Sky Blue FC has been in the new a lot lately. In addition to Christie Rampone Day at her alma mater Monmouth University last Sunday (which Sky Blue FC staffers attended in support of Christie), here is more news on our Olympic gold medal drafted players. In addition, following the round of the draft this past Monday, Sky Blue FC and Ian Sawyers quotes are featured on college women's soccer websites such as the University of Portland and the University of North Carolina.
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New York Daily News - New York,NY,USA Also playing was Heather O'Reilly, who picked up her second Olympic gold medal in Beijing, and was the only girl on the pitch. "Playing with all boys is fun ... See all stories on this topic |
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10/5: Natasha Kai to appear on "L.A. Ink" - Star-Bulletin
10/5: Kai still draw in alumnae's 2-2 draw with UH varsity - Honolulu Advertiser
10/5: There's a new, more mature Natasha in town - Star Bulletin
Tonya Antonucci, the WPS Commissioner, begins by reading the rules of the draft, including time limits, breaks, and rules. The WPS lawyer comes on the line, to elaborate, and to extend a caution on keeping certain rules.
The Staff sits around the phone call, trolling the Internet for “instant bios” to send to media (and to you! Our fans). Then, in the breaks (each team has one five minute “time out”, which is on as I write this), we glance up at the board in the conference room, where all the players on every team thus far have been listed, and we gossip about whom we think might be suitable for whom (like we are some kind of “Ian Sawyers” experts…). Who will we get??
Sky Blue FC has snagged Cori Alexander, goalkeeper from the 2005 NCAA Championship University of Portland team, and defender Keeley Dowling, a standout from the University of Tennessee.
(I stop to text my daughter, who knows the delightful Ella Masar, a forward who played for the U. of Illinois and the USA Under-23 team). She has just been selected to Chicago. And Kendall Fletcher, UNC alumni, and a wonderful leader, goes to adoptive home, Los Angeles.)
There’s a long pause between picks. At times, the pure silence can set the imagination going, or, if the pause goes long enough, you begin to think of your shopping list.
We’re starting to make bets. Mine started at $100, went do $10, and right as
I realize I am going to lose; I drop it to $1.
Waiting, waiting, waiting…It’s Sky Blue FC’s turn again, and Ian selects midfielder Kacey White, The US National Team and former UNC player. And defender Jenny Anderson-Hammond, who played for the Chicago Gaels of the W-League and is the assistant women’s soccer coach at Eastern Illinois.
We’ve got our four. Time to hear from Coach Sawyers.
In the midst of all the wonderful Olympic happenings, Sky Blue got together with Bobbi Brown Cosmetics for an event in Montclair, NJ. On Thursday evening August 14, about 50 people had a most joyous time. There were literally smiles the whole time. The theme of the event can be summarized by the introductory remarks made by Sky Blue GM and head coach Ian Sawyers. He said that the event exemplified self-concept, and traits being emphasized that evening--confidence, assertiveness, and a positive attitude--are important on and off the field, and in any endeavor in life.
For more information, read this great article by a new Sky Blue supporter, LadyPink.
http://thepinkstandard.blogspot.com/2008/08/beauty-and-team.html
My gracious bosses at Sky Blue let me take this week to coach at the JFSLA, and how much I have to thank them!! I've been receiving the text messages from Kristin in Ops about our wins this weekend, but I haven't had much time for anything else. So far the craziest moment was being introduced as part of the staff with the likes of Julie Foudy, Cindy Parlow, Kim Pickup, and Jamie Paguilaro. When did I get into THAT group?? But I represented Sky Blue well, and have been spreading the word among staff who peppered me with questions about WPS during lunch. You can already tell where Ian Sawyers has cut his management skills, as he leads our camp during our soccer training, and in camp in general. I'm certainly proud to say he's the Sky Blue GM and head pro coach! The Sky Blue W-league team is coming by before their Wildcats game to do some team building with us. I have the youngest group of campers, so they are hyped to see these players, as they were last night when Carli Lloyd stopped by. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention future Olympian (It's official!!) and NJ native Lloyd stopped by last night to give the kids some inspiring words. She certainly has a bright future ahead of her! Anyway, I'm off to more soccer training then team building, then leadership skills development, then..... I'm loving every second, and its certainly inspired me to see why it's so important give these girls the strong, positive role models that will be, and are, the Sky Blue players. CHOOSE TO MATTER!!!!!
Peace,Natalie PS. ENGLAND!! OI OI OI (My team for the week)
The play was as heated as the metal bleachers with the temperature reading above 90°F when Jersey Sky Blue played the U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team at Pascack high school in Hillsdale, New Jersey. It was a captivating and physical match despite being mostly one-sided in favor of the team who isn’t even old enough to vote. Fortunately, politics wasn’t an issue for the U.S. women who entertained the crowd with their fancy footwork and age-defying skill. Courtney Verloo squirted the ball past Sky Blue goal keeper Jillian Loyden in the first half to put the U.S. on top 1-0. The U.S. had a few chances to increase their lead with shots on goal by Victoria DiMartino and Erika Tymrak, but luckily Loyden is good friends with the crossbar. The U.S. women were able to notch one more goal before the final whistle. Kristen Mewis beat the last defender with deft footwork and scored on a breakaway with less than a minute left in the match. The U.S. women came away with the 2-0 win. U.S. head coach Kazbek Tambi stated this was a good match and great test for the players. “It was a good team effort. We are trying to be more consistent. This was a good evaluation for a tough setting.”
Over 250 fans came out to watch the match, including some notables. Charlotte Moran who is the head of Region 1 Girl’s ODP was in attendance. Rutgers women’s soccer head coach Glenn Crooks along with University of Virginia women’s soccer head coach Steve Swanson looked on from the sidelines sans stopwatch and clipboard. University of Rutgers basketball player and Pascack Valley high school alumna Heather Zurich watched the match from the stands. Ian Sawyers who will be the head coach and general manager of the 2009 pro team was also in attendance. Sawyers talked to the crowd via megaphone during halftime about the inaugural 2009 WPS season, player allocation, and the upcoming draft. I caught up with him after the match and asked what his thoughts were on the draft and the challenges of managing a new franchise. He stated he not only wants great players, but players with good character who will contribute to the community. The most challenging aspect for Mr. Sawyers will be getting people to know Sky Blue and creating a great product on the field that is enjoyable for everyone.
A special shout out goes to Arsenal who was a partner in Tuesday’s game. They had a game night on Saturday and hosted an ACL clinic with Atlantic Sports Health that morning.
Zalika Green
The Damallsvenskan Newsblog has a short editorial piece about the future of the WPS including comments about WPS coaches Ian Sawyers and Denise Reddy. The post also includes a brief financial comparison between the WPS and the Damallsvenskan and an analysis of the prospects of Swedish players migrating to the WPS.
CLICK HERE: http://dandal.webblogg.se/1205790026_scouting_at_algarve.html
The Fair Game Magazine blog has ongoing coverage of the Algarve Cup. In addition, there's a shot of new Sky Blue professional head coach Ian Sawyers checking out a game along with a shot of another "mystery" coach (April Heinrichs - another new pro league coach?)
The Fair Game blog can be found here: http://www.fairgamemag.com/index.php/eng/fair_game_blog
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