Monday Morning Buzz
Playing a little catch-up from Sunday:
*U.S. Coach Bob Bradley has announced the roster for the Confederations Cup.
There's not much difference from the squad that played Costa Rica and Honduras: oft-maligned defender Heath Pearce returns, as does striker Charlie Davis, who has yet to demonstrate much in six national team appearances, while uncapped goalkeeper Luis Robles comes along for the experience.
Veteran defender Frankie Hejduk, who has struggled with injury, is rested, while Brian Ching and the ineffective Pablo Mastroeni were left out. I'll have more on the U.S. National Team in Tuesday's column.
The Los Angeles Sol, meanwhile, continued their dominating ways Sunday by dispatching the Washington Freedom, 3-1.
The question is fast becoming, with the season reaching the halfway point, not who will win the regular season WPS title, but who the Sol will face in the final (the regular season champion automatically hosts the title game).
Consider:
*The league-leading Sol (7-1-3) now has 24 points, double that of the second-place Freedom (3-3-3).
*French striker Camile Abily, who scored from the spot as well as the Sol's slickly-worked opening goal now has five goals in the last four games and leads WPS with six.
*The dominant Sol defense just missed an eighth shutout, but has conceded just four goals in 11 games, half as many as the league's next best defense.
Stats aside, the Sol just look vastly superior to any other team in the league in virtually every department.
Sunday's stunning first goal created by the quick-thinking Shannon Boxx, whose long ball upfield found Aya Miyama who fed Abily, ripped the Freedom defense asunder with its speed and measured touches.
The defense, meanwhile, is virtually impenetrable with few attacks of any consequence even reaching goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc, who deals with most of those that do with minimal fuss.
The Sol even had the luxury of trying usual defender Brittany Bock as a forward, a position she played in college. The result was an integral part of the league's best-defense quickly found her feet after a couple of shaky moments and dutifully scored on her sign-wielding mother's birthday, fulfilling the written request.
Quotable: "It was a great performance out there today," said Coach Abner Rogers. "We are very happy with the way we played. We did what we had to do today to control the rhythm and win the game."
No kidding.
Sol XI: Karina Leblanc; Keri Sanchez, Allison Falk, Martina Franko, Stephanie Cox; Aly Wagner (28: McCall Zerboni (88: Katie Larkin)), Camille Abily, Shannon Boxx ©, Aya Miyama; Brittany Bock, Marta.
Next: at Sky Blue FC on Saturday.
Updated
Sol midfielder Aly Wagner, forced to leave the game Sunday with blood streaming from a nasty gash after a clash of heads is Twittering this morning about the incident:
"My head is definitely aching..wish i could say it came from brilliant brain activity, but i think it has something to do with 9 stitches. .. Heading 101- hit ball not player."
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About 100 Percent Soccer
Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005 for the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles area newspapers. The blog of the same name began in 2007. A native of England, he began writing about soccer in the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat in the stands for one in the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook and follow him on Twitter.
Hello Nick,
Are you going to be at Tuesday's friendly with the Galaxy hosting Club Herediano? If so, you should pay special attention to the G's plucky up and coming supporters group, the Angel City Brigade. They have decided this would be an excellent opportunity to showcase what they are about. They are going to have an additional 100 members sitting with them and will be just about the only people in attendance.
I beleive that the group is a few years from being a truly elite supporters group in this league and is worth more publicity than they are receiving because of how their fanatical blue collar identity contrasts with much of how the Galaxy have defined themselves recently. Thanks again for covering the sport in the Southland however I believe that it will soon be impossible to tell that story without the ACB featuring prominently.
Best.
Nick replies: Excellent to hear the ACB will be representing. My colleagues in the press box and myself have noticed the growing ACB numbers, which is great to see. Is it my imagination or are Riot Squad numbers diminishing? Sadly, I will be at a Torrance City Council budget hearing Tuesday if you can belive it.
Great insight as always, Nick. Thanks for posting solid information on the Sol. In our world of immediacy, I am thankful to have journalists like you providing us with important and interesting news bites.
Cheers.