Sports Then and Now

Saint Louis Athletica of Women’s Professional Soccer, WPS, opened their 2010 exhibition schedule with a 4-0 win over the University of Illinois Women’s team on Saturday. Kristina Larsen, Eniola Aluko, Madelaine Edlund, and Shannon Boxx all tallied goals for Saint Louis.

For Coach Jorge Barcellos the game was a chance to see a lot of his new players and his new midfielder, Boxx, especially impressed him.

“She was unbelievable,” exclaimed Barcellos. “To have a player with this type of confidence in the field, and to control the game as she did, is incredible. She raises the level of the game, she helps us keep possession of the ball, and she orchestrates where every player should be. Just incredible.” Read the rest of this entry →

St. Louis Athletica announced their home and away schedule for 2010 on Thursday. The second season of the WPS will show four more games per team, bringing the total of games played to 24. The Athletica will host 12 home games at Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park this year.

A major highlight of the year starts immediately, with the Athletica hosting WPS Player of the Year Marta and FC Gold Pride on April 11.

“I love that we open up against Marta,” goalkeeper Hope Solo said. “Now that is the way to kick-off the season! Big game right out of the gate, you got to love that.”

The Athletica will also face FC Gold Pride on Wednesday, June 9.

St. Louis will travel to Chicago on Saturday April 17 to take on the Red Stars in their home opener. They will be looking for redemption as Chicago beat the Athletica in their home opener in 2009.

With the new 24-game schedule, the Athletica will play the seven other WPS teams at least three times each. They will face the Washington Freedom, Atlanta Beat and Chicago Red Stars four times.

Read the rest of this entry →

First of all, let me just say how disappointed I am that Adam Joshua did not invite me to his bachelor party, especially considering that Adam’s bachelor party was down in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Kind of like rubbing salt in an open wound as I sit here in Pennsylvania shoveling myself and various other people out from under a record breaking 30 plus inches of snow.

OK, enough about me and more on Adam’s wife to be Heather, who by the way is the kind of young lady that every young blooded American boy would love to bring home to mom of course it doesn’t hurt that Adam Joshua; A.J. if you will, is also cut from that same All-American boy next door fabric.

Yes that’s right, former Eagles Quarterback A.J. (Adam Joshua) Feeley and his better half soccer star (Philadelphia Independence) Heather Mitts, will exchange wedding vows today (Feb 13) in Cabo San Lucas Mexico, and officially consummate their seven year, on again off again relationship.

Mitts is a two-time Olympic Gold-medalist as a member of the United States Women’s National Team for the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics who has represented the U.S in over 100 competitive matches. She was also a member of the US team who finished second in the 2006 Algarve Cup.

Mitts is also known as much for her looks as her athletic ability. In 2001, Heather was voted by Playboy Online, as the sexiest player in the former Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA). Read the rest of this entry →

St. Louis Athletica announced today that captain Lori Chalupny is taking an indefinite leave from soccer to deal with concussion-related issues.

Chalupny will miss the USA’s trip to the Algarve Cup tournament in Portugal for the first time in six years. No definitive time of return has been determined for Chalupny’s return. The captain of the US Women’s National Team, she is also expected to miss a portion of the Athletica’s preseason training camp, set to begin March 1.

“I am taking some time off so I can get some additional testing done for these concussion related issues,” Chalupny said to WPS media. “I need to go through this process now to insure my health for the future. I certainly don’t like the idea of missing a tournament like the Algarve Cup, or missing any time with Athletica. I just need to get some rest and take care of these issues.”

Chalupny started in all 18 games she played in for the Athletica in 2009, scoring two goals and adding one assist. A starter for the WPS All-Star game, Chalupny was also named WPS Player of the Week for Week Seven.

A regular starter for the US women, Chalupny has 92 appearances with the national team, and has eight goals to her international career. Among her accolades, Chalupny has an Olympic gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Games, and was also a member of the 2007 Women’s World Cup Team.

This article was excerpted from a press release and reworked by freelance writer Lauren Salter.

photo: www.soccerbyives.net

With the Los Angeles Sol discontinuing operations in Women’s Professional Soccer and the players being divvied up among the remaining eight franchises in a distribution draft tomorrow, experts and fans alike have been speculating the order of picks.

One major question floating around the soccer world is: where will Marta go?

The Brazilian international was the top goal-scorer in the WPS in 2009 and lead the Sol to the league championship. Her technical play and nose for the goal makes her a dangerous forward, and her consistency in scoring will be a huge asset to her new team.

No one quite knows what the team General Managers will do tomorrow, and with speculations and rumors being tossed around, it’s anyone’s game. Some of the best players in the world are available, but it is unclear who will go first, let alone who will be selected one-two-and three.

With assistance of fellow Bleacher Report writer, Lauren Green, I used my own knowledge of the game and the league, and created a list of who might be the first ten draft picks.

1. St. Louis Athletica: With a huge trade coming on Monday, the Athletica exchanged key defender Kia McNeill, steady midfielder Angie Kerr (formerly Woznuk), and draft pick Amanda Poach for the Atlanta Beat’s first overall pick in the dispersal draft. A trade of this magnitude could only suggest one thing: Marta. With the Athletica looking to improve their goal scoring, the Brazilian would be a clear asset. However, recent rumors have indicated that St. Louis are looking to add midfielder Shannon Boxx to their roster. Boxx has international experience, regional roots (Notre Dame alumna) and a less expensive salary. She also has a nose for the goal and a powerful presence in the midfield (think Michelle Akers). St. Louis pick: Shannon Boxx Read the rest of this entry →