HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Bring on 2010!!

SEASONS GREETINGS!

Season's Greetings to the soccer community and all of their friends.

Have a great holiday and an even better New Year.

Atlanta Beat signs Tracy Hamm

Atlanta Beat have announced Tracy Hamm as the newest player to join the expansion team’s roster.

Hamm is a defender from the University of California at Berkeley who was drafted by Bay Area’s FC Gold Pride in 2009. She did not play in the inaugural season of Women’s Professional Soccer but will join the Beat in 2010.

During Hamm’s 2002-2006 collegiate playing career, she amassed 12 goals, was an All-Pac-10 academic honorable mention three times, and started every game of her final two seasons.　 Hamm was a key factor in Cal's defense, which in 2005 set a school record for goals against average (0.475, seventh in nation) and tied school marks for both fewest goals allowed (11) and most shutouts (14) in a season.

Since graduating in 2006, Hamm played with the California Storm and currently serves as both Director of Coaching for Heritage Soccer Club in the Bay Area and　 Assistant Coach at her alma mater.

Atlanta Beat Head Coach Gareth O’Sullivan said this of Hamm - "Tracy has excellent strength and speed and will add depth of our back line.As a college assistant coach, she will bring a great attitude and level of maturity to camp in March."

Video Chat with Lene Mykjåland

Washington Freedom have a video chat with Lene Mykjåland starting at USA time 8.00pm ET.

click HERE for an exclusive interview with the Freedom's latest international.

Lene Mykjaland joins Washington Freedom

Washington Freedom made their first addition to the roster this offseason when the team announced today it has signed Norwegian forward Lene Mykjaland.
The former Roa IL forward has signed after being a post discovery player last season. She didn't make the move last time but this time she has decided to take the plunge.

The 22 year old is looking to join the Freedom after Roa's Champions League Quarter-Final tie against German team Turbine Potsdam in March 2010. She will be the second Norwegian player to sign to the WPS for this upcoming season after FC Gold Pride signed Solveig Guldbrandsen 2 weeks ago.

Mykaland has recently received a championship winners medal with Roa IL after winning the Toppserien(Norwegian league ) for 2009.She scored 21 goals this season to be top of the goalscoring charts.

“To live and play soccer in the U.S has always been a dream for me.” Mykjåland said. “It's the best league with the best players in the world and to get that opportunity to play on that level, and to play professionally, is amazing.”

MARTA & HOPE SOLO GRAB SILVERWARE

After missing out on the WPS title for 2009 Marta of the Los Angeles Sol and Hope Solo, Saint Louis Athletica finally and deservedly get their hand on a trophy.




The Los Angeles Sol forward Marta won her fourth consecutive FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award last night in Zurich. She finished with 833 points, beating out three-time winner Birgit Prinz of Germany (290), England’s Kelly Smith (252), Brazil’s Cristiane (239) and Germany’s Inka Grings (216).

Having now won the award more times than any other player, the Brazilian sorceress was understandably delighted. "I'm so surprised. I want to thank to God for everything that is happening to me in my life. Also, I want to thank my colleagues at Los Angeles Sol, Santos and in the national team. This is an individual award but without my colleagues I could not stand out and win any prize. I am happy for this 4th award.
I hope it helps women's football to grow."



Hope Solo is the 2009 Female Athlete of the Year, becoming the first goalkeeper to win the U.S. Soccer honor.Solo earned the votes from the public and votes compiled from members of the national media and U.S. Soccer representatives, including national team coaches and the members of the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors.
Solo allowed only one goal in just six matches for the national team.She was named MVP of the Algarve Cup in Portugal in March after leading the USA to the championship over Sweden and helped Saint Louis Athletica to a second-place finish in the WPS regular season.

Topping of a great first season in WPS Solo was named WPS Goalkeeper of the year in August.

“It’s a huge honor but also a really nice surprise to be voted the female athlete of the year for U.S. Soccer,” said Solo. “I especially want to thank everyone for voting for a goalkeeper, as well as our goalkeeper coach Paul Rogers for helping me think about the position in a more sophisticated way, both technically and tactically.” “Certainly, I also want to share any accolades with our defense, from the backs all the way up to the forwards, as well as Pia and our coaches who have put together a great team of people and players as we keep moving forward in a positive direction to the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.”

Congratulations to both from womans soccer insider.

ALEX SCOTT BLOG 20/12/09 -HAPPY HOLIDAYS

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Hello to everyone,

hope you are all doing well and getting ready for the holidays because over in England we are very ready for it. Not sure if it is very big in the U.S but in England everyone goes mad for christmas. The shops start selling decorations in November and the radio stations start playing christmas songs also which i think is so OTT(over the top) not that i am being a scrooge or anything its just that doing the whole christmas thing in Novmeber is a bit early for me.

But i am now ready for it. In my house i have my christmas tree up - which looks great if i do not say so myself, various decs are up around the house, my two dogs have their head bands ready to wear so when the christmas carol singers knock the door the two dogs look like two little rain dears....... hahaha only kidding, though i really should look for some christmas t shirts for them to wear so they can get into the grove.

ok so i think that is enough about christmas, for now anyway. I wanted to fill you all in on what this Brit as my Boston teammates call me has been up to in the off season.

Read on to find out more of what Alex has been up to HERE

Bachman signs for Atlanta Beat

After three seasons Ramona Bachman is leaving Umeå IK. The super talent from Switzerland will next season to play for the Atlanta Beat in the WPS league.Umeå IK loses one of its biggest stars.

The club tried to persuade Bachmann to remain in Sweden. But a visit to Atlanta helped her make a decision about the move.
Club director Britta Akerlund said in a statement "Ramona is a unique talent, We have been fortunate to have her with us for three seasons and have seen her develop into a true global player.It is a great loss not only for Umeå IK but for the whole Damallsvenskan when she chooses to go to the WPS league. We wish her with all our hearts good luck in the U.S. and keep my fingers crossed that she will achieve its ambitious goals"

"Ramona is one of the most exciting young players in the world," said Atlanta Beat Head Coach Gareth O'Sullivan. "She is confident on the ball, has good pace, and is very direct in the way turns to take players on."

"Ramona is one of the world's best," said Beat GM Shawn McGee. "We are excited about the future Ramona will bring to Atlanta, and we are positive that she will be an integral part of leading us to a Championship."

Bachman says she is looking forward to playing in the league to hopefully become the best player in the world.

"Many of my teammates are playing in the U.S., and I really believe that, in 2010, WPS will be the best women's league in the world," said Bachmann. "In seeing the number of players who are now leaving Sweden for the American league, I think right now the best players are in WPS, and I want to play both with and against the best players in the world."

"The Atlanta Beat wants to be the best team in the world, and since I want to be the best player in the world, it will be an honor to join an organization such as the Atlanta Beat."

2010 WPS Home Openers

Women’s Professional Soccer today announced the bulk of its home openers for the 2010 WPS Season, which features two new teams entering the league with the Atlanta Beat and Philadelphia Independence as 2010 expansion franchises. League play will begin with a full slate of games on the weekend of April 10-11, two weeks later than the start of the inaugural season in 2009 in order to accommodate warmer weather and avoid playing on the Easter holiday weekend. It will be the first time ever that four WPS games take place over one weekend.

The opening game for Fox Soccer Channel’s WPS Sunday on FSC national telecast package, which will return with the same appointment-television format in 2010, will feature 2009 WPS Champion Sky Blue FC (NJ/NY) playing host to the Chicago Red Stars on April 11 at 6pm ET. Sky Blue FC played their final home game of the 2009 season in front of a sell-out crowd at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, NJ, before its 3-game run through the WPS Playoffs, and will be looking for a successful start to their title defense. The Fox Soccer Channel national game in Week 2 will then feature the first television appearance for a WPS expansion team with the Philadelphia Independence traveling to play the Boston Breakers at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, MA on April 18, also at 6pm ET. The game will be a return to the Boston area for former No. 1 overall draft choice Amy Rodriguez and star defender Heather Mitts – both of whom played with the Breakers last year before signing with the Independence during the off-season.

Other home openers on the weekend of April 10-11 include Philadelphia hosting the Atlanta Beat in a match-up of expansion teams, Saint Louis Athletica taking on FC Gold Pride in St. Louis, MO, and the Washington Freedom hosting East Coast rival Boston at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, MD. FC Gold Pride will host its 2010 home opener against Sky Blue FC on April 17 at Castro Valley H.S. Athletic Stadium, a temporary venue, while the Chicago Red Stars will face regional rival Saint Louis Athletica with its first home game at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL.

Home openers for the Los Angeles Sol and Atlanta will be announced soon with Atlanta expecting to play its first home game in May at its brand new stadium built specifically for Women’s Professional Soccer at Kennesaw State University.

click HERE for fixtures so far.

PHEWWWWW! WE ARE BACK

OK. had some problems but we are back up & running , just in time for all the WPS news that has been happening over the past 4 weeks.

Some exciting news on the soccer front. Stay tuned!!