The Miss Congeniality Award

Amy Rodriguez, USC. We know she can play. She was the Offensive MVP, but this kid also has a ton of personality. If Nike/Madison Avenue is still looking for the next “face of women’s soccer”, they should give Rodriguez a call.

Unsung Heroes Award

The entire USC backline. Janessa Currier and Kasey Johnson made the All Tournament Team, but we would like to give a shout out to the entire backline including Stacey Strong and Karter Haug. You guys were awesome!

The Sounds Exactly Like 80’s Actor Judd Nelson Award

USC Head Coach Ali Khosroshahin. If I closed my eyes, I was back in college. It was The Breakfast Club all over again.

The Sore Loser Award

The UCLA players who ditched their post-match press conference. I know it was a tough loss, but the deal is you do the press conference, win or lose.

The Add Immediately to Pia Sundhage’s Speed Dial Award

USC goalkeeper, Kristin Olsen. Olsen was the rock star of the tournament. Her name was buzzing in the press box, throughout the stadium and all of College Station. She also happens to be a nice, humble kid.

The Put the Butts in the Seats Award

Texas A&M hosted a record breaking crowd of 8,255 despite the closest participating school being 800 miles away.

The Gives Best Press Conference Award

Florida State Head Coach, Mark Krikorian. Mark is gracious, candid and funny.

The Crazy Fan Award

Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Florida State. Two track and field athletes drove from Tallahassee to cheer on the ‘Noles in spandex body suits (yikes!) and garnet wigs.

The Best Goal Award

Lauren Cheney’s semi-final strike. Wow!

The Atta Boy Award

The NCCA staff. We will always gripe about the seedings and who has to travel where, but the NCAA knows how to host a National Championship. It was fun, it was festive and it was well organized. Well done.

Photos by Andy Mead/YCJ

USC women’s soccer head coach Ali Khosroshahin owes his team a celebration. Khosroshahin and the Lady Trojans have been very deliberate in not celebrating any of the victories along the way to the National Championship. Khosroshahin has been preaching his gospel of “nothing else matters other than the national championship, everything else means nothing,” throughout the Trojan’s run to the title. Apparently his team was converted. They delivered with a convincing 2-0 win over the Florida State Seminoles in the 2007 NCCA Women’s College Cup Final and they were finally ready to celebrate.

“Whatever they want,” Khosroshahin said in regards to how his team would celebrate. “But don’t get carried away,” he quickly added with a glance at his team.

Photo by Andy Mead/YCJ

We added photo galleries from both semi-finals here!

I had a chance to speak with new U.S. Women’s National Team head coach, Pia Sundhage, between matches at the semis of the 2007 NCAA Women’s College Cup last night. I found her to be a warm and candid interview. She hedged on a few things, mostly regarding details of how her coaching staff is shaping up, but was generally forthcoming. I’ll post the interview in Q&A format next week after I get back from College Station, but here are a few tidbits to chew on until then.

As to the mini-camp roster and the World Cup players that aren’t on it:

• Stephanie Lopez is getting married next week. (As a side note, Lindsay Tarpley is also getting married next week, but will participate in some of the camp.)
• Angela Hucles is on a humanitarian aid trip in Africa and will miss the mini-camp with Pia’s blessing.
• Pia joked that Kristine Lilly was old and needed the extra rest. She expects her in the January camp regardless of her plans for 2008. She “absolutely” wants Lilly on this team.
• Marci Jobson has taken the head-coaching job at Baylor University and has officially retired. I am scheduled to talk with her later today.
• Tina Ellerston is expecting her second child. She has not retired and will attempt to come back after her child is born.

Sundhage indicated that we could see a few personnel changes from the Word Cup roster, but that there is not time for a complete overhaul.

Her perspective on the team’s play in the World Cup was that the attack was too direct and one-dimensional. She said there was discussion amongst the international coaches that shutting down Wambach would neutralize the U.S..

Greg Ryan has been very helpful in the transition and has provided insight into the player’s she has inherited. She is getting input from others more familiar with the college ranks and youth players as to who deserves a look.

That’s all for now. Check back next week for the full transcript.

UCLA was supposed win the National Championship this year. They have the talent all over the field. Most schools would be happy to build a women's soccer program around a Christina DiMartino, a Lauren Cheney, a Danesha Adams or a Kara Lang. UCLA has them all.

They beat Portland in the quarters in a game that many observers, myself included, thought should have been contested for the championship.

And it’s not like they didn’t come to play. UCLA looked to be the superior team for much of the match. They put on some outrageous displays of skill like Christina DiMartino toying with a handful of USC defenders before drilling a shot on goal from point blank range.

But Kristin Olsen, USC’s sophomore keeper came up with it. And she kept coming up with whatever UCLA threw at her. UCLA out shot USC 19-8 but only managed to get one by Olsen, powered in with a remarkable display of skill and sheer force of will by Lauren Cheney in the 38th minute.

UCLA rode that one goal well into the second half. Olsen kept USC in the match recording eight total saves, of which more than one were downright spectacular.

USC didn’t have much going offensively and I was ready to chalk the match up to a UCLA win and then Amy Rodriguez took over for USC, scoring two goals in a six-minute span to lead the Trojans to the final.

The Bruins were understandably devastated at the loss. A visibly shaken, UCLA coach, Jill Ellis, gave a short press conference while her players suffered through a post-match fireworks display before mourning with their family and friends for a season that wasn’t supposed to end this way.

The Women of Troy were a bit more subdued than you might expect for a team that had just earned the right to play in their first National Championship. Coach Ali Khosroshahin indicated that his team wouldn’t be celebrating until they won the final. “We’ve still got work to do,” he said.

The Trojans will take on the Florida State Seminoles in the final of the 2007 NCAA Women’s College Cup on Sunday at 1pm. The match will be broadcast live of ESPN2.

*Photo by Andy Mead, Yellow Card Journalism

The USC Trojans and goalkeeper Kristin Olsen are riding a shut out streak into the semi-final of the NCAA 2007 Women’s College Cup semi-final against UCLA. They haven’t conceded a single goal in the NCAA tournament.

Fair Game caught up with Olsen, who coach Ali Khosroshahin calls an exceptional athlete and the USC player with the best foot skills, before Wednesday’s practice for a little Q&A.

Tell me about making the switch from field player to goalie. I know that even in high school you were playing both and were, in fact, named offensive MVP of your high school team your junior year.

I’ve played on the field for most of my soccer career. My club coach wound up putting me in the goal when I was about 15. I’ve been in the goal since then but I’ve always still kept up my field skills. In high school, they thought that I would be more valuable on the field so I ended up playing on the field most of the time. I guess it ended up working and I got MVP. I’ve played a little bit of forward with my club team in the last few years, but I’m mostly sticking to goalie now.

Do you think of yourself as a goalie or a field player?

Definitely a goalie. If you had asked me that three years ago, I probably would have said I don’t know. I don’t think I could have chosen back then because I loved the goal and I loved the field at the same time. I couldn’t really choose. As I’ve taken more responsibility as a ‘keeper, I’ve definitely started to think of myself as more of a goalie.

Was it a difficult decision to make?

When I was younger, it was really, really difficult. I remember riding home in the car with my mom and I cried because I didn’t want to switch. Looking back on it, I’m so glad that my coach saw my potential and kind of just stuck me in there.

Last year as a freshman, you were the back up ‘keeper and did not see a lot of action. This year you have started every game. Talk about the different roles.

Last year was a lot more watching and a lot more learning. Vernoica Simonton was the other goalie and she was really good and she played a big role on the team. Coming in as a sophomore, not having played much my freshman season, I was kind of nervous. I didn’t know how our defense would really accept me and how I’d work with them, but we’ve worked on it in practice and we’ve developed pretty good chemistry. It’s definitely different, but I learned a lot from last year and I think that helped me.

What would you say your strengths are as a ‘keeper?

I feel like I’m a good organizer. I like to keep my box organized. I think that’s really important because it limits even having shots on goal. I’m pretty decent in the air. My height (6 feet) helps with that. Playing on the field has helped me with my feet too.

Tell me a little bit about your 2007 season. I know you had 11 shut outs and you are the only team that hasn’t given up a goal in the tournament.

It’s definitely an honor and it shows how much our defense really has been working. It’s definitely not just me. It includes our whole team working together. I feel like we’ve worked a lot during practice and we’ve worked really hard to work out the kinks and work on shifting and finding outlets and all that combined. We have really good team chemistry back there. We’ve suffered injuries and people from the bench have stepped up and taken on those roles. I think we’ve worked really well with adverse conditions and that’s showing in our results. Hopefully, we can keep that zero goals against throughout the rest of the tournament.

You guys had a 2-0 loss to UCLA in the regular season. Do you think that is a positive or negative for you going into the semi on Friday?

I’m not too worried about actually playing UCLA. I know whatever team we come up against, it’s going to be a hard game. It’s not about a cross-town rivalry anymore, it’s about who wants to win a national championship more. They know how we play. We know how they play. It’s going to be a really tough match. I think it will be tough, but I don’t think we’re too worried about it.

How do you match up against them?

They have a lot of really good, talented players. Their offense is very strong. On our side I feel like maybe we have a really strong defense. I feel like we’re pretty balanced as far as talent and potential.

Did you learn anything from that loss that you think might help you on Friday?

I don’t know. I think we just have to go into it knowing that we have nothing to lose. They’ve obviously beaten us before, so the pressure is on them. We really have nothing to lose and we’ve just got to go out there and play our best and hope for the best.

At the beginning of the season, did you expect this team to make it to the College Cup?

When Ali came in, he asked us our goals and what we wanted to do and of course we were all like “we want to win a National Championship.” He told us we had to break it down, that we couldn’t just start from there. So we decided we wanted to win the Pac-10. We wanted to go to the Final Four and now we want to win the National Championship. Our goal was definitely to get here. Now to think that we are actually here is amazing. Making it in Ali’s first year after restructuring the team and how we play was a big change, so it is pretty amazing. I’m just proud we’re here right now. Hopefully, we can continue.

Is it enough just to be there or as a team are you hungry for more?

We’re definitely hungry for more. We want to go all the way.

Anything else you think soccer fans should know about you or this team?

Our coach always says that we are sleeping giants, so watch out.

The USC women’s soccer team had a little bus trouble today to as they were heading from the airport to College Station, Texas and the NCAA 2007 Women’s College Cup. They made a pit stop to get something to eat and wound up “somewhere in Texas” waiting for a lift after their bus sprung an oil leak. It apparently is not the first logistical hiccup for the Trojans during the NCAA Tournament.

“That has been the story for us since the NCAA tournament has started. Everything that could go wrong with buses and hotels, we’ve experienced,” said Head Coach Ali Khosroshahin.

If things have been going haywire off the field for the Trojans, they have certainly been clicking on the field. USC enters the College Cup as the only team that has not conceded a goal in the tournament.

This is uncharted territory for the Women of Troy as it marks the first time that they have advanced past the tournament’s second round in the program’s history. Even Khosroshahin is a little surprised at what his team has been able to accomplish in his first year with the program.

“If someone would have told me in January or February when we were getting started that we were going to be in the Final Four, I would have asked them what they were taking,” he said.

He credits a commitment to team defense, a solid back four and an exceptional goalkeeper, Kristin Olsen, for the Trojan’s successful run in the tournament and the shut out streak.

The Trojans will face their cross-town rivals, UCLA, in a semi-final on Friday. They lost to the Bruins, 2-0, in a regular season match, which Khosroshahin sees as a positive.

“I think we learned a great deal about ourselves in that match. It was the first time that we were really just beaten. It exposed some things that we needed to improve on and I think we’ve improved on those things,” he said.

UCLA is an offensive powerhouse with a long list of players like Danesha Adams, Christina DiMartino, Lauren Cheney and Kara Lang that can create scoring opportunities. Khosroshahin thinks that if his team can take care of the ball, then their possession game can limit UCLA’s chances.

He also thinks that the pressure is all on UCLA.

“UCLA’s been here five years in a row now. They are the only number one seed that’s left in the tournament. They’re supposed to win this whole thing,” he said. “Our goal when we started the tournament was to play some very good soccer and to see where that would take us. We haven’t been worried about winning or losing.”

It seems to be working so far. We’ll find out Friday if it is enough to take them to the championship game.

Check back tomorrow to get to know USC goalkeeper Kristin Olsen.

U.S. Soccer has announced the the Women's National Team will hold it's last camp of 2007 and first under new coach Pia Sundhage next week. Click here for a peek at the full roster. Kristine Lilly's name is missing along with a few other members of the World Cup team. A team staff is also listed that includes Mark Krikorian, Erica Walsh and Phil Wheddon.

As tempting as it was to look into my crystal ball and offer some speculation as to what it all means, I got in contact with Aaron Heifetz, the WNT's press officer instead to get the facts. Here's the scoop:

• The coaching staff listed is for this camp only. Sundhage will put her permanent staff together before the next camp in January. That doesn't preclude anyone on the list from becoming part of her permanent staff.
• Nothing is to be read into Lilly's name not being on the roster other than Lilly is tired and is taking a break. She has yet to decide if she will compete for a spot in 2008.

The only tiny bit of speculation I will offer is that I suspect the reason why none of the "final four" players are on the roster is that Sundhage will have an opportunity to see them play this weekend during the semi-finals.

The final four is set and I am packing my bags for College Station, Texas and the NCAA 2007 Women's College Cup! I'm only slightly bitter that I won't get to see a Portland/UCLA matchup as that one was already played in the quarters.

It is interesting that, in spite of all the craziness and ups and downs we saw this season, we'll be seeing three of the four teams from last year's Cup. Only last year's winner, University of North Carolina, is staying home.

Is it finally UCLA's year to lift the trophy? It would seem so, but if this season has taught us anything, it is that anything can happen. With that in mind, I'm not making any predictions. I'm just looking forward to a great event and some incredible soccer.

Check back often over throughout the Cup for all the latest. And, the games are being broadcast live on the ESPN family so be sure to watch. Maybe if enough of us tune in, they'll broadcast the quarters next year so we won't have to miss a great match up like Portland/UCLA.

Part Two from my interview with league commissioner Tonya Antonucci, continuing with the decision to launch in 2009 discussion …

That’s the best long-term plan. Get this right. Don’t do it fast, but get it right and be in a position where we can come off the heels of a World Cup and come off the heels of an Olympics. It’s more exposure for all the athletes and more time for planning and development and then we launch. That was the decision and I think most people are feeling pretty good about it.

We’ve heard from some people within MLS saying, “We understand what you had to do. If you recall, we had to delay our launch one year.” There are all kinds of data points that historically lean towards this decision. You know, look how much time had lapsed between the NASL collapsing and the launch of MLS.

You really do want to take the long view and make sure that again, you’re not rushing, and then you’ve got a short-term solution but it might go away again. We’re only going to get this second bite at the apple at least in this country. That’s something that the owners, the marketers, WSII, we all felt that we get a second bite at this apple. Let’s make sure that we’re not handicapping ourselves.

I assume that the league offices will be out in the Bay Area with you?

We haven’t determined the final location of the league office. Temporarily, at a minimum, we are running the offices out of the Bay Area with me here and then we’ll make a decision on that later, probably after the New Year. There are really no other front-runners at this point. The issue is that we want to manage costs and be efficient so one of the options is, in the early years if possible share our league office including physical space and some staff with one of our franchise owners to keep the costs down. We have seven markets at a minimum for 2009 so you can hypothesis where we might wind up, but really, it’s going to come down to how do we manage costs and how do we kind of buckle down through the early years. That’s going to impact the final decision.

Have you made any hires yet?

I’m in the process of starting to evaluate some candidates in the short term. I’ve identified someone who I’m working on as an administrative, project manager type person to help me stand up the office. I don’t have an announcement yet, but I will have more announcements in the near future. Some of our executive level hires will be phased in the coming months. Once we launch our league website, that will be a great platform to share with folks and also to do recruiting. We’d love to hear who’s out there that would like to be part of our management team. We’re just beginning all that process now.

I know you’ve been watching the World Cup. What have you thought about the level of play so far and how it might impact the new league?

As far as the level, there’s a couple different ways to look at this. You look at a team like North Korea and you say, “Wow!” You know, we’ve not been exposed in this country to the level of play and they’re exciting in their attacking style. Their ability to play a possession game is a very attractive style of soccer. That’s exiting. Will some of those players be in a position politically to come and play in our league? I don’t know.

Not withstanding those issues, I’ve had a great time watching some of these players that I don’t have a chance to get exposed to on a regular basis. We don’t get exposed to the attacking duo of Hanna Ljungberg and Victoria Svensson. Granted Hanna’s not 100% fit and Sweden overall was not happy with their performance in this tournament and they’ve obviously not advanced, but just to see those players and look at the potential for them to come into our league and play on a regular basis against our American athletes is pretty exciting. And also, of course, Sweden’s number 8, Schelin, the top goal soccer in the Swedish league with more goals than Marta from Brazil. She didn’t have the best World Cup, but for us to get exposure to her, it’s been really exciting. And then of course there are tons of players from Germany, Marta, and Kelly Smith from England. Of course Kelly played in the previous WUSA.

Player development continues to improve and the level of play I just think is impressive. A lot of credit to the WUSA as well as the leagues in Germany and Sweden for creating an environment of player development that has, in part, led to the competitiveness that we’re seeing.

Now the flip side of course of that is you see a team like Argentina and you say, “Gosh, those countries and FIFA need to do more to support their teams.” They need to put more money into those national team programs. They need to put more money into the development of women’s football. Even Brazil, which is a super talented team, how many games did they get before this World Cup to get ready? Not enough. There needs to be more onus on the federations and more involvement with FIFA to get those federations to stand up. Having said that, we’re still seeing a lot of wonderful, athletic ability, soccer ability and talent on so many of these teams.

That’s exciting to me and from a perspective of can we bring these players here? Yes, we think we can have competitive offers. We think that we can get creative with these athletes. We know a bit about the various ways they are compensated in their countries when they’re playing women’s football either professional or semi-professionally that may be a little different than how we would normally compensate players here in the United States. We’ve rolled up our sleeves, we continue to look at it and we think we’re going to have competitive salaries not only for domestic players but also for the international players. We’re excited to start those conversations and bringing those personalities into discussions. Our goal as a league is to have the best women’s soccer league in the world. We want the best players here, the best American players and the best foreign players playing on American soil.

How close are you guys to naming this league?

We’re getting pretty close actually. We’ve been in the process of doing research for several weeks and that research involves talking to fans through surveys. Fans have been looking at logos. They’ve been looking at potential names. We’ve been testing hardcore soccer fans and we’ve also been testing general sports fans. We’ve been testing with some members of the sponsorship community and of course our owners. We feel like we’ve touched a number of the key constituents. We can’t get everybody, but we’re in the process of the research. We’re learning some interesting things. We’re looking at the data and we hope that we can unveil a really cool logo. We’re researching the names too. WUSA is part of research. There are a lot of really strong positives and good will that still exist with that brand with respect to the product on the field and the quality of athletes, the quality of the soccer players and the experience for fans. That’s being tested as well as some other potential new names.

It’s exciting for us. This is a good example of now that we’re substantially funded; we can actually start to do the business of the sports league. This is one of the first things that we’ll be able unveil for our fans.

Stay tuned. More to come.