Abby Wambach on the Importance of High School Soccer

Abby Wambach is a soccer legend. Olympic Gold Medalist. World Cup Champion. NCAA D1 Champion. And, back in the day, she got to play soccer for her high school. Today’s soccer players have a new and difficult choice to make. Like most of her soccer peers, and the “99ers” who paved the way, she played […]
USA Wins the Women’s World Cup, with Huge TV Ratings

Women’s soccer remains the most-watched soccer match in TV history The 2015 Women’s World Cup final against Japan racked up 25.4 million domestic viewers. No other soccer game, women’s or men’s, has had more domestic viewers. Ever. The TV viewership numbers are still coming in for the 2019 Women’s World Cup Final. The broadcast has […]
Women’s World Cup Final: Preview from the Expert

There may not be a better person in the world to preview the 2019 Women’s World Cup Final. From 2009 until late 2017, Mirelle van Rijbroek was the director of all things girls’ youth soccer in the Netherlands. She trained, coached, and was an important part of the Dutch girls’ youth system that eventually became […]
Hope who? Naeher comes up big for the USA

Since before the 2019 Women’s World Cup even began, the question has been asked over and over. Could Alyssa Naeher come out of Hope Solo’s shadow? Through the group round and first two knock-out games, Naeher was tested. But only slightly. The questions still lingered. After all, Hope Solo had won the “Golden Glove” (best […]
Women’s World Cup OPINION: VAR is Ruining the Beautiful Game

New Rule for PK Shootouts during the Women’s World Cup FIFA recently announced a rule change for the highly contentious VAR procedure during the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Beginning with the knockout stage, no cautions will be handed out for goalkeeper encroachment during penalty kick shootouts. Imagine a keeper getting a second yellow thanks to […]
Put me in, Coach!

Jill Ellis, spreading the playing time love around. No Alex Morgan.No Megan Rapinoe.To Tobin Heath.All three women had what seemed like iron grips on a starting spot on Jill Ellis’s Women’s World Cup roster. But none of the three started, or even played in, the USA’s second group-round game. In fact, only four of the […]
Women’s World Cup | Fun Facts: Alex Morgan Edition

Did you miss the previous Fun Facts? No worries! Here they are: Keepers edition (Naeher, Harris & Franch) Defenders edition, Part 1 (O’Hara, Sauerbrunn & Krieger) Defenders edition, Part 2 (Dunn, Sonnett, Davidson & Dahlkemper) Midfielders edition, Part 1 (Ertz, Horan, & Lavelle) Midfielders edition, Part 2 (Brian, Mewis & Long) Forwards edition, Part 1 (Rapinoe, Pugh, & Press) Forwards edition, […]
13-0. What do you think?

France opened the 2019 Women’s World Cup with a 4-0 win over Korea Republic. Spain, Norway, and Brazil also scored three goals each in their opening matches. The USA wanted to make a statement in their opening match against Thailand. With their 13-0 win, the American women didn’t just make a statement. They closed the […]
American Soccer: Using Our Strengths and Addressing Our Challenges (Part 1)

A conversation with the Director of Talent Identification for US Soccer, Mirelle van Rijbroek The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup has kicked off in France. Leading up to this Women’s World Cup, I asked van Rijbroek the hard question: Who does she think will win the championship? She answered, “Well, I hope we do, of […]
WOMEN’S WORLD CUP | FUN FACTS: FORWARDS EDITION PART 2

Did you miss the previous Fun Facts? No worries! Here they are: Keepers edition (Naeher, Harris & Franch) Defenders edition, Part 1 (O’Hara, Sauerbrunn & Krieger) Defenders edition, Part 2 (Dunn, Sonnett, Davidson & Dahlkemper) Midfielders edition, Part 1 (Ertz, Horan, & Lavelle) Midfielders edition, Part 2 (Brian, Mewis & Long) Forwards edition, Part 1 […]
WOMEN’S WORLD CUP | FUN FACTS: FORWARDS EDITION PART 1

Did you miss the previous Fun Facts? No worries! Here they are: Keepers edition (Naeher, Harris & Franch) Defenders edition, Part 1 (O’Hara, Sauerbrunn & Krieger) Defenders edition, Part 2 (Dunn, Sonnett, Davidson & Dahlkemper) Midfielders edition, Part 1 (Ertz, Horan, & Lavelle) Midfielders edition, Part 2 (Brian, Mewis & Long) Forwards edition, Part 2 […]
Nike’s “Dream Further” Ad Features Local SoCal Players and Referees

Nike’s Women’s World Cup ad made its television debut during the Champions League Final on Saturday June 1 Since it’s debut, Nike’s cinematic and action-packed “Dream Further” ad has been racking up the views & shares — for good reason! It’s pretty amazing. Have you seen it? If you haven’t, check it out. If you’ve […]
Women’s World Cup | Fun Facts: Midfielders Edition Part 2

Did you miss the previous Fun Facts? No worries! Here they are: Keepers edition (Naeher, Harris & Franch) Defenders edition, Part 1 (O’Hara, Sauerbrunn & Krieger) Defenders edition, Part 2 (Dunn, Sonnett, Davidson & Dahlkemper) Midfielders edition, Part 1 (Ertz, Horan, & Lavelle) Forwards edition, Part 1 (Rapinoe, Pugh, & Press) Forwards edition, Part 2 […]
Women’s World Cup | Fun Facts: Midfielders Edition Part 1

Did you miss the previous Fun Facts? No worries! Here they are: Keepers edition (Naeher, Harris & Franch) Defenders edition, Part 1 (O’Hara, Sauerbrunn & Krieger) Defenders edition, Part 2 (Dunn, Sonnett, Davidson & Dahlkemper) Midfielders edition, Part 2 (Brian, Mewis & Long) Forwards edition, Part 1 (Rapinoe, Pugh, & Press) Forwards edition, Part 2 […]
Women’s World Cup | Fun Facts: Defenders Edition Part 2

Did you miss the previous Fun Facts? No worries! Here they are: Keepers edition (Naeher, Harris & Franch) Defenders edition, Part 1 (O’Hara, Sauerbrunn & Krieger) Midfielders edition, Part 1 (Ertz, Horan, & Lavelle) Midfielders edition, Part 2 (Brian, Mewis & Long) Forwards edition, Part 1 (Rapinoe, Pugh, & Press) Forwards edition, Part 2 (Heath, […]
Women’s World Cup | Fun Facts: Defenders Edition Part 1

Did you miss the previous Fun Facts? No worries! Here they are: Keepers edition (Naeher, Harris & Franch) Defenders edition, Part 2 (Dunn, Sonnett, Davidson & Dahlkemper) Midfielders edition, Part 1 (Ertz, Horan, & Lavelle) Midfielders edition, Part 2 (Brian, Mewis & Long) Forwards edition, Part 1 (Rapinoe, Pugh, & Press) Forwards edition, Part 2 […]