USWNT - World Cup > Olympics

SoxFanInCali

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Apparently the court filing (available publicly) included the home addresses of more than 2 dozen players and the personal email addresses of several of them. That is info that definitely could have been redacted, but someone screwed up badly.

US Soccer continues to amaze in their ability to look and act clueless.
 
Dec 21, 2015
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I actually think it's a pretty reasonable thing for US Soccer to do, failure to redact aside. If there was a remaining dispute over this that lasted into the summer, and a strike during the Olympics was a real threat, we'd all be screaming about "why didn't US Soccer handle this when it had the chance?!" Well, this is them handling it. If the court rules that the MOU is in force through December, that's good for US Soccer. If the court rules that the union can cancel the MOU with 60 days' notice, then at least they're aware of that, and can bargain from a set of shared assumptions, with a long time period over which to reach agreement before Rio is threatened. The lawsuit is messy and contentious, but at least it's proactive and not (yet) overly dickish.
 

SoxFanInCali

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Well, the failure to redact is a pretty idiotic mistake. These women have had occasional issues with stalkers. Their security on the road is pretty good and minimizes the risk of anything happening, but handing out their home addresses and email addresses to every creep out there is a ridiculous oversight.

The suit itself is basically a procedural thing as part of the CBA negotiation, but it seems like US Soccer could have dropped some comments to the press beforehand about working towards a new CBA and hoping to clarify the current agreement with the union before actually filing the suit. It might have helped minimize the "US Soccer Sues World Cup Champs" headlines. They probably could have also waited until after the qualifying tournament rather than a week before it starts. Now the players are going to have to deal with plenty of questions about this rather than the games.
 

Cellar-Door

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The rare situation where a national soccer federation is in the right. The union's argument is super weak.
Though what leverage they have is going to be interesting. Maybe it would be bad press for USSF if they skipped the Olympics, but if they actually went on strike it just causes yet another women's league to fold, actually dropping wages. USSF has basically all the leverage anyway the USWNT doesn't really bring in much money other than the every 4 year WC burst. Not sure that even offsets the money they are dumping into NWSL to prop it up.
 

SoxFanInCali

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I wonder what the main issues will ultimately be in this negotiation. While there has been lots of talk about how the men's bonuses are higher, people forget that the women are paid a salary by the federation and in some cases (like Heather O'Reilly currently) will continue to receive the same salary this year whether they play or not, while the men are only paid if they play. Clearly the grass vs. turf issue needs to be discussed, and I've heard stories that the lodging the women are put up in is not the greatest sometimes. Getting some equality with the men on those issues will likely be ones they can win the PR game on more so than just talking purely about money.
 
Dec 21, 2015
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Agreed. The turf-vs-grass thing is farcically small-time, almost to the point of seeming gratuitously insulting. I have no idea why Sunil didn't lose his shit publicly with FIFA over it in Canada, although for all we know, he did so privately. But there's really no excuse for it on a victory tour that US Soccer itself coordinated.

Lodging, eh, I dunno. NBA players in the 40s, 50s and even 60s didn't exactly get glamorous accommodations. When you're a poor sports league trying to grow your following, luxuries may not always be the best way to spend your small budgets.
 

SoxFanInCali

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I wasn't talking so much about the league with lodging, but the national team itself. You're right that the NWSL only has so much money to go around at this stage, and I'm sure the National Team were in nice hotels for the World Cup, but I've seen players tweet out pictures of some pretty meager places they were put up in for friendlies.
 

Cellar-Door

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I wasn't talking so much about the league with lodging, but the national team itself. You're right that the NWSL only has so much money to go around at this stage, and I'm sure the National Team were in nice hotels for the World Cup, but I've seen players tweet out pictures of some pretty meager places they were put up in for friendlies.
This brings up the question of how much USSF should be subsidizing. The USWNT wants to have equal spending with the men. Which given income from the teams, and the subsidies on NWSL means a much higher deficit spend. They basically want USSF to transfer a large amount of the men's side income to the women's side. It would be much easier to have equal travel etc. if they didn't have to pay salaries for NWSL.
 

SoxFanInCali

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Olympic qualifying started tonight. As expected, it was an easy 5-0 win over Costa Rica. Alex Morgan scored twice, and Carli Lloyd, Crystal Dunn, and Christen Press each added one. Costa Rica managed to stay in the game for 12 whole seconds before conceding Morgan's first.

This game was online only on NBC Live Extra, the game on Saturday against Mexico will be live online and shown on tape-delay (WTF???) on NBCSN a few hours later.
 
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SoxFanInCali

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The US beat Mexico 1-0 on a pretty iffy penalty Saturday, and will play Puerto Rico at 8:30 Eastern/5:30 Pacific tonight, with the game live on NBCSN. Given that Puerto Rico has already lost to Costa Rica and Mexico by a combined 15-0, this won't be pretty.

Canada was so unconcerned about Trinidad's attacking ability yesterday that they ran out the rarely-seen 2-4-4 formation. The Canadians won 6-0.
 

SoxFanInCali

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It finished 10-0, which actually makes it sound closer than it really was. Puerto Rico only had possession in the US half 4 or 5 times all game, and the US could have had 6 or 7 more with better finishing.

Crystal Dunn got a start at center forward and scored 5 times. Sam Mewis finally scored her first international goal late after missing 2 or 3 point-blank chances. O'Hara, Press, Lloyd (from the spot), and an OG created by Pugh were the other goals. Alyssa Naeher got a rare start in goal and really didn't have any more to do than I did.
 

Gunfighter 09

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Puerto Rico is bad, but Mallory Pugh is ridiculously good for 17.
I think the kids might be even better than what we have seen in the past. The skill and finesse that both Pugh and Dunn displayed, while maintaining the standard USWNT athletic dominance, was pretty damn impressive.
 

SoxFanInCali

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Trinidad beat Guyana 5-1 to earn the right to get blown out by the US in the semifinals. Canada will take on Costa Rica in the other semifinal on Friday.

The winners of the semis play in the final Sunday, but since both finalists qualify for Rio, the semis are the much more important games.
 

SoxFanInCali

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This is a must-win game, and 17 year old Mallory Pugh is starting. That says a lot about how well she has played and how much confidence the coaches already have in her.
 

Cellar-Door

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This is a must-win game, and 17 year old Mallory Pugh is starting. That says a lot about how well she has played and how much confidence the coaches already have in her.
Probably witnessing the end of Sydney Leroux as a USWNT player.
 

SoxFanInCali

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Probably witnessing the end of Sydney Leroux as a USWNT player.
I actually thought it was 50/50 whether she was going to make the Olympic team before her pregnancy. She has had injuries, and in the post-Wambach era they are mostly going with 1 center-forward with Lloyd playing behind and a couple other attacking players out wide. Morgan and Press are the 2 best options in the center, and they can run out Dunn, Pugh, Heath, and McCaffrey wide, with O'Hara also available if she's not playing fullback.

We will see if Leroux wants to do the work to come back at that level after she has the kid. Plenty have done it before her, but with the depth of young talent available these days it's going to probably be more difficult, especially if she loses any of her speed.
 

soxfan121

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I dunno about you, but I am ready to chant USA! in my living room. Kick some ass.

ETA: I deliberately did not use "Make..." because I love you @Gunfighter 09. :)
 

Cellar-Door

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Yeah....even if she makes the roster again Leroux ain't getting that jersey number back.
 

SoxFanInCali

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Morgan's hat trick goal makes it 21-0 USA for the tournament. Hopefully the defense and keeper remember how to play in time for the Canada game.
 

Gunfighter 09

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Has it been two years since Morgan looked that good?

I dunno about you, but I am ready to chant USA! in my living room. Kick some ass.

ETA: I deliberately did not use "Make..." because I love you @Gunfighter 09. :)
Ha! Nice.

We will see if Leroux wants to do the work to come back at that level after she has the kid. Plenty have done it before her, but with the depth of young talent available these days it's going to probably be more difficult, especially if she loses any of her speed.
She has always been my favorite, just because I enjoy the flashes of pure athletic dominance that she would occasionally show so much, but I don't know if there is a place for her on this team going forward. By the time she is back and fit in Summer 2017, the focus should be on the WC in 19, and that might lead to the younger players taking her spot just for them to get better.

Are her and Rodriguez the highest profile female American athletes to pause their careers in their prime for pregnancy? That can't be right, but I am trying to think of better examples in order to project what Leroux's future looks like.
 

soxfan121

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Total and complete domination from start to finish. T&T - especially Forbes in goal - gave a great effort but the USA was just a hot knife through butter.

Also, Pugh plays like a 27 year old. Good Lord is the future bright for her.
Holy crap, she's gonna be a huge, huge star. Missed a couple open nets but wow, the speed, the vision, the poise... it is all there. SEVENTEEN! You're totally right - if I I had been watching with the sound off I'd have thought she was much, much older given the way she played.

Also, Alex Morgan just scores goals. Each one of those was a chance you see world-class strikers miss regularly, and Forbes robbed her twice more (by my count), including once on an angle that I've never seen anyone get on goal. It was only stopped because Forbes was great.
 

SoxFanInCali

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Has it been two years since Morgan looked that good?
Are her and Rodriguez the highest profile female American athletes to pause their careers in their prime for pregnancy? That can't be right, but I am trying to think of better examples in order to project what Leroux's future looks like.
Sheryl Swoopes is one name I thought of, although I'm sure there are others. A lot of higher-profile female athletes are from sports that are on an Olympic or other multi-year cycle, so they can often time their pregnancies for the off-years. Christie Rampone said she definitely timed having her 2 daughters for the 3 year stretches between the Olympics and World Cup, and she was a young player in the squad when Joy Fawcett and Carla Overbeck were bringing their kids on the road.

Wasn't Kerri Walsh a few weeks pregnant when she won the beach volleyball gold in London?
 
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Ale Xander

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SoxFanInCali

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AO San Diego Retweeted
Paul Carr ‏@PCarrESPN 30m30 minutes ago
All four #USWNT assists tonight have come from players age 22 or younger (Brian 2, Horan, Pugh).

Pugh being just 17 is incredible. So does she go to college or are the women's pro leagues developed enough for her to play professionally right away?
There were rumors a month or 2 ago that she was going straight to the NWSL, but she apparently backed off that plan and committed to UCLA.
 
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soxfan121

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This is a better team than the WC winner. Brian-Horan in the midfield allows Lloyd to play in her best position, and makes them better defensively. Instead of hoofing it up to Abby, they are more adept at breaking down defenses and using the skill of the young players. If Rapinoe can recover her form before Rio, they'll field an intense attack with Morgan-Lloyd-Rapinoe & some combination of Press-Pugh-Heath-Dunn in the fourth spot, while having a backline that is stout and versatile. Johnston is a monster back there.
 

SoxFanInCali

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Don't get me wrong, I like how they are shaping up, as well. But let's not read too much into them obliterating some CONCACAF minnows. In these games you can go 30 minutes without seeing the keeper on TV, and the fullbacks basically can spend the whole game attacking. I still want to see how well they can transition from defense to attack through the midfield against a team that can go head-to-head with them.

One of the biggest advantages the US will have in the Olympics is their depth. In the World Cup, they had to play 7 games in 27 days with a 23 player roster. In the Olympics they will need to play 6 games in 17 days to make the gold medal match with an 18 player roster. Everyone will need to contribute, and Ellis is emphasizing having players that can play in a variety of positions.

There are 20 players on the qualifying squad. One cut will be one of the keepers (either Naeher or Harris), so at least one other will need to be dropped, more if Rapinoe or another player like Rampone or O'Reilly is brought back.
 

soxfan121

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Totally fair assessment. But having seen this team struggle against T&T last year, especially in breaking down a 'park the bus' defensive bunker, this was an encouraging sign. It seems they've figured out the midfield pairing, which will serve them well against any competition. If anything, it is the Horan-Brian partnership that has me so excited for what they should be able to do in Rio. Attacking talent hasn't been a problem; finding those holding mids who can also orchestrate the offense is a key thing to me.

I was very down on Ellis last year, but she seems to have solved the "where to play Lloyd" problem and given the team a better tactical identity.
 

dirtynine

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Made a USWNT-specific shirt that folks here might be interested in - the Third Star.



The idea being that the stars reflect uniform components of each Cup-winning team.

The current Rio-bound squad is just beyond exciting to watch.
 

SoxFanInCali

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I like what I've seen from Horan, I just want to see her get some playing time against tougher competition. Like Holiday before her, Horan is a converted forward who is being put in this role to basically quarterback the offense, and the early signs are encouraging. My bigger worry is getting her comfortable with the defensive responsibilities against fast, skilled teams like Germany or France that can punish a mistake. I don't really have much doubt she can learn the role, she just doesn't have experience playing there against top teams, and one mistake can be costly in a knockout game.

That said, I'm feeling much better about the team's prospects in Rio than I was a few months ago. I really thought Holiday's retirement was going to be difficult to overcome with only a year left before the Olympics, but if Brian and Horan can both stay healthy, they've got a great shot.
 

SoxFanInCali

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Scoreless at the half. The US has had better chances and should have had a penalty, but Canada is frustrating them with their physical play.
 

DJnVa

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That non-PK that turned into a foul on Lloyd was, well, interesting.
 

SoxFanInCali

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Horan and Heath scored early in the second half, and the US shut Canada down to win 2-0.

Solo won the Golden Glove for the tournament, despite having very little to do most of the time. Dunn won the Golden Boot thanks to the 5-spot she hung on Puerto Rico, and Morgan Brian won the Golden Ball.

My biggest impression coming out of this tournament is the performance of Pugh. When she was named to the team I figured it was mostly to reward her for how well she has played for the U-20's, and she might get a little time against the minnows. Now she looks like a probable starter in the Olympics.
 

SoxFanInCali

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The USWNT will play 3 of the top teams in the world (Germany, France, and England) from March 3rd-9th in the US-hosted SheBelieves Cup. This should give the newer players some good experience against a better class of opponent than they saw in the CONCACAF tournament.

The 22 player roster is below. Steph McCaffrey was dropped, Heathe O'Reilly and Whitney Engen return, and defender Lauren Barnes gets her first senior callup.

GOALKEEPERS (3): Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars), Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)

DEFENDERS (9): Lauren Barnes (Seattle Reign FC), Whitney Engen (Boston Breakers), Jaelene Hinkle (Western New York Flash), Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), Meghan Klingenberg (Portland Thorns FC), Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), Samantha Mewis (Western New York Flash), Heather O’Reilly (FC Kansas City)

FORWARDS (4): Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), Mallory Pugh (Real Colorado)
 

SoxFanInCali

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Tonight was proof that the team still needs some game time against good sides before the Olympics. This one was headed for 0-0 before Crystal Dunn came on as a sub and put one in the upper 90.


After all the promotion and media attention around the release of the new crest, what do they do? They are sent out to play in a tournament hosted by US Soccer wearing the old one.
 
Dec 21, 2015
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Having trouble scoring vs England these days is no shame, they're a top team and really took it to Germany last year. Fara Williams in midfield is a nightmare for the less-experienced US players like Horan, and it showed tonight. Their callups that outperformed so much in last year's WC, like CB Flaherty and F Duggan, are on the upswing of their careers. We won't get to play them again in Rio (the whole England - Great Britain thing), so this was the chance to see the WC Final that should have been.

edit: btw, the other two of USA's games in this exhibition cup will be streamed live on ESPN3. We play France on Sunday at 3pm ET, and Germany on Wednesday at 7:30pm ET.

There are 20 players on the qualifying squad. One cut will be one of the keepers (either Naeher or Harris), so at least one other will need to be dropped, more if Rapinoe or another player like Rampone or O'Reilly is brought back.
Well, I'm rooting for Naeher to make the cut:


(she's from Bridgeport, CT)
 
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SoxFanInCali

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The game against France is currently on ESPN3. France should be up 2-0, but somehow they've blown both chances. 0-0 in the 17th.
 

SoxFanInCali

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France blew 5 or 6 chances in the game, and the US stole it 1-0 in stoppage time. Pugh did a nice job controlling the ball in midfield and played a great ball that Morgan was able to run onto and finish with her left foot. It wasn't pretty, but it's a win.

Last game of the SheBelieves Cup is against Germany on Wednesday.
 

luckysox

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At least it gave Solo some work...she's a hot mess personally, but professionally, she is as good as it gets. It must help to practice against some of the best in the world every day.

Anyone here know why Krieger hasn't seen any time of late?

And Pugh. She's got a nice knack for getting the ball where it needs to be for her teammates to score. 17!!
 

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There is not enough hyperbole to describe that through ball from 17 year old Pugh. She seemed to be the only player on either team that attacked the ball decisively and must have had Morgan's run read before she even really had possession of the ball. It was the kind of instinctive and creative play that Americans are supposedly incapable of because baseball/football or something. She is going to be the biggest thing ever, sooner than we think.