Sky Blue Soccer News

Jersey Sky Blue striker Michele O'Brien earned an honorable mention for the W-League Team of the Week for the final week of the regular season. The Republic of Ireland National Team player accounted for all the scoring in a 2-0 victory over the Northern Virginia Majestics on the final day of the season.

Sky Blue wrapped up its second season in the W-League with an 8-4-2 record finishing just three points out a spot in the W-League playoffs. O'Brien closed the season with three goals - all in the final three games of the season.

Michele O'Brien buried two goals to lead Jersey Sky Blue to a 2-0 victory over the Northern Virginia Majestics but it wasn't enough to lift Sky Blue into the W-League playoffs as the second-year franchise missed out on the postseason. Sky Blue finished the season with an 8-4-2 mark and ended up in fourth place in the Northeast Division - three points out of the playoffs.

Heading into the day's action, Sky Blue needed a loss from the Long Island Rough Riders and a victory over the Majestics to qualify for the Eastern Conference playoffs. Sky Blue did its job but so did Long Island as the Rough Riders blew out the New Jersey Wildcats 5-0 in Long Island. The victory catapulted the Rough Riders into second place behind division winners the Washington Freedom as the Boston Renegades dropped into third place.

The W-League regular season comes to a dramatic end for Jersey Sky Blue on Sunday as three teams including Sky Blue battle it out for the final postseason berth in the Northeast Division. The Long Island Rough Riders and Connecticut Passion are also still vying for an opportunity to extend their season.

Sky Blue’s final regular season game will be on Sunday at 5 p.m. when the Northern Virginia Majestics visit Drew University’s Ranger Stadium in Madison, NJ.

Jersey Sky Blue defender Fanta Cooper has agreed to terms with Swedish club Umeå Södra and will move to the Damallsvenskan side following the W-League season. The move will be a return to Sweden for Cooper, who played for Bälinge in 2005 and 2006. Her time with Umeå Södra will most likely be temporary as Cooper is hoping to use her spell in Sweden to prepare for the upcoming Women's Professional Soccer player combine in December.

Cooper has been a mainstay in the Sky Blue defense the past two seasons appearing in 12 regular season matches in 2007, when Sky Blue posted a 12-2 mark, and nine matches during the current season with Sky Blue posting a 7-4-2 mark while still holding out hope for a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Three different players hit the back of the net as the Washington Freedom dimmed Jersey Sky Blue's playoff chances with a 3-0 victory at the Maryland SoccerPlex. Christie Welsh and Jenn Parsons struck in the first half and Ali Andrzejewski connected just after halftime for the Freedom, which moved to the top of the Northeast Division with the victory.

Sky Blue still stands in third place in the Northeast at 7-4-2 with the top three teams advancing but Jersey has played more games than all the other front runners. The loss was the first on the road for Sky Blue in club history as Jersey fell to 12-1-1 all-time away from home.

Jersey Sky Blue will be seeking to keep its postseason hopes alive on Saturday when it travels to Boyds, MD to take on the Washington Freedom. Sky Blue will battle the defending W-League champions at 7 p.m. at the Maryland SoccerPlex.

The two teams head into the next-to-last weekend of the regular season near the top of the Northeast Division standings. Sky Blue currently sits in second place in the division with a 7-3-2 mark for 23 points – two behind the Boston Renegades (8-2-1) with 25 points. The Freedom is 7-1-1 for 22 points and fourth place but with a grueling close to the season.

Jersey Sky Blue head coach Denise Reddy has been selected by the United Soccer Leagues to participate in the inaugural USL W-League Combine. Reddy will be one of eight W-League coaches that will serve at the first-time event to be held September 4-7 in Tampa, Florida. Each division of the W-League will be represented by at least one coach at the event, which will provide players with professional aspirations an opportunity to showcase their talents for Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) and other professional scouts and coaches.

Reddy is in her first season as head coach of Sky Blue after serving as an assistant coach in the W-League with the New Jersey Wildcats (2006) and Sky Blue (2007). The Rutgers University product returned to the United States in 2006 after a successful playing career of 11 years in Sweden's Damallsvenskan - the final 10 with Malmö DF. In her first season as head coach, Reddy has guided Sky Blue to a 7-3-2 mark with hopes still alive for a postseason bid.

Following her duties as head coach of the Sky Blue W-League team in 2008, Reddy will serve as an assistant coach for the Sky Blue professional team in 2009 when Women's Professional Soccer kicks off its first season. Ian Sawyers will serve as head coach for the Sky Blue WPS team that will play its inaugural season at Rutgers University's Yurcak Field.

Faced with a must win situation to keep its playoff hopes alive, Jersey Sky Blue came up with a clutch 1-0 victory over the Long Island Rough Riders on a steamy night at Drew University’s Ranger Stadium with the lone goal coming from the likeliest of sources.

Former Rough Rider Michele O’Brien headed in a second-half goal as Sky Blue improved to 7-3-2 for 23 points while Long Island dropped to 7-2-2 for 23 points. The match was the only meeting of the season between the two teams so the victory gives Sky Blue the edge on the head-to-head tiebreaker should the two teams finish tied for points at the end of the season.

Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) announced today the details of its player selection process leading into the kickoff of its inaugural season in April 2009. WPS teams will build their rosters through an allocation of U.S. Women’s National Team stars, a draft of international players, combines, additional League drafts and local team tryouts.

WPS will begin securing domestic talent with the post-Olympics allocation of the U.S. Women’s National Team (WNT) and U.S. WNT Player Pool in mid-September, to be immediately followed with a draft of the top international players. In October, WPS will conduct a general draft for both domestic and international players, followed by east and west coast combines in December and a post-combine draft in January. WPS Teams for the inaugural 2009 season – Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New Jersey/New York, St. Louis, and Washington D.C. – will then complete their rosters via local tryouts.

Jersey Sky Blue returns home to Drew University’s Ranger Stadium to take on the Long Island Rough Riders on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. in a pivotal Northeast Division match. Sky Blue will be seeking to keep alive its slim hopes of qualifying for the Eastern Conference playoffs after underachieving results this past weekend.

Sky Blue enters the match in fourth place in the division at 6-3-2 for 20 points with the top three teams qualifying for the postseason. Long Island has been a surprise this season with a 7-1-2 mark for 23 points. Sky Blue will need a victory to have any chance of extending its season.

Wednesday's game is "Soccer Without Borders Night" at Ranger Stadium. All fans are encouraged to bring new or used soccer equipment to donate to Soccer Without Borders. Any fan making a donation will receive a Sky Blue bracelet.