Who will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup

FIFA's executive committee announced Friday that it will decide the host of the 2026 World Cup -- the next tournament for which the USA is eligible to bid to host -- in 2017. FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke has promised transparency “from the first minute of the process" after the scandal-ridden 2018 and 2022 bid processes, but it remains to be seen just what the rules will be -- most critically, who can or can't bid.

FIFA's executive committee will vote at its next meeting on the rules for the bidding process.

Snowed in at ECNL Texas

Record snowfall in Fort Worth, Texas put the breaks on the first ECNL National event of 2015.  Teams took the field for the first 2 times slots and then the fields were blanked with snow within 3 hours.  The weather service forecasted only a dusting with possible accumulation of an inch or 2 but over the next 48 hours some areas got over 8 inches of snow and then ice topped it all off the following day.  See which teams did get a chance to play.... #ECNLTX SnowDay

FIFA News and Notes

What is on the agenda for the FIFA executive meeting...

 - Selecting the host for the 2019 Women's World Cup

 - Choosing dates for the 2022 Men's World Cup

 - Outlining the bidding process for the 2026 Men's World Cup

USA Women efficient in Portugal

The rematch of the match that left the United States Women's National team wondering who they were following their 2-0 loss to France last month has played out very well for the US Women today. Both teams playing a bit differently with the USA opening things up int he midfield and the French playing a bit more compact.... advantage, USA.

Throughout the first half of play, the US have not had to defend as much space, they have been successful going 2v2 with the FFF center backs, and they have won the aerial battle which have given the USA a 2-0 halftime lead.

USA, center back Julie Johnston in her 8th start for the national team gets her first international goal in the 7th minute from the foot of Lauren Holiday off a restart whipped into the top of the 6.   Johnson is playing like a veteran and just may earn that starting role at center back once the World Cup gets here in 87 days.

Veteran, captain Christie Rampone has been out with injuries.

Christen Press adds to the USA lead at the end of the first half with an incredible dynamic run out of the midfield beating 3 French opponents and then calmly slotting the ball into the bottom corner of the net.  The work of Alex Morgan and Amy Rodriguez up top have created the space for Press to exploit which leaves the French down 2 goals.

Head coach Jill Ellis, may have found her back line as Megan Klingenberg and Ali Krieger have been solid dealing with the dynamic French attackers.  Both with high soccer intelligence, they are athletic, and physical.  Becky Sauerbrunn and of course, Johnston have been the anchor in the heart of the line.

Don't forget the return of goalkeeper, Hope Solo, who was not in goal for the USA when they dropped their foist match of 2015 to France.  Solo has had an impressive return making the saves she is suppose to make, keeping her team in each match.  The confidence of the team in front of her is at a high due to her demanding presence.

The French could never gain the rhythm they had back in February; they had to cover a lot of area today and credit Lauren Holiday and Morgan Brian for their efficiency on both sides of the ball in the center of midfield, making it very difficult for France to gain any type of significant possession.

Despite Marie Laure Delie earning a penalty on an unnecessary foul in the box by Klingenberg to cut the USA lead in half, Solo was up to the task, stoning Amandine Henry on her attempt on the PK.

France entered the match beating the world's best teams in the United States, Brazil, Germany, and Japan but not today, the USA are champions for the 10th time in Portugal at the Algarve Cup with their 2-0 win over France.  The #2 (USA) and #3 (FFF) teams in the world squared off and the US is now 15-1-2 all-time against France.

Here is how the USA got to the Final... CLICK HERE
Julie Johnson Goal 7' (1st International Goal)... CLICK HERE
Christen Press Goal 41'... CLICK HERE

US Soccer Star Megan Rapinoe takes center stage in Canada this summer

Last year US Women's Soccer star Megan Rapinoe graced the Dallas/Fort Worth area with her presence.  This year she is preparing to win a third FIFA Women's World Cup for the United States and next year we hope she will return to the DFW metroplex.  Here is a teaser from her presence in 2014.

Youth Soccer Insider: High School Soccer is taking off

The National Elite Prep Showcase brings together the top high school girls soccer programs from around the country. It is a true college showcase for high school soccer. This is where the best come to play. The battle for #1 starts here. Olympians, National team, college and World Cup superstars, National and State champions have all competed in this event that is in its 14th year. Fort Worth is the home to the nation’s top high school girls soccer showcase in January and see it all right here in this highlight video presented by JATO Media.

CLICK HERE for 2015 Event

Women's soccer continues to grow

The mission of JATO Athletics is to advance athletics.  JATO Media and JATO World continue to help connect the soccer world.

Elite Clubs National League; Texas event

The ECNL continues to prove that it is the most competitive environment for female youth soccer in the world.  The national events are underway.  See JATO Media's presentation of last years Texas event.



This years Texas event was one game in until the winter weather blanketed the region forcing the cancelation of the event.  This is only the second time in the history of the league where the league was forced to cancel event, the first in Raleigh, NC in 2011.

Youth Soccer Insider: What it means to "Be An Athlete"

JATO Athletics, JATO World, and JATO Media will continue to follow youth soccer teams around the country to find the definition of what it means to "Be An Athlete". We have traveled around the country as teams stake their quest on a National Championship.

Elite Clubs National League has come to a close crowning their National Champions last week in Aurora, Colorado and now the US Youth Soccer Associaition teams will take the field in Phoenix, Arizona the week of July 24th-31st.

Please stay tuned as we begin a year- long search to identify youth athletes and what it means to them to "Be An Athlete".

SportsStudio and JATO Athletics: The Making of a Commercial

SportsStudio — May 10, 2010 — Sports Studio held an open casting call in Fort Worth Texas in conjunction with Jato Athletics and TCU. Mark Ellis and the Sports Studio team were looking for actors and athletes alike to participate in a Sports Studio / JATO Athletics spec commercial.

This is a video of what the participants went through with sneak peaks at the commercial which will be posted soon.

Check out http://www.sportsstudiocasting.com/ for an opportunity to be in future projects.

SportsStudio — May 10, 2010 — Sports Studio held an open casting call in Fort Worth Texas in conjunction with Jato Athletics and TCU. Mark Ellis and the Sports Studio team were looking for actors and athletes alike to participate in a Sports Studio / JATO Athletics spec commercial.

This is a video of what the participants went through with sneak peaks at the commercial which will be posted soon.

Check out www.SportsStudioCasting.com for an opportunity to be in future projects.

Sports Studio visits Texas Presented by JATO Athletics and Baylor SportsCare

Sports Studio visits Texas

US U17s Shocked

ALAJUELA, Costa Rica - After the USA outscored its opponents, 32-0, in three games in group play, who would have imagined?

The USA won't be going to the 2010 Under-17 Women's World Cup after playing to a 0-0 tie with Canada and then falling on penalty kicks in the semifinals of the CONCACAF U-17 Women's Championship in Alajuela, Costa Rica. It marks the first time the USA has failed to qualify for the finals of a FIFA women's championship.

Canadian goalkeeper Sabrina D amp;rsquo;Angelo was outstanding, saving all seven U.S. shots on goal.

Canada also had its chances. Haillie Price got a swing at a bouncing ball inside the six-yard box that U.S. goalie Bryane Heaberlin deflected off the crossbar and then smothered.

Canada went on to win the shootout, 5-3. The decisive round was the third when Canadian Yazmin Ongtengco hit a poorly struck shot but the ball amazingly spun over but Heaberlin's body and rolled over the goal line. American Clarissa Wedemeyer then hit her shot over the crossbar for the only miss of the shootout.

Since CONCACAF member Trinidad & Tobago will host the U-17 Women’s World Cup in September, just two World Cup berths instead of the usual three were available at this tournament, both going to the winners of the semifinals.

Soccer Helps Overcome Adversity

After the catastrophic earthquake that struck Haiti in early January, no one thought Haiti’s U-17 Women’s National Team would be able to compete at the CONCACAF U-17 Women’s Championships in mid-March in Costa Rica. But despite all odds, they are here, and the players from their first opponent – the United States -- are filled with both empathy and admiration.

Before Jan. 12, the opening match for the USA at the CONCACAF Under-17 Women’s Championship was just a game. A vitally important game for sure, but it was just another step in a quest for a berth to the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

That all changed when the ground started shaking in Port-au-Prince.

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti produced tragic images streamed across TV sets in America and the world. Even before the quake, Haiti was one of poorest countries in Western Hemisphere, but the pictures were almost unimaginable. An estimated three million people were affected, at least 230,000 people were killed (although the figure continues to grow), 300,000 more were injured and more than 1,000,000 were left homeless. An estimated 250,000 homes and 30,000 businesses collapsed or were severely damaged, among them the headquarters of the Haiti Soccer Federation.

The head coach for Haiti’s U-17 Women’s National Team died when that building fell, along with more than 30 officials of Haiti’s soccer federation.

Amazingly, Haiti was able to gather their U-17s and travel together to the neighboring Dominican Republic to train and prepare for the tournament. The match against the United States on March 10 at Alejandro Morera Soto Stadium in Alajuela, Costa Rica, will be the first international sporting event for Haiti since the disaster.

“Sports have the power to unite people and the fact that Haiti was still able to assemble their team and come to the CONCACAF championships is a testament to the great spirit of their players and administrators,” said U.S. U-17 Women’s National Team head coach Kazbek Tambi. “So many people lost their lives and it’s likely that every player on their team had relatives or friends that passed away. It’s a traumatic situation and the fact that they have mustered the character to come here is pretty amazing.”

The tragedy produced an outpouring of support and aid from around the world. The U.S. U-17s will also do their small part to try to brighten the spirits of the Haitian players. Each U.S. player brought to Costa Rica a small bag or backpack filled with things they thought another 16 or 17-year-old might enjoy as well as some basic items that often might be taken for granted. The U.S. Women’s National Team also donated a few large duffel bags full of used cleats and new Nike casual gear for the U-17s to give to the Haiti players while Nike sent a bushel of new soccer shoes to be passed on to the USA’s Haitian counterparts. Each U.S. player wrote a note of support for the Haitian players and put it inside the bag she brought.

The U.S. is making arrangements to give the gifts to Haiti following the completion of the first round. First, though, there is a soccer game to be played. And while the U.S. players will have the plight of the Haitians on their minds before and after the match, they know that during the 90 minutes on the field, they must focus the task at hand, for their team, for their country and for themselves.

“For them to be here, I think just shows a lot of perseverance, their drive to succeed and their desire to do something positive for their country,” said U.S. captain Morgan Brian. “We have a lot of respect for them and I know I speak for our entire team when I say that I don’t know if we, as individuals, would be able to play if we had to face the tragic circumstances they have in their lives right now.”

For the most part, all of the U.S. players come from comfortable homes in quiet neighborhoods not far from great soccer fields in beautiful sports complexes. For them, it is difficult to imagine what the Haitian players must be going through. But as part of the process of growing into positive young women with an awareness of the world and empathy for those less fortunate, they are trying to.

“I think it’s incredible that they’ve come to play this tournament,” said U.S. midfielder Alex Doll.
“They’ve lost their homes, family members and their friends. It’s just really cool that these girls are able to represent their country and hopefully they can inspire the people of Haiti just a little bit. I know we are inspired by them.”

“We know they will be fighters on the field and that will be a challenge in itself,” added Brian. “After what they’ve been through, a ninety-minute soccer game might not be that tough.”

Haiti’s participation in the tournament is an example of how sports can help overcome adversity. No matter what the result of the USA-Haiti game, it is clear that just by being at the qualifying tournament, Haiti has already won.

“We just think it’s cool that it’s not the full men’s national team that is representing Haiti for the first time since the earthquake, it’s a group of 17-year-old girls,” said Doll. “They are playing for something bigger. We have to believe that when you’ve had so much taken away, to still have one thing you love, and that’s soccer, well, that’s a great thing.”

Business As Usual For The USA Women; 7-time Algarve Cup Champions

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games may be over but in Europe, the football continues.

Since 1994, the Algarve Cup women's football tournament has earned its place among the most prestigious alongside the Olympics and the Women's World Cup. During the past decade, Pia Sundhage's USA Women's National Team has been the most successful, winning the tournament six times.

This year, Abby Wambach and the WNT-consisting entirely of Women's Professional Soccer based players-were intent on taking the crown away from defending title holders Sweden. The end result: four straight wins to start the 2010 schedule.

The USA started group play on Wednesday, February 24 with a 2-0 victory over Iceland. Goalkeeper Hope Solo, a seasoned veteran between the pipes for many of the WNT's campaigns, stopped two crucial penalties. Iceland was unlucky to allow two goals in as many minutes: an own goal by Sif Atladóttir in the 60th minute and a shot from the Boston Breakers' Lauren Cheney in the 61st.

“I saw that their two center-backs had stepped up," Cheney said on her goal, "but there outside backs held, so I just made a little bent run and Lori found me and I stayed composed. It was just me and the goalie.”

“We've only been here a couple of days so the first game is always tough, but I think we picked up the rhythm as the game went on," said Sundhage after the match. “We need to see more from the center mids. It’s not only about [Shannon] Boxx and Carli, but for the team to find the them. We tried to play that big ball and just passed the center mids. If we can get them more involved in the game, it will change the rhythm and will be a bit more unpredictable if they dicate the tempo."

“I’ve never faced two penalty kicks in one ninety-minute game before," said Solo on her stops. “We had a slow start. We had chances at the begining and didn’t put them away. It took a lot of patience to finally get one goal, then the next one came.

"It wasn’t our best game. We had moments of brilliance, but the ground was hard, really bumpy and we had a hard time getting our first touch. It can get better and it will get better in the next game.”

Abby Wambach of the Washington Freedom was the answer. Already one of the game's most prolific scorers with 101, she made it 103 en route to a 2-1 victory over Norway on Friday, February 26.

Sloppy pitch conditions and a string of changes by new manager Eli Landsem in the 2nd half failed to deter the USA from scoring two minutes into stoppage time. A long delivery pass from center back Cat Whitehill found Cheney, who was credited with the Wambach winner.

“The surface was pretty interesting, it doesn’t really play into either one of our hands, but I think we did well with it today," Wambach said after the match. "On a field like this, you really just want to get it as high as possible as soon as possible. Playing on the ground is hit or miss, but obviously at the end to tuck one in is great for our team.”

Sundhage downplayed the pitch conditions. “It is what it is," she said. "You have to adjust your game and I think we did quite well. That’s one of the reasons we put Cat Whitehill on at center back...We could attack in a different way because of her long balls.”

To wrap up group play, the WNT took on Sweden...and got their revenge with a 2-0 victory. Once again, it was Cheney who took the honors, scoring a brace to send the USA to a date with Germany in the final.

In the 56th minute, a well-delivered through ball by Casey Nogueira (Chicago Red Stars) found Cheney, whose finish was untouchable for any of the Swedish defenders to challenge. Cheney would deliver the hammer with a 20-yard strike, facilitated by Lori Lindsey (Philadelphia Independence).

Sundhage chose to go with a 4-3-3 system for the second half, and it paid off.

Heather Mitts (Philadelphia Independence), Rachel Buehler (FC Gold Pride), Amy LePeilbet (Boston Breakers) and Stephanie Cox (Boston Breakers) neutralized Sweden's dangerous tandem of Kosovare Allanni, Jessica Landstrom and Lotta Schelin with excellent one-on-one defending. Solo was sensational, making two saves and a number of stops to earn her second shutout.

“Sweden is so good at finding that run across the back line and our center backs did a great job of making sure they didn’t get behind them," Boxx said after the game. "In the second half...[the 4-3-3] made them have to go around us. I think that stopped them a lot in their attack.”

Cox was also with the consensus in the Yanks camp who felt it was a gamble well spent. "We came out with a little bit different mentality in the second half to dictate how we wanted to defend and not let their attack dictate to us," she said. "The formation (change) really helped having Boxxy sitting there in the middle and cleaning up balls for us."

Birgit Prinz, Inka Grings, Melanie Behringer and the rest of Silvia Neid's German squad were destined to be the USA's main threat to the Algarve Cup, but it was the Stars and Stripes who struck first blood with two goals in four minutes.

In the 19th minute, it was Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC) who delivered a blistering 22yard strike past keeper Nadine Angerer. Sundhage's ladies made Germany pay for a foul on Cheney in the 22nd minute to make the score 2-0. Buehler wasted no time delivering the subsequents free kick to Sky Blue FC's Heather O'Reilly, setting up an Abby Wambach header.

Grings made it 2-1 with four minutes to go in the first half, but in the 70th minute, Cheney took advantage of a botched save by Angerer to make it 3-1 USA.

Down the finish, Grings-who will certainly end the 2010 Algarve Cup as the tournament's leading scorer-got the brace in the 75th minute thanks to excellent ball handling by Behringer.

With a possible rally by Neid's team forthcoming, it was up to Solo, Buehler and LePeilbet to perform some key sweeping on a pitch compromised by Mother Nature and intense action in the group stage.

Alexandra Popp had a solid chance to bring home the equalizer in the 89th but it was called offside. Another attempt by Celia Okiyino da Mbabi in stoppage time went wide left.

In the end, it was none other than Solo who bailed the USA out of danger and saved the day. A miscommunication between Buehler and LePeilbet almost resulted in an embarrassing own goal for the Yanks.

However, the St. Louis Athletica keeper instinctively dived on the loose
ball to effectively secure the USA their seventh Algarve Cup.

The next match for the USA Women's National Team will be on Sunday, March 28 against Mexico. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. PT at Torero Stadium in San Diego, Calif.

IT NEVER GETS OLD

That was certainly the feeling of North Carolina head coach Anson Dorrance and his senior-laden team after the third-ranked Tar Heels pitched a shutout at top-ranked Stanford Sunday afternoon, prevailing 1-0 in the 2009 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament championship game at Aggie Soccer Stadium before a stadium record crowd of 8,536.

The victory, powered by a goal by junior forward Jessica McDonald in the third minute of play, gave the Tar Heels their 20th NCAA title in the 28-year history of the NCAA Tournament, and Carolina's 21st championship in the sport overall when the 1981 AIAW title is included in the mix. UNC finished the season 23-3-1 overall and won the NCAA title with the fewest wins since the 2000 team won the title with a 21-3 mark. It was also the most losses UNC has had in an NCAA championship season since 2000 but those three regular-season losses and tie now seem like a distant memory to a team which ended the season on an 11-match winning skein.

In the process, Carolina, the only school to have won a national championship while going unbeaten and untied, which it accomplished in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 2003, denied Stanford the opportunity of joining that elite club as the Cardinal saw its season end at 25-1. Ironically, a year ago in the national championship game, the Tar Heels did the exact same thing, beating an unbeaten and untied top-rated Notre Dame team 2-1 in the national title game in Cary, N.C.

The NCAA title was the third for a nine-member group of UNC seniors who were also on title teams in 2006 and 2008. The nine-member UNC senior class includes Ashley Moore, Tobin Heath, Ashlyn Harris, Sterling Smith, Nikki Washington, Caroline Boneparth, Whitney Engen, Casey Nogueira and Kristi Eveland.

All nine were in uniform Sunday for the championship game with the exception of Washington, who has been out of the lineup since September 18 when she tore her right ACL against LSU. Heath, Harris, Engen, Nogueira and Eveland were all in the starting lineup Sunday while Smith came off the bench on the forward line.

It was also the third title for UNC redshirt junior midfielder Ali Hawkins who missed the 2007 campaign with an ACL tear and will return in 2010 to make a run at a fourth NCAA title.

Nogueira, who assisted on McDonald's game-winning goal, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player on Offense. She scored the game-winning goal in UNC's 1-0 NCAA semifinal win over Notre Dame Friday night. In six College Cup games in her career, all wins, Nogueira scored the game-winning goal four times and had the game-winning assist on another occasion. The only College Cup game in which she did not have a point was a 1-0 win over UCLA in the 2008 semifinals.

Senior Whitney Engen was named the Most Outstanding Player on Defense as the Tar Heels posted back-to-back shutouts over the nation's No. 5-ranked and No. 1-ranked squads. Other Tar Heels on the Women's College Cup All-Tournament Team were senior midfielder Tobin Heath, junior forward Jessica McDonald, junior defender Rachel Givan and senior goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris.

Ironically, in a game that by rule had to go the full 90 minutes, the only goal of the match came less than three minutes into play and came on the first shot taken in the game by either side in a match that ended up with 28 combined shots being launched by the two teams. It was Tobin Heath, the senior midfielder from Basking Ridge, N.J., who jump started the game-winning sequence, earning the second assist on the game-winning goal for the second time in the College Cup weekend. Heath fed Nogueira on the left side of the pitch, allowing Nogueira to go 1v1 with her defender right on top of the large North Carolina logo painted on the left side of the field.

Meanwhile, Jessica McDonald split her defenders on a run into the center of the box and Nogueira's service found McDonald's right foot directly in stride and the junior from Glendale, Ariz., one-timed the ball into the left side of the frame from just inside the six-yard box.

While both teams mounted serious attacks from that point on, no one would scratch again as the game ended 1-0. UNC became the only team to shut out Stanford all year and in the process posted the squad's 19th clean sheet of the campaign in 26 matches. The UNC defense of senior goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris, senior defenders Whitney Engen and Kristi Eveland and junior defender Rachel Givan, allowed only 12 goals all season, the fewest allowed by a UNC side since the 2003 team gave up 11 while going 27-0-0 and becoming the last team to win an NCAA title unbeaten and untied.

Exactly two minutes after the Tar Heels scored, Courtney Jones had an excellent chance to double the lead but her strike went just wide to the right of the frame from the top of the 18. Carolina would hold the high-powered Stanford attack without a shot for the first 17:15 of the match before Teresa Noyola's shot went high. The Tar Heels ended the first half with a 10-2 edge in shots and a 7-0 edge in corner kicks but they were unable to extend their lead in the match.

Jessica McDonald and Amber Brooks both had a pair of headers go wide off corner kicks or direct kicks in the first 45 minutes and Nogueira missed wide on another try. Stanford, meanwhile, was struggling to stay onside and it burned the Cardinal when what initially looked like a goal by Courtney Verloo was called back with about six minutes left in the opening frame. At the 42:29 mark, Verloo had a shot which forced Harris to make her first save of the game and was only the second shot of the half for the Cardinal. UNC ended the half with a brilliant chance to make it 2-0 but a header by Ali Hawkins off a corner kick by Rachel Givan was knocked away at the last second by Stanford goalkeeper Kira Maker in the 44th minute of the match.

The intensity in the second half picked up right from the opening whistle as both teams pressed the other squad's defense to either get the equalizer or provide separation. UNC would end the second period with a 9-7 edge in shots and a 4-3 margin in corner kicks.

Stanford's first-team All-America forward Kelley O'Hara had a great chance inside the 18-yard box at the 52:59 juncture but the effort went off frame. Stanford continued to press the issue and on a fast break by the Cardinal, UNC's Meghan Klingenberg was slapped with a yellow card just outside the penalty area on the right side at 55:47 of the match. Stanford's ensuing free kick was punched out by Harris before being cleared out of danger by UNC midfielder Lucy Bronze and she sent the ball downfield with a booming kick off her left foot.

With 32:09 to play in the match, Christen Press of the Cardinal had an open shot from 25 yards out but it sailed high. UNC began to counterattack and Nogueira was high with a shot at 62:42 of the match and then Maker made back-to-back saves on strikes by Nogueira at 65:42 and 67:09, respectively. UNC reached the second half TV timeout with a 15-6 edge overall in shots and an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks.

A key play in the game came at the 68:40 mark when O'Hara, a top candidate for National Player of the Year honors, was issued a yellow card after taking down UNC's Kristi Eveland. Earlier in the half O'Hara had fouled McDonald on the sidelines. The effect of that foul eventually forced McDonald from the game and limited her playing time in the second half.

Less than four minutes after the foul on Eveland, O'Hara merited her second yellow of the game, earning her an automatic red card and banishment from the pitch. On the second foul, she took down UNC defender Whitney Engen from behind after Engen had successfully tackled the ball away from the Stanford attacking trio. The red card came at 72:15 and meant the Cardinal played a man down for the final 17:45 of the match.

The red card, if anything, seemed to inspire the Cardinal. Just over a minute later, Ashlyn Harris had to make her most difficult save of the game on a long, hard, line drive shot by Christen Press from about 25 yards out front. Harris was able to knock the ball to the ground and then gobble it up before any Stanford player could get to the rebound.

UNC had two excellent chances to extend the lead but Tobin Heath had her shot turned away by Kira Maker at 75:46 and just 27 seconds after that Nogueira fed McDonald for a one-on-one with the Stanford goalkeeper but McDonald pushed her shot just to the right of the frame from about 15 yards out.

The Cardinal had two dangerous corner kicks in the final four minutes of play. On both occasions, Tar Heels cleared the other out of harm's way, the second time at the 89:16 mark. With 1:39 left Christen Press made a run past the UNC defense and punched the ball into the goal off the left post. But Press had mistimed her run and was beyond all three Tar Heels on the back line when the ball was served to her from the midfield. The play resulted in Stanford's sixth and final offside call of the day in the 89th minute.

2009 WOMEN'S COLLEGE CUP ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
1. Lauren Fowlkes, Notre Dame, D/M
2. Lauren Cheney, UCLA, F
3. Sydney Leroux, UCLA, F
4. Kelley O'Hara, Stanford, F
5. Christen Press, Stanford, F
6. Tobin Heath, North Carolina, MF
7. Jessica McDonald, North Carolina, F
8. Rachel Givan, North Carolina, D
9. Ashlyn Harris, North Carolina, GK

Most Outstanding Player on DEFENSE
Whitney Engen, North Carolina, D

Most Outstanding Player on OFFENSE
Casey Nogueira, North Carolina, F

Teams Ink Trip to Women's College Cup

Nogueira puts on clinic against Wake[NORTH CAROLINA-WAKE FOREST 5-2] Casey Nogueira , the 2008 Women's Player of the Year, put on a clinic, scoring three goals to lead North Carolina to a 5-2 win over ACC rival Wake Forest. The Tar Heels return to the semifinals of the NCAA Women's Tournament for the 25th time in 28 years...

Stanford runs winning streak to 24 games[STANFORD-BOSTON COLLEGE 3-1] The 1-2 punch of senior Kelley O'Hara and junior Christen Press combined for all three goals as No. 1 Stanford beat Boston College, 3-1, Friday night before a sellout crowd of 2,200 at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium and earned a berth in the NCAA College Cup...

Irish return to College Cup for fourth straight year[FLORIDA STATE-NOTRE DAME 0-2] Throughout the NCAA Women's Tournament, Melissa Henderson has shown off her athleticism, but on Friday afternoon she demonstrated her nose for the goal, scoring her seventh goal in four games from close range to lead visiting Notre Dame to a 2-0 win over regional top-seed Florida State in front of a capacity crowd at the Seminole Soccer Complex. With the win, the Irish advance to the College Cup for the fourth consecutive year...

[UCLA-PORTLAND 2-1]Old foes UCLA and Portland clashed Saturday for the third time in the last four years in the NCAA quarterfinals in Westwood and UCLA proves to be poor hosts as they defeated the Pilots 2-1.

Lambert Defends Herself

Nearly two weeks later, the University of New Mexico soccer player Elizabeth Lambert said she still could not fully explain what led her to yank an opponent from Brigham Young down by her ponytail in what has become a highly publicized incident of violent behavior.

Her action was indefensible, Lambert said Tuesday in her first interview since the incident occurred Nov. 5 in a Mountain West Conference semifinal game and led to her indefinite suspension from the New Mexico team.

“I still deeply regret it and will always regret it and will carry it through the rest of my life not to retaliate,” said Lambert, a 20-year-old junior on scholarship.

She has watched the video a handful of times and does not recognize herself pulling down Brigham Young’s Kassidy Shumway, Lambert said.

“I look at it and I’m like, ‘That is not me,’ ” said Lambert, a defender and an all-conference academic player. “I have so much regret. I can’t believe I did that.”

At the same time, she said other moments of aggressive play — in which Lambert elbowed a Brigham Young player in the back, received a yellow card for tripping, seemed to throw a punch at an opponent’s head and made a hard tackle from behind — came during the forceful, insistent play that routinely occurred in women’s soccer but might be misunderstood by casual fans.

Some of her actions — like the apparent punch, which she said was inadvertent — were misinterpreted or taken out of context on a condensed video, Lambert said. And she said she believed that the incident was blown out of proportion because it occurred in a women’s game. She said it was wrongly reported to be her when it was actually a teammate who tried to clear a ball and accidentally kicked it into the face of a BYU player.

“I definitely feel because I am a female it did bring about a lot more attention than if a male were to do it,” Lambert said. “It’s more expected for men to go out there and be rough. The female, we’re still looked at as, Oh, we kick the ball around and score a goal. But it’s not. We train very hard to reach the highest level we can get to. The physical aspect has maybe increased over the years. I’m not saying it’s for the bad or it’s been too overly aggressive. It’s a game. Sports are physical.”

She added: “I think the way the video came out, it did make me look like a monster. That’s not the type of player I am. I’m not just out there trying to hurt players. That’s taking away from the beauty of the game. And I would never want to do that.”

Lambert said she was shaken and appalled by some of the responses she received in e-mail messages, telephone messages and on blogs, which included the publishing of her parents’ home phone number in Southern California and one suggestion that “I should be taken to a state prison, raped and left for dead in a ditch.”

She said she felt conflicting emotions and sometimes still woke up in a sweat.

“I’ll be angry with myself that I did this, to my team, my university, that I did this to women’s soccer, a sport that many females have worked very hard to get respect for,” Lambert said.

“And I’ll be sad that people want to see me suffer.”

She said she was taken aback at how the incident had been perceived by some as sexy catfighting between two women. She said she was aghast that some men had sent her messages saying, “Hey, we should meet up some time.”

“That appalled me,” Lambert said. “A lot of people think I have a lot of sexual aggression. I was like, ‘Whoa, no, I don’t feel that way at all.’ That’s bizarre and shocking to me.”

The game against Brigham Young began with familiar passion and intensity, Lambert said. Emotions escalated after Brigham Young took a 1-0 halftime lead, given that a defeat could mean the end of the season and a failure to qualify for the NCAA tournament, she said.

Opposing fans were mockingly chanting her name, she said, and players on both teams were playing aggressively. She said she was called names and taken down to the ground with cheap shots. On video, a BYU player can be seen elbowing Lambert in the stomach before she shoves the opponent in the back in retaliation. Shumway can be seen tugging on Lambert’s shorts before she is yanked down by her ponytail.

If the referee Joe Pimentel had issued more yellow cards or a red card, Lambert said, “It would have been a very different game.”

Still, Lambert said that she did not want to throw Pimentel “under the bus” and that she did not consider the game to be out of control.

Her coach, Kit Vela, never instructed her to “take anybody out,” Lambert said, adding that the BYU players also did not appear to have malign intent.

Lambert said she eventually grew frustrated, as much with herself as with the opponent, saying she had often struggled with self-confidence and with feeling “that I’m accepted playing at this level.”

Lambert said of the match: “I’ve never been in a situation like that, where I was out of my element. There were times in the game where I was literally like, ‘All right, Elizabeth, you’ve got to get control’ of myself.”

In each of her two previous matches, Lambert had received a yellow-card warning, but those were the only cautions in more than 2,500 minutes of play at New Mexico, a university official said.

Lambert said she did not consider herself a dirty player. Yet in the second half, she yanked Shumway down by her ponytail and assumed widespread villainy.

“In that one moment, I let it all get into my head,” Lambert said of the emotion of the game.
Later in the match, Lambert received a yellow card for tripping.

She is seeing a clinical psychologist on campus to better understand what caused the hair-pulling incident. It is one of several steps she is taking, along with speaking to youth players about acceptable behavior, so she can seek reinstatement to the team in the spring.

“I’m working on my mental game to never let that happen again,” Lambert said. “That’s unacceptable in any sport to get to that point where you feel it’s necessary that you have to retaliate in a dirty manner.”

NCAA Women's College Cup Selection Show: Division I

ESPNews will air the NCAA Women's College Cup Selections tonight at 7pm (CT). Teams will learn their fate when those selections are announced. There are 30 DI conferences that will receive automatic bids to the post-season and another 34 teams will receive at-large bids.

Oklahoma State beats the Aggies: Earns NCAA Berth

Oklahoma State defender Carson Michalowski headed in a corner kick from Colleen Dougherty in the 53rd minute, and it was all the offense the Cowgirls would need to win the Big 12 Conference Soccer Championship with a 1-0 victory over Texas A&M on Sunday.

The fifth-seeded Cowgirls (15-7-0, 8-5-0) earned the automatic bid into the NCAA tournament, which starts Friday. It's the first time they have won the Big 12 tournament since 2003. The Aggies won in in 2004 and '05 and were the runnerup in '07.

Oklahoma State controlled the tempo early, because A&M did not get much offense generated before halftime. The Aggies, who had outshot their opponents by a 22-10 margin in all games this year, were outshot 6-3 by the Cowgirls in the first half.

"I thought we were real unlucky not to be up one or two goals at halftime," OSU coach Colin Carmichael said. "And we were fortunate that it didn't come back to bite us.

"You're not going to keep a good team like A&M from getting opportunities. But AD (Franch) makes coaches look good, doesn't she?"

A&M coach G. Guerrieri said his team usually can win if it gets at least eight shots on goal. A&M had seven for the game, but six in the second half.

"I think their goalkeeper was great," Guerrieri said. "They made big-time saves.

"And we have to play for 90 minutes. I think we played for 40. Oklahoma State did a great job of battling and scraping to keep us off the scoreboard."