Wednesday, August 20, 2008

TAMPA, FL – When the United States and Brazil take the field Thursday in China for the Women’s Soccer Gold Medal game at the Olympics, 10 players with W-League experience will be vying for the title as world’s best. For a pair of players who were once teammates in Jersey, they could find themselves literally going toe-to-toe. The game will be live on the USA network at 9:00 am ET. 

Brazilian star Formiga came to the US in 2006 as a member of the New Jersey Wildcats. After a 13-goal season that netted a midfield spot on the All-League Team, she followed coach Charlie Naimo to the expansion Jersey Sky Blue where she would meet up with current US international Tobin Heath.

Although the two would spend most of the season apart and away from the club due to their international commitments, the pair showed quite the chemistry when they were together in the first three games. In fact, in the first game of the season Formiga set up Heath, who had played the two Wildcat seasons prior to Formiga’s campaign, for two goals in a 4-0 win over Western Mass. In their next two games Formiga would tally a goal and two assists and Heath another goal.

Naimo’s footprint on the US squad via the W-League expands a bit further with three other players having played for him previously. Lindsay Tarpley (2005), Heather O’Reilly (2004-05) and Carli Lloyd (2004) were members of the Wildcats under his reign with Tarpley and O’Reilly helping win the W-League title in 2005. Lloyd also played for Naimo with the Central Jersey Splash in 1999.

Shannon Boxx (1999) and Angela Hucles (2005) have common roots, having both played for the Boston Renegades. Hucles returned to the league and earned All-Conference honors six years after making her debut with the Hampton Roads Piranhas, who also boast an alumnus on the Brazilian squad in Daniela (2005).

Sawa, Japan looking for Bronze

While the 10 W-League alumni in the Brazil-US game are guaranteed a medal, the surprising Japanese squad led by former W-Leaguer Homare Sawa (Denver 1999-00) will be trying to knock off the defending FIFA Women’s World Cup champions for the bronze.

Sawa has been a prime example of the impact the former W-League players have had on the tournament, scoring three goals in their campaign in addition to leading the side as its captain. They surprised many in the tournament. After downing New Zealand as expected in the opener, the Japanese narrowly lost 1-0 to the US before stunning Norway 5-1 after initially trailing. The victory put them, at 1-1-1, into the Quarterfinals where they surprised host China 2-0 before suffering a 4-2 defeat to the US in a group rematch in the Semifinals.

W-League alumni performance

In addition to Sawa’s three tallies, the other 30 W-League alumni accounted for 16 goals with only the lone player from New Zealand, Emily McColl, failing to advance for the US group that featured W-League alumni on every team.

Norwegian veteran Siri Nordby helped lead her side to the Quarterfinals before suffering elimination at the hands of the Brazilians. The Piranhas’ Daniela gave Brazil the lead a minute before the break with star Marta doubling the advantage early in the second half. Nordby came on in the 63rd minute looking to bring Norway back, but her converted penalty in the 83rd would not prove to be enough in the 2-1 loss.

Brazil’s path to that Quarterfinal included a tournament-opening meeting with Germany in a rematch of the World Cup Final from last fall that was also in China. This time the pair battled to a scoreless stalemate. Brazil would find their attack in the next two games to win the group on goal differential over the Germans. Daniela opened the scoring for the team’s 2-1 win over Korea DPR in the next match and the team cruised to a 3-1 win after rallying from an early Nigeria penalty on a hat-trick from Cristiane in the final group game.

After their Quarterfinal win, Brazil had to get past their foe Germany for a second shot at the Gold medal after falling to the US 2-1 in overtime in Athens to earn the Silver. The start was not good news for Brazil as German star Birgit Prinz found the back of the net only 10 minutes in, but Formiga found the equalizer two minutes before the break for an even start to the second half, which would turn in Brazil’s favor with a goal from Marta and two from Cristiane en route to the surprising 4-1 result.

The route to the final for the US was difficult with the side falling in their opener 2-0 to Norway. They rebounded with the 1-0 win over Japan on a goal from Lloyd and a 4-0 victory over New Zealand with goals from W-Leaguers O’Reilly, Tarpley and Hucles.

With Japan’s surprise victor over Norway, it put the US in a Quarterfinal showdown with rival Canada, a squad comprised entirely of W-League players. The Canucks came close to registering their first victory over the US in a major competition, but were unable to find the answer as the game stretched into overtime. Hucles opened the scoring in the 12th minute on an assist from O’Reilly, but the Canadians answered back on a fantastic long-range effort from Christine Sinclair, who had a brief spell with the Vancouver Whitecaps this season, that was set up by fellow Whitecap Clare Rustad. The match continued in a deadlock until Boxx found Natasha Kai orthe winner in the 101st minute of play to send the US through to a group play rematch with Japan.

Confident from their results against Norway and China, the Japanese gave the US a scare in the Semifinal, taking the initial lead 16 minutes in. But for the second game in a row, O’Reilly found Hucles for the opening US tally, this time putting the match on level terms. A Lori Chalupny goal in the 44th gave the US a 2-1 lead. Then in the second half, former Central Florida Kraze defender Heather Mitts set up O’Reilly for what proved to be the winner in the 70th. Ten minutes later, the O’Reilly to Hucles connection put the match out of reach at 4-1 with a consolation strike for Japan coming in stoppage time.

USL alumni in the Men’s Tournament

The results were not as fortunate for the US Men’s Olympic squad, which included 10 with USL experience, as a 1-1-1 finish in their group left them out of the knockout phase. The US opened with a 1-0 victory over Japan in which former PDL Goalkeeper of the Year Brad Guzan (Chicago Fire Premier) posted the shutout.

The second outing saw the US play the Netherlands to a 2-2 draw with goals from former Orange County Blue Star Sascha Kljestan and Super Y-League alumn Jozy Altidore. Another SYL alum Freddy Adu set up Kljestan’s tally I the 64th, which erased a first half deficit. Victory alluded the squad, however, as the Netherlands would find the equalizer three minutes into stoppage time.

The final match saw the US fall behind the 1-0-1 Nigerians 2-0, but Kljestan’s penalty in the 88th that gave them hope came too late as Nigeria capture the win and the top spot in the group.

The Netherlands would finish as the second team from the group before exiting in the Quarterfinals to Argentina, who will face Nigeria in the Final Friday for the Gold.