The Reggae Girlz Fail To Qualify For 2015 Women's World Cup

After their heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Costa Rica after fighting back to tie the match on a Shakira Duncan goal in the 77th minute, the Reggae Girlz found themselves in win or go home territory in their quest to qualify for the 2015 Women's World Cup 


Since Costa Rica had already clinched Group B with 6 points and the wins over both Mexico and Jamaica, both teams were playing for the Group B runner up spot and a semifinal date with FIFA world number one ranked Team USA.

Mexico and Jamaica came into the game at RFK Stadium with a win and a loss in group play and 3 points.  Because Mexico scored 10 goals on Martinique in their October 18 match with them while Jamaica scored a 6-0 win with Martinique back on the 16th,  they entered this final group match with a +9 goal differential to Jamaica's +5.  That meant that if both teams finished the game with a draw, Mexico would advance.

The Reggae Girlz struck hard and struck first with Donna-Kay Henry's third goal of the tournament in the 14th minute.  It was a  rocket fired just under the crossbar inside the far post from the right side of the box to take the early 1-0 lead.   But Mexico struck back with a Sandra Mayor goal in the 29th minute to send to match to halftime drawn at 1-1.

Mexico broke Jamaica's hearts in the 59th minute with the first of Veronica Corral's two second half goals.   She added an insurance goal in the 79th minute for the 3-1 win that allowed Mexico to finish 2-1 in Group B play while the Reggae Girlz finished 1-2.  

Jamaica came close, but dropping that match with Costa Rica turned out to be the death blow to their effort to become the first Caribbean based women's team to qualify for the Women's World Cup.

Hopefully the Reggae Girlz will get a chance to do so again in 2019, and the Jamaican Football Federation and some corporate sponsors step up with the funding.  

Let's hope they get enough funding so they can play the friendly matches they need against the international women's soccer powers to strengthen their team and make that World Cup dream a reality.

Reggae Girlz Trying To Qualify For 2015 Women's World Cup

While much of the attention in this CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament has been focused on Group A and the FIFA world  number one ranked USA squad, there is an interesting story developing in Group B worthy of being turned into a movie. 

For various reasons, including the perception that soccer is a man's sport, the Jamaican Football Federation hasn't funded a women's soccer program since it was disbanded in 2008. 

The frustrating part about that decision for women footballers on the island is that the Reggae Girlz were one of the top ranked squads in the Caribbean region. 

Jamaican female players who wanted to pursue their passion to play did so in other nations, but never gave up the dream of one day playing for their national team in a Women's World Cup.

The Reggae Girlz are back, and thanks to raising $200,000 via two crowdfunding campaign, Cedella Marley's enthusiastic support and being the Reggae Girlz international ambassador, the team is on the verge of making its Women's World Cup qualification dream come true. 

If the do so, they would be, like their male counterparts were in 1998, the first ever Caribbean based team to make it to the World Cup and it would do wonders for women's soccer in Jamaica.

Despite not playing any international friendly matches prior to the CFA and CONCACAF tournaments, they opened Group B play with a resounding 6-0 win over Martinique in Kansas City, and have a critical match with Costa Rica today in Chicago before finishing Group B play on October 21 in Washington DC versus Mexico.

The Reggae Girlz will want to #StrikeHard and finish first in Group B so they get the Group A runner up in the knockout round.  That way Jamaica won't have to face a match with FIBA number one ranked Team USA until the CONCACAF title game.

The six goals they scored against Martinique will definitely help them out if it comes down to goal differential to sort out the Group B standings for the knockout round.

Top three squads punch their tickets to Canada for next year's World Cup, while the fourth place team in this CONCACAF qualifying tournament has to play the CONMEBOL third place squad Ecuador in a two leg playoff for another World Cup berth.
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Let's hope the Reggae Girlz make history for their nation, they get the funding and corporate backing they need, and we get to see them in Canada next summer at the Women's World Cup..

TransGriot Update: The road to World Cup qualification just got a little bumpier.  Costa Rica beat Jamaica 2-1.

Houston Dash End Tough Inaugural Season

We Houston women's soccer fans were thrilled to discover a few months ago that we'd been able thanks to the Houston Dynamo to get an expansion franchise in the National Women's Soccer League that is supported by the United States, Canadian and Mexican soccer federations.

The Houston Dash on Wednesday ended that inaugural NWSL campaign with a 1-0 road loss in New Jersey to Sky Blue FC.

The Houston Dash were born in a frenetic dash (pun intended) of offseason activity starting in December 2013 when they became the first ever NWSL expansion club and the second owned and operated by an MLS parent club.   Retired Dynamo star Brian Ching was named as the club's managing director as he and team president Chis Canetti set about the task of building a club in the Houston Dynamo mold of being a scrappy, team oriented unit that could compete for a top four NWSL playoff spot immediately.

Randy Waldron was hired as the team's head coach January 3 and the Dash selected Kealia Ohai with the first pick in the NWSL draft as they built their inaugural team. 

When they took it to the defending league champion Portland Thorns in a 1-0 loss in their inaugural game at BBVA Compass Stadium in front of 8,097 people April 12 and had a tying goal in stoppage time disallowed, it looked like the Dash were on the right track to actually meeting that lofty goal of competing for a playoff spot in their inaugural season.    

But season ending injuries to Lauren Sesselmann, Aya Sameshima and Brittany Bock.the 0-6-1 stretch between the April 20 comeback 3-2 first franchise win against Boston and the 2-1 May 31 win over Western New York, lack of team depth, international call-ups, and lack of experience playing together as a cohesive unit eventually doomed their chances to make the playoffs. 

The Dash finished last in the NWSL with a 5-18-3 record, but nine of those losses were one goal games, and that leads to hope of better results in 2015.   

The Dash also have a dedicated fan base.   Despite only winning twice at BBVA Compass stadium this season, the Dash's average attendance of 4,650 was second in the NWSL behind soccer mad Portland.

The ninth place finish means we'll have the number one overall draft pick in 2015, but it is hoped that with time to use the long offseason to improve the team and put them on the road to being consistent threats to compete for and win the NWSL title.

Countdown To FIFA Women's World Cup 2015

If you thought that the World Cup wasn't going to happen until 2018 in Russia, think again.   There will be FIFA World Cup action happening next summer, and it'll be right next door to us in Canada.

The seventh edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup will happen June 6-July 5 with an expanded field of 24 nations for the first time playing in the cities of Vancouver, Edmonton, Montreal, Moncton, Winnipeg, and Ottawa.   The title game is set to be played at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver.   

The Women's World Cup Draw to set the groups will take place on December 6 in Ottawa and as of this writing, besides the host nation of Canada, six have qualified so far including defending world champions Japan, China, South Korea, Australia and first timers Thailand and Switzerland.

One team you won't see is North Korea, who is banned for this tournament for having several players test positive during the 2011 World Cup edition in Germany for banned substances.  

The official mascot for this upcoming Women's World Cup has already been unveiled, and she is the female great white owl named Shuéme

If you're wondering if FIFA world number one ranked and 2011 runners up Team USA has qualified yet, the CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament to determine three of the World Cup spots assigned to our federation isn't happening until October 14-26 somewhere here in the USA.  The fourth place CONCACAF team will have to fight a CONMEBOL (South America) third place finisher in a playoff for another World Cup spot. 

Team USA has had a turbulent year.  It has been 15 years since they captured their last world championship with the dramatic Rose Bowl penalty kick shootout win over with China.   But Team USA finished a shocking seventh in the Algarve Cup tournament with zero wins.   After the worst ever finish in the Algarve Cup tournament, the Stars and Stripes (need to come up with a cooler nickname) knocked off China's Steel Roses, then fired coach Tom Sermanni and replaced him with assistant Jill Ellis. 

While Team USA is deep, the question remains whether Ellis will have enough time to fashion Team USA into the dominating unit we all know and love that rolled though CONCACAF Olympic qualification by a cumulative score of 38-0 in 2012 

And yes, the host Canadians will be looking for payback next summer after being knocked out of the Olympic semifinals (they assert they were robbed) by Team USA.  They are also pissed that striker Sydney Leroux, one of the best north of the border players since Christine Sinclair, decided to play for Team USA.

Hey Canada (and Renee), don't hate because we got it like that. I'm glad sistah Sydney (yep, she's Black) is playing for my team. 

But like Canada, the rest of the world is catching up to our FIFA world number one ranked USA squad . The Germans have won two titles.  The French are a threat along with defending champion Japan and Pia Sundhage coached Sweden. And the Brazilians with Marta are always dangerous.

As far as the rest of the women's football world is concerned, the race is on to punch their tickets to Canada.  The CAF (Africa) will determine their three spots at a qualifying tournament to be held in Namibia October 11-25 while the 2014 South American Women's Football Championship will be held in Ecuador September 11-28 to determine two of the CONMEBOL spots.   UEFA (Europe) is still sorting out who will represent them and take their remaining seven spots, while New Zealand barring a monumental upset is probably going to get Oceania's lone tournament slot. 

So we still have a few months left before we know which teams will be playing in Canada next summer and which groups they will be competing in with the ultimate goal of being in Vancouver to hoist that trophy.   The only team that does know their group are the host Canadians, and they will be per FIFA tradition in Group A.

The answers to the rest of the Women's World Cup related questions we'll discover by the end of the year..
 

USA 2014 World Cup Watch-Escaping The 'Group Of Death'

The USA went into their final Group G match with FIFA number 2 ranked Germany in pretty good shape despite the disappointing draw with Portugal.   

A win would put them atop the group, and a draw would allow them to advance.as well.  There was also conspiracy theory chatter before the game that speculated because a draw would suit both nations purposes and with all the interlocking connections both sides had, both teams would park the bus and play keep away for 90 minutes and a 0-0 draw.  

Even if they lost to the Germans, as long as Portugal beat Ghana in Brasilia and didn't score more than 5 goals the USA would advance to the knockout round that way. 

But on a soggy pitch in Recife in which torrential rain rain fell in the city and during much of the match Die Mannschaft blew that speculation out of the window.   They came out of the gate relentlessly attacking the USA who had one less day rest than they did.   Thanks to Tim Howard making some outstanding saves and Omar Gonzales doing yeoman's work to clear the crosses peppering the USA box the game went into the half drawn at 0-0.

The other thing making American fans less nervous about the game was hearing that Portugal was up 1-0 in their match with Ghana thanks to a John Boye own goal

Things changed after halftime with the insertion of Miroslav Klose into the game for Germany.   In the 55th minute Howard punched out an initial Per Mertesacker's header that unfortunately went right to Thomas Muller.

Muller blasted it past a diving Howard into the right corner for his fourth goal of the tournament.

To make things worse two minutes later word came from Brasilia that Ghana's Asamoah Gyan scored an equalizing goal to level that match at 1-1.   But Cristiano Ronaldo saved the day once again for his nation by burying a horrendous clearance in the 80th minute for what turned out to be the winning goal for Portugal and the one that sent the USA through to the knockout round. 

Meanwhile in stoppage time the USA was fighting to get on the board and had its two best scoring chances of the match.  A counter attack in which Alejandro Bedoya unleashed a laser toward the German goal but Phillipp Lahm's sliding challenge blocked it.   Then the ensuing cross fell to Dempsey at point blank range, but his header went agonizing over the crossbar to end with the Germans on top 1-0. 

Germany takes Group G as expected, but the USA for the second straight World Cup advances out of the group stage as the surprising to the soccer pundits Group G runners-up .   

They get to rest after a brutal travel schedule and prep for a short 420 mile trip for them to their knockout round date Tuesday July 1 in Salvador against Group H winner Belgium. 
 

USA 2014 World Cup Watch-Missed Opportunity

Going into the USA's second Group G match in Manaus with FIFA number 3 ranked Portugal, thanks to their thrilling 2-1 win against Ghana, the USA with a win was in the unexpected position by international soccer pundits to clinch a spot into the knockout round.

But Portugal and their all-everythang player Cristiano Ronaldo were pissed off about the 4-0 buttkicking Germany handed them.   Ronaldo was even more pissed off about the criticism he was taking for not producing goals for his nation on his sports biggest stage. 

Portugal was playing for their World Cup lives.and the opening minutes of this match reflected it.  Just a mere five minutes into the match a failed clearance by Geoff Cameron was pounced on by Nani and he buried it into the upper left hand corner of the net over Tim Howard for a 1-0 Portugal lead they took into halftime.

But it wasn't for lack of trying by the USA.  In the 28th minute a Michael Bradley strike skidded agonizingly wide a few feet of the right goalpost.  

In the 55th minute came the USA's best chance to score and even the match.   A fantastic run by Fabian Johnson drew out the Portuguese keeper and Johnson crossed to a trailing Michael Bradley who had the goal and defender Ricardo Costa in front of him.   Costa got just enough of his knee out to deflect the almost sure goal to keep his side in the lead.

Then in the 64th minute came the equalizing laser from distance by Jermaine Jones to knot the score at one all and cause soccer fans across the USA to collectively exhale.



The USA kept attacking and was rewarded in the 81st minute with captain and my fellow Texan Clint Dempsey's go ahead goal off a Graham Zusi cross.   2-1 USA!

All the USA had to do was play keep away for 15 minutes and they were headed out of Arena da Amazonia with a signature win over a Top 5 ranked FIFA squad and a punched ticket to the knockout round. 

The USA successfully did so for 14:30.  Then Ronaldo proved in stoppage time why he gets $40 million to play the beautiful game.   A midfield giveaway turned into a Portuguese counterattack led by Ronaldo, a perfectly crossed ball by him into the box that Silvestre Varela headed past Tim Howard for the goal that salvaged a draw and had Americans going WTF? 




Ronaldo salvaged a tie out of the jaws of World Cup defeat and elimination.  

While the USA got a point out of the disappointing draw and can still advance out of the 'Group of Death' with a win or draw against the FIFA number 2 ranked Germans, they could have made their lives a lot easier tomorrow had they handled their World Cup business in Manaus last Sunday.

Because if they fail to get out of the group, they will be thinking about that missed opportunity and that Varela goal for the next four years. 

We'll see what happens in Recife tomorrow.

USA World Cup 2014 Watch-Revenge!

When the World Cup draw happened a few months ago with the USA ending up in the Group G  'Group of Death' with Germany, Portugal and Ghana, the June 16th game with Ghana was the one the USA pointed to.

Ghana was responsible for eliminating the USA out of the 2006 and 2010 World Cup Finals knockout rounds and payback was on the menu in this 2014 Brazilian edition.

The USA wanted to get off to a fast start in their opening Group.G match played in Natal and they did. 

Clint Dempsey scored 32 seconds into the match with the sixth fastest goal scored in World Cup history to stake the USA to an early 1-0 lead they stubbornly held despite determined Ghanian counterattacks until the 82nd minute.

Andre Ayew received a gorgeous back heel pass that he blasted past USA goalkeeper Tim Howard to tie the game and give USA fans 'there they go again' nightmares of another World Cup loss to Ghana . 

But not on this night.   In the 86th minute sub John Brooks headed in the winning goal off a corner kick and made a little USA World Cup  history by doing so.  He became the first USA sub ever to score a World Cup goal.

The USA still had to navigate the rest of the second half and 5 nerve wracking minutes of extra time to secure their opening Group G win and a vital 3 points in the standings.

And oh yeah, beating Ghana was the most delicious part of it. 

But this win was costly as striker Jozy Altidore left in the first half with a hamstring injury, Matt Besler had a milder version of one in the second half and Clint Dempsey ended up with a broken nose after being kicked in the face.

It only gets tougher for Team USA.  They face a Portugal team in Manaus mauled by Germany 4-0 that will be pissed off, determined to show the world they can play better than they did June 16 and fighting for their World Cup lives.

And if Team USA survives that match, they will close out group play in Recife on June 26 against Germany.  

   

2014 FIFA World Cup Starts Today

I'll have to set aside some time to do so while I'm in Philly, but the 2014 FIFA World Cup finally starts group stage play later this afternoon.

The host Brazilians will be kicking things off (pun intended) in Sao Paulo against Croatia 

The rest of the matches start tomorrow, and Team USA doesn't get to start Group G play until the 16th.   Team USA will face off in Natal against Ghana, who eliminated us in the knockout rounds of the last two World Cups in 2006 and 2010. 

As to how Team USA will fare in a 'Group of Death' that features the FIFA number 2 ranked Germans, FIFA number 3 ranked Portugal and all everythang Cristian Ronaldo and FIFA number 38 ranked USA killer Ghana remains to be seen for our Jurgen Klinsmann coached FIFA number 14 ranked squad. 

It'll be a miracle if we even get out of the group stage.   But if Team USA wants to be taken seriously instead of sneered at as a soccer nation, this is the perfect opportunity for them to prove they can handle their soccer business while the whole world is watching.

Houston Dash Play Inaugural NWSL Match Tonight

It's the day we women's soccer fans have been waiting for ever since we found out in December we would be getting a National Women's Soccer League expansion franchise in Houston. 

The Houston Dash will run onto the pitch at BBVA Compass Stadium later tonight for their first ever match against the NWSL champion Portland Thorns FC.  Interest in the game is high enough that the Dash are working on a sellout of the game and have opened up the upper bowl of BBVA Compass for ticket sales..

Their home games are also being broadcast on local television.   The Dash are the second NWSL squad to have a local television deal.  

Head Coach Randy Waldrum wants to put an exciting attacking squad on the field, and that has been the case in the Dash's preseason matches.   

As the Dash's roster took shape, we ended up with Canadian national team members Lauren Sesselmann (who is hurt right now) and goalkeeper Erin McLeod and Mexican national team member Teresa Noyola via trades, and interestingly enough via the NWSL draft with the second overall pick the sister-in-law of Texans linebacker Brian Cushing in Kealia Ohai  

Now the level of competition ramps up from the upper level college teams they played in preseason .  The Dash will get a major measuring test of where they are when they face off against the Thorns, who like themselves are also affiliated with an MLS team..  

Despite their expansion status, the Dash players have set lofty goals and are aiming to be one of the four teams left standing for the playoffs when their inaugural 24 game NWSL regular season concludes.

They are not only being watched by Houston sports fans, but other teams in MLS who are considering starting their own NWSL affiliated women's teams from scratch like the Dynamo did.with the Dash.

Best of luck in tonight's opener and hope it's a successful debut.  

TransGriot Update:  The Dash had a tying goal in stoppage time wiped out by a questionable offsides call and lost 1-0 to the Thorns 

Let's Go 2014 Houston Dynamo!

One of the interesting things about Major League Soccer is that like baseball, it has a long season and a very short offseason. 

It was just last November I was pissed off about the injury riddled Dynamo just missing out on their third straight trip to the MLS Cup championship match after falling to our hated rivals Sporting KC in the Eastern Conference finals.

I was angered by the Hateraid coming from other MLS fans jealous of the fact the Houston Dynamo had been to back to back MLS Cups and unfortunately lost to the LA Galaxy both times. 

And with me gleefully watching our MLS Cup tormentors be knocked out of the 2013 MLS Cup playoffs by Real Salt Lake I was hoping the Men In Orange would survive that series, we'd play Real Salt Lake and I'd get to finally witness a Dynamo championship parade in downtown Houston.

But that dream got ruined by Sporting KC and the referees.  Kofi Sarkodie scored in the 18th minute in that November 9 Eastern Conference final first leg in Houston, but it was disallowed. 

That goal would have given the two-time defending MLS Eastern Conference champions a win and a 1-0 aggregate score lead instead of the 0-0 draw we headed into Kansas City on November 23 with.  

The 2-1 loss at Sporting Park sent SKC to the December 7 MLS Cup title game they eventually won in a penalty kick shootout..

Well, that's over and I did my bitching about it back in November.  I was so mad I refused to even watch MLS Cup 2013.  

Would be nice for the Dynamo to flip their usual playoff script and at least shoot for the Supporters Shield so we could host those playoff second legs for a change.  

The other benefit of having the best record or as close to the top of the table as possible so that the Men In Orange would as the higher seed host the second leg of aggregate score playoff series.   Should they go on one of their patented Dynamo Time playoff runs through the MLS Eastern Conference bracket, they would host a potential MLS Cup title game at BBVA Compass Stadium.

So why am I talking about the other football team in H-town for a moment?  Because the 2014 MLS season kicked off today and I'm anxiously waiting for their sister squad, the Houston Dash to start NWSL play next month.   

La Naranja started off this campaign in the cozy confines of BBVA Compass Stadium with their opening match opposition being the 2013 MLS Eastern Conference semifinalists, the New England Revolution.

The Dynamo got the season opening party started in grand style with a 4-0 blowout win over the Revs in front of a record sellout crowd at BBVA Compass Stadium.  

The 22,320 orange clad peeps had barely gotten their butts into their seats when Will Bruin scored his first goal just 64 seconds into the contest to get this 2014 MLS campaign off to a wonderful start.    

The Men In Orange got a second Will Bruin goal in the 13th minute.  Bruin also got an assist on the 23rd minute rocket that Oscar Boniek Garcia blasted past New England goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth to help the Dynamo cruise to a 3-0 halftime lead. 

It was the Dynamo's night, and the score might have even been more lopsided had Shuttleworth not made spectacular saves on one on one breakaway opportunities by Bruin and Omar Cummings. 

Cummings finally got the goal that was denied him in stoppage time as a shot from Ricardo Clark bounced off his head and into the net

Hey, as Cummings demonstrated in last year's MLS playoffs, he does have a knack for scoring stoppage time goals.

Ask New York Red Bulls fans about that. 

Next up is a match against the hated Montreal Impact, who the Dynamo sent packing in a contentious Eastern Conference knockout game that a couple of Impact players took literally at the end of of it. 

Let's Go Dynamo!