Icons, champions, and now legends.
The United States Women’s National Team have won back-to-back World Cup titles, elevating themselves as one of the top dynasties in not only soccer, but in all sports. These American ladies had a dominating performance all of the World Cup, inspiring the nation with the birth of a dynasty.
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What’s better on your birthday than a goal?
Happy Birthday to Alex Morgan, for the star USWNT forward, scores the game winning goal against England Tuesday night. Alex Morgan makes a royal celebration, sipping her tea, as she should on her special day.
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Alex Morgan set up a great opportunity for Megan Rapinoe to finish, and the veteran stepped up with yet, another fantastic set piece against France on Friday. Megan Rapinoe continues to step up big for the USWNT, leading the team to victory, once again, 2-0.
Rapinoe is helping carry momentum further and further for team USA into the World Cup. USA is banking on their set pieces, as they nearly had a second goal just off deflections, they are keeping the attack aggressive early in the second half.
Continue readingThe first time this 2019 FIFA World Cup, the United States Women’s National Team headed to halftime without a lead, entertaining a 1-1 draw with Spain.
It was the first time the USWNT conceded a goal in 647 minutes, dating back to an April friendly vs Australia. Spain showed the US early that, they weren’t just another team.
Looks like we have ourselves a match.
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We tend to forget that spring is more than just the blossoming of nature, it is also a time for blooming activity and play, such as sports. This season is mainly associated with America’s favorite past time, but also is a hub for soccer, hockey, and basketball.
With the tradition of opening day baseball, and all the hype that sports fans have for college basketball in March, we occasionally overlook other headlines happening. Along with the MLB, the MLS has also begun their season, and with much more hype that the game of soccer is evolving in the US.
With a just a month away from playoffs, this is a pivotal time for the NHL, as well as the NBA.
It is an exciting time watching teams fighting, clawing to make the post season. If you’re a Los Angeles Lakers fan, or maybe a Chicago Blackhawks admirer, then it might be another story.
Who’s in, and who’s out?
LAFC, a prominent new franchise in Los Angeles, exceeded expectations last year in their 2018-2019 inaugural season. Wining over 16 games, and scoring over 57 points overall in the MLS standings, for the LAFC was a great achievement.
Being an LAFC fan, I was bummed out when the team got knocked out by Real Salt Lake 2-3 in their first playoff game. It ended with a late goal by Salt Lake, being significant to the team, and how they lost some of their games this season.
I believe that LAFC will make playoffs again, but will hard to repeat such expectations for last year.
There is a bevy of sports to watch right now, and AAF will help relief your football grieving. The Alliance of American Football, has been pleasantly surprising to the football world.
Critics and skeptics rather took notice to some of the rule changes, especially the kick off in the AAF.
It is somewhat a mixture of Arena Football and the CFL, but also unique itself. The lack of kickoffs, is a major step toward making a safer game; the new rule changes give the NFL something to think about on their emphasis on player safety. The other shining element people are attracted to from AAF, is that it is an opportunity for great players to exploit their play.
There are many former NFL players in the new and upcoming game, witch makes it fun to watch. Former pros and college stars, make it interesting to see how the players react to yet, another chance in football.
What teams are going to bloom this March?
Photo by Keenan Hairston from Raleigh [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
It was an incredible ambiance at the Banc of California Stadium on Sunday night, thousands wearing the black and gold, LAFC really felt like the heart of Los Angeles.
I was blessed to see a great game by the LAFC, defeating the Colorado Rapids 2-0. The home team dominated the game, controlling possession all game long and creating the most chances on goal.
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Different cultures, different identities, just one city…
MLS soccer is reborn in Los Angeles with the emergence of “El Trafico”, a birth of the new rivalry in Southern California, Galaxy vs LAFC.
The atmosphere at Banc of California Stadium Thursday night was euphoric; a sea of black surrounding the stadium – filled with tons of LAFC fans representing the team’s colors with jerseys, flags, and even smoke. Fans have been counting down 115 days’ since the first meeting between LAFC and the LA Galaxy, expressing their anticipation and love for the El Trafico.
Following Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s epic MLS debut on March 1st, the beginning of a new rivalry in LA quickly became about with LAFC’s illustrious play. LAFC has only been a MLS squad for seven months, but has established themselves to be one of the talented teams in the league.
For LAFC to lead most of the game against the Galaxy was surprising for most fans, and kept surprising everyone with their early success. Including World Cup pedigree on their side, Carlos Vela was a star on the Mexican National team, and now is for LAFC.
Vela is one of the central stars in the league, scoring his eighth goal of the season last night to give his team an early 1-0 lead within the seventh minute. He has been named the MLS All-Star captain on Thursday, giving even more recognition to his stardom.
This is huge for a team like LAFC, because sometimes it is difficult to attract household names to a brand new franchise. With talented attackers like Adama Diomande, Latif Blessing, and of course Vela, this is a special
offense.
With a balanced defense and midfield, led by Lee Nguyen and now André Horta, LAFC can be a very interesting team to say the least.
The anticipated Galaxy-LAFC rematch lived up to the hype, ending in a 2-2 draw. There was dominance, excitement, and drama last night as the LAFC once again dominated most of the game, but let The Galaxy come back in the final moments.
Taylor Twellman, ESPN and MLS broadcaster, stated that the rematch was like déjà vu, but still thought it was a better game. Prior to the second half of the game, Twellman spoke on the MLS-record deal with Vancouver Whitecaps star Alfonso Davies to Bayern Munich, and how this could change the league in a big way.
Pretty soon clubs all around the world are going to introduce players from the MLS, and this will help mature the growing process of the sport in the US. This is not only huge for the MLS, but soccer in general for this country.
Photo by andywitchger (Dos Santos – MLS – LA Galaxy – Soccer) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
The World Cup is here at last, but for some, 2018 is completely a new experience. The USMT and their personnel, will have to watch from home for the first time since 1986.
FIFA has a different look and feel to it; top tier Italy, USA failing to qualify for the first time in years, and new faces like Peru, Tunisia surprising the rest of the world with their arrival.
Peru has been one of the most exciting headlines in 2018, qualifying for the first time in decades. They have been playing well against tough teams like Denmark, France, and now they have played one of their better games in a 2-0 shutout against Australia.
Tunisia has been another interesting World Cup story, but not as fulfilling as others, for they are on the brink of elimination after their last two losses. They however began with the hysteria of qualifying and the notion that they belong, with close matchups against some of the best in the world.
Let’s see if Tunisia can bounce back against Panama on Thursday.
The Round of 16 certainly features tons of parody; there is also countries like Morocco, Iran that are leveling with heavy-weights like Spain, Portugal. The possibility of more stunning upsets make this year an exciting
one, and especially with the likelihood for fan favorite teams to advance, like Mexico or Argentina.
If you are a faithful USMT soccer fan, but want a team to root for, who would it be? Not Mexico right…just kidding.
My team I’m rooting for right now is Argentina, for a few reasons, mainly to see one of the greatest players in the world have a chance to win the World Cup. It is always a spectacle to see the great Lionel Messi play, as well as his respectable personal.
No matter where you are, and whoever you root for, always is what makes this ceremony so unique. Go root for your country, or your other your favorite team.
(IRN-MAR) Photo by Tasnim News Agency [CC BY 4.0],via Wikimedia Commons
(Peru) Photo by Антон Зайцев (soccer.ru) [CC BY-SA 3.0GFDL, CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons
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