Tag: FC Rosengard

Around the World of WoSo: NWSL TV details, Mittag to Sweden

Posted on by RJ Allen

Mittag on the move:

German international Anja Mittag has announced she will be returning to Sweden’s FC Rosengard this season. The-31 year-old striker is familiar with the club, having played for them from 2012-2015. She will leave Wolfsburg behind after just one season, and played her final game for the German powerhouse in the Champions League last week, losing to Lyon in the quarterfinals round.

Mittag appeared 68 times for FC Rosengard during her last tenure there, scoring a remarkable 61 times. After leaving Sweden in 2015, Mittag went on to play for Paris Saint-Germain for one year, playing in 18 games and contributing 10 goals, before returning to Germany to join Wolfsburg.

Mittag joins a squad that is filled with international playmakers, including Ali Riley (New Zealand), Erin McLeod (Canada), Lotta Schelin (Sweden), Lieke Martens (Netherlands), and Sofie Junge Pedersen (Denmark).

 

Reign sign Katie Johnson:

The Seattle Reign have officially welcomed Katie Johnson to the family. The dynamic forward was selected in the second round of the 2017 College Draft, eager to acquire the kind of player who always seems to find a way to score goals. Johnson is explosive in open spaces, and her finishing skill alone is appealing for the average soccer fan. In her last match as a senior she scored two goals for USC, going on to win the National Championship against West Virginia. Across her total collegiate career, she netted 24 goals and six assists.

The Reign lost two key pieces of the scoring puzzle in Kim Little and Manon Melis in the off-season, so bringing in a young talent like Johnson was a no-brainer. Even with a roster that has Bev Yanez, Nahomi Kawasumi, Megan Rapinoe, and Larissa Crummer, I still think Johnson has a shot at earning quality minutes this season.

 

USWNT trio out with injuries:

The United States Women’s National team will be without three midfielders for the two matches with Russia on April 6th and 9th later this week. Tobin Heath is ruled out with a back injury, Morgan Brian has a minor knee injury, and Lindsey Horan is dealing with a hip-flexor strain.

Heath is one of the key veterans on the team, appearing 131 times and has 18 goals. Two things the 28 year-old veteran loves to do is to create plays and distribute the ball, giving her teammates as many opportunities as possible. Brian has slowly become an important piece as well, already appearing 66 times and has six goals. Horan arrived on the scene first in 2013, and has appeared 33 times while scoring three goals.

 

Shim and Daly go the distance:

Over the weekend, the Portland Thorns held a pre-season tournament at Providence Park, consisting of the Chicago Red Stars, Houston Dash and the United States U-23 team.

In the finale between Portland and Houston, two players were equally responsible for securing their respective teams point in the 1-1 draw on Saturday. The first strike ordered was by Thorns midfielder Mana Shim in the 17th minute. She had a small window of space on the left of the 18-yard box and Shim just let it fly, ripping a left-footed shot that flew past Dash keeper Lydia Williams for the opening goal. While Williams did manage to get a slight hand on it, there was just no saving this ball. It was a spectacular effort and finish.

Next up was Rachel Daly’s turn. The England international and Dash forward got a hold of the ball in the 76th minute to run at the back four of Portland. She started on the left but drifted towards the middle and from just over 20 yards out, Daly unleashed a shot. Thorns’ keeper Britt Eckerstrom had no chance to save this shot either. It was the kind of goal you can watch over and over again and not get tired of, that’s how special it was. Not too shabby for a preseason game.

 

Lotzen goes down:

Bayern Munich forward Lena Lotzen tore her ACL during the Paris Saint-Germain Champions League match. Lotzen is unfortunately no stranger to injuries in her career, in 2014 she tore her ACL and then in 2015 tore her meniscus in the same knee. The 23-year-old has played for Bayern since 2010 and has made 70 appearances while scoring 23 goals. At the National team level, Lotzen has played in 25 games and netted nine goals for Germany.

Each time, Lotzen managed to make a comeback and is still young and has been playing at a very high level since she was 16. I hope she can continue to prolong her career and make another strong comeback.

 

NWSL releases TV schedule:

After patiently waiting and wondering, the people have gotten what they want. The National Women’s Soccer League has finally released the TV schedule, two weeks before the fifth season kicks off. The details regarding who will be calling the action were also included in the same release.

The schedule has 22 regular season matches every Saturday as well as playoff and championship coverage in the fall. The first televised game on Lifetime will be the Portland Thorns hosting the Orlando Pride at Providence Park at 4 pm. The reigning champions NC Courage will play their first televised game against FC Kansas City on June 3rd at Sahlen’s Stadium (formerly WakeMed Soccer Park) in Cary, NC.

Details of the four members of the broadcast team have also been announced. Brought on to call the play-by-play is Jenn Hildreth. Fans might remember her from her coverage of the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada and or the NCAA DI Women’s National Championship as well. Former USWNT star Aly Wagner has been added as an Analyst. Wagner was also a member of the 2015 WWC reporting team and calls USWNT matches.

The last members of the team are Dalen Cuff, who will serve as a pre-game host and sideline reporter and Kate Markgraf, who will join him on the pre-game coverage and also contribute as an analyst. Cuff covered the 2016 Rio Olympics when he represented NBC Sports Network while Markgraf is known for her work during the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games for NBC.

Around the World of WoSo: FA Cup, UWCL action, latest USWNT camp

Posted on by RJ Allen

Arsenal’s shocking loss:

In the Sunday quarterfinal of the FA Cup between Arsenal Ladies and Birmingham City, one team was expected to win and it wasn’t the Blues. Arsenal are the reigning champions, so to be knocked out so early surely has to be a blow. Defeating Arsenal’s talent-rich roster, which includes Fara Williams, Jordan Nobbs, Kim Little, Heather O’Reilly, and Jodie Taylor, has to be cause for extra celebration for Birmingham.

The Blues stood tall all game, and in front of 514 fans, they were more than ready for the challenge. Marisa Ewers secured the win in the 77th minute, when Ellie Brazil slotted a beautiful ball for her to put away in the top corner. Birmingham were hungry all match. Ellen White had some quality chances but was denied each time. While both sides had a handful of chances throughout the match, the 1-0 scoreline lasted through the final minutes.

The Blues are led by the energetic forward, White, who many might remember for her recent endeavors with the Lionesses. She scored the winning goal for England against the United States just two weeks ago in the #SheBelieves Cup—their first win against the U.S. on American soil. White will continue to lead her club team as they advance to the semifinals of the FA Cup.

 

Germany reclaims top spot:

The latest FIFA Women’s rankings were released this week, and a few changes have been made. The United States was once again dethroned and removed to second after Germany was named the number one team in the world. Rounding out the top five are France in third (has been in third for a handful of years now), England up to fourth, and Canada down a spot in fifth.

While some may not care for the rankings (or, rather, the system that determines them), I do think Germany is deserving of this. It is not just that the Americans haven’t been performing like the best team in the world for quite some time. Just last summer, Germany won gold for the first time at the Rio Summer Olympics. Germany was last ranked number one back in March of 2015, before the World Cup. If they were set back a step after just failing to medal in that tournament, they were quick to recover.

One team I thought deserved to move up was France, who just recently won the #SheBelieves Cup and finally played up to potential. France has world-class players at just about each position, I thought they would grab the second spot, and I would’ve put the United States at three or four. But at the same time, the rankings are justified by a system of points.

Teams who benefited from this system were Switzerland, who just won the Cyprus Cup and moved into 16th, and Spain, who won the Algarve Cup in stunning fashion in a match against Canada and moved into their highest-ever ranking at 13th. Sweden also moved two spots up to sixth thanks to an incredible silver finish at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

 

Chelsea moves on:

Chelsea Ladies have advanced to the semifinals of the FA Cup thanks to a 5-1 win over Sunderland on Sunday. Sunderland started the scoring by way of a penalty in the 18th minute (converted by Lucy Staniforth). But the momentum didn’t last long, as Chelsea took the lead, courtesy of to two goals from Ramona Bachmann in the 39th and 44th.

Bachmann wasn’t the only Chelsea player to grab a brace. Hannah Blundell took the spotlight when she netted goals in the 49th and 58th minute. Sunderland couldn’t get back on track, and Chelsea ran away with it, adding the cherry on top with a fifth goal in the 90th minute when Drew Spence headed home a Karen Carney cross. It was quite an emphatic win for Chelsea Ladies, who go on to another semifinal showdown.

 

USWNT report to camp:

The United States Women’s National Team will be called into camp March 30th in preparation for a pair of April friendlies with Russia. The matches will take place April 6th in Frisco (FS1) and 9th in Houston (ESPN).

Ellis has named 24 players for the camp but will narrow it down to 18 after the week-long session. Some notable returns include Megan Rapinoe, Amy Rodriguez, and Meghan Klingenberg. Young up-and-comers Rose Lavelle, Casey Short, Lynn Williams, and Kealia Ohai are back as well. One brand-new addition to the pool is Boston Breaker Megan Oyster, who has played admirably since joining the National Women’s Soccer League in 2015.

 

City winning on all fronts:

It has been a busy week for Manchester City, who competed in both the Champions League and the FA Cup, winning both matches. In the first leg of the UWCL, City beat the Danish champion Fortuna Hjorring 1-0 on a Lloyd goal—an incredible first goal in the Manchester kit.

On Sunday, in front of 504 fans, they played Bristol City in the quarterfinal of the FA Cup, winning 2-1. Steph Houghton and Nikita Parris made sure they advanced, each scoring to secure the victory for City.

The second leg of the UWCL against Fortuna is on Thursday at Academy Stadium, while the semifinals for the FA Cup are set for April 17.

 

Rosengard without Schelin:

FC Rosengard will be without Lotta Schelin when they travel to Spain for the second leg of the UWCL. Rosengard lost to Barcelona in the first leg 1-0 last week, so they need all the firepower they have. Without Schelin, FC will rely on Ali Riley, Lieke Martens, Marta, and Ella Masar to attempt to overcome the deficit.

Schelin has a slight hamstring injury, they deemed it too much of a risk to go and play in the second leg. The 33-year-old Swedish forward is a big draw no matter what team she’s on. After almost eight years with Olympique Lyon (138 appearances and 143 goals), Lotta moved back home in June for an opportunity to play once again in the Champions League. Schelin has scored six goals for FC Rosengard in just five appearances.

Around the World of WoSo

Posted on by RJ Allen

Plenty of good and not so good things happened this week in the world of women’s soccer. Here’s my weekly roundup for you.

Kelley O’Hara Taken Down From Behind:

The tackle heard around the National Women’s Soccer League on Saturday night was on Sky Blue and USWNT member Kelley O’Hara. This was her first game back from Rio. The challenge came in the 91st minute from an unlikely source in Chicago Red Stars midfielder Alyssa Mautz. The tackle came from behind, which usually does not end well. This was an uncharacteristic foul by Mautz, who I’ve seen play in person. I’ve watched countless footage from her A&M days and in the NWSL, and I’ve never seen her make that kind of reckless challenge. I am in no way excusing her decision to make that tackle, as it was a terrible mistake and one that was strange because of the circumstances (Chicago was leading by three goals, clearly about to win). After leaving the stadium in a boot and on crutches, O’Hara seems to be in good spirits, taking to Twitter to update her status:

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Ada Hegerberg Named Best Player in Europe:

If she didn’t have it before, this 21 year-old from Norway certainly has everyone’s attention now, after beating out French star Amandine Henry (PSG/Portland Thorns FC) and Germany’s Dzsenifer Marozsan (FFC Frankfurt/Olympique Lyonnais) to be named UEFA Best Women’s Player in Europe for 2015/2016. This is the first time that a German player hasn’t won (the last three winners include Celia Sasic, Nadine Kessler and Nadine Angerer). Hegerberg has scored an impressive 28 times in just 50 appearances for her national team since being called up in 2011—a feat exciting to see from someone so young. She plays her club ball at Olympique Lyonnais in France (D1 Feminine) and has made 43 appearances since 2014, scoring 59 goals along the way. She is proving to be a special player. Hopefully we will see more of the same from her in the future.

Duke Falls to Arkansas in NCAA upset:

When the number two ranked team in the country traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas last Friday, I was sure they would come away with a convincing win, but I was wrong. Not only did Duke lose, they only managed three shots on goal and gave Arkansas their first win in program history over a top 10 ranked opponent. Credit of course to the Razorbacks for using home atmosphere to their full advantage, playing a very impressive match in front of a record crowd of 3,010. With the disappointing loss this early in the season, Duke has two wins and, looking ahead on the schedule, it doesn’t get any easier as the Blue Devils face North Carolina and West Virginia in the next two weeks (also top 10 teams). The good news for Duke is that it’s early in the season; they have time to improve and learn from mistakes to get where they need to be. For me, this is the biggest upset in Women’s Division I so far. What will it do for Arkansas and Duke moving forward? What kind of effect will this game have on the rest of the season? In the long run, it’s a massive confidence booster for Arkansas, proving they can seriously compete with any team. Duke will need to forget this game and get back to the quality soccer we are used to seeing. Definitely worth keeping an eye on these two teams.

Seattle Show Signs of Life:

The Seattle Reign faced the Portland Thorns this weekend, and they came away with a 3-1 win to end the Cascadia Rivalry with one win apiece. Before the match, the Reign were in sixth place in the NWSL standings and seven points out of playoff contention. With these three points, they move to fifth (helped by a Sky Blue loss) and are still mathematically in the hunt for that fourth spot. Dutch playmaker Manon Melis scored two goals, and Megan Rapinoe added a third to ensure a victory for Seattle. Melis now is the Reign’s leading goal scorer, with five on the year. The way they played, the spirit they showed, and the style in which they won reminded me of the Reign from last year’s regular season. With Jess Fishlock (looking refreshed), Bev Yanez, and the returning Kawasumi Naho all grabbing assists, the Reign looked very comfortable going forward. Haley Kopmeyer stood tall in goal for Seattle and (in the absence of Hope Solo) made six saves, while keeping her back line organized enough to grab three crucial points. It’s no secret the assertion of Naho into the lineup certainly has had a positive effect on the team. For Seattle fans, it feels like they are finally coming together. But with four games left, is it too late? Playing in front of 5,888 at home seemed to give the Reign that energy and spark needed to win. I’m not counting out Harvey’s team just yet.

Marta and Schelin lead FC Rosengard to Swedish Cup Victory:

Less than week after the Olympics ended, many players were back with respective clubs, including five-time Ballon d’Or winner Marta and Olympic silver medalist Lotta Schelin. Both play for FC Rosengard in the top Swedish league, the Damallsvenkan. FCR are known for bringing in top players from all over the world; in the past they have fielded the likes of Ramona Bachman (SUI), Nilla Fischer (SWE), Formiga (BRA), Ana Mittag (GER), and Manon Melis (NLD). The rich history is understandably quite the draw for many players. The Svenska Cupen final against Linkoping FC had many recognizable players on display for Rosengard: Marta, Schelin, Emma Berglund (captain), Ali Riley, Ella Masar, and Lieke Martens. For Linkoping, one standout player is Stina Blackstenius, who many should remember played a superb tournament for Sweden in the recent Olympics. She scored the only goal for Linkoping but just didn’t have enough star power to find the win. As for Rosengard, they put on a dominant 3-1 performance, with goals from Marta, Schelin, and Martens to earn the victory.  This was the club’s third Svenska Cupen in program history, and with that kind of roster, one of its most impressive, surely.

Dunn Hasn’t Been Crystal Clear For Washington:

Last year’s NWSL MVP has yet to score a single goal in 2016. Yes, you read that correctly. Crystal Dunn had a breakout year in 2015, scoring 15 goals in 20 appearances. Last season she took 84 shots and 48 were on frame, yet this season, in 10 games Dunn has managed 23 shots; only seven have been on goal. Dunn hasn’t scored yet, but she has tallied four assists on the year. One explanation could be that teams have figured out how to frustrate her. With her speed, that is a difficult task, but players all across the league have shown the ability to contain her. Dunn has done tremendous work in games this season—her effort is next to none; she’s just contributing in a different way this year. It’s clear the Spirit, as a whole, have done a better job spreading the ball around, as 10 different players have scored this season, as opposed to seven players last season. Washington are sitting pretty in first place and have earned 35 points. They have more than proven that Dunn doesn’t need to do all the heavy lifting for them to have success.  If you would’ve told me at the beginning of this year that the reigning MVP wouldn’t have a goal to her name with four games left, I would’ve laughed and said that’s crazy. Turns out Dunn and Washington are the ones laughing all the way to the playoffs.