Olympics: December 2007 Archives

Pretty much the only way to generate soccer news in LA between Christmas and New Year's Day is to make it yourself.

So we did.

David Beckham is our LA Sports Person of the Year. His move to Carson (of all places) had the entire world watching, as Sports Editor Kevin Modesti puts it, "the LA Bloody Galaxy." His story is here and don't forget to vote on whether your agree with the selection.

At the moment most readers believe Kobe Bryant's trade threat/request was the biggest story of the year.

Just to catch up a little, U.S. Women's National Team Coach Pia Sundhage has called up a trio of players from USC and UCLA to the six-day camp that opens Thursday in Carson.

U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year Lauren Cheney and midfielder Tina DiMartino, both from UCLA, as well as forward Amy Rodriguez from the newly minted NCAA champion University of Southern California will get an opportunity to impress Sundhage.

Rodriguez, who scored twice in the NCAA semifinal, has played for the U.S. at the 2004 FIFA Under-19 Women’s World Championship in Thailand, and along with Cheney, DiMartino and Tobin Heath, at the 2006 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Championship in Russia. Rodriguez has five senior team caps, but did not play for the USA in 2007.

This is the first call-up to the full national team for DiMartino, while Cheney participated in residency training camp last year and has two caps and one goal. Heath will be participating in her third full national team training camp.

Here's the rest of the 27-player camp roster and some comments from Sundhage from the (edited) U.S. Soccer release:

Sundhage has called in 16 members of the USA’s 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team including striker Abby Wambach, who was recently named 2007 U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year. Defenders Kate Markgraf and Heather Mitts, and midfielder Aly Wagner were not named to the training camp roster as they continue to rehabilitate injuries. Veteran Kristine Lilly has not yet decided if she will pursue a spot on the roster for what would be her fourth Olympic games.

The additional 11 invitees range from numerous players with extensive youth national team experience to players getting their first-ever call-ups to the full national team as Sundhage continues to evaluate the player pool.

Sundhage called in seven players who recently finished their college seasons, including former University of Portland defender Stephanie Cox, a starter for the USA at the 2007 Women’s World Cup who missed the mini-camp in December, in part due to her wedding (she was formerly Stephanie Lopez).

Sundhage will select a 20-player roster to travel to China next month for the 2008 Four Nations Tournament.

“This is an exciting tournament as they will be the first games with the new coaching staff,” Sundhage said. “We want to continue to play with passion and start our change in attacking style. We want to try to dictate the tempo of the matches in the attack and while staying true to the principles in defending. The injuries we have to some veterans will most likely give some young players a chance (during the Four Nations), and it's important to find a good mix of young inspiration with experience.”

The full camp roster - goalkeepers Nicole Barnhart (Gilbertsville, Pa.), Briana Scurry (Dayton, Minn.), Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.); defenders Stephanie Cox (Elk Grove, Calif.), Marian Dalmy (Lakewood, Colo.), Keeley Dowling (Carmel, Ind.), Amy LePeilbet (Crystal Lake, Ill.), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant, N.J.), Becky Sauerbrunn (St. Louis, Mo.), India Trotter (Plantation, Fla.), Cat Whitehill (Birmingham, Ala.);
midfielders Shannon Boxx (Torrance), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis, Mo.), Tina DiMartino (Massapequa Park, N.Y.), Tobin Heath (Basking Ridge, N.J.), Angela Hucles (Virginia Beach, Va.), Ali Krieger (Dumfries, Va.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Joanna Lohman (Silver Spring, Md.), Leslie Osborne (Brookfield, Wis.), Angie Woznuk (El Cajon, Calif.); forwards Lauren Cheney (Indianapolis, Ind.), Natasha Kai (Kahuku, Hawaii), Heather O’Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Amy Rodriguez (Lake Forest, Calif.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.).

Finally, CONCACAF has announced the match schedule for the Olympic qualifying tournament that takes place in Tampa, Fla., and Carson in March:

Group A (Tampa, Raymond James Stadium)
March 11 Panama- Honduras 5:30 p.m. ET; U.S.-Cuba 8 p.m. ET.
March 13 Honduras- Cuba 5:30 p.m. ET; U.S.-Panama 8 p.m. ET.
March 15 Cuba-Panama 4:30 p.m. ET; U.S.-Honduras 7 p.m. ET.

Group B (Carson, Home Depot Center)
March 12 Haiti-Guatemala 5:30 p.m.; Canada-Mexico 8 p.m.
March 14 Canada-Haiti 5:30 p.m. PT; Mexico-Guatemala 8 p.m.
March 16 Guatemala-Canada 3:30 p.m. PT; Mexico-Haiti 6 p.m.

The semifinals are March 20 and the final is March 23 in Nashville, Tenn. Two from CONCACAF qualify for the Olympics.

Lots of soccer news today, so let's get to it.

Olympics in Carson

CONCACAF announced today that the U.S. will host Cuba, Honduras and Panama in Tampa, Fla., on March 11, 13 and 15 in Olympic qualifying.

Here on the West Coast it's Canada, Guatemala, Haiti and Mexico at Home Depot Center with doubleheaders on March 12, 14 and 16.

Series tickets, by the way, go on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday priced between $36 and $195. Call 213-480-3232. Individual match day tickets will go on sale at a later date, if they're still around.

Two teams from the eight qualify for the Olympics in China.

MLS Tweaks Rules

MLS announced today it added one international player slot per team and will not require the Galaxy's Landon Donovan and two other high-paid players to become designated players.

The moves mean:
* Teams can have eight internationals on the roster. This year teams were allotted seven international spots per team, four of them so-called senior international and three youth International slots. That distinction has now been removed.
*Donovan, striker Eddie Johnson of the Kansas City Wizards and Carlos Ruiz of FC Dallas who had big buck contracts before the adoption of the designated player or Beckham rule, will not become DP's, which simplifies things greatly for the Galaxy since they would have to trade for another slot.

MLS also released its (early) 2008 calendar.
The highlights:
Jan. 11- 15 - MLS Combine in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Jan. 15 - April 15 - Transfer window.
Jan. 18 - MLS SuperDraft.
Jan. 24 - Supplemental draft.
Jan. 26 - Pre-season training camps may begin.
March 29 - Season opens

Awards, Awards and More Awards

On Monday, UCLA forward Lauren Cheney and USC goalkeeper Kristin Olsen were named as two of the four finalists for the Honda Award, which recognizes the nation's top collegiate player.

Cheney led the Pac-10 with 23 goals, a UCLA single-season record.

Olson had 12 shutouts and allowed a record-low 13 goals for USC.

Also nominated: Ashlee Pistorius of Texas A & M and Mami Yamaguchi of Florida State.

Galaxy Update

Three Galaxy "moments" are up for consideration in awards in 18 categories for the best sporting moments in 2007 in Southern California. They are: David Beckham’s first game, the run to the SuperLiga final and the retirement of Cobi Jones. More info and vote here

Meanwhile, tickets to the Pan-Pacific Championship in Hawaii in February went on sale Tuesday starting at $10. Details here.

Finally, this link is a couple of days old, but new Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit riffs on England and David Beckham here.

Semifinal Shootout in Texas

For the Bruins and Trojans women's soccer programs, the season has boiled down to this.

I linked to the Daily Bruin and Daily Trojan previews of today's semifinal between the two schools Thursday; here's the Daily News' version.

There's more info here.

Sophomore USC starting goalkeeper Kristin Olsen of Orange has recorded 11 solo shutouts and three shared this season, equaling last year's program record program of 14 for the Trojans.

Here's a Q & A with Olsen.

For those of you playing hooky from work on a gray and rainy Friday in LA, the USC-UCLA semi begins at 4 p.m. on ESPNU (and will be replayed at 9 a.m. Saturday on ESPN2); the Notre Dame-Florida State semi precedes it at 2 p.m., also on ESPNU.

The weather is better in Texas.

Youth is Served II

The U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team won their first game Thursday under new head coach Wilmer Cabrera, winning 2-0 against Russia at the Development Academy Nike Friendlies in Bradenton, Fla.

Midfielder Carlos Martinez of Las Vegas and Stefan Jerome scored for the U.S.

The U.S. next faces Brazil at 11:30 a.m. Saturday live on Fox Soccer Channel.

Back in the South Bay, Red Bull starlet Jozy Altidore blogs for the New York Times about the U-23 USMNT Training Camp in Carson.

South Bay prep scores are here.

Solo Speaks

Finally, U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo, blackballed by her teammates after her World Cup comments, has spoken publicly for the first time since then ahead of next week's Women's National Team training camp in Carson.

I plan to head out to training camp Monday, so look for more on the team's first training camp under new Coach Pia Sundhage then.

Is here.

Check out the previous post for a picture gallery and more from the Under-23 camp at the HDC.

Late blogging today because I headed out to the U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team week-long camp at Home Depot Center in Carson today, the first under Coach Peter Nowak.

I'll have more on the camp in Tuesday's column in the Daily News and Daily Breeze, but here's a pictorial taste of Day 2 courtesy of Daily Breeze photographer Brad Graverson.

At top left is Nowak, top left and middle right is Columbus Crew midfielder Robbie Rodgers, who despite what the U.S. press officers say grew up in Rolling Hills Estates in the South Bay; middle right is Red Bull New York (for now) striker Jozy Altidore; bottom left is defender Mike Randolph, virtually the only member of the Galaxy's back four who covered himself with a measure of distinction last season; and bottom right is a winded Altidore.

Incidentally, the Crew's Eddie Gaven Eddie Gavin was a late scratch from camp for personal reasons (good ones, I was told without anyone being specific) and replaced by Aaron Hohlbein of the Kansas City Wizards.

Rogers, who came on strong during the latter part of the Crew's season sounded like he enjoyed playing with Argentine star Guillermo Barros Schelotto and hopes he will return to Columbus next year.

"Every time I played with him it was so much easier," Rogers said. "It made me a better player, playing with him."

Fontana's Maurice Edu who said he set - and achieved - his goal of becoming the MLS Rookie of the Year is reveling in living and playing in the multicultural, European-like atmosphere of Toronto.

"I like it a lot," he said. "(The fans) are really passionate about the game. They live and die for it."

Striker Sal Zizzo said the same about Germany, where he believes he's getting closer to making the 18-man first team squad in Hannover. His last name is pronounced Ze-Zo, by the way, not Ziz-Zo.

The last time I saw him in person, Zizzo was the best player on the field for UCLA in a preseason game against Loyola Marymount a little over a year ago.

Now he's turned pro, got picked up by a Bundesliga team and made his debut for the U.S. National Team.

"It's been a wild trip since then," he said. "It's great. (I'm playing) the best soccer I've ever played."

Now if he can just pick up the language (Zizzo has had two dozen German lessons).

Peter Nowak, who has a reputation for being brusque with the press, was friendly and accommodating, by the way.

I asked about the differences between coaching in MLS and at the national team level and Nowak observed that unlike in the frenetic pace of club soccer, you don't necessarily have 10 months to work with a team on a daily basis to put things right. There's less margin for error and the job is consequently more challenging despite the apparent slower pace, he said