WPS 2011 Schedule Is Released

The 2011 WPS Season Schedule has been released!


The Season is right around the corner. Who would have thought it'd be here this fast? I remember being sad that another great season had come and gone. I remember sitting in front of my living room TV excited for the first FSC game of the season, Sky Blue FC vs. Chicago Red Stars. Then before I knew it it was the halfway point of the season, then soon after, play-offs had flashed by, and the season was over. A long wait, that's what the aftermath of the play-offs were. A long wait full of withdrawal and internet surfing to get jollies out on off-season transfers and news. However, just as we find every year, time really does fly, and without even realizing it, we are upon the 2011 WPS season. This is our landmark year, the 3rd season which we must pass in order to break the vicious cycle put into place by our predecessor, the WUSA. Today, I realized just how close we are to meeting that landmark year, when the schedule was released. It does promise exciting match-ups, and new rivalries are guaranteed to form, while old ones will simply be renewed and re-invigorated. The one feature that is different this time around is that there is a hiatus that the league will take from June 25th to July 4th, during the Germany 2011 Women's World Cup group stage. Here is what all of us fans have been waiting for: The WPS 2011 schedule. Mark down your calendars and start seeing what games you can get to!


2011 WPS Season Schedule
Saturday, April 9
Atlanta Beat vs. Boston Breakers (KSU Soccer Stadium) 7:00PM

Sunday, April 10
Sky Blue FC vs. Philadelphia Independence (Yurcak Field) 6:00PM (FSC)

Saturday, April 16
Atlanta Beat vs. Sky Blue FC (KSU Soccer Stadium) 7:00PM
Philadelphia Independence vs. magicJack’s Washington Freedom (Widener Univ.) 7:00PM

Sunday, April 17
Boston Breakers vs. Western New York Flash (Harvard University) 6:00PM (FSC)

Saturday, April 23
magicJack’s Washington Freedom vs. Boston Breakers (TBA) 7:00PM

Sunday, April 24
Atlanta Beat vs. Western New York Flash (KSU Soccer Stadium) 6:00PM (FSC)

Sunday, May 1
Atlanta Beat vs. Western New York Flash (KSU Soccer Stadium) 4:00PM
magicJack’s Washington Freedom vs. Philadelphia Independence (TBA) 4:00PM
Boston Breakers vs. Sky Blue FC (Harvard University) 6:00PM (FSC)

Friday, May 6
Western New York Flash vs. Sky Blue FC (Sahlen’s Stadium) 7:30PM

Sunday, May 8
magicJack’s Washington Freedom vs. Atlanta Beat (TBA) 4:00PM
Philadelphia Independence vs. Boston Breakers (Widener University) 6:00PM (FSC)

Friday, May 13
Western New York Flash vs. Boston Breakers (Sahlen’s Stadium) 7:30PM

Sunday, May 15
Atlanta Beat vs. Philadelphia Independence (KSU Soccer Stadium) 6:00PM (FSC)

Saturday, May 21
Sky Blue FC vs. Atlanta Beat (Yurcak Field) 7:00PM

Sunday, May 22
Boston Breakers vs. Philadelphia Independence (Harvard University) 4:00PM
Western New York Flash vs. magicJack’s Washington Freedom (Sahlen’s Stadium) TBA (FSC)

Saturday, May 28
magicJack’s Washington Freedom vs. Atlanta Beat (TBA) 7:00PM
Sky Blue FC vs. Boston Breakers (Yurcak Field) 7:00PM

Sunday, May 29
Philadelphia Independence vs. Western New York Flash (Widener Univ.) 6:00PM (FSC)

Friday, June 3
Western New York Flash vs. Sky Blue FC (Sahlen’s Stadium) 7:30PM

Saturday, June 4
Philadelphia Independence vs. Atlanta Beat (Widener Univ) 7:00PM

Sunday, June 5
Boston Breakers vs. magicJack’s Washington Freedom (Harvard University) TBA (FSC)

Saturday, June 11
Atlanta Beat vs. magicJack’s Washington Freedom (KSU Soccer Stadium) 6:00PM

Sunday, June 12
Sky Blue FC vs. Boston Breakers (Yurcak Field) 4:00PM
Western New York Flash vs. Philadelphia Independence (Sahlen’s Stadium) TBA (FSC)

Saturday, June 18
Philadelphia Independence vs. magicJack’s Washington Freedom (Widener Univ.) 7:00PM

Sunday, June 19
Atlanta Beat vs. Boston Breakers (KSU Soccer Stadium) TBA (FSC)

Wednesday, June 22
Sky Blue FC vs. Atlanta Beat (Yurcak Field) 7:00PM

Wednesday, July 6
Philadelphia Independence vs. Sky Blue FC (Widener University) 7:00PM

Saturday, July 9
Philadelphia Independence vs. Western New York Flash (Widener University) 7:00PM
Sky Blue FC vs. magicJack’s Washington Freedom (Yurcak Field) 7:00PM

Sunday, July 10
Boston Breakers vs. Atlanta Beat (Harvard University 6:00PM (FSC)

Saturday, July 16
Atlanta Beat vs. Philadelphia Independence (KSU Soccer Stadium) 7:00PM

Sunday, July 17
Sky Blue FC vs. Western New York Flash (Sahlen’s Stadium) 6:00PM (FSC)

Wednesday, July 20
Western New York Flash vs. magicJack’s Washington Freedom (Sahlen’s Stadium) 7:30PM

Saturday, July 23
Sky Blue FC vs. Philadelphia Independence (Yurcak Field) 7:00PM
Atlanta Beat vs. magicJack’s Washington Freedom (KSU Soccer Stadium) 7:00PM

Sunday, July 24
Boston Breakers vs. Western New York Flash (Harvard University) 6:00PM (FSC)

Wednesday, July 27
Boston Breakers vs. Philadelphia Independence (Harvard University) 7:00PM
magicJack’s Washington Freedom vs. Sky Blue FC (TBA) 7:00PM

Saturday, July 30
Sky Blue FC vs. Western New York Flash (Yurcak Field) 7:00PM
magicJack’s Washington Freedom vs. Boston Breakers (TBA) 7:00PM

Sunday, July 31
Philadelphia Independence vs. Atlanta Beat (Widener University) 6:00PM (FSC)

Wednesday, August 3
Western New York Flash vs. Boston Breakers (Sahlen’s Stadium) 7:30PM
magicJack’s Washington Freedom vs. Sky Blue FC (TBA) 7:00PM

Saturday, August 6
Atlanta Beat vs. Western New York Flash (KSU Soccer Stadium) 7:00PM
Boston Breakers vs. magicJack’s Washington Freedom (Harvard University) 7:00PM

Sunday, August 7
Philadelphia Independence vs. Sky Blue FC (Widener University) 6:00PM (FSC)

Wednesday, August 10
magicJack’s Washington Freedom vs. Western New York Flash (TBA) 7:00PM

Sunday, August 14
magicJack’s Washington Freedom vs. Philadelphia Independence (TBA) 4:00PM
Boston Breakers vs. Sky Blue FC (Harvard University) 4:00PM
Western New York Flash vs. Atlanta Beat (Sahlen’s Stadium) 6:00PM (FSC)


Cannot wait for the 2011 Season! Its sure to promise us tons of action and excitement. Here's to the success of the league, and to a successful and thrilling 2011 Season!

Denise

Upper Deck Continues To Acknowledge Women's Soccer

Upper Deck has a new set out, which includes Women's Soccer! Get ready to start collecting!


Hey everyone, as I mentioned yesterday, I would be doing a feature on Upper Deck's new card set, released in early February: "World of Sports". Last year, Upper Deck released the first ever set of Women's Soccer cards (one that was well-rounded and had sub-sets. Old Olympics and 1999 World Cup cards and such don't count). It was a set of WPS players that had an "All-Star" base set, an autographed sub set, and a jersey sub set. Earlier this month, Upper Deck released a new set, named World of Sports, which, as the name implies, features players from a wide variety of sports. And, thanks to Upper Deck, Women's Soccer was included! There is a base set, a jersey set, an autographed set, an autographed jersey set, and also a clear card set. Here is the checklist for the set:

BASE SET- A Base set, plain cards of players.

101 Tiffeny Milbrett
102 Abby Wambach
103 Tasha Kai
104 Ella Masar
105 Laura Kalmari
106 Kelly Smith
107 Heather Mitts
108 Cat Whitehill
109 Shannon Boxx
110 Jillian Loyden
111 Karen Bardsley
112 Nicole Barnhart
113 Marta
114 Hope Solo
115 Amy Rodriguez
116 Christine Sinclair
117 Tobin Heath
118 Jordan Angeli
119 Eniola Aluko
120 Sonia Bompastor


BASE SET PARALLEL AUTOGRAPH- Self explanatory, these cards are autographed. (Note-These are the base set cards, except these are autographed)

101 Tiffeny Milbrett
102 Abby Wambach
103 Tasha Kai
104 Ella Masar
105 Laura Kalmari
106 Kelly Smith
108 Cat Whitehill
109 Shannon Boxx
111 Karen Bardsley
112 Nicole Barnhart
113 Marta
114 Hope Solo
115 Amy Rodriguez
116 Christine Sinclair
117 Tobin Heath
118 Jordan Angeli
120 Sonia Bompastor

ALL SPORT APPAREL- These are cards with a piece of jersey in them. (Note- These also have parrallels, aka the same exact card, just with an autograph on it as well)

ASA-18 Heather Mitts
ASA-19 Hope Solo
ASA-20 Tasha Kai

CLEAR COMPETITORS- Cards made with plastic. They look pretty cool!

CC-40 Heather Mitts
CC-41 Hope Solo
CC-42 Heather O'Reilly


ATHLETES OF THE WORLD-Autographed card of a well-known athlete

AW-11 Mia Hamm


So that's the set my friends! Try getting your hands on a box, or simply look for them on ebay (warning you though, these ones are flying, just like the WPS set! And they're kind of rare!). Also, if you want to thank Upper Deck for including Women's Soccer in sets and for acknowledging the sport, or if you want to make a suggestion (like telling them to make a World Cup set which I did earlier) then you can contact them here: hobbytalk@upperdeck.com

That's all for now! Me and my friend are expecting some World of Sports cards in the mail, and when they do come, I'll be sure to post a video on my youtube channel, "USWNTfan92" reviewing the cards and giving you a closer look!

Have a good one, and I'll see you soon!

Denise

Youtube Page

Hello everyone! I just created a youtube account today, and I'll probably do some blog features and such on there. Also, I might post highlight vids (when I learn how to), rants or "podcasts" (easier talking than writing sometimes!), game day videos (when I can get to a live WPS game), etc! So, if you'd like to add me as a friend or subscribe to my page, you can find me as USWNTfan92. Just created my first video today, showcasing my WPS card collection, and my WPS ttm's, which I have yet to feature on the blog! Hope you go and see, I ramble on about trades and such as well, so you might pick up some information too! Coming soon is a video of the new Upper Deck set: "World of Sports", which I'll write about on the blog in the coming days, probably by the end of this week. I hope the youtube channel will help extend the blog's capabilities, but my other goal is to have fun with it and see what else I can do with it!

Side Note: I added the link to my youtube channel on the right sidebar of the blog. Along with that, I also added the link to Just Another Soccer Fan's Facebook page, along with the link to the group I run on Facebook called "Help Get Women's Soccer The Coverage It Deserves." You'll also find a link to Women's Soccer United. I highly recommend joining the site, its inhabited by plenty of passionate Women's Soccer fans!

Here's the link to my first youtube video if you'd like to check it out: http://www.youtube.com/user/USWNTfan92?feature=mhum

Hope you stop by!

Denise

USA vs. England to be on TV

Hello everyone! Short announcement here! Believe it or not, ESPN 2 will be televising the USA vs. England match. It will be on April 2nd, at 3pm ET. Surprised that ESPN decided to air it, especially with the match being overseas! Guess they're waking up a little, especially since Women's Soccer is going to be in the spotlight this summer! Hope its a great match!

Denise

Canada WNT Is On Strike

As most of you have probably heard of by now, the Canadian Women's National Team has decided to boycott the Canada Soccer Association (CSA). The boycott means, that the team refuses to play any international matches until the CSA recognizes their demands and negotiates with them. Now, why are they boycotting, you may ask? There are actually 2 reasons. First, The Canada WNT wants to see Carolina Morace be included in the team's plans for after the World Cup in Germany. Recently, Morace announced that she would be resigning from the position of head coach after the World Cup this summer, because her and the CSA had different methods for the advancement of the team. Since both would not see eye to eye, she would leave. However, the Canada WNT wants Morace, the coach who has brought them to new heights and has made a huge impact on them, to stay. They will be boycotting the CSA until they can settle their differences and include Morace in the team's future plans. But this boycott is not just about that. Its also a stand against pay inequity. The players never get compensated, even when they've played in huge competitions such as the 2008 Beijing Olympics, or even the Gold Cup. The men do get compensated, and the cheeky CSA has refused to show the Canada WNT the men's team's numbers in regards to compensation. The players want compensation equal to that of the Men's and are not looking for any more or less. They have every right to fight for equal pay. Its another classic display of pay inequity and sexism by the chauvinistic societies known as Soccer Associations. The players will be represented all by one lawyer, and arbitration is a likely outcome, if the CSA refuses to get moving on negotiations soon. The Canada WNT will be going to Rome to train for the Cyprus cup, but if these issues are not resolved, they refuse to play any matches, and if need be, the team will even sit out World Cup matches. Its time to move forward. This old, ignorant sexism crap is getting played out. Its the only thing keeping the Women's game behind. And FIFA, to the CSA, they're all chauvinistic and sexist organizations. But, as much as they might try to keep women behind in the game, its not going to be happening for that much longer. Women's soccer continues to improve globally, and continues to gain respect and recognition. Sexism is getting bashed and conquered left and right. If these societies think they can get away with it, they better think again, because players and teams are not going to tolerate it. The Canada WNT is already showcasing bravery and guts, taking a stand and speaking up. Good for them. I support their campaign fully. They have every right to get equal pay. Same job, same country, and hell, they probably have more championships! Time to get up with the times. And as for Morace? She's a great coach, she's changed Canada around completely and improved them big time. Throwing her to the wayside because you don't agree with her seems to be a pretty poor way to repay her, don't you think? Ridiculous. Go Canada WNT! Kick the sexism outta that place, and good for you guys taking a stand! They're proving a great example to everyone else. Hope this issue is resolved soon. It will be resolved, I'm just hoping it happens soon, so that the Canadian WNT can get in some good practice for the Women's World Cup!

Denise

Let This Brighten Up Your Monday

Hello fellow Women's Soccer fans! As you all know, its a new week, which means today's Monday! Woohoo...not. Although, today we have something to cheer about. It was just announced that the USA will be playing in a friendly against England, leading up to the big event this summer. It will take place April 2nd (logical placement, since its after Algarve Cup, and soon before the start of the WPS season), and it will be played in England. It will be the first time the USWNT will visit England to play a friendly match. The last time these 2 went head to head was in the 2007 World Cup, so this should be a pretty awesome match, especially since England have really been proving themselves and gaining respect in the Women's game. This match only about 2 months before World Cup is crucial for each team to test the waters on their opponents, and to get in some good high level practice in. Before the WWC, teams want to play against tough opponents. It will be that way in the World Cup, so getting on practice will be important. As far as televising goes for this game, I think it will be on FA TV or something like that in England, but not sure about the case of it here. Hope we can see that one! It'll be a sin to be stuck on match tracker for that.

Hope this announcement brightened your day!

Denise

Freedom (FINALLY) Announces Some Off-season Acquisitions

The Freedom has recently announced some signings they've made in the off-season. They've signed Shannon Boxx, Lindsay Tarpley, Kacey White, Marian Dalmy, and Rebecca Moros. I'm glad that they re-signed Moros, she's a great defender and its good to know that the Freedom players are getting resigned so that they can stay together. As a fan you get attached to the players and hope to see them stay together. I'm excited to see Boxx and Tarpley as additions. They're both great midfielders. I remember Kacey from her time in Sky Blue, and Dalmy from her time with the Red Stars. I'm sure they'll do well in their respective positions. I'm honestly just glad to know we're signing people! That's all for now. In other news, the USWNT seems to be having a good camp. Hopefully they train up and get better and kick ass in the Algarve Cup!

Denise

Eventful Day

Hey everyone! A quick update. As I mentioned the other day, the USWNT has a camp underway, and in fact it just started today. The team is down in Florida, and as the players have been reporting, they have immediately begun to appreciate the warmer temperatures. Who wouldn't though right? I know I'm personally not a fan of cold temperatures. Anyways, I came here today to mention more than just the start of the USWNT's camp. Today is also the day the WPS 2011 uniforms are unveiled at the Puma store in NYC. I had the chance to go, since I was in NYC, but I bet they wouldn't have allowed the General Public, and I'm not that well acquainted with the city to have successfully found my way there without getting lost. I still regret it though, there was a chance, even if it was slim, to meet some players! Pictures of the new uniforms will be up later tonight. I'm most curious about "MagicTalk SC's" jerseys (just saying that to clarify, I still call them the Freedom, but I'm curious how the jersey will house the new team name), and also the Flash's jerseys. Gonna be cool!

Can't wait to see them!

Denise

Germany 2011 Promises To Be Electric

As it was recently announced, the Germany 2011 Women's World Cup has sold just about 500,000 tickets for the tournament, and is already on the list of the highest attended Women's World Cups to date. Its already broken the record for attendance to a Women's match in Europe, as the Opening match in Olympic Stadium (which holds about 74,000) has already reported that 50,000+ fans will be attending. The ticketing has already shifted into its fourth and final sales phase. The German team's games are the most popular, but other games are flying fast as well. The games are sure to have full and noisy crowds watching the best Women's teams in the World compete. If you're planning to head to Germany and watch the World Cup, you better get a move on as far as tickets go if you haven't already! The fourth phase is the last chance fans have to guarantee themselves a seat in the Final (who'd want to miss that?!), and tickets are becoming increasingly hard to get, since they're selling out at a high rate. So, make sure you get your hands on them! I wish I could, but I do not have the funds to make a trip to Germany and see some games. I'd love to, but like many of us I'll be watching from my living room, in gear, with snacks, good company, and a vuvuzela or two! As I've said before, I have a good feeling about this World Cup and what its impact will be on the sport.

Looking forward to June 26th.

Denise

Its A Special Day

Hello everyone! Today is the 25th anniversary of Girls and Women in Sports Day! Its a Day to remember how far we've come, but to also continue to improve the opportunities and recognition that Women's sports get. Women's sports continue to grow here in the US, but globally as well, and especially for us soccer fans, we've seen in the past year that teams who once had no programs at all, or had neglected ones, have built strong programs and teams and it is showing. The Women's game as far as soccer has witnessed a closing of the gap each year, which mean Women's soccer continues to get attention, and that more young girls and women are discovering the game and playing the sports they love. Its just as much a Women's World as it us a Man's World, don't let the lack of coverage fool you. For the year 2011, I hope to see all Women's sports continue to prosper and get the recognition and respect that it fully deserves. Now its time for the coverage and attention match the growth and improvement of the sport. Hopefully, we move closer to equality. I have a good feeling that Germany 2011 will be a historical World Cup that will make a big impact. I have a feeling it will help put Women's soccer on the map in permanent marker. Let's hope I'm right!

Denise

All The News In One Post

Hey everyone! I've got some news to report! So, I figured I'd do a Combo Post, which seems to be quite popular around here! Let's get to it!

Transfer News- As you all know, the WPS off season is still rolling along, but won't be for too much longer! There have been some more moves for the Freedom and they were recently announced. Both Ella Masar of the Red Stars, and Rasmussen of the Beat were picked up by the Freedom. Also, it has been heavily rumored and said by sources close to the league that Hope Solo will be signing with the Freedom as well.

USWNT & The Algarve Cup- The Algarve Cup, an annual competition played in Portugal in late February/early March, is upon us once again. The teams competing are: USA, Norway, Japan, Finland, China, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland. The USWNT will be staging a training camp from February 3-9 to prepare for the competition. They will be training in Florida, and after camp is done, Sundhage will choose her squad of 23 players to take with her to the Algarve. Here is the roster of 31 attending the camp:


GOALKEEPERS (5): Nicole Barnhart (out of contract), Ashlyn Harris (Western New York Flash), Bianca Henninger (Santa Clara), Alyssa Naeher (Boston Breakers), Hope Solo (out of contract)
DEFENDERS (9): Rachel Buehler (Boston Breakers), Stephanie Cox (Boston Breakers), Whitney Engen (Western New York Flash), Amy LePeilbet (Boston Breakers), Heather Mitts (Atlanta Beat), Christie Rampone (out of contract), Becky Sauerbrunn (Washington Freedom), Meghan Schnur (out of contract), Brittany Taylor (Sky Blue FC)
MIDFIELDERS (13): Jordan Angeli (Boston Breakers), Yael Averbuch (Western New York Flash), Shannon Boxx (out of contract), Sinead Farrelly (Philadelphia Independence), Tobin Heath (Sky Blue FC), Meghan Klingenberg (Washington Freedom), Lori Lindsey (Philadelphia Independence), Carli Lloyd (Atlanta Beat), Kristie Mewis (Boston College), Kelley O’Hara (Boston Breakers), Heather O’Reilly (Sky Blue FC), Megan Rapinoe (Philadelphia Independence), Lindsay Tarpley (out of contract)
FORWARDS (5): Lauren Cheney (Boston Breakers), Sydney Leroux (UCLA), Alex Morgan (Western New York Flash), Amy Rodriguez (Philadelphia Independence), Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom)

Every player who attended the Four Nations will be going. Veterans Abby Wambach and Hope Solo, who both missef the competition due to injury, will return to national team action.


That's just about it for now folks! See you all again soon!

Denise