The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team wrapped up the year and their Achieve Your Gold Tour with a 1-0 win over China PR on Wednesday. More than 11,000 fans showed up at Ford Field in Detroit to watch the team finish off the year with its 33rd victory of 2008. Heather O’Reilly scored a first-half goal to become the sixth U.S. player to get at least 10 goals and 10 assists in a calendar year. It was a great way to end an historic year, not only with a victory - the USA’s 25th shutout of the year — but with a big and appreciative crowd.

The hugely entertaining WNT blog, which provides a great behind-the-scenes look at the team, will go on hiatus but they’ll  be back in late January when the U.S. women reconvene for a training camp. For now,  it’s time to focus on family and loved ones during the holidays and reflect warmly on all the great things that happened this year, on the field and off. 

Happy Holidays to all the women on the team. Thanks for your hard work and a great year!

The U.S. Athlete of the Year honor is the first for Lloyd who becomes the first midfielder since Shannon MacMillan in 2002 to take the award. In the five years since, forwards Abby Wambach and Kristine Lilly have traded the honor back and forth.

The U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year awards have a longer history than any major award in American soccer – more than 20 years. They join the FIFA Players of the Year as the only two awards to honor both the top male and the top female in the sport.

Lloyd took home her first Athlete of the Year award by playing a vital role in the United States’ march to a gold medal repeat at the Olympics. She started all six games in Beijing and played every minute of the tournament where she expended boundless energy and scored two of the most important goals of her career. Both goals were invaluable in the USA’s run to the gold medal. Her blast from the top of the penalty box in the USA’s 1-0 group game win over Japan kept the WNT alive in the tournament, and then her legendary strike in overtime of the gold medal game against Brazil lifted the Americans to Olympic glory.

“I’m truly honored to have won this award,” said Lloyd, who also totaled career highs in goals (9) and assists (9). “So many fantastic players have won this in the past and this year, so many players this year were deserving of the award, as it was such a great year for this team.”

We look forward to watching her play next year with the Chicago Red Stars.

Other Awards:

Best Assist: In the closest race of the 2008 “Best Of” Awards, Lindsay Tarpley just edged out teammate Abby Wambach to take the title for Best Assist. Tarpley had a career year for goals this year, but it is her intuitive one-time pass to set up Lori Chalupny against Ireland that took 25 percent of the vote and put her among the winners for this year’s “Best Of” awards.

Best Video: Tobin Heath’s juggling prowess is well known and she took to the streets again for the 2008 Best all_access Video winner. “Tobin Heath’s Walkabout” showcases the Olympic gold medalist juggling a ball around different San Diego locales as the WNT prepared for a friendly against Brazil.

December 16, 2008

Nogueira was also one of 11 players nationwide nation to the Soccer America MVP (All-America) first team while junior midfielder Tobin Heath and senior midfielder Yael Averbuch were both named Soccer America second-team MVPs. While NCAA runnerup Notre Dame and NCAA semifinalist UCLA both had two first-team choices, UNC led all schools with total selections to the first and second teams with three.

Nogueira, who wanted so badly to play for North Carolina that she moved from her home in Cedarburg, Wis., to Raleigh to be near the Tar Heels in high school, has backed up her commitment with superb performances in two Women’s College Cup finals in three years at UNC. (via press release)

Last week, Nogueira was named one of three finalists for the Hermann Trophy. Christina DiMartino from UCLA and Kerri Hanks of Notre Dame are also in the running for the the highest individual honor in intercollegiate soccer. The Hermann will be awarded at a banquet in January.

Casey Nogueira
Position: Forward
Class: Junior
Age: 19
Hometown: Raleigh, N.C.
High School: Needham Broughton
Youth Club: CASL Spartan Elite
International: U.S. national team (1 cap)
Major: Interpersonal Communications

It won’t be long before Nogueria is drafted by the WPS who today announced the home openers for the inaugural Season. Headlining the list of games is the “WPS Inaugural Match” featuring the Los Angeles Sol against the Washington Freedom at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. on Sunday, March 29, 2009.

December 15, 2008

The multi-year partnership makes PUMA the official sport and lifestyle apparel, footwear and equipment supplier of WPS, including the official WPS Match Ball.  In addition to on-field performance wear, PUMA will outfit the athletes and teams at all WPS-related events, activities and WPS appearances in sportlifestyle apparel. This partnership kicks off with the inaugural season in April 2009 and will see PUMA collaborating with WPS to enhance the game of women’s soccer and will act as the foundation in the PUMA Women’s category.  (via press release)

According to the WSJ, the German shoe manufacturer and clothing retailer will pay roughly $10 million to become the official equipment supplier to WPS. That means that if players in the seven-team league don’t have existing deals with other cleat makers (e.g. Abby Wambach and Nike), they will wear PUMAS during WPS games.

That’s just the start for PUMA, which will have its name and logo on the league’s balls, uniforms, goalkeeper equipment, even sports bras. “Women’s soccer is on a tremendous growth pattern in the U.S.,” says Jochen Zeitz, chief executive of PUMA. “This is a huge opportunity for us.”

PUMA ranks third by sales behind Nike and Adidas in the global athletic-footwear market and fifth in the U.S. Its decision to join forces with WPS is part of an effort to target its marketing to young women. The company already has a footwear deal with Brazilian star Marta Vieira da Silva, who is widely recognized as the best female soccer player in the world, and is expected to play in WPS. PUMA also has a deal with U.S. national team player Leslie Osborne, who will be playing for FC Gold Pride.

If I remember correctly, Nike provided uniforms for some of the now defunct WUSA teams, which may have led girls and their moms to assume the company was providing key corporate support. I believe, however, Nike declined a league invitation to be its exclusive sponsor and failed to provide help when the league needed it most.

Given PUMA’s name recognition and reach in soccer, the deal is a milestone for the new women’s league especially amid a global recession so kudos to PUMA.

December 14, 2008

Ellertson, a defender in her previous 32 caps for the USA, was a forward in college at the University of Washington and started at striker for the first time in her national team career.

Assisting on the goal was forward Amy Rodriguez, who returned to the U.S. team for the first time since the Olympics after completing her senior season at the University of Southern California. After coming on at halftime, Rodriguez’ trademark speed caused problems for the Chinese during the entire second half and it was her blistering pace that created the winning goal.

“I’m so excited, I’m grinning from ear to ear,” said Ellertson, who was out for most of 2008 after having her second child. “I wanted to be back playing and being out there. Today was so awesome. It’s been a while since I played up top but it felt great.”

Goalkeeper Hope Solo made four saves for her 13th shutout of the year and the 41st of her international career.

Veteran Kristine Lilly returned from a nearly 14-month hiatus after taking time off to have her first child and earned her 341st cap when she came on in the 55th minute. The Queen of Caps showed well in her 35 minutes of action, just missing wide at the near post in the 59th minute, and in the 76th minute forced Zhang to make the best save on the night as she dove right to block a low, line drive from 12 yards out.

Midfielder Shannon Boxx,  a SoCal local who grew up near the Home Depot Center, talked to the LA Times before the game. The 31-year-old was feeling burned out last year and credits her re-energized take on the game to U.S. Coach Pia Sundhage.

“I’ve just been enjoying myself so much,” Boxx said after a recent practice. “I’m having fun, I’m laughing, and all of a sudden my game is getting better.”

Nominated again this year for FIFA world player of the year, Boxx will be playing with the Los Angeles Sol when the Women’s Professional Soccer league launches next spring.

Last night’s victory was the USA’s third of 2008 over China after also winning 1-0 in January in Guangzhou and 4-0 in March at the Algarve Cup in Portugal.

With the win, the U.S. extended their record number of wins in a year to 32, with just one loss and one tie. The Achieve Your Gold Tour wraps up on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at Ford Field in Detroit as the U.S. hosts China again and Lindsay Tarpley and Kate Markgraf return to play in their home state.

December 12, 2008

What do you think?

Coach Tony DiCicco blogged about the competition allowing fans to follow the team’s journey to victory over champion North Korea 2-1. Covering both technical and personal issues, Tony’s updates provide a great behind-the-scenes look at the experience. From the latest installment:

Well, we are still in Chile. FIFA had a bit of a problem getting a flight back to America for us. All the other teams have left and the USA players have had two days to kick back and enjoy Santiago, our accomplishment and each other.

This team won for a bunch of reasons but one key reason was how close this team became. There were 20 sisters fighting for each other and it did not matter if you played or not - you were important and supportive. The staff was also totally tied into our vision and dream. You just don’t beat the world unless you have that component!

Relive the tourney through DiCicco’s eyes. And be sure to follow along as he preps the Boston Breakers for their inaugural WPS season.

December 10, 2008

The Women’s National Soccer Team is back together for the last stops of its post-Olympic Achieve Your Gold tour.  They start a week-long training camp today at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

The team started its historic year in China at the Four Nations Tournament, capped its run of five tournament titles this year at the Olympics in China, and will now end the year against China with matches at The HDC on Dec. 13 and in Detroit at Ford Field on Dec. 17.

The current USA roster includes 22 players, but injuries and illness have reduced the number of players available to head coach Pia Sundhage.

Forward Natasha Kai, the USA’s leading scorer this year with 15 goals, will miss the trip due to illness. Forward Lauren Cheney will also not join the team due to the battering her body took during the just completed college season as well as her preparation for final exams at UCLA. Midfielder Aly Wagner and defender Stephanie Cox are with the U.S. team in camp, but injuries to a calf and hamstring respectively have ruled them out of the matches.

So why is Kristine Lilly, who is now a mother and the oldest member of the U.S. team, returning to competition at age 37? Lilly will suit up with the Boston Breakers this spring in the debut season of the new U.S. women’s pro soccer league, Women’s Professional Soccer. She resumed soccer training in September and expects to play a strong role in the upcoming games against China. If she continues to play, Lilly will be 40 when the next World Cup takes place in 2011 and 41 at the 2012 London Olympics. Obviously this lady loves the game.

WNT nuggets from this historic year:
The USA set a record for most wins in a year in the 24-year history of the program and is now 31-1-2.

The only loss was in the opening game of the 2008 Olympics, from which the U.S. team famously rebounded to win the gold medal.

If the team wins or ties the two games against China, it will also set a record for best winning percentage in a year that it played more than 10 matches.

December 7, 2008

Notre Dame, the only undefeated team remaining in D-I women’s soccer, opened the scoring just 17 seconds into the College Cup championship game on Sunday. But the Tar Heels overcame the fastest goal in Notre Dame history and never let up to win their 19th women’s soccer championship in the 27-year history of the tournament.

The Tar Heels ended the season on a 22-match unbeaten streak, beating the nation’s No. 2- and No. 1-ranked teams in the semifinals and finals of the NCAA Tournament and adding to their dynasty. Nogueira’s winning goal with only 2:06 left in the match dropped the Fighting Irish to 26-1-0 at season’s end.

Nogueira, who is from nearby Raleigh, North Carolina, played in high school state-championship games on the same field where she starred Sunday.

“She has every conceivable soccer skill, but that doesn’t necessarily make a player,” North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance said. “Her evolution as a player is to take all these remarkable tools she has and figure out how and when to use them. The two balls that she struck today were world-class finishes.”

Despite some questionable calls, it was truly a terrific series this year (even if UCLA didn’t go all the way!)

Recap

Needed a pick-me-up today and here it is: Training schools for goldfish!

The folks at R2 Fish School have put out a complete fish training system that allows the average person to teach the average goldfish to dribble a tiny soccer ball down a tiny court and even do a fish-y limbo. For $39.95 you get a 45-minute DVD and more than 20 training parts.

What’s next? An exercise wheel for hamsters? A treadmill for dogs?