Welcome to the updated version of the Women’s National Team Blog on ussoccer.com – your new home for all things related to the WNT!
This will be the final post in this version of the Women's National Team Blog, but fear not! We will lead you to the new home for WNT news, notes and comedy: just click here to visit our new digs on the new-look ussoccer.com
While the U.S. Women are on hiatus, you will have ample time to adjust to the new surroundings and we will too, but have no fear – the WNT Blog will still be the top destination for all your favorite videos, photos, insight and behind-the-scenes STUFF that we hope you love.
Have no fear, the former, (award-winning!) WNT Blog will still be accessible right here and you’ll still find all the cool stuff we’ve done over the past two years, which, as you know, is a LOT of cool stuff.
Thank you, as always, for your continuing support of the U.S. Women’s National Team –We'll see you over there! Make sure you change your bookmarks!
http://www.ussoccer.com/Social/WNT-Blog.aspx
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Time to Change Your Bookmarks for the New WNT Blog
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
25 Random Things
If you got one of the 2009 Official U.S. WNT Yearbooks at one of the two recent domestic matches, you saw that as part of the FactBook theme, each player listed a bunch of Random Things About Me. We only had space for 10-12 in the book, but each player did at least 25. To read the rest, you can go to ussoccer.com's Center Circle (updated link). There are more than a few amusing ones, including this one from Lori Chalupny (left):
24) I wish I could grow just a little bit so I could be listed (on the rosters) at 5-5 instead of 5-4.
Buy the 2009 WNT Factbook now at ussoccerstore.com.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Abby Wambach - 100 Goals Tribute
To commemorate Abby Wambach's historic 100th career goal, the talented folks at ussoccer.com's all_access video put together this Abby goals compilation, including her 1ooth, scored on July 19 in her hometown of Rochester, N.Y., in the 1-0 victory over Canada. The video, minus the 100th goal (we're not that quick) was played in the stadium moments after the end of the match. So from all of us at U.S. Soccer, well done Abby!
Enjoy.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Add Nairn
Upon further research by statistics guru extraordinaire Peter Hirdt of Elias Sports Bureau, we have discovered that Christine Nairn is the 9th youngest player ever to score a goal for the full U.S. Women's National Team. Kristine Lilly was the youngest at 16 years, 22 days, a record that will likely never be broken (one of many seeingingly unbreakable records by Lilly!).
Kristine Lilly
04/29/1999 vs. Japan (9-0 W)
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Let's Hear it for the Kid!
How's this for an amazing scenario: The USA will play a two-game series against Canada, and in the first match a player will score her 100th career goal and in the second a player will score her first? And the two players who were a part of that 100th goal, will also play a part in the first goal. And both goals will come late in games and be game-winners? Pretty amazing story, huh? And it's true! After Abby Wambach dramatically won the USA-Canada match on July 19 in her hometown of Rochester, N.Y., with a 79th minute goal assisted by Lauren Cheney, 18-year-old Christine Nairn scored her first-ever goal for the senior WNT tonight in the 89th minute to defeat Canada again by a 1-0 score. The goal came after head flicks from Wambach and Cheney. Nairn now becomes one of the rare players to score a goal for the full National Team before ever playing a college game (Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Heather O'Reilly being a few more that we can think of off hand). Nairn, a veteran of the U.S. team that won the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Chile will likely be a key member of the U.S. squad that will attempt to qualify for the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Germany. She will play her freshman season at Penn State in the fall. So congrats to Christine and to the rest of the team for pulling out two dramatic wins over a tough Canadian side. The WNT Blog now takes another break, although we might be back for a post or two here and there, until the U.S. team gets back together in late September for a training camp. For now, it's back to their WPS teams and the quest for a playoff spot. As always thanks for following the WNT Blog. Your patronage is appreciated. Blog out from Charleston, S.C.
Starting XI
Here's today's lineup from head coach Pia Sundhage:
Loooong Day
With an 8 p.m. ET kickoff tonight (Live on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports en Espanol), the U.S. players have about 10 hours to kill before leaving for the match. That's a long time to wait for a soccer player anxious to play a game. What do the U.S. players do all day? Not surprisingly, most just chill. A few of the players not starting tonight went for a light training in the morning. A few went for a walk in historic downtown Charleston. Megan Rapinoe says she "sits on my bed all day and wait for the next thing to come," which means the next meal or meeting. Yeah, the players eat and snack a lot during the day as well. Abby Wambach reads, a lot. The U.S. striker is a voracious reader. Amy LePeilbet is spending the afternoon reading and watching TV, but she'll have to make due with CNN, ESPN and Amanda Bynes' "Sydney White," a modern retelling of Snow White set against students in their freshman year of college in the Greek system. There's not much on daytime TV in Charleston. Stanford grad and potential future medical school student Rachel Buehler says, "I used to study all day, but now I just read." Hopefully, not medical textbooks. Suffice it to say, when the U.S. team boards the bus today for the match, they will be raring to go.
P.S.: The other day when we posted that a little known fact that Tobin Heath won the Outer Banks Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo in 2006 by catching a 88-pound Carolina Cobia. Ummm...we were joking. Not only does that fishing contest not exist, Tobin has never been in a rodeo of any sort and we have no idea what a Carolina Cobia looks like or how much a big one weighs. The WNT Blog apologizes for this moment of flippancy.
