Sports Then and Now

After a last place finish in their maiden season in the WPS, the FC Gold Pride has taken a giant step to add some punch to their much maligned offense by acquiring All-star mid-fielder Camille Abily from the Los Angeles Sol.

Abiliy, a proven goal scorer and play-maker, scored eight goals and added one assist last season for the Sol. She was the team’s second leading scorer, two goals fewer than her teammate Marta, who scored ten times. The FC Gold Pride scored a total of 17 goals as a team, while finishing with a record of 4-10-6. Read the rest of this entry →

Players from Brazil's National Team including Marta, Cristiane and Fabiana have impacted WPS play.

With the announcement by FIFA naming Brazil’s Marta as their Women’s World Player of the Year for the fourth consecutive year, I hurried to my virtual Rolo-dex in an attempt to try to score a Brazilian perspective on the award.

Amongst the thousands of names which have found their way into my growing list of connections, I didn’t expect to find too many who make the land of Carnival their home since the Brazilian population in my rural town of Winchendon, MA can probably be counted on one hand.

Then I remembered a gentleman I had met at my first WPS Breaker’s game last spring. I tried desperately to jump start my memory to recall his name. After scurrying through every letter from A to R, I came upon the name “Marcus Santos” and knew I had struck pay dirt.

Santos and his band Bloco Afro-Brazil, had entertained the crowd of Breakers fans playing their Brazilian styled beat from the end zone of historic Harvard Stadium. They added a Brazilian flare to the game reminiscent of the World Cup and created an excitement which would become synonymous with Breaker brand soccer as the season went on. Read the rest of this entry →

Marta starred for the Los Angeles Sol in the first year of WPS play.

One year ago, Marta made history at the FIFA World Player Gala by publicly announcing her signing with the Los Angeles Sol of the new Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league which kicked off in March 2009.

One year later, the Brazilian arrived at the very same gala with her first season of WPS behind her and made history once again: this time by becoming the first player ever – male or female – to win the award for a record fourth-time as she was announced as the 2009 FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year at a gala in Zurich, Switzerland on Monday evening.

“I want to thank God for everything that is happening to me in my life,” Marta said after winning the award. “I also want to thank my football colleagues in Los Angeles Sol, Santos and Brazil.” Read the rest of this entry →

Most Americans only care about competitive soccer when it is time for the World Cup or Olympics. Would some minor "tweaks" make the game more appealing on a regular basis?

As Major League Soccer begins to wind down its season and Women’s Professional Soccer is two months beyond the end of their inaugural season, it is time to reflect on the status of soccer in the United States and do a little diagnosis and prognostication.

There are critics who assert that low scoring matches, ties, and no-scoring matches as outcomes that must be changed in order to save the American game. Some have suggested enlarging the dimensions of the goal, shrinking the size of the pitch, and shortening the length of the match, using PK’s as tie-breakers, and calling more penalties in the box as his key solutions.  In other words, tweak the game in order to increase scoring, and to eliminate ties as final outcomes.

The basic premise of such arguments, that soccer is not consistent with American sports culture in key aspects is a good one. Beyond that, the sport’s critics mostly miss the mark.

Changing the physical dimensions of the pitch or the goal, or the length of the match would diminish whatever international credibility American soccer may have, and make it more difficult for American players to adapt to the international game.

Read the rest of this entry →

Anglea Hucles of the Boston Breakers in game last season against St. Louis Athletica.

Angela  Hucles, a Boston Breakers veteran and 2008 Olympic hero, has announced her retirement from professional soccer.

Hucles will not travel with the U.S. National Team for its match against Germany on October 29 and she will not return for the second season of Women’s Professional Soccer after playing with the Breakers in 2009.

“I always wanted to involve myself in things I was passionate about and give 110 percent,” said Hucles. “I feel like I’ve come to a point where I no longer can give that much and I know that there are other players who are ready to step up to the plate in order to bring the World Cup trophy back to the U.S. and carry on the growth of professional women’s soccer in the United States as well.” Read the rest of this entry →