November 30, 2008

With the UCLA game the last match of the weekend, the final four teams are now set.  As expected, the number 1 seeds all made it through. The semifinals match-ups, which will be played in Cary, NC next weekend,  look like this:

UCLA vs. UNC
Stanford vs. Notre Dame

Notre Dame remains undefeated after cruising past Florida 2-0, ending the Seminoles quest for a fourth straight College Cup appearance.

UCLA DOMINATED the Duke Blue Devils last night 6-1 to reach their sixth straight Final Four. Junior Kristina Larsen was the star of the second half, scoring her team-leading 12th and 13th goals of the season, but the whole team looked impressive with precision passing, speed and confidence.

The downside of the evening? Lauren Cheney being carried off the field late in the second half after a totally unneccessary tackle by Duke. Hope she’s okay.

D1 women’s soccer championship

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November 25, 2008

Saint Louis Athletica is now the name for the Women’s Professional Soccer St. Louis franchise.  Team owner Jeff Cooper, alongside U.S. gold medalist Lori Chalupny and head coach Jorge Barcellos, unveiled Athletica’s name and logo on Tuesday afternoon at the Missouri Athletic Club in downtown St. Louis.

Resembling a medieval coat of arms and inspired by that of St. Joan of Arc, the Athletica crest features the silhouette of a woman atop her horse, proudly hoisting an “STL” flag overhead.  Below the crest, a SAINT LOUIS ATHLETICA banner is flanked by two fleurs-de-lis – a nod to St. Louis as an 18th Century French settlement.  The word “Athletica,” while not found in the English dictionary, is derived from the adjective “athletic,” with the “a” denoting the newly-created noun as feminine. 

“The word ‘Athletica’ denotes strength and power – characteristics of this organization that are epitomized by the crest, which also pays homage to St. Louis’ roots,” said Cooper.  “Naming a professional sports franchise is no easy task, to say the least.  With Athletica, we feel we have perfectly captured the essence of our team’s identity in a name and crest that transcends cultures.”

St. Louis one of seven founding teams participating in the inaugural season of Women’s Professional Soccer league. With Barcellos, former head coach of the Brazilian Women’s National Team, at the helm, St. Louis Athletica will kick off in April 2009 at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE) where the team will compete against Bay Area’s FC Gold Pride, Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, Los Angeles Sol, Sky Blue FC, and the Washington Freedom.

St. Louis Athletica Website

The STL-WPS has a new logo! from STL-WPS on Vimeo.

Jill recently took time out of her busy schedule to talk to Pretty Tough. Find out more about this amazing player, coach and woman.

Vital Stats:Name: Jill Pauline Oakes
Sport: Soccer
Age: 24-yrs-old
Hometown: Encino, CA
College: UCLA
Position: center midfielder/defender
Music: Alicia Keys
Food: Vegetarian
TV Show: Project Runway

PT:  Tell us about your soccer background/training; how old were you when you started playing? What position(s) do you play? What are some highlights from your youth, club, high school, college, international and pro soccer experiences?

JO: I started playing AYSO at 8-yrs-old (Allstars) and moved to Club at 10-yrs-old for the Valley United Stars (I went to Santa Anita Strikers for senior year in high school). I started ODP (Olympic Development Program) at 12-yrs-old. 

Then, State team, Regional Team -USYSA Adidas All Star team in high school -Harvard-Westlake School (captain, CIF champs, Mission League Offensive MVP, CIF Defensive MVP) - First camp with Full US Women’s National Team July 2002 -Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year 2002 -Parade Magazine High school Soccer Player of the Year 2002 -FIFA Under-19 World Cup Champion (2002)

College, UCLA… freshman All-American, 2nd team All-American, First team All-American, two-time NCAA College Cup finalist, captain.

First cap with Full Women’s National Team: Algarve Cup, March 2005, Portugal, Match vs. Denmark-Under-21 National Team member at multiple Nordic CupsAmateur: W-League…New Jersey Wildcats (’06), Vancouver Whitecaps All-Western Conference defender (’07), Pali Blues W-league Champion & All-League midfielder (’08)Professional: Damallsvenksan (SWEDEN), fall ‘07…Team: Falkopings KIK

PT: Wow! Impessive. Did you love soccer right away? Did you play any other sports? Did you dominate during high school? How has your playing style changed over the years?

JO: I absolutely loved soccer immediately. At 8-yrs-old, it was the first organized sport that I participated in. I had done ballet and karate a little, but there was something about soccer that I connected with. I loved being on the team. I seemed to be a natural, making the All-Star team my very first year and on. I was always a very quiet and shy and fairly introverted person (with strangers), but soccer allowed me to express myself. I gained attention from others for my talent. I made new friends and always had the respect of my teammates. It was a great feeling. I was extremely fortunate to excel at every level available, moving my way up fom AYSO All-Stars to ODP to youth National teams to UCLA, and now to the professional level.I have been very consistent with my playing style throughout my entire career. I was a “stopper” my first year in AYSO and today I still consider defensive/holding midfield to be my favorite and strongest position. I feel that I’m calm and simple; I’m a ball winner; I like to organize things and keep things positive.

PT: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

JO: “Be unreasonable.” I love this advice because people can always justify why you CAN’T do something, why something CAN”T happen or it WON’T happen. Excuses, excuses, excuses. Reasons, reasons, reasons. Pursue your dreams. Be unreasonable in your pursuit. Let nothing be the reason you CAN’T have whatever you want! If failure was not an issue, what would you create for your life? Then, create it.

PT: What makes you Pretty Tough?

JO: I have always valued ‘balance’ in my life. I never wanted to ONLY be one thing. I’m a tough, aggressive soccer player, yet I definitely have a girly side. In high school, I was in the Advanced Dance program and was a high school cheerleader! In fact, I was a co-captain one year. And even now, I have a small business as an independent jewelry distributor for a company called Premier Designs Inc., presenting at-home jewelry parties for women! I love it. It’s empowering. It’s uniting. It’s 100% girly. It’s pretty tough!

PT: Thanks so much for you time and good luck on the pitch!

Editors Note: Follow Jill and the WPS when they start play next April.

November 23, 2008

Cross-town rivals USC and UCLA played last night before a record crowd in the Third Round of the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championships. It was a cool night and in typical SoCal fashion, spectators wore everything from shorts and flip flops to wool caps and winter coats (I was happy to have my coat).

With ties to both schools, I’m always torn about my allegiance but with a great season behind them, I was happy to see UCLA win at home and move on to the quarterfinals. They’ll play No. 3 seed Duke, who upset Virginia, next weekend.

USC faced the same team it beat 2-1 in last year’s NCAA Semifinals but unlike last year, where UCLA also took the first lead of the game, USC was unable to get to the back of the net.

UCLA dominated the entire game and had 17 shots to USC’s 6. During the final five minutes, the Bruins had a dangerous chance to pad its lead, but goal keeper Kristin Olsen came up big with two saves on tough shots to hold the game at 1-0.

The season-ending loss for the Women of Troy marked the final game for seven USC seniors, six of whom have been at USC for four years including Janessa Currier (defender), Kelley Finch (midfielder), Nini Loucks (midfielder), Ashley Nick (midfielder), Amy Rodriguez (forward - so fun to watch) and Stacey Strong (defender). The group has combined for 68 goals and 55 assists, with 19 goals and 21 assists coming off senior feet this season and no doubt a few tears were shed last night.

Meanwhile, UCLA, who played impressive D the entire night, broke the school record for shutouts in a season last night, posting its 19th of the year. The old record was 18 set by the 2005 team that advanced to the NCAA Final. The Bruins continue to lead the country in goals allowed, surrendering just four in 23 matches. Naturally, UCLA is our choice to win the cup this year.

In other NCAA College Cup news, the Portland Pilots earned a hard-fought 3-2 win over the visiting James Madison Dukes to advance to the quarterfinals for the fifth straight year.

The Cardinal held off Rutgers with a beautiful cross from Christen Press that found Kelley O’Hara at the top of the box and they will meet Portland next week at home.

Also - UNC scored a dominating win over Illinois and will next play Texas A&M; Notre Dame squeaked through in a surprising OT with Minnesota and will play Florida State in the quarterfinals.

Full Bracket

If you’re a soccer fan, you’ll want to take part in the on-line voting for U.S. Soccer’s “Best of” awards honoring standout performances on and off the field during the year.

Female Athlete of the Year: With the finalists announced for the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year Awards,  fans collectively decide 50 percent of the final vote, with media and U.S. Soccer officials getting the other 50 percent of the vote.

Nominees:
Shannon Boxx - Midfielder
Lori Chalupny - Midfielder
Angela Hucles - Midfielder/Forward
Carli Lloyd - Midfielder
Christie Rampone - Defender
Hope Solo - Keeper
Vote

Best Goal - WNT: Best thing in soccer? Goals, goals, goals. This award crowns the top strike by a U.S. Women’s National Team player during 2008.

Nominees:
Carli Lloyd vs. BRA - Aug. 21
Carli Lloyd vs. JPN - Aug. 9
Lori Chalupny vs. JPN - Aug. 18
Amy Rodriguez vs. BRA - July 13
Kate Markgraf vs. IRL - Sept. 20
Heather O’Reilly vs. NZL - Aug. 12
Angela Hucles vs. AUS - May 3
Becky Edwards vs. CUB - June 20
Vote

In all, the “Best of” series has handed out 54 awards out to soccer players, bars, stores and even fans in the United States over the past five years check out the list of winner’s here.

Fans can vote once a day until Dec. 8th.

November 21, 2008

I’m personally looking forward to the UCLA-USC game tom’w night at Drake Stadium. It’s a rematch of last year’s College Cup Semifinals in which USC went on to win the NCAA championship.

This year,  the top-seeded and undefeated UCLA (20-0-2) hosts fourth-seeded USC (16-4-2). The Bruins defeated the Women of Troy, 2-1 in the only meeting between the two teams this season. 

Three Olympians highlight the Saturday showdown with UCLA’s Lauren Cheney and Kara Lang joining USC’s Amy Rodriguez on the field as players who participated in the recent Beijing Olympic Games. Cheney and Rodriguez were teammates on Team USA’s run to the gold medal, while Lang was a member of Canada’s squad.

The winner of this match advances to the quarterfinals to face either second-seeded Duke or third-seeded Virginia next week.

Both USC and UCLA write about the game on their websites.

In other matches,  the top-ranked Irish are set to play No. 22 Minnesota who kept their dream season alive with two wins last weekend to advance to its first-ever trip to the ‘Sweet 16.’

Check the NCAA bracket to see all the weekend match-ups.  Play on…

November 20, 2008

The franchise unveiled its name Wednesday along with its gold-and-black color scheme and a logo featuring a growling lioness in mid-stride.  Their tagline? Welcome to the jungle.

Owner Brian NeSmith  came up with the team’s name after many discussions at the family dinner table. It’s meant to evoke California, the Golden State, along with honoring the U.S. Olympic gold medal-winning women’s soccer team. The rest of the name, “that’s tying into a pride of lionesses,” NeSmith said, discussing how well lionesses work together.

NeSmith became involved in soccer through his daughters, Sarah (now at Northwestern) and Amanda, and both are considered part of the ownership group.

“Awesome, a major-league sports owner, you must be pretty popular at school,” Earthquakes goalie Joe Cannon told 16-year-old Amanda NeSmith during the news conference. Referring to her youth-league club, he added that it was a long way from the Pink and Purple People Eaters.”

FC Gold Pride will play their home games at Buck Shaw Stadium, the 10,000-seat stadium that also hosts the expansion San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer.

Goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart, defender Rachel Buehler and forward Tracy Hamm are among those slated to play for head coach Albertin Montoya with the Pride.

Check back for our exclusive interview with former UCLA standout and Pride player Jill Oakes.

November 18, 2008

So what guy is brave enough to put in a shocking pink performance? A guy very sure of himself - who’s fast as a whippet and capable of scoring a hat-trick every game. Or is the pink thing for guys not a big deal anymore? I feel like the shock value may be passe.

See what reaction the cleats have caused among Europe’s finest male players — including Rio Ferdinand, Cesc Fabregas, Gabby Agbonlahor and Theo Walcott — in the latest Nike video viral.

The hue is technically called Mercurial Rosa but make no mistake, it’s pink. Don’t know how many guys will go for the cleats but I can think of more than a few girls who might check them out - they’re pretty cool!

November 11, 2008

Last night, the NCAA announced the field of 64 teams, that will compete for the 27th Division I Women’s Soccer Championship.

Only four of the teams will remain when the action rolls into Cary, North Carolina next month for the finals.

The No. 1 seeds include University of Notre Dame, an automatic qualifier from the Big East Conference, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, an automatic qualifier from the Atlantic Coast Conference, and University of California, Los Angeles and Stanford University from the Pacific-10 Conference. UCLA won the conference’s automatic bid with a perfect conference record.

California, Washington, Washington State, and USC were the four other Pac-10 teams to advance.

North Carolina is the only team invited to the tournament every year since its inception in 1982.

Seven teams are making their first appearance in the tournament and include: Army, Belmont University, Long Beach State University, Morehead State, Northern Arizona University, Northeastern and South Dakota State.

First-round matches will be played Friday, November 14, at campus sites, and second-round matches will be played Sunday, November 16, at the same campus sites.

The 27th annual NCAA Women’s College Cup will be played December 5 and 7 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. 

In the 2007 championship game, Southern California captured its first NCAA title with a 2-0 victory over Florida State. Trojans Amy Rodriguez and Kristin Olsen garnered Most Outstanding Player honors for offense and defense, respectively.

For more information, visit the NCAA site or NC State’s Tournament Central Page.  Up-to-date TV schedules can be found at NCAA.com/broadcast.

The complete bracket follows here.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

November 4, 2008

The 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in women’s soccer are looking for your vote. Fan voting counts for 1/3 of the total and fans can vote once a day by going to the newly launched Lowe’s Senor CLASS Award website.

 An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages those leaders to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact on their circle of influence.

The finalists for the women’s soccer award include:

Yael Averbuch
Stefanie Baduria
Lizzie Barnes
Brittany Bock
Jenae Gibbens
Candace Gonzales
Kerri Hanks
Molly Johnson
Christie McDonald
Yolanda Odenyo

Show your support now!