U.S. Women’s Soccer Star Hope Solo Arrested


KIRKLAND, Wash. (AP) — U.S. women’s soccer star Hope Solo was arrested at a suburban Seattle home early Saturday on charges of assaulting her sister and 17-year-old nephew, police said.

Officers responded to the sister’s home just before 1 a.m. after receiving a 911 call that a woman at the Kirkland residence was hitting people and that she refused to stop or leave, the Kirkland Police Department said in a news release.

They found Solo intoxicated and upset, saw injuries on her nephew and her sister, and arrested her after speaking with those present and determining that she was the primary aggressor, the release said.

She was booked into jail for investigation of two counts of fourth-degree domestic violence assault, and she was expected to remain in custody until an appearance Monday at Kirkland Municipal Court.

It wasn’t immediately clear if she had a lawyer. A telephone number listed for her was not accepting incoming calls Saturday, and the voice mail for a listing at the sister’s home was full.

The sister was not identified by police, but in her memoir, Solo writes that she has a half sister named Terry.

Solo, 32, has won two Olympic gold medals as a goalkeeper for the U.S. women’s national team. She also plays with the Seattle Reign of the National Women’s Soccer League.

“We are aware of the situation with Hope and are now gathering information,” the Reign posted on the team’s Twitter feed.

In 2012, she married former Seattle Seahawks tight end Jerramy Stevens. He was arrested just before their wedding for investigation of assault after a disturbance involving her, but he was not charged.

Solo said soon afterward that there never was an assault and that she and her new husband were happy.

“It’s unfortunate what the media can do to judge before the facts are out there. It’s hard to see, but it’s a hard truth, and it’s part of life,” she said then. “I’m happy. I’m happily married. I would never stand for domestic violence. I’ve never been hit in my life.”

via AP



U.S. Soccer Fires Women’s Coach Tom Sermanni


CHICAGO (AP) — U.S. Soccer fired coach Tom Sermanni hours after he was on the sideline for a 2-0 win against China on Sunday afternoon.

Sermanni took over the women’s program in January 2013. He previously spent eight years coaching Australia’s women’s team.

He helped the U.S. to a 13-0-3 record last season, but the Americans struggled at the Algarve Cup last month. They went 1-2-1 to finish an uncharacteristic seventh.

“We want to thank Tom for his service over the past year and half, but we felt that we needed to go in a different direction at this time,” U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati said in a release. “We will begin looking for a new coach immediately to guide our women’s national team toward qualifying for the 2015 FIFA women’s World Cup.”

Jill Ellis, the director of development for U.S. Soccer, will serve as the interim coach. The women’s team faces China again on Thursday in San Diego.

Ellis also had a stint as the interim coach in 2012, going 5-0-2 in seven matches.

“I’m disappointed that things didn’t work out, but I’d like to thank U.S. Soccer for the opportunity to have coached this team and also the staff and players for all their hard work,” Sermanni said in the U.S. Soccer release.

Sermanni’s dismissal was announced a few hours after Lauren Holiday and substitute Megan Rapinoe scored in the victory over China in Commerce City, Colo.

If he knew that was his last game with the team, it sure didn’t seem like it. He experimented with a 4-3-3 alignment (four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards) as part of the team’s preparation for World Cup qualifying, and talked about the team making the most of its offensive opportunities.

“I thought our movement was good, thought our passing was quite incisive,” Sermanni said after the game. “What we should’ve done better is finish the game off a lot earlier. We really need to be finishing these games off when we’re creating chances.”

via ap.org



US Women’s Soccer Team Beats Brazil 4-1


ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Sydney Leroux scored twice in the first half and the U.S. women’s soccer team completed its sixth undefeated year with a 4-1 exhibition victory over Brazil on Sunday at the Citrus Bowl.

Abby Wambach also scored in the first half, Erika Tymrak added a goal, and goalkeeper Hope Solo made a series of diving saves in the second half.

The victory in front of the team’s biggest crowd of the year at 20,274, gave the U.S. a 13-0-3 mark this year. It also pushed the Americans’ unbeaten streak to 38 — and 76 at home.

The U.S. controlled the ball and the field for much of the first half, breaking through with goals in the 15th and 17th minute. The first came when midfielder Heather O’Reilly fielded Kristie Mewis’s cross and dropped it to Leroux for a shot to the lower-left corner.

A foul then set up Wambach for a penalty kick that America’s career goals leader drilled into the lower- right corner past diving goalkeeper Thais. It was the 163rd goal for the 2012 FIFA World Player of the Year, and more importantly ensured the U.S. wouldn’t fall into the same trap as in the team’s last outing, a 1-1 tie against New Zealand in which the team failed to convert many potential winners.

Brazil, which didn’t get a shot until the 21st minute, got its lone goal in the 24th when Rosana took Rilany’s cross and slipped it inside the left post.

The Americans pushed back to a two-goal lead in the 38th minute when Leroux dribbled the ball from well outside the penalty era, cut to the right past a defender and fired it back to the left.

Solo ensured the lead would stand up in the second half for the Americans, making three spectacular saves in an 8-minute span as Brazil carved out a series of breakaway opportunities. Solo made diving saves on 1-on-1 opportunities, two by Raquel and another by Rosana.

Tymrak concluded the scoring off of Lindsey Horan’s assist in the 77th minute.



U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Vs. Brazil


The United States Women’s National Soccer Team will face Brazil on Sunday, November 10, 2013.  15,000 tickets  have been sold for the event. If you’re unable to attend the match in person you can watch the stream live on NBCsports.com. Follow all the action on twitter with the hashtags #USAvBRA and #USWNT. Follow @ussoccer_wnt for up-to-the-minute updates from U.S. Women’s National Team.

usa-vs-brazil

PRESS RELEASE
CHICAGO (Nov. 5, 2013) –
U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Tom Sermanni has named 18 players to the roster that will face Brazil on Nov. 10 at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla., in a match that will be broadcast on NBC at 3:30 p.m. ET. Fans can also follow all the matches live online via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and Twitter @ussoccer_wnt.

Tickets are on sale through ussoccer.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers throughout Central Florida (including many Walmart locations), as well as the Amway Center ticket office (open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) [Note: Tickets are not sold at the Florida Citrus Bowl except on the day of the event.] Groups of 20 or more can obtain an order form at ussoccer.com or call 312-528-1290.

Although the majority of the roster is made up of players who played in the USA’s recently completed October friendly matches, Sermanni did name uncapped goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher of the Boston Breakers as well as midfielders Amber Brooks and Erika Tymrak, who are both playing in Germany with Bayern Munich. Tymrak has one cap, earned on Sept. 3 of this year against Mexico. Brooks, a highly experienced player at the USA’s Youth National Team level, is looking for her first senior team game after training with the USA for the first time last April when the squad was in Germany and June when the USA was in Toronto.

In addition, 19-year-old forward Lindsey Horan gets her second call-up to the senior team after earning her first cap at the Algarve Cup last March. Horan made history by being the first American woman to skip college and sign a professional contract in Europe, and she is currently playing in France with Paris Saint-Germain. She has five goals in seven appearances so far this season and scored 17 goals in 20 games last year. Horan is still age-eligible for the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and is expected to be a key player on that squad when it attempts to qualify for that tournament.

TICKET INFO
U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team v. Brazil
Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, FL
Sun, Nov 10, 2013 03:30 PM
Please Note:  COME CHEER ON THE TOP-RANKED U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM AS THEY FACE THE FOURTH-RANKED INTERNATIONAL SOCCER POWER, BRAZIL! IT’S THE USA’S FIRST VISIT TO ORLANDO IN 14 YEARS! FOR MORE INFO VISIT USSOCCER.COM. 

Ticket Limit: There is a six (6) ticket limit for On-Field and Front Row seats. All fans age 2 and older must have a ticket to enter the stadium.

Sermanni also recalled defender Stephanie Cox, who was with the USA for the match against Australia in San Antonio on Oct. 20 but did not play. Cox, a veteran of two Women’s World Cup Teams (2007, 2011) and one Olympic Team (2008) had her first child on April 7 and returned to the field for the end of the inaugural NWSL season to play four games for Seattle Reign FC.

The match will be the USA’s first visit to Orlando and the Citrus Bowl since May 22, 1999, when the Americans also played Brazil. That 3-0 U.S. victory featured Mia Hamm scoring her 108th career goal to break what was at the time the international scoring record. More than 14,000 tickets have been sold for the Nov. 10 match, which will be the first meeting between the world’s top-ranked U.S. team and fourth-ranked Brazil since a 3-0 victory for the USA in Chiba, Japan, in April of 2012.

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster – Detailed Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 18-Nicole Barnhart (FC Kansas City), 28-Alyssa Naeher (Boston Breakers), 1-Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)
DEFENDERS (6): 16-Rachel Buehler (Portland Thorns FC), 14-Stephanie Cox (Seattle Reign FC), 8-Kristie Mewis (FC Kansas City), 3-Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC), 26-Leigh Ann Robinson (FC Kansas City), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City)
MIDFIELDERS (6): 7-Yael Averbuch (unattached), 22-Amber Brooks (Bayern Munich), 12-Lauren Holiday (FC Kansas City), 10-Carli Lloyd (WNY Flash), 9-Heather O’Reilly (Boston Breakers), 23-Erika Tymrak (Bayern Munich)
FORWARDS (4): 25-Lindsey Horan (Paris Saint Germain), 2-Sydney Leroux (Boston Breakers), 13-Alex Morgan (Portland Thorns FC), 20-Abby Wambach (WNY Flash)

Additional Notes:
• A victory against Brazil would give the USA its second undefeated year in which it has played double-figures in matches. The first was 2006, when the team went 18-0-4.
The U.S. WNT is 12-0-3 in 2013.

• Fourteen of the players called up to face Brazil were on the roster for the USA’s two-game set against New Zealand at the end of October.

• The four players who were with the USA in October that are currently playing for Swedish club Tyresö – Ali Krieger, Meghan Klingenberg, Christen Press and Whitney Engen — are unavailable due to UEFA Champions League Round of 16 matches against Fortuna Hjørring of Denmark on Nov. 9 and 14.

• Midfielder Megan Rapinoe is also unavailable as her club Lyon of France will face German power Turbine Potsdam of Berlin on Nov. 10 and 14.

• Sixteen of the 19 players played in the NWSL last season.

• Stephanie Cox last played in a WNT match on April 3, 2012, a 3-0 victory against Brazil in Chiba, Japan.

• U.S. captain Christie Rampone is currently the second most-capped player in U.S. history and the most-capped active player in the world with 286 career games played.

• Abby Wambach is the world’s all-time leading international scorer and will come into the Brazil match with 162 career goals. She has scored six career goals against Brazil.

News Story and more information: http://www.ussoccer.com



Abby Head On – ESPN Feature


Abby Wambach is one of the most popular soccer players in the world. She’s help put women’s soccer back on the map and one of the leaders of TEAM USA. ESPN does a great job of featuring Abby and how she narrowed down her choice of college.

abby-wambach-espn

The best line comes at the very end when Abby talks about not being offered much by the best college soccer program (North Carolina) at the time. She says, “I can decide to go to this school or I can go to another school and beat them.” That gives you a bit of insight into her competitive spirit.

SEC Storied Abby Head On premiered Wednesday May 15th 8pm ET on ESPNU.



Hardbody Ad Watch: Inside The Edge with Hope Solo


Popular American Soccer goalkeeper, Hope Solo is featured in this Gatorade spot which shows her working out and learning how her body performs. The Gatorade Sports Science Institute’s mission is to help athletes. The take away here is if you’re going to be an athlete you need to learn how to take care of your body and how to fuel it. We love what Gatorade is doing with women in sports.

 

 

Check out the video below and watch Hope get after it. Our favorite line in the spot, “Hard work gives you results.” Those are words to live by Hardbody Nation!



Abby Wambach Named AP Female Athlete of The Year


Congratulations to USA Women’s Soccer star, Abby Wambach for being named AP Female Athlete of the Year. Abby helped lead the U.S. soccer team to a runner-up finish and help revive America’s interest in women’s soccer. The 31-year old Wambach is the first individual soccer player, man or woman, to be win one of the AP’s annual sports awards, which began in 1931. She collected 65 of the 214 votes cast. A distant second in the voting was Wambach’s teammate, Hope Solo (38 votes).

ap female athlete of the year

Wambach is a competitive yet humble athlete. I had the opportunity to meet Abby at the ESPN W + Women’s Summit this summer and you could feel her passion when she spoke. It’s not an act it’s who she is as evident in her comments to the Associated Press. “I’m not a person who cares much about (individual) awards, but I really appreciate you guys recognizing this team,” Wambach said. “It helps keep this sport alive, and it’s really important.”

Read more on ESPNw.com.

Lead photo via AP youtube video show within.



Sports Nation “Awesomest Dude” – Vote Hope Solo


ESPN’s Sports Nation is holding a facebook contest to crown the “awesomest dude of the year”. The 2nd Annual bracketed contest pits NFL players Tim Tebow against Jared Allen. NBA’s Blake Griffin vs Kevin Durant. Soccer’s Hope Solo vs Motor Sports’ Travis Pastrana. Lastly UFC’s Jon Jones faces WWE / Actor The Rock.

How Hope Solo made her way into this contest is beyond us but hey props for this bad ass Hardbody for facing the boys. Travis Pastrana has over 3 million facebook fans so it won’t be a walk in the park for Hope to make it out of round one. If she does it’s safe to say she’ll face The Rock. Jon Jones is great fighter but he’s no match for The Rock. Cast your vote for Hope on the facebook page below.

 



Hope Solo has “Too Much Muscle”?


U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team goalkeeper Hope Solo is known for being an intense and outspoken athlete. She recently did a stint on Dancing with the Stars and made it into the final rounds of competition. Ultimately, she was voted off and after exiting the show she did an interview with Anderson Cooper. Hope spoke very candidly about being on the hit ABC show and what the judges thought of her.

“I was told I had too much muscle and I was too intense and wasn’t very dainty,” Solo said. As she goes on to mention in the interview… Um ya, she’s a professional female athlete so of course she’s going to have some muscle.

It’s all relative. Many of you reading this will think, what the… she doesn’t have too much muscle. As you can see in the ESPN BODY issue, Hope is obviously muscular but she’s also lean. Is this a look that most of America deems “too muscular”? Likely but most of America is also overweight.

The thing Hope brings to the table that many other athletes lack is her personality. She’s not only a world-class athlete but she’s not afraid to show her personality. Many times she’s unfiltered and it resonates with people. You either love her or despise her and there’s usually little gray area. It’s smart self-promotion on her part because it’s authentic.

ESPN asked Hope, “Have you ever felt self-conscious?”

She said, “I used to be self-conscious mostly about my arms and shoulders — they’re so broad, people assumed I was a swimmer or a volleyball player. It was difficult for me to wear a halter dress or a small tank top; I thought the first things people would see were my arms and shoulders. I remember trying to get out of lifting weights in college because I didn’t want to bulk up. I would do more reps to avoid putting on too much muscle mass. Or I would skip certain power exercises like cleans — I always tried to get out of cleans — and dead lifts. But now, it’s my arms and my shoulders that I’m most proud of. I appreciate my athletic look.”

So the question remains, is muscle marketable to mainstream? We say yes but it will takes a shift in perception and what “too muscular” means.

What do you think, is Hope too muscular?

{democracy:215}


Disclaimer: Reader discretion advised, please consult your physician before beginning any exercise or diet program.