coming to the capital city and want them to return by connecting with them on Facebook and/or Twitter: @MiaHammFdn.

U.S. Women Put Four Past Finland in Group A Finale

QUARTEIRA, Portugal (March 7, 2011) – The U.S. Women’s National Team rolled past Finland in what amounted to a warm-up match for the Algarve Cup championship game, winning 4-0 on two goals from Alex Morgan and one each from Shannon Boxx and Carli Lloyd.

In Group B, Iceland defeated Denmark 1-0 for its third win of the tournament to earn a spot in its first Algarve Cup title match. The USA will be playing for the tournament championship for the ninth consecutive year. The championship game will be held on March 9 at the beautiful Estádio Algarve, built for the 2004 European Championships, with a kickoff of 12 p.m. ET. Fans can follow the action as it happens on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and on Twitter @ussoccer_wnt.