LOS ANGELES SOL DROPS 2-1 DECISION TO THE BOSTON BREAKERS

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. – Saturday, May 2, 2009– The Los Angeles Sol (Women’s Professional Soccer) suffered a 2-1 loss at the hands of the Boston Breakers Saturday night at Harvard Stadium.

Midfielder Kelly Smith opened the scoring for the Breakers (3-2-0, 9 pts.) in the second minute when the Sol failed to clear a ball from their defensive third of the field.  Smith collected the ball and calmly beat a diving Karina LeBlanc – the first time the Sol defense has surendered a goal this season.

Forward Han Duan nearly equalized for the Sol (3-1-1, 10 pts.) in the 17th minute, but her effort from just outside the penalty area sailed high of the Breakers goal.  In the 44th minute, Marta made a 50-yard run into the box from the left side of midfield, nearly reaching the endline, but her low cross did not find a teammate and was cleared by the Breakers defense and Boston finished the half with the 1-0 lead.

Midfielder Kristine Lilly doubled the lead for the Breakers ten minutes after the break when she corralled Stacy Bishop’s pass and put her low shot into the side netting and past LeBlanc.

Los Angeles rookie defender Brittany Bock trimmed the lead to 2-1 in the 63rd minute when she rose above the Boston defense and got Aya Miyama’s free kick past Breakers ‘keeper Kristin Luckinbill, who stayed firmly planted on her line.

The Sol had a few chances to equalize in the final twenty minutes, including a shot by Marta in the closing moments, but they were unable to hit home and the Breakers clinched the 2-1 win.

Courtesy of: Los Angeles Sol

CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL MARTINA FRANKO SIGNS WITH THE LOS ANGELES SOL

CARSON, CA – Thursday, April 16, 2009 – The Los Angeles Sol of Women’s Professional Soccer, who has opened the 2009 season with two consecutive victories, has signed defender Martina Franko to a contract, the club announced today. Per club and WPS policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Franko, a Canadian National Team member who has earned 54 caps and scored 5 goals as a forward for the Maple Leafs, played at Colorado College and currently ranks second on the Tigers’ all-time scoring list with 107 career points. She also took the pitch for the Vancouver Whitecaps from 2001-2005 and played an integral role in helping them to two W-League Championships in 2003 and 2005.

“Martina is an experienced leader who will bring a veteran presence to our young and diverse team,” said Head Coach Abner Rogers. “Her understanding of what it takes to be successful on the pitch will be invaluable to the success of our season.”

Franko, who became a Canadian citizen through marriage, becomes the seventh international representative on the Sol roster, joining fellow Canadian National Team member and standout goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc, three-time defending FIFA World Player of the Year Marta from Brazil, Aya Miyama of Japan, Han Duan of China, Camille Abily of France and Johanna Frisk, from Sweden. The club also features U.S. Internationals Shannon Boxx, Stephanie Cox, Kendall Fletcher and Aly Wagner.

Courtesy of: Los Angeles Sol

Marta Spoils Sky Blue FC’s Debut Celebration

SOMERSET, N.J. (April 5, 2009) – Everything went right for Sky Blue FC’s Debut Celebration in Women’s Professional Soccer until Marta spoiled the party. The Brazilian sensation Marta connected twice in a two-minute span late in the first half to lead the Los Angeles Sol to a 2-0 victory at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ.

Besides the score line, the day was a success for Sky Blue FC, which debuted in front of 6,053 fans – a sell-out. The NJ/NY WPS franchise concludes its two-game season-opening stand at TD Bank Ballpark next Saturday when it hosts FC Gold Pride of California at 7:45 p.m.

Sky Blue FC had its chances in the match but Sol goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc, who serves as a an assistant coach at nearby Rutgers University, made one decisive save in each half to claim the shutout. In the 31st minute, the Canadian keeper dove to parry away a header by Jen Buczkowski off a corner kick. In the 85th minute, with Sky Blue FC pressing, Kacey White sent in a corner kick the fell to Sarah Walsh in front but LeBlanc made the save of the game stuffing Walsh before Anita Asante fired the rebound over the bar.

Marta’s effort came in the closing minutes of the first half not long after Sky Blue FC captain and defensive leader Christie Rampone left the game with a strained hamstring in the 27th minute. In the 42nd minute, Marta took advantage of a giveaway and split two defenders before slotting a shot under Sky Blue FC goalkeeper Jenni Branam.

In the 44th minute, Han Duan set up the second goal as she carried the ball up the left side before serving a perfect cross for Marta to stuff home from close range.

Tickets are available for Saturday’s match against FC Gold Pride at TD Bank Ballpark. Call 888-SBFC-TIX or visit www.SkyBlueFC.com for the latest ticket specials.

GOALS                    1           2                    Total
Los Angeles             2           0                       2
Sky Blue FC             0           0                      0

Goal     Time         Team                       Goal Scorer                Assists
1         42          Los Angeles                    Marta                           –
2         45          Los Angeles                    Marta                     Han Duan

Courtesy of: Sky Blue FC

A Star Among Stars: Marta – ESPN Video – ESPN

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Courtesy of: Women’s Pro Soccer

Are you Serious about the Skort?

 

Are you serious about the skort?  Seriously.

So today the WPS and Puma unveiled the WPS uniforms. To be honest I think the uniforms are somewhat ok but and I have to big issues with them.

 Are you serious about the skorts? When I first saw them I automatically thought about the movie, “A League of Their Own,” when the players are asked to wear regular skirts instead of pants.  I mean these women are soccer players not models. I mean honestly how demeaning is it going to be to play soccer in a skort. I can already hear the sexist comment, “Dirt in the skirt,” “Go back to the kitchen,” “We want to see more leg and hike up your skort a little.” According to Puma and the designer of the uniforms, wanted a more feminine look and not have baggy soccer shorts. Come on there is a difference between being feminine and just plain out stupid. For example, the uniforms the USWNT wear are feminine enough. The shorts are not baggy and the jerseys are the design for a women’s body. I would defiantly like to know what did the players really think about the skorts. Lets just hope that the skorts where only for the fashion show.

The jerseys. Ok let me first say I really like the color combinations, especially (what a surprise) the Sol’s away uniform. I really think they tried to parallel the L.A. Galaxy uniform colors, which is fine by me. The back of the uniform is pretty cool. I have not come across any pictures of the back of the uniform but the local Los Angeles Fox station did broadcast highlights of the show, where you can see the back of the jersey.

What I don’t like about the jerseys is that most of them look unoriginal prototypes. It’s like if they just simply changed the colors and logos. Ok now maybe I’m being a bit to critical on the jerseys, I guess they are ok, since the league just started, but the SKORTS, COME ON!!!!!!!!!!

PUMA® And Women’s Professional Soccer Unveil 2009 Season Uniforms With Sport And Style

New Home and Away Uniforms Fuse Performance with Fashion, Bold Color and Feminine Flare

NEW YORK, NY (February 24, 2008) – Global sportlifestyle brand PUMA® and the stars of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), including three-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, Marta, number one WPS draft pick and Olympic Gold Medalist, Amy Rodriguez, and US National Team midfielder and Women’s World Cup bronze medalist, Leslie Osborne, unveiled the home and away uniforms in New York today at a high-profile fashion presentation.  TV personality and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Summer Sanders hosted the event, while fashion designer and winner of TV’s Project Runway Season 4, Christian Siriano added to the excitement by designing his own fashion interpretation of a home and away uniforms inspired by the colors and materials from of the league’s uniforms.  The WPS uniforms will be put to the test in the WPS Inaugural Match on March 29th in Los Angeles, California when the Los Angeles Sol takes on the Washington Freedom.

PUMA brings a sense of fashion, flare and femininity to the kits with tailored jerseys, shorts and wraps instead of the oversized men’s soccer shorts and tees traditionally seen in the sport.  Although the uniforms have a more tailored silhouette, the technical materials, cuts and shapes are driven purely by performance, designed for the players to have the maximum flexibility to get them to the ball faster.  Made with 100% polyester, the PUMA WPS kits contain contract mesh inserts for comfort and breathability and, a shaped hem and flatlock stitching for a more feminine silhouette.  Each garment also has a wicking finish to allow for moisture management, keeping the players dry and comfortable.

“Having the right technical gear and footwear during a 90-minute game is crucial to any soccer player,” said Leslie Osborne.  “PUMA has made apparel and footwear with the player in mind and they have truly proven themselves once again with the new WPS uniforms.  As a PUMA player, I enjoy PUMA both on and off the field.  Not only do they make athletic wear that performs, but its comfortable and stylish.”

Two players from each of the league’s seven teams graced the runway in their respective home and away kits:  recently signed PUMA athlete, Amy Rodriguez and Angela Hucles for the Boston Breakers, Carli Lloyd and Nikki Krzysik for the Chicago Red Stars, PUMA athlete Leslie Osborne and Christina DiMartino for FC Gold Pride (San Francisco Bay Area), PUMA athlete Marta Vieira da Silva and Johanna Frisk for the Los Angeles Sol, Hope Solo and Lori Chalupny for the Saint Louis Athletica, Heather O’Reilly and Christie Rampone for the Sky Blue FC (NY/NJ Area), and Allie Long and Sarah Huffman for the Washington Freedom.  The key color combinations for the team uniforms are:

HOME AWAY

Boston Breakers                          Team Royal                                 White
Chicago Red Stars                        Team Pearl Blue                        White

FC Gold Pride                              PUMA Black                                Team Gold

Los Angeles Sol                           New Navy & Team Yellow         White

Saint Louis Athletica                     USA Forest Green                    Pace Grey

Sky Blue FC                                Team Pearl Blue                            Team Orange

Washington Freedom                    New Navy                                  PUMA Red

Christian Siriano, known for his bold work during Project Runway Season 4, has been a long time friend of the PUMA brand, designing outfits for musicians such as Estelle and Lady Gaga using existing PUMA fabrics and pieces.  For this special uniform unveiling, in true PUMA fashion, Siriano designed his take on the home and away uniforms by infusing his style, personality and charm with the PUMA sportlifestyle DNA and female athletes in mind.  The two design creations were showcased as part of the WPS Uniform unveiling, reinforcing PUMA’s fusion of both sport and lifestyle.  After the event, PUMA will work with WPS to highlight Siriano’s custom-designed outfits throughout the season and eventually auction his pieces later in the year, with proceeds going to a charity befitting of WPS, PUMA and Siriano.

“This is the first time I’ve ever designed for athletes – it’s perfect because I always design for strong women in my Ready to Wear collections and professional athletes definitely have to be tough in mind, body and spirit,” said fashion designer Christian Siriano.  “These soccer players amazing and I love it!”

PUMA became an official founding partner of WPS and an official sponsor of all WPS franchises in December 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 will allow PUMA and WPS to enhance the game of women’s soccer together and will act as the foundation in the PUMA Women’s category.  PUMA will launch a fully integrated advertising campaign starring their PUMA athletes, Marta Vieira da Silva, Leslie Osborne and Amy Rodriguez, that will run this upcoming season.

PUMA is a leader in the game of soccer with a European portfolio of five National Teams, including current FIFA World Cup™ holders Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Bulgaria and Czech Republic.  In addition to being the official supplier to these European teams, PUMA has a long standing relationship with 11 African soccer Federations including the current CAF African Cup of Nations™ holders, Egypt, Ghana, Cameroon, Angola, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia and Namibia.  In the U.S., PUMA has worked with all-star Major League Soccer athletes such as Matt Reis, Brian Ching and Dwayne De Rosario.

Courtesy of: Puma

Marta Makes First Appearance in L.A.

 

On February 22, 2009, Marta made her first public appearance since joining the LA Sol at the Soccer Nation Expo in Los Angeles. As promised, the Women’s Soccer Show was there to fill you in on the action!

The 3-time FIFA Player of the Year was received with much excitement and fanfare by her loyal, and new fans alike, and she, graceful as ever, seemed to enjoy most of it.

At first, Marta gave off a somewhat nervous vibe as she was introduced to the crowd. She seemed to be in a daze as her fans snapped pictures and hollered the occasional, “I love you Marta,” “Juegas muy bonito,” or “You are the best Marta”. It’s understandable how the roaring crowd could be intimidating for the petite player, and I couldn’t help but notice the big sigh of relief she let out when she sat down and started signing autographs. But who could blame her for feeling a bit anxious. February 21^st marked a new chapter in life.

She seemed overjoyed when the occasional Brazilian / Latino fan would say something to her in Portuguese or Spanish in an attempt to start a conversation (I believe she understands a bit of Spanish but does not speak it fluently). Hopefully with the support of the Brazilian / Latino community in Los Angeles she will find it easy to adapt to her new home.

Through the entire time she was all smiles when the star struck attendees would ask if they could take a picture with her. While taking pictures and video of Marta, I couldn’t help but notice how charming she is when interacting with her fans and the LA Sol staff. There is something truly special about her that captivates you. Could it be her warm generous smile? Her superhuman soccer skills? Or maybe her superstar status in FIFA?

The best part of the event was when she left the autograph booth to head out to the main soccer field for a game of “Kingman” soccer. As you can see in our video, the scene looked more like a TMZ shoot on Robertson Blvd. About 20 people started following her, snapping pictures, shaking her hand and requesting for autographs. For an instance I thought I was back in 1999 hearing, “Mia, Mia, Mia, Mia,” but now it was, “Marta, Marta, Marta.”

During the soccer match, Marta would occasionally do some crazy trick or move, but as luck would have it we had already turned our cameras off. Watching her up close in action was a treat, kind of reminiscent as watching Ronaldihno play in 2006 (Barcelona USA Tour). If you are able to catch her in action, GO!!!! I promise she won’t disappoint. She truly is the best women’s soccer player.

Marta’s next promotional stop will be in New York City on February 24^th and 25^th for the WPS Team Kit Unveiling event and media tour. She and other WPS players, including, Johanna Frisk, Heather O’Reilly, Hope Solo, Amy Rodriguez, Carli Lloyd to name a few, will be modeling the leagues home and away uniforms, designed by Project Runway winner Christian Siriano. League officials will also be doing media rounds along with a few WPS stars.

 February 24th

Bloomberg TV @ 7:50am – Tonya Antonucci

Fox Business @ 10am

February 25th

Today Show, CNN, Fox & Friends – WPS players

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pre-Season Schedule Set For The Los Angeles Sol

Training Camp Opens March 2 at The Home Depot Center

CARSON, CALIFORNIA – Thursday, February 19, 2009 – The Los Angeles Sol has released its tentative preseason schedule as it prepares for the Inaugural Season of Women’s Professional Soccer. Training camp is set to open March 2 at The Home Depot Center, giving head coach Abner Rogers four weeks to prepare his team for the WPS Inaugural Game against Abby Wambach and the Washington Freedom on March 29.

With Brazilian soccer sensation Marta set to join a star-studded roster already featuring three U.S. National Team members, including Torrance native Shannon Boxx, all eyes will be on the Sol as they enter training camp with high expectations for the upcoming season.

“There is a lot of excitement surrounding the talent we have on this team,” said Rogers. “But individual talent alone won’t win us the WPS Championship. It’s my job to make sure we use the preseason to transform all the great players we have on this roster into a great team.”

The preliminary training schedule is as follows:

March 2 to March 6                  10:30am – 12:30pm – The Home Depot Center Track & Field Complex

2:30pm – 4:30pm – The Home Depot Center Field #5

March 9                                    10:30am – 12:30pm – The Home Depot Center Track & Field Complex

March 10                                  (Time TBA) vs. USC – The Home Depot Center Track & Field Complex

March 11 to March 12               10:30am – 12:30pm – The Home Depot Center Track & Field Complex

March 14                                  6pm vs. FC Gold Pride – The Home Depot Center Track & Field Complex

March 16                                  10:30am – 12:30pm – The Home Depot Center Track & Field Complex

March 17                                  10:30am vs. FC Gold Pride – The Home Depot Center Track & Field Complex

March 18 to March 19               10:30am – 12:30pm – The Home Depot Center Track & Field Complex

March 21                                  (Time TBA) vs. Opponent TBA – The Home Depot Center Track & Field Complex

March 23 to March 28               10:30am – 12:30pm – The Home Depot Center Track & Field Complex

* All times and locations subject to change, please contact Sol Communications before attending any training sessions.

Courtesy of: Los Angeles Sol

Los Angeles Sol Signs Three International Players

CARSON, CALIFORNIA – Thursday, February 19, 2009 – The Los Angeles Sol of Women’s Professional Soccer has announced today that it has reached contractual agreements with three international players.  The players are France midfielder Camile Abily, China forward Han Duan and Sweden defender Johanna Frisk.  Per club and WPS policy, terms were not disclosed.

“I have no doubt that finding the right mix of international players and their American counterparts is going to play a large role in the success of our franchise,” said Los Angeles Sol General Manager Charlie Naimo.  “I think each player we signed today brings something to the table that makes us better as a club.”

Abily, who has 46 caps and eight goals scored for France, comes to the Sol after playing most recently with Olympique Lyonnais in her homeland. She is a versatile, attacking player who debuted with the French national team in 2001 and is considered one of the side’s stars of the future.

Los Angeles also welcomes China striker Duan into the fold after she has made nearly 20 career appearances for the Steel Roses. Formerly of Dalian Football Club, Liaoning Duan, Han finished seventh in the voting for FIFA Women’s Player of the Year in 2006, the first Chinese player to finish in the top-10 since Sun Wen in 2002.

Frisk is a young, physical defender who has been on the radar for the Sweden National Team for a couple of years.  Since 2006, she has played for Umea IK, the fabled women’s club team in her home country that also boasts Swedish superstar Hanna Ljungberg.

The Sol will kick off the 2009 season on Sunday, March 29 at The Home Depot Center on the campus of California State University-Dominguez Hills, when the club hosts the Washington Freedom in a 3 pm (PT) match.  The WPS Inaugural Match between the Sol and the Freedom will be the only one played in WPS that weekend.

Courtesy of: Los Angeles Sol

Women’s Soccer Show 03

This week on the Women’s Soccer Show we talk about the new signings for the WPS, the upcoming Algarve Cup and International friendlies.

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