November, 2007

Ok.

Well, if you have a need for a gift for a soccer girl or guy, this might be something you want to consider.

Check this out...

Design Your Own Soccer Ball Kit (Toy) Manufacturer:Design Your Own Released:

The Missouri Athletic Club announced the semi-finalists for the Club's Hermann Trophy today. The Trophy honors top male and female Division I college soccer players in the United States. The award is college soccer's version of the Heisman Trophy and represents the highest level of individual achievement in the sport. Past female winners of the award include, Mia Hamm, Shannon MacMillian.

This year's women's semi-finalists are:

Danesha Adams, M, Sr., UCLA, Shaker Heights, Ohio
First-team All-Pac-10 selection…second in the league in scoring with 34 points (13 goals, eight assists)…ranked 19th in the nation in points per game (1.7)…her 136 career points rank second in school history…holds the school record for career starts…has 25 career game-winning goals…the all-time Bruins leader in NCAA Tournament scoring (37 points, 17 goals, three assists).

Yael Averbuch, M, Jr., North Carolina, Upper Montclair, N.J.
Returns to the MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalists list after being named one of three finalists in 2006…started all 24 games for the Tar Heels this season…has 18 points on six goals and as many assists…four of her goals were game-winners…earned two caps with the U.S. Women’s National Team earlier this year.

Ashley Banks, F, Sr., West Virginia, Annandale, Va.
Big East Co-Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Big East…leads the conference in goals with 15…first-team Academic All-America…her 38 points and 15 goals are school single-season highs…her hat trick against Georgetown was the second in her career and ninth in school history…2006 NSCAA/adidas Scholar All-Region…junior season was cut short due to injury…second-team All-Big East her first two years at WVU.

Stacy Bishop, F/M, Sr., Florida, Land O’Lakes, Fla.
Two-time All-Southeastern Conference first-team selection…led the Gators in goals (10), assists (10) and points (30) this season…has led the team in goals and points each of the past two years…candidate for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award…third-team NSCAA/adidas All-America as a junior…an All-SEC second-team pick in 2004 while playing at LSU, where she earned team MVP honors.

Brittany Bock, M/F, Jr., Notre Dame, Naperville, Ill.
Big East Co-Offensive Player of the Year…led the league with 10 goals in regular-season play…earned NSCAA National Player of the Week honors Oct. 7…second-team Academic All-America…her position change from midfield to forward has been a catalyst in Notre Dame’s late-season dominance…has career marks of 39 goals and 19 assists…NSCAA All-Region and second-team All-Big East as a sophomore.

Lauren Cheney, F, So., UCLA, Indianapolis, Ind.
Ranked second nationally in goals per game (1.05)…leads the Pac-10 in every major statistical category, including points (55), goals (22), assists (11) and game-winning goals (nine)…rewrote the UCLA single-season scoring record by scoring the game-winner and logging an assist in the NCAA Tournament win over No. 7 Virginia…NSCAA National Player of the Week on Oct. 24…one of five finalists for U.S. Soccer’s Young Female Athlete of the Year.

Amanda Cinalli, F/M, Sr., Notre Dame, Maple Heights, Ohio
Has appeared in 19 of 24 games this season despite battling a hamstring injury…has three goals and five assists this season…two-year starter with the U.S. U-20 and U-21 national teams…has 34 goals and 31 assists for her career…All-Big East selection in each of her first three seasons…her eight goals in NCAA Tournament play rank fourth in school history…her 98 career games rank 10th at Notre Dame.

Christina DiMartino, M, Jr., UCLA, Massapequa, N.Y.
First-team All-Pac-10 selection…started all 22 matches for the Bruins…tied for the conference lead in assists (11) and tied for fifth in scoring with 23 points…one of five finalists for U.S. Soccer’s Young Female Athlete of the Year…had three assists in a 6-0 win over Hawai’I and a pair of two-assist games in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Kerri Hanks, F, Jr., Notre Dame, Allen, Texas
The 2006 MAC Hermann Trophy recipient, becoming the youngest player, male or female, to claim the award…one of only four players this season to reach double digits in both goals (13) and assists (18) this season and was the first to reach the landmark…her 22 goals and 22 assists in 2006 made her the second player (along with Mia Hamm) to lead the nation in both categories…the third women’s Division I player to reach 50 goals and 50 assists before her senior season.

Tobin Heath, M, So., North Carolina, Basking Ridge, N.J.
Started 21 of 23 matches for the Tar Heels…has logged 1,927 minutes this season…logged nine points on two goals and five assists…an NSCAA/adidas All-Region selection as a freshman…a member of the 2007 U.S. Pan American Games team that claimed the silver medal in Brazil…currently a member of the full national team and the U-20 National Team.

Stephanie Lopez, D, Sr., Portland, Elk Grove, Calif.
Missed the team’s first 10 games while playing in the Women’s World Cup…the team was 10-0 with nine shutouts since her return…started all six matches for the U.S. at the World Cup…has two goals and two assists…a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award…third-team NSCAA/adidas All-America as a junior after claiming first-team honors as a sophomore…has 28 caps for the full U.S. team.

Kelley O’Hara, F, So., Stanford, Fayetteville, Ga.
A two-time All-Pac-10 first-team selection…played 17 games, starting 15…had a pair of two-goal games in three matches (v. Arizona and Washington)…added another against Sacramento State…a finalist for U.S. Soccer’s Young Female Athlete of the Year…trained with the U.S. national team in April and the U-20 Pan American Games squad in June.

Ashlee Pistorius, F, Sr., Texas A&M, Bloomington, Ill.
Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year…four-time All-Big 12 selection, including three consecutive first-team honors…started 90 consecutive matches for the Aggies…career highs of 12 shots and four goals against Baylor and a hat trick against Kansas…had seven game-winning goals this season…holds conference records for goals (81) and points (194)…leads the nation with 25 goals scored…second-team NSCAA/adidas All-America as a junior.

Mami Yamaguchi, F, Jr., Florida State, Tokyo, Japan
Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year…the only player to rank in the top 10 in points (3rd), goals (4th) and assist (7th)…set FSU records for points (62), goals (23) and assists (16) this season…her seven-game goal-scoring streak is a school record…recorded five multi-goal performances this season, including three hat tricks…first in school history in career assists (28) and second in goals (31) and points (90).

Claire Zimmeck, F, Jr., William and Mary, Fairfax, Va.
Two-time Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year…led the league in virtually every statistical category, including goals (16) and points (32)…closed the regular season sixth in goals scored (0.842/game)…her 42 career goals are fourth on the William and Mary list…scored the game-winning goal over No. 2 North Carolina…NSCAA/adidas All-Region selection as a junior.

Source: National Soccer Coaches Association. http://www.nscaa.com/

Ok, let me be clear. This is just wishful thinking. This isn't a RUMOR (shh--don't spread it). I don't know anything. I'm just making it up.

Wouldn't it be great if Debbie Rademacher, the former Michigan women's soccer coach, was hired to replace Don Staley at Alabama?

After all, she coached Michigan from 1994-2007 and had a slightly better women's soccer record than Staley (160-108-37 to Staley's 135-128-12.) She led Michigan to the NCAA Tournament nine times, including a trip to the quarterfinals in 2002. She clearly loves the sport and has a great rapport with her teams. I think she'd be a good fit to shake up some of that Alabama good-ole'-boy culture.

She said she wanted to spend more time with her children when she resigned earlier this month, but she came off of a difficult season. After 13 years as coach for the same university, I smell burn-out.

I wonder if Rademacher is talking to Alabama? If I were recruiting coaches for Alabama, Debbie Rademacher would be at the top of my list.

<< Katie Feehan, NJCU
Photo courtesy NJCU
New Jersey City University Student, Katie Feehan, has now earned the ultimate award for excellence on the soccer field and in the classroom, having been named to ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-America team.

According to NJCU news releases, the May 2007 graduate of NJCU with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice (Pre-Law), Feehan had a 3.98 undergraduate grade point average. She returned as a graduate student for the 2007-08 year to use her final season of eligibility and pursue a master’s degree. She was named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America District II College Division First-Team for the third consecutive season earlier this month, is now a three-time Academic All-America selection, having earned Third-Team Academic All-America honors in 2005 and 2006.

Way to go Katie. You embody the term, "student-athlete."

Does it seem strange to you that West Virginia University, a school known more for it's football and partying, would have successful women's soccer team?

In case you haven't been paying attention, WVU's women’s soccer team moves one step closer to the the 2007 NCAA College Cup when it plays USC in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships Friday, Nov. 30. WVU is hosting the game in Morgantown.

West Virginia, No. 4 seed in its portion of the bracket, has an impressive record of 18-4-2, and goes into the the game this weekend off a a 10-game unbeaten streak. Now, if women's soccer at WVU just had the same level of funding as its football and basketball teams.

<< Michelle Weissenhofer, Notre Dame
Photo by:Andy Mead/Icon SMI

In last Saturday's game against North Carolina, Michelle Weissenhofer of Notre Dame executed one heck of a flip throw. One such throw popped of team mate Brittany Bock's noggin for a goal that gave the Fighting Irish a 1-0 lead.

Just a few seconds later, Weissenhofer took a pass from Kerri Hanks and scored her own goal putting Notre Dame at a 2-0 lead. That put Weissenhofer in the record books for fastest 914 seconds) back-to-back goals in NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament History.

How cool is that? Best of all for Weissenhofer and team, Notre Dame won the game 3-2.

Oh my gosh! Did you see it?

<< Don Staley Alabama's Soccer Coach

Alabama's women's soccer coach, Don Staley resigned last Friday after 14 years with the Tide. The guy's an icon in women's soccer, having coached the ladies since the SEC added women's soccer as a varsity sport in 1994. His record with the Alabama was 135-128-12, and his career record now stands at 324-257-28 in 23 years as a head coach. In 2004, he became only the fifth coach in NCAA soccer history to record his 300th win.

I'm sure Alabama will miss him, but so will Women's Soccer. The guy's an icon and has done much to advance the sport. Let's hope he lands at another college soon.

Lindsay Cunningham, Brown University, Photo by DSPics.com
 
Brown University should be proud. Junior Lindsay Cunningham (Cumberland, RI) has made the 2007 All-Ivy Women's Soccer Team as selected by the League's eight head coaches. This is her third time with the honor.

Cunningham was named to the Second Team this year after earning Honorable Mention honors during her first two seasons of play for Brown. She's been one of the team's top scorers, and finished second this year with seven points (2g, 3a), while also scoring one game-winning goal. Lindsey has played in all 50 games during her time at Brown and has 38 points on 13 goals and 12 assists. She will enter her senior season next fall already ranked in Brown's all-time top 20 for both career points (18th) and assists (13th).

Amazing. I hope this girl is on a scholarship. She's making Brown proud.

Women's soccer never would have been the same if Mia Hamm hadn't started up soccer when she was little. She had such an impact in the women's soccer world that she is often thought to mean as much for it as Pele or Cruyff meant for men's soccer. But before being a great soccer player and athlete that broke down almost every possible record at her level, Mia Hamm is a great person and I'd like you to meet the human behind the soccer god in this Mia Hamm biography.

Mia Hamm as a Child
If you're like me, you're probably wondering how and when did Mia Hamm start playing soccer and what events drove her to become a super star of women's soccer. Mia Hamm's childhood circled around sports and athleticism and as her brother recalled, she was faster and more athletic than most of the boys on the block, so she was able to play competitively with and against them.

After taking up youth soccer training at her school's football team when she was only 12 years old, she learned the basics of soccer and started enjoying the sport more and more. Little did she know that three years later, when she was just 15, she would be called up for the United States national women's soccer team, becoming the youngest player ever to play for her country at that level (one of her first broken records).

That was kind of a weird situation, since Mia Hamm was a soccer player for her national squad but didn't have a fully professional playing contract with a club. But after seeing her performances, the North Carolina Tar Heels quickly signed her and they made quite a deal, since Mia Hamm stayed with the club for 4 seasons, scoring over 100 goals during her time here.

Mia Hamm's Accomplishments
Probably one of Mia Hamm's most important accomplishments is that she managed to bring women's soccer to a level close to what men are playing. She is one of the two women named in Pele's "List of 125 Best Soccer Players of All Times" and she is a symbol of women's sports throughout the World.

She also holds two FIFA World Player of the Year awards, which she got in 2001 (the first year the trophy was given) and 2002. Unfortunately, she would have gotten a lot more of these awards, but with the World Player of the Year awards being granted for women when Mia Hamm was already nearing the end of her career, she didn't really have a chance to widen her trophy room.

In numbers, Mia Hamm was the United States top goal scorer, with 158 goals in 275 matches, a remarkable record that will probably dust and rust before it is beaten. She scored more goals than any man or woman for her national team, although many soccer specialists will agree that the level of women's soccer is still in an early grade and cannot be compared to men's soccer yet.

She won the Women's World Cup twice, in 1991 and 1999 and also put the US national team through a Gold Medal at the Olympic Games in 1996. All these titles, records and awards make Mia Hamm one of the most important players in women's soccer and the fact that Pele considered to put her on the same list as legendary male players such as Maradona, Cruyff, Platini or Beckenbauer says a lot about the influence she had in the game.

Niv Orlian is the author and the owner of a Soccer Fans website that provides information on various topics related to soccer such as the history of soccer, rules, famous soccer players real time news, statistics, and training guides.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Mia Hamm (Champion Sport Biographies) (Book) Authors:John Sharkey, Joseph Romain Manufacturer:Warwick House Pub. Released:01 March, 2000