Guest-blogger Brian Boswell, coach of Rolling Hills Estates-based Ajax America Women of the Women’s Premier Soccer League, a team that is usually a contender for the national championship, is familiar with many of the prospective candidates for the U.S. Women’s National Team coaching job.

Here, he handicaps the field of potential successors to Greg Ryan, who was fired Monday:

There are two main female candidates, UCLA and Under-20 U.S. Womens National Team coach Jill Ellis and Navys Carin Gabarra Jennings, a former U.S. National Team star who grew up on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Under Ellis, UCLA is a perennial NCAA championship contender.

As coach of the U.S. U-20 team, she has the twin advantages of access to the inner workings of the U.S. Soccer Federation and knowledge of up and coming young players.

I have always found her to easy to talk to and a good person to coach against.

Would Jill give up the security of UCLA for the national team job? Her ego may say yes, but I dont know. She would do a good job if it was offered to her.

Gabarra has done a great job at Navy; military academies are difficult places to recruit players.

One of the original greats of U.S. soccer, she was MVP of the 1991 Womens World Cup and an Olympic gold medal winner.

Her husband, Jim, who coaches the Washington Freedom, is another candidate for the job. While she would have no problem commanding the respect of the U.S. team, shes had great offers before. Would she leave Jim in Washington D.C.? I dont think so.

The male candidates are former U.S. National Team Coach Tony DiCicco, Santa Clara University Coach Jerry Smith, the aforementioned Jim Gabarra, former coach of the WUSAs San Jose CyberRays Ian Sawyers and Australian National Team Coach Tom Sermanni.

DiCicco, coach of Soccer Plus Connecticut in the WPSL, has also just accepted the position of coach of the Boston franchise in the new womens professional league.

If the U.S. are looking for a coach just through next years Olympics, DiCicco, the highest profile candidate is the man.

Advantage: he knows the players and more importantly the inner workings of the U.S. Soccer Federation.

Disadvantage: he isnt the coach now, so something was wrong for Tony and the job to part company previously.

I have coached against Tony, who is courteous, professional, knows the game and a competitor. The post for the short term would still leave Tony available for Boston.

Smith has created a soccer dynasty at Santa Clara, the little Catholic school near San Jose.

He has the knowledge and ability to do a great job with the U.S. and has interviewed before for the job.

The husband of outspoken former U.S. national team star Brandi Chastain, he is open and honest and likely told the U.S. Soccer Federation things that at the time they did not want to hear.

Now its time for them to listen.

Jim Gabarra, coached the Washington Freedom to the 2007 W-League championship and also coached the club in the WUSA when the roster included Mia Hamm (a member of the three-person U.S. Soccer coach search committee).

He has coached at the highest level with the best players, has great knowledge of the womens game and has accepted a position to coach in the new womens professional league with the Washington franchise.

But I dont think he would leave Washington, Carin and their three kids to spend a lot of time in California.

Brit Sawyers, who has the instant credibility that comes from being married to former U.S. National Team star Julie Foudy, has been out of coaching at the top level for some time developing his wifes camps. Still, that would not stop him doing a good job with the U.S.

Sermanni, whose Australian team has put in some good World Cup performances, is surely worth a look. A Scot with a great sense of humor, he was coach of the New York Power in the WUSA, so knows the womens game on the national level and has great club experience.

If the U.S. Soccer Federation decide they need a quick fix, DiCicco has the inside track.

If its someone for the Olympics it could be Smith or Sermanni, although any of the others are capable of getting the U.S. back on top.

U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati announced the firing Monday of U.S. Women’s National Team Coach Greg Ryan.

Ryan was informed of the move Sunday morning by U.S. Soccer Executive Director Dan Flynn, the day after the last game of a three-match series against Mexico.

“We want to move in a different direction,” Gulati said, adding that Ryan’s player management in relation to the Hope Solo debacle played a role in the move. “I’m not going to point to any one factor or any one individual decision. Obviously, coach’s decisions impact games and all of that was weighed in.”

Gulati said a three-person search committee – consisting of himself, Flynn and soccer great Mia Hamm – would make a decision on a new coach within 30-45 days.

The new coach could be American or foreign, male or female, but must have experience at the highest level of the game and familiarity with the U.S. team given that Olympic qualifying begins in February, Gulati said.

In addition, Solo remains part of the national team pool and is not suspended, Gulati said.

“My guess is a number of participants … if they could do it all over again would do it differently,” he said of that situation. “I’m not sure the decision was made to ostracize (Solo).”

Ryan was appointed national team coach in January 2005 and led the U.S. to unprecedented success before the World Cup, but the team’s humiliating performance in China convinced Gulati to oust Ryan.

Ryan finished with a 45-1-9 record.

I’ll have more on Ryan’s firing in Tuesday’s column in the Daily News and Daily Breeze.

Ryan Out

At least that’s the supposition after you receive an e-mail from U.S. Soccer calling a 1 p.m. news conference today with President Sunil Gulati “to address the status of U.S. Womens National Team Head Coach Greg Ryan.”

No mention of Ryan being on the call, so whether he resigned or was fired you gotta figure he’s gone.

The Washington Post’s Steven Goff is already speculating about Ryan’s successor here.

College Roundup

A summary of Sunday’s women’s college action is here.

Not mentioned in the roundup: The Cal State Northridge womens (3-10-1) lost 3-1 to Cal State Fullerton (9-6-1) Sunday night at Titan Stadium, the Matadors’ seventh consecutive loss to the Titans.

As for the men, Palos Verdes Estates’ Kyle Nakazawa scored the game-winning goal in the last minute of the game to lead UCLA to a 3-2 win Sunday over Washington and lift them to first place in the Pac-10.

Nakazawa’s clutch goal was his first of the season and the sophomore midfielder also had an assist in the game, which saw UCLA extend its unbeaten streak to four games.

The Bruins win, coupled with San Diego States 2-0 loss at Oregon State, gave UCLA (7-5-2) the Pac-10 lead with 10 points at the season’s halfway mark.

Despite a Michael Clegg goal after just 62 seconds Sunday, Northridge and Maryland tied 1-1. Northridge dropped to 4-3-5 and Maryland to 6-4-4.

Cal State Dominguez Hills won 2-0 over visiting Chico State Sunday to improve to 14-3, 10-2 CCAA.

Sophomore forward Mario Guerrero out of Riverside’s La Serra High scored the game-winner, while sophomore goalkeeper Derby Carrillo of La Mirada got his eighth shutout as CSUDH posted its fourth-consecutive win.

Loyola Marymount (2-9-1, 0-5-0 WCC) out-shot Saint Mary’s 17-9, but still lost their fifth-straight game in a 1-0 defeat Sunday in a West Coast Conference game at Sullivan Field.

Chivas USA Playoff Tickets on Sale

Game 1 of the Chivas USA-Kansas City Wizards playoff series kicks off at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, while game 2 of the aggregate-goals series is set for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3 at Home Depot Center.

Tickets start at $14 and fans who purchase them by calling (1-877) CHIVAS-1 receive a limited-edition Chivas USA Road to Glory Playoffs T-shirt.

Rogers Rips D.C.

Finally, we should belatedly acknowledge Rolling Hills Estates’ Robbie Rogers, who scored two goals Saturday in the Columbus Crew’s road win over D.C. United. The Crew also beat the New England Revolution in their previous game, meaning they ended the season with victories against the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.

“Two really big wins,” Rogers said to The Columbus Dispatch. “So now it’s, ‘Gee, if we just could have got that other point here or that one there…”

Incidentally, in contrast Lawndale’s Kei Kamara ended the season on a down note, reportedly getting dropped for the game by Crew Coach Sigi Schmid

MLS Down To The Wire

In contrast to the Galaxy’s muddled playoff picture, Chivas USA must simply avoid losing tonight to the Houston Dyanamo at Home Depot Center.

Chivas USA beat writer Ivan Orozco has more on Chivas USA’s motivation.

I have another commitment tonight so Ivan will guest-blog from the HDC.

The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy doesn’t play today, but it’s still the most important day of their season, too. Galaxy beat writer Billy Witz will spend the day following the Galaxy’s playoff fate on MLSnet.com

He breaks down what needs to happen (and what doesn’t) here.

Ryan’s Hope

The U.S. plays the final game of its post-World Cup three-match series against Mexico today in Albuquerque, N.M.

Estranged former first-choice goalkeeper Hope Solo didn’t dress for the first game (in a supposed gesture of reconciliation), and third-choice Nicole Barnhart got the start in the second, so it will be interesting to see what happens today.

Cynical observers might say Coach Greg Ryan will get fired after the final whistle no matter who plays in goal, but U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati isn’t known for pulling the trigger quickly.

Still, the soap opera gives extra resonance to the accompanying magazine cover as well as the fact that before the tournament Ryan told me he thought Solo would be the most likely player on the U.S. team to emerge from the tournament as a star. I’m guessing he didn’t mean like this.

The USA has outscored Mexico, 9-1, in the previous two games so there’s unlikely to be much suspense about the outcome.

Still, since there’s no TV, the curious can check out the MatchTracker at ussoccer.com

Kick off is at 3:30 p.m.

College Update

A summary of Friday’s local college action is here.

In another college game, the Cal State Northridge womens team (3-9-1) defeated UC Riverside (8-6-1), 3-1, Friday afternoon at the UCR Soccer Stadium in Riverside.

A frightening collision between Northridge goalkeeper Ivette Esqueda and Riversides Jill Del Rosario delayed the final 12 minutes of the game for nearly half an hour.

Esqueda, making her fourth start of the season for the Matadors, left the field under her own power; Del Rosario had to be carted off the field by ambulance.

The win snapped the Matadors five-game losing streak and was their first win in 2007 on the road and in the Big West Conference.

The Matadors wrap up the road portion of their 2007 schedule at 6 p.m. Sunday against Cal State Fullerton.