USA Women Are The Four Time FIFA World Champs

Looks like Dolt 45 has a decision to make after the USA women handled their soccer business and completed their run to back to back titles for the first time in program history by defeating the Netherlands 2-0.

This was Team USA's fourth FIFA world championship, and they left no doubts about the fact they are the world's best team despite a stiff challenge from the Netherlands, the reigning European champions who were playing in their first FIFA women's World Cup final. 

The Netherlands was riding the hot goalkeeping of eventual Golden Glove winner Sari van Veenendaal, who kept the USA scoreless until  Alex Morgan drew a penalty in the 61 minute that led to Megan Rapinoe's sixth goal of the tournament.   That snapped van Veennedaal's scoreless streak at 314 minutes, and seven minutes later Rose Lavelle sent a scorching shot from 18 yards out past van Veenendaal to make it 2-0 and start the party in Lyon for te American fans there and back in the USA. 

Rapinoe not only captured the Golden Boot  award for the tournament's top scorer, she also snached the Golden Ball (MVP) trophy as the tournament's best player. 

Take that Donald Trump!

The Netherlands along with England and Sweden did walk away from this tournament knowing that they have qualified for the 2020 Olympics..    Sweden also won the Third Place game 2-1 against England.

But all hail the queens of the FIFA soccer pitch.    Will they threepeat in 2023?   We'll have to wait to find out the answer to this question.

Race and Gender Discrimination Sidelines Nebraska Soccer Player And Her Team

Not happy to hear about the situation that took place in Nebraska in which a soccer team was disqualified from a tournament before they were to play in the finals of it because in the president of the Springfield Soccer Club's words, for "looking like a boy."

Meet 8 year old Milagros 'Mili' Hernandez.   Mili loves soccer, has been playing for three years and currently plays for the Azzuri Cachorros Chicas club team in Omaha, NE.  Mili is so skilled at the game that she plays with the 11 year old squad, and she and her teammates were playing in a tournament organized by the Springfield Soccer Club.

After playing three games on Friday and Saturday and advancing to the semifinals of the tournament that were to be played on Sunday, they were shocked to find out they had been shadily disqualified from the tournament.

The reprehensible chain of events started when an anonymous complaint was made by someone telling tournament officials that a boy was playing on a girls team.

Hmm, I suspect the anonymous complainer must have been a supporter of a suburban based melanin free team, but back to the story.

Mili's coach Mario Torres got a phone call early Sunday morning informing him that Mili had been listed as a boy on the roster, but instead of resolving the issue, disqualified the team.

Torres called Mili's family, and despite them bringing and presenting multiple forms of identification proving that Mili was female, the tournament director refused to reverse the incorrect decision.

Torres suspects that the twin evils of racism and gender discrimination are at play here.

"We had already paid to play.  We'd played three games.  Why was this not resolved before the semifinals?" asked Torres. "Even if this was a mistake, they did not need to humiliate her or kick the entire team off the field."

The president of the tournament hounded me all throughout the tournament.  He disqualified three of my four teams for bogus reasons. He caused a lot of problems and for that reason, we feel this had to do with race."

Torres 'club has already filed a complaint with the Nebraska State Soccer Association, and as you can expect, the bigots at the Springfield Soccer Club have no comment for the media.  The Nebraska State Soccer Association put out a statement concerning the ugly incident yesterday.

The story has gotten the attention of US women's soccer legends Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach and tennis legend Billie Jean King, who have sent messages of support to Mili via Twitter.  Hamm has invited Mili to come to one of her soccer camps.

And Mili is thankful for the support she has received.  She's also going to continue to wear her hair short.

But it still doesn't bring back the opportunity for Mimi and her team to prove on the field that they were the best team at that tournament.

The 2016 Olympic Women's Soccer Tournament Draw Today

We're getting closer to the start of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, and in a few hours, the USA women's soccer team will know who will be in their respective group during the Olympic women's tournament that starts August 3 and concludes August 19.

The FIFA number one ranked world champion USA women will be competing for their third consecutive Olympic title, and the road to the title match at Maracana Stadium begins with the draw scheduled to start at 8 AM CDT at that same venue..  

The 12 women's teams will be split into three four nation groups, designated Groups E, F and G.   The host Brazilians are in Group E.   Depending on whether they get drawn into Group F or Group G,  if it is Group t, they would play their first two group games in Sao Paulo and their third group match in either Salvador or Brasilia.  If they end up in Group G, their first two group matches would be played in Belo Horizonte, with the third group match being played in either Manaus or Salvador.

They are also split into four pots,.based on the March 25 FIFA world rankings.  The host nation and the top two FIFA world ranked teams are placed in Pot 1.  Brazil as the hosts are already assigned to Group E in the A1 position, with the USA and Germany being the other teams assigned to Pot 1..

Pot 1: Brazil, USA Germany
Pot 2: France, Australia, Sweden
Pot 3: Canada, China PR, New Zealand
Pot 4:  Colombia, South Africa, Zimbabwe

The draw is set up so that you don't have two teams from the same FIFA confederation playing each other in the group stage.  That means that we wouldn't be placed in the same group with Canada because they are fellow CONCACAF members,  the Germans wouldn't be placed in a group with France or Sweden, and Brazil wouldn't be in the same group with Colombia.

Once the groups are set, when the competition starts, the two best teams in each group and the two best third place finishers will advance to the knockout stages.

We'll see what the USA road to Maracana and a third consecutive Olympic gold looks like in a few hours. .

TransGriot Update:  USA was drawn into Group G, and will be facing number 3 FIFA world ranked  France, New Zealand and Colombia 

2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying- It's Canada And The USA To Rio!

The 2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament has been going on in Texas since February 10 to determine who gets the two Rio Olympic soccer tournament slots allotted to CONCACAF.

The scene has shifted to Houston for the knockout rounds of the tournament, with the semifinals being played last night at BBVA Compass Stadium.

Group B winner Canada faced off against Group A runner up Costa Rica for one of the two Olympic slots, and thanks to their captain Christine Sinclair's two goals in the 17th and 51st minutes punched their ticket to Rio with a 3-1 win.

Costa Rica's Raquel Rodriguez added one from the penalty spot to cut the Canadian lead down to 2-1 in the 71st minute, but Deanne Rose scored in the 86th minute to put Canada comfortably back in front by two goals and secure their spot in the tournament finals on Sunday.

Two hours later it was the USA facing off against the surprise runners up of Group B in the Women Soca Warriors of Trinidad and Tobago, who clinched their spot in the knockout round with a 5-1 win over Guyana on February 16.

But playing Guyana and the world champion USA squad are two different tasks, and 12 minutes into the match Tobin Heath scored to put the world champs up 1-0.   Alex Morgan score the first of her three goals in the 30th minute to put the USA up 2-0, and Carli Lloyd scored in the 43rd minute to send the USA to the locker room at BBVA Compass Stadium with a 3-0 halftime lead.

Morgan completed her 3rd international hat trick with goals in the 71st and 73rd minutes to send the USA to the finals of this qualifying tournament on Sunday against Canada with the second CONCACAF Olympic qualifying spot nailed down.

It is the sixth consecutive time that the USA women's team has qualified for the Olympics, and they will be seeking their fifth straight Olympic title when they do get to Rio.

On Sunday the USA an Canada clash for the CONCACAF Qualifying tournament title in a game in which nothing is on the line but pride and a trophy.

The real fight will be starting on August 3 when the women's Olympic soccer tournament kicks off.

 

2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament Happening In Texas

While I have been busy with other events, on opposite ends of 1-45 we have had eight CONCACAF women's teams battling to get the two spots available from our FIFA region for the upcoming Rio Olympic Games women's tournament.

The tournament started on February 10 with the Group A teams, the USA, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Costa Rica playing their games at Toyota Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, TX while the Group B teams Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Guatemala started a day later at BBVA Compass Stadium here in Houston.

Team USA got their Olympic qualifying campaign off to a flying start with a 5-0 win over Costa Rica as Carli Lloyd scored the first of her two goals just one minute into the game to get the USA off to a 3-0 halftime lead in a match they never trailed in as Mexico was thumping Puerto Rico 6-0.

That set up a crucial clash on February 13 in which the USA prevailed 1-0 over Mexico thanks to the game winning goal from Carli Lloyd in the 80th minute on a penalty kick while Costa Rica recovered from their loss to the USA by spanking Puerto Rico 9-0.

The win also gave the USA the top spot in Group A with two wins and a +6 goal differential.

Yesterday Group A play concluded with the USA clinching the group and their trip to the semis here in Houston with a 10-0 win over Puerto Rico in which Crystal Dunn scored five goals.

In the battle between two 2015 World Cup squads to determine the runner up in the group, Costa Rica prevailed 2-1 in which Raquel Rodriquez scored two goals, with the game winner being on a penalty kick in the 57th minute to clinch the runner up spot in Group A and their ticket to Houston for the semifinals.

Group B play started on February 11 at BBVA Compass Stadium, with Trinidad and Tobago shocking Guatemala 2-1 and Canada behind an Ashley Lawrence hat trick spanking Guyana 5-0.

On February 14 Guyana sent Guatemala packing with a 2-1 victory as Canada clinched Group B with a 6-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago.

Later today while Canada closes out group play with homeward bound Guatemala, Guyana and Trinidad and  Tobago will play to see who will be the Group B runner up and get the unenviable task of taking on the world champion USA in a knockout round semifinals on Friday at BBVA Compass Stadium.

Canada will play this final group game knowing that they will face Costa Rica in the knockout round on Friday with an Olympic berth on the line.

The Friday semifinal game winners will get both CONCACAF berths to the Rio Olympic Games women's soccer tournament, and play each other on Sunday for the tournament title.

2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament Comes To Texas!

The venues for the 2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament being hosted in the USA were announced on August 12, and both are in the Lone Star State!

CONCACAF announced that BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston and Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TX will be the venues hosting the eight team tournament February 10-21 that determines which two teams from CONCACAF will be playing in the Rio Olympics in a few months.

Toyota Stadium will host the Group A matches from February 10-15, and BBVA Compass Stadium will host the Group B matches from February 11-16, the semifinal match on February 19 and final match on February 21.

The USA as the host nation has already qualified, and the world champs will be in Group A.  Canada and Mexico have also qualified, but their groups and which end of I-45 they will be playing on will be determined when the tournament draw happens

The other five nations competing will be determined by the results in the Central American and Caribbean Zone tournaments   Two will come from the Central American Zone tournament that runs September 30-October 4  and three from the Caribbean Zone. 

The Caribbean Zone tournament started August 21 and will be completed October 4.  Puerto Rico, Guyana and Jamaica are three of the four finalists in the knockout round as of this writing with the fourth finalist to be determined from a group that is composed of Antigua and Barbuda, Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Tobago and host Saint Lucia.

Only two CONCACAF  teams will be left at BBVA Compass Stadium when it is over and it will be interesting to see which two teams will be punching their tickets to go to Brazil.
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2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch-Redemption!

After navigating and defeating a series of knockout round opponents that included FIFA number 10 ranked Colombia, China, and FIFA world number one ranked Germany in the semifinals,  Team USA not only reached the goal they set for themselves when this tournament started, they got the finals matchup they wanted in Vancouver with Japan.

And far from being the tight finals matchup that everyone expected, it turned into a surprising 5-2 rout as the USA scored four goals in a 16 minute onslaught that avenged the 2011 FIFA finals loss in Germany on penalty kicks to the Nadeshiko and sent them on cruise control to the FIFA women's world championship and first since 1999.

The Houston Dash's Carli Lloyd got things off to a fast and successful start when just 3 minutes into the match she scored the first of her three goals courtesy of a Megan Rapinoe corner kick to put Team USA up 1-0.

Two minutes later Lloyd was Janie on the spot as another corner kick from Lauren Holiday found its way through a maze of players to her foot and she tapped it in the net from short range for her second goal and fifth of the tournament which put the Red White and Blue up 2-0. 

Lauren Holiday would score in the 14th minute to put Team USA up 3-0, but the offensive fireworks in BC Place weren't done yet to the delight of the pro-American crowd. 

And if it wasn't enough for Carli Lloyd to score the two fastest goals in FIFA Women's World Cup finals history, she scored another one that will probably be talked about for decades that put the USA up 4-0

In what will rank up there as the goal of the tournament, in the 16th minute Lloyd capped off her finals hat trick by lobbing a ball from the midfield stripe 54 yards away from the Japanese goal that caught keeper Ayumi Kaihori way off her line.  Kaihori stumbled and fell on her back as she tried to get back in position to stop the ball that sailed past her desperately outstretched hands into the net.



Speaking of goalkeeping, Hope Solo was working on a record of her own.  When the match started she hadn't allowed a goal in 513 minutes, and for another 27 minutes Solo was handling her goalkeeping business until Yuki Ogimi fired a shot past her to cut the USA lead to 4-1.

She fell one agonizing minute short of breaking the Germans World Cup shutout streak record they set during their 2007 title run in which they didn't give up a single goal in the entire tournament.

In the second half Aya Miyama's free kick in the 52nd minute took a glancing blow off of Julie Johnston's head and unfortunately past Hope Solo for an own goal that cut the deficit to 4-2.

But just two minutes later Tobin Heath scored to push the lead back up to 5-2 to the delight of the 53,331 predominately American peeps in the stands as they began to party like it was 1999 and celebrate the Team USA women's third FIFA world championship and first in 16 years.

Hope Solo was deservedly awarded the Golden Glove Award as the best goalkeeper. and Carli Lloyd the Golden Ball as best player.   She just missed out on the Golden Boot because although she and Germany's Celia Sasic had six goals, Sasic scored her six with less playing time than Lloyd.

It was also a long awaited celebratory moment for Abby Wambach, Christie Rampone and Shannon Box, who have probably played in their final World Cups for the Red White and Blue (we have got to get a cooler nickname for our women and men's national teams) and probably won`t be on the Olympic squad in Rio as the seek their fourth straight gold medal.

But that's next year.  Congratulations to the now three time FIFA women's world champions.  Time to sew that third star on the US team jerseys.

And Carli, hope you have some more scoring magic left for the remainder of the Houston Dash season.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch- Playing Colombia

FIFA number four ranked Team USA gets its first match in knockout round play later tonight against a familiar opponent in FIFA number 10 ranked Colombia.  

The last time these teams met, it was during group play in the 2012 London Games, and it resulted in a 3-0 USA victory.

It's also a match that Abby Wambach probably remembers well because of the not so ladylike sucker punch she received from Lady Andrade that earned her a two game suspension.

Here they are again, fighting to not only stay alive in the knockout rounds, but face China.

Should be a fun match, and go Team USA!

Moni's Excellent Night With The Houston Dash

Been a rough week for me, and I got the opportunity thanks to Mike Craig to knock things off my Houston bucket list.  

I got the opportunity to on a cooler than normal Saturday night to not only check out BBVA Compass Stadium for the first time, but watch the Houston Dash play.

It was the first time since 2001 I'd gotten the opportunity to see a Houston based women's professional sports franchise play a game since the dearly departed Houston Comets played WNBA games in the former arena that is now Joel Osteen's sanctuary.

That's another post and another sport, so back to focusing on our femme footballers.

The opposition for the Dash was the Western New York Flash, and the Dash were missing six total players who were doing Women's World Cup duty for the USA and Canadian squads.  Carli Lloyd, Meghan Klingenberg and Morgan Brian were playing for Team USA and Erin McLeod, Lauren Sesselman and Allysha Chapman for the host Canadians. 

The Dash coming into this game were on a bit of a hot streak, having gone unbeaten in four straight games and looking to extend that streak in this World Cup shortened 2015 NWSL season in which every match is critical and only the top four teams make the playoffs.

My seats were in section 110, in the corner where I could along with the rest of the peeps who came see the corner kicks and all the action developing in front of goal.  We.also had a Latino guy in our section named Carlos who was attending the game as an early Father's Day gift from his wife and he was making this even more fun.

It took a while but we were finally rewarded with a Dash goal in the 24th minute as Jessica McDonald headed the ball into the upper left hand corner for her 5th goal of the season and a 1-0 Dash lead they would take into halftime.

The party continued for us and Carlos as Kealia Ohai, the sister in law of Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing, scored her third goal of the season in the 63th minute to build a 2-0 lead and grant Carlos' wish for a Dash victory, three points in the standings and just one point away from first place.

Carlos even got us and the 3,400 peeps in attendance after several tries to do the wave.

Mike had another surprise for us when the game was over and we got to meet a Dash player after the match.

That player turned out to be Dash forward Ella Masar.   She signed autographs and took photos with us to cap off a thoroughly enjoyable evening for me and my crew.

Can't wait to check out another Dash game, and the next time it'll be when all of our players doing World Cup duty will be back.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch-Escaping The 'Group Of Death'

Last night Team USA played their final group match in Vancouver against Nigeria with much on the  line. 

A Team USA win over the Super Falcons would clinch Group D, send them into the knockout round with a favorable draw that would allow them to avoid a clash with FIFA number one ranked Germany until at least the semis, and they wouldn't play until June 22 in Edmonton against the third place team from either Group B, E or F.

While they were an unbeaten (4-0) against Nigeria coming into that match, there's always that chance the breakthrough win for the Super Falcons could come at any time, and with the team having come off a draw with Sweden and being dropped to number 4 in the FIFA world rankings, Team USA fans had a lot to be worried about.

But with Alex Morgan finally starting and being paired with her running buddy Abby Wambach, the team we were looking for offensively finally showed up.

They kept the pressure on Nigeria from the outset, and in the 8th minute finally broke through with a goal from Julie Johnston that was waved off due to a controversial offside call

But they kept attacking, and it was Abby Wambach to the rescue in stoppage time just before the half as she headed a corner kick from Megan Rapinoe into the back of the net for the only goal the USA would need.



It was Wambach's first of the tournament and 14th career World Cup goal, putting her at second all time behind Brazil's Marta. And to those of us in the US LGBT community, I loved the fact it was two of our LGBT family members teaming up to score against a Nigerian squad that bans gay players and sending them packing as a result.

Thanks to another clean sheet for Hope Solo, who has now gone 243 minutes without allowing a goal, the Red White and Blue have escaped the Group of Death and await their initial knockout round match against the third place team from either Group B, E or F

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch-Next Up Nigeria

The final group play match for now FIFA ranked number four Team USA is taking place in Vancouver against Nigeria with much at stake for the Red, White and Blue. (We have to come up with a cooler nickname for our team).

They also slipped two spots in the FIFA world rankings.

Thanks to Meghan Klingenberg's header that preserved the 0-0 draw against Sweden, a win by Team USA in tonight's match at BC Place Stadium will allow them to clinch the 'Group of Death', punch their ticket to the knockout round, have an easier bracket, and face off in Edmonton June 22 against the third place team from either Group B, E or F.

If the Nigerians do something they have never done in Women's World Cup  competition and either upset Team USA or draw with them, it could depending on the result of the Australia-Sweden match either have them facing the Germans in Ottawa on June 20 , finishing second with a less favorable knockout round draw or knock them completely out of the tournament well short of their goal of winning the World Cup.

The Super Falcons aren't going to roll over and let Team USA waltz into the knockout round, especially since they have a chance with a win for the ages to advance to the knockout round themselves. 

So Team USA better not fall asleep on the job tomorrow night because they have much riding on the outcome of this match.  While Team USA's defense has been improving, their offense is a concern for Team USA fans.   

Here's hoping that whatever is ailing Team USA on the offensive end will get rectified starting at 7 PM CDT and continue through the rest of the tournament.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch-Great Start In Winnipeg

The 2015 World Cup has completed its first week and Team USA is off to a great start in Group D play after getting positive results in their matches with two FIFA top ranked opponents.

They beat number 10 ranked Australia 3-1 and held number 5 ranked Sweden to a scoreless draw that has them atop the Group of Death with 4 points.  Australia has 3 points thanks to their win over Nigeria, and Sweden has just two after draws with Nigeria and the USA.

Now they head to Vancouver, where they wish to be playing on July 5 for their final group match against Nigeria Monday.   While the Nigerians are only ranked number 33 in the world, the Super Falcons have several players from their U-20 squad that finished as runner ups last year to Germany.

But after getting through their two toughest opponents in Group D, Team USA will be focused on getting the points they need to win the group and clinch their spot in the knockout round.

We'll see what happens at BC Place on Tuesday, but one thing that definitely needs to happen for Team USA is they need to score more goals while playing that defense they played in the second half against Australia and the entire game against Sweden.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup USA Watch-Next Up Sweden

Team USA got their redemption campaign off to a great start with a 3-1 over Australia on June 8 thanks to two goals from Megan Rapinoe.

It added to a great day in which Nigeria forged a come from behind 3-3 draw with Sweden that left the Red White and Blue atop the 'Group of Death' with the crucial 3 points for the win..

They can clinch a spot in the Group of 16 stage with a win tonight in Winnipeg and Australia and Nigeria coming up with another draw.

However, they will have to get past FIFA number 5 ranked Sweden and their old coach Pia Sundhage to make that happen.

Should be a fun and interesting match, and me and the American Outlaws swarming Winnipeg right now hope that we get that win or no worse than a draw.

We'll see in a few hours.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup USA Watch-Starting Group Play Today Versus Australia

The FIFA world number 2 ranked USA women finally get the Group D party started with their opening round FIFA Women's World Cup match against Australia later tonight in Winnipeg.

Group D is considered this tournament's 'Group of Death', because in addition to the FIFA number 2 ranked USA and FIFA number 10 ranked Australia, has FIFA number 5 ranked Sweden and FIFA number 33 ranked African champs Nigeria in the mix in this competitive group.

Only three teams will advance to the knockout round, so one of these four teams will have their dreams dashed.   So getting off to a winning start and getting points in these three group stage matches (3 for a win, 1 for a tie, 0 for a loss) will be critical in surviving and advancing from Group D..

Once the Red, White & Blue (gotta come up with a cooler nickname than this) completes their match with the Matildas, they will face Sweden and their old coach Pia Sundhage on June 12  in Winnipeg and finish up in Vancouver on June 16 against the Super Falcons of Nigeria.

But the road to the July 5 title match starts today, and Team USA will hopefully be at BC Place in Vancouver as one of the two teams playing for the title.

But they have to get past Australia first.

2015 Women's World Cup Starts Today!

This is the month that women's soccer fans have been waiting for since the last World Cup in Germany ended with Japan taking the title home after winning the final over the USA in a shootout. 

The 2015 Women's World Cup will start today and run until July 5 north of the border with the host Canadians taking on China later today in Edmonton. 

This tournament has an expanded field of 24 nations, and the FIFA number two ranked Team USA will be seeking their third title and first since 1999.   Germany after the heartbreak of losing on their home soil to Japan in the quarterfinals, will not only come into this tournament ranked number one, but will also be seeking to take the trophy back home for a record third time as well.

The host Canadians after not winning a game in the group stage in 2011, not only want to get to the knockout round, but play in the final in Vancouver.

Speaking of Team USA, their first Group D match will be played June 8 in Winnipeg against Australia.  They will play Sweden on June 12 and finish up in Vancouver on June 16 against Nigeria.

Going to be fun to see how this month of women's soccer plays out, and it starts in a few hours.

Houston Dash Are Undefeated!

The Houston Dash, our women's soccer team that is the sister club of the Houston Dynamo, started their second NWSL season back on April 10.

This is a 2015 season in which all the NWSL clubs will play only 20 games instead of 24 matches because of the FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada this June.

One goal of the 2015 Dash was to improve on the 5-16-3 last place finish during their maiden NWSL campaign, in which an expansion team put together in only 90 days was competitive in many of the matches they eventually lost.

Another goal of the Dash was to improve the quality of players on the team.  They added Team USA veteran Carli Lloyd along with Morgan Brian and Irish national team forward Stephanie Roche in the off season to their retooled lineup that also includes Canadian national team members Erin McLeod and Lauren Sesselmann

They opened at BBVA Compass Stadium with a 2-0 win over the Washington Spirit, who were a 2014 NWSL playoff team.  Carli Lloyd didn't waste any time in her Dash debut, scoring the team's opening goal in first half extra time in the win over the Spirit.

They traveled to New Jersey to take on Sky Blue FC and came from behind to get a 1-1 draw.  

This season is off to a great start, and let's hope they can keep it up when they travel to Boston on April 26 to take on the Breakers.

Team USA Is In Group D In The FIFA Women's World Cup

One of the major sporting events we will get to look forward to in a few months is the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup which will be contested north of the border in Canada.

In addition to the expanded field of 24 teams, the prize money was increased to $15 million.
In addition goal line technology will also be in use during this tournament. 

One of the things the players also want in this tournament is to play on grass instead of artificial turf. an which the organizers and FIFA have been recalcitrant on for now.

But with the June 6 date for the World Cup rapidly approaching and the qualification round completed, it was time to find out the groups the 24 teams would play in for the initial round of the tournament.

The draw for the upcoming 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was held back on December 6 in Ottawa, with Team USA being placed in Group D as one of the tournament's top seeded teams. 

The other teams joining them in Group D when play kicks off June 8 in Winnipeg will be Australia, Sweden and Nigeria.   Sweden is now coached by Pia Sundhage, who coached Team USA to the 2011 Women's World Cup final in Germany and the 2012 Olympic gold medal in London.  She returned home to her native country to coach their national team after the Games.  

So that June 12 match should be an interesting one for FIFA world number one ranked Team USA, who is seeking to win their first world title since 1999 and they lost on penalty kicks to Japan in 2011.

The groups ended up as follows:

Group A: Canada, China, New Zealand, Netherlands
Group B: Germany, Ivory Coast, Norway, Thailand
Group C: Japan, Switzerland, Cameroon, Ecuador
Group D: United States, Australia, Sweden, Nigeria
Group E: Brazil, Korea Republic, Spain, Costa Rica
Group F: France, England, Colombia, Mexico

Will be interesting to see how the tournament plays out this June.

Carli Lloyd's Coming To H-Town!

I see the Houston Dash were serious about putting a competitive team on the field after a challenging inaugural NWSL season that saw them finish last in the league.

The team recently announced they had acquired via a trade with the Western New York Flash US national team star Carli Lloyd in exchange for midfielder Becky Edwards, defender Whitney Engen and a 2016 NWSL third round college draft choice.

That's a lot for Lloyd, since Edwards and Engen were probably two of the best players on the Dash in the team's maiden season and Lloyd is going to be busy for a month in Canada next year during the World Cup.  But Houston Dash Managing Director Brian Ching believes the deal to acquire her services was worth it..

“She’s a household name when it comes to the US women’s national team. It’s going to help build our brand even more. These are the types of players we want to go after, these are the types of players we feel need to be playing here in Houston, especially if we want to be considered one of the best clubs around.

“We feel that to pick up a Carli Lloyd, it makes your team 100 times better and we’re a team that is looking to compete for the championship. She’s the kind of player that we can build a team around while she is here.”

We'll see what other moves Brian Ching has in store for the Dash to fulfill their goal of turning the team into a perennial NWSL playoff squad, but Dash games at BBVA Compass Stadium just got a little more interesting.

Trinidad And Tobago Starts Their FIFA Playoff Leg Today

In the history of the FIFA Women's World Cup, a Caribbean based team has never played in the tournament. 

With CONCACAF tournament qualification play dominated by women's soccer powers the USA, Canada and Mexico and only 16 women's national teams around the world being involved in the tournament, that made it tough for a Caribbean based  women's team to break through a tough CONCACAF region and play on the big FIFA international women's stage.

Female players in Caribbean nations also had to contend with the sexist notion that soccer was a 'man's game'.  That resulted in little to no funding or corporate sponsorship for their teams.

;But with the FIFA women's tournament (finally) being expanded to 24 teams, and Canada hosting the 2015 edition, it created an opening for a Caribbean team to finally break through and qualify for the tournament.

The Reggae Girlz of Jamaica tried but were eliminated in the group stage after heartbreaking losses to Costa Rica and Mexico.

That left the Women Soca Warriors of Trinidad and Tobago with a goldenGroup opportunity to grab that history for themselves

After holding the FIFA world number one ranked Americans to one goal in their initial group play loss, the rebounded to beat Haiti 1-0 and Guatemala 3-1 to finish second in their group.

They faced Group B winner Costa Rica in the semifinals with a berth on the line, but lost after a 1-1 draw on penalty kicks.   Trinidad and Tobago still had a shot to qualify with a win in the CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament third place game, but they fell to Mexico 4-2 in extra time. 

That sent them to a two leg aggregate score playoff starting later today that has the Soca Warriors facing the daunting task of playing CONMEBOL rep Ecuador in the 9300 foot altitude of Quito's Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa.   They will return to the friendly confines of Hasely Crawford Stadium on December 2 for the second leg with the last Women's World Cup berth on the line.

I'm paying attention to this playoff for multiple reasons.  I want to see the Soca Warriors make that history because it's their best shot to do so. With Trinidad and Tobago being a fellow CONCACAF member, I'd love to see another CONCACAF squad playing next June.

It also strikes a blow for women's sports in the region and will hopefully lead to better funding and corporate sponsorship if they pull it off.

There's a large cadre of Trinis that live here in Houston and I'd love to see the smiles on their faces if it happens.   Randy Waldrum,, the coach of the Houston Dash, is also the national coach of the Trinidad and Tobago women's squad

Will they do it?  We'll find out as the opening chapter of this sports story unfolds later today.

TransGriot Update:  Trinidad and Tobago 0-Ecuador 0  in a Leg 1 scoreless draw.  

Team USA Is Going To Canada!

The USA women's team on Sunday finished handling their CONCACAF business in PPL Park and captured their seventh title with a 6-0 rout of Costa Rica on the strength of Abby Wambach's four goals and another clean sheet by Hope Solo.

The Ticas aren't too disappointed.  They will be heading to their first ever Women's World Cup thanks to their showing in this CONCACAF qualification tournament in which they won their group and made it to the finals.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention Team USA also qualified for next year's Women's World Cup in Canada in addition to winning the tournament?

That qualification business was handled when Team USA beat Mexico 3-0 in the semifinals on Friday to avenge that 2-1 loss Mexico pinned on them four years ago.

Speaking of Mexico, they will be going to the World Cup next year along with the Ticas after beating Trinidad and Tobago 4-2 in the Third Place game to capture the third CONCACAF auto qualifying spot.

As for Trinidad and Tobago's heartwarming quest to make history and become the first ever Caribbean based female squad to make it to the World Cup, they will have to play a two leg aggregate score playoff against CONMEBOL rep (South America) Ecuador in order to punch their ticket to Canada.

Since the Mexican team plays their games at high altitude (7200 feet),the Mexican Football Federation has made the classy offer of a training facility in Mexico City to help Trinidad and Tobago get ready for that 9300 foot altitude November 8 first leg in Quito that awaits the Soca Princesses.   The return leg is in Trinidad and Tobago on December 2.

Congrats to Team USA and all the CONCACAF nations that will be playing next summer in Canada.   Hopefully Trinidad and Tobago will get to join that party. 

And I'm hoping Team USA finally gets to add that third star on their jerseys next summer.