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  • No. 6 Penn men’s soccer falls to UMass 1-0 in NCAA tournament

    No. 6 Penn men’s soccer falls to UMass 1-0 in NCAA tournament


    11-24-24-mens-soccer-v-umass-erica-jiang-2
    Penn men’s soccer lost to UMass on Nov. 24.
    Credit: Erica Jiang

    A successful season for Penn men’s soccer comes to a disappointing close, with an unexpected upset 1-0 loss in the NCAA tournament. 

    Penn men’s soccer (14-3-2, 7-0 Ivy) faced off against the University of Massachusetts Amherst (12-3-4, 5-2-1 Atlantic 10). With the No. 6 seed following an at-large NCAA bid, Penn hosted the game at Rhodes Field, but fell with a loss in the single-elimination tournament.

    The first half was defined by a back-and-forth struggle for clean possession, but neither team had the opportunity to get a shot off. UMass applied a lot of pressure, particularly favoring the right side of the field. Its offensive push led to seven shots in the first half of play, but none would connect. 

    After a shot attempt by forward Alec Hughes, sophomore goalkeeper Phillip Falcon III saved the ball. But an attempted roll to his teammate was intercepted by Hughes dangerously close to the goal. With Falcon off the line, Hughes fired a shot that bounced off the crossbar. The ball rebounded straight back to forward Johan Feilscher who leapt to head the ball in the goal. 

    The only thing standing between him and the goal was senior defender Leo Burney. He hopped along the goal line with Falcon drawn out. Burney headed the ball out, sending it flying out of the Quakers’ area.

    Burney’s save is indicative of his performance as Ivy League Defender of the Year. He and the rest of his senior class had taken home multiple conference awards, including midfielder Aaron Messer, defender Ben Do, and forwards Brandon Curran and Stas Korzeniowski — the latter of whom shared the title of Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year. 

    “They’re a really interesting group, and each one of those pieces feeds the other,” coach Brian Gill said. “Leo and Stas sometimes get the most notoriety, [but] I think all seven of the [seniors] contributed to their special quality as a group.”

    The teams entered the second half of play tied 0-0, but there was a quick push by the Minutemen. A series of headers in the box ensued, and Hughes found the top left of the net after just two minutes of play to give the Minutemen the lead and only goal of the game at the 47th-minute mark. 

    Following this goal, UMass dominated control for the first ten minutes of the half, but the momentum then switched to Penn, which maintained possession for the majority of the remaining time and was knocking on UMass’ doorstep. 

    The Quakers had good ball movement and saw many crosses into the box, but for each one, a Minuteman was there to clear it. In a burst of energy and drive to keep their season alive, the Quakers got off nine total shots in the half, but all went off target or were blocked by goalkeeper Alex Geczy. Unfazed by taunts from the Quaker faithful behind him, Geczy had seven saves, including five in the second half. 

    In the 71st minute, it looked like Penn’s patient efforts might pay off when a shot by senior forward Stas Korzeniowski from just outside the six found the bottom left of the goal. Unfortunately for Penn, Korzeniowski was called offside, which was confirmed by review. 

    Penn never gave up hope, continuing to control play with persistent offensive efforts. The team had good looks with late-game corners, totaling four for the day, but UMass interrupted every attempt toward the goal until the final buzzer sounded.

    Despite not moving forward in the NCAA Tournament, the senior class’ careers were marked by a turnaround since its freshman season, where it only won one Ivy game. Now it finishes as three-time regular season conference champions, leaving a lasting legacy for its younger teammates.

    “There’s like that expectation, to want to be in these kinds of games, [and] to want to be able to compete for conference championships, and so anytime you’re able to kind of start to turn that corner, it’s typically going to be because those messages take hold with groups, they start to raise their own standards and expectations,” Gill said in regards to the seniors’ impact. 

    Penn finishes the season with an impressive resume, including two defeats over then-nationally ranked teams Pitt and Hofstra and its third straight Ivy League regular season championship. 

    “There’s a finality you can’t prepare for,” Gill said. “Hopefully the guys will look back and really appreciate the accomplishments … We don’t get this game here in this tournament without having those successes.”



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  • USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher announces retirement from international soccer

    USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher announces retirement from international soccer

    U.S. women’s national team goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher announced her retirement from international soccer Monday, ahead of the team’s two European friendlies against England and the Netherlands. She said the European matches will be her last.

    A 2019 World Cup winner and gold medalist at this summer’s Paris Olympics, she will continue playing for the Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL. She re-signed with Chicago in September to play through the 2025 season, which will be her 10th season with the club.

    For the USWNT, however, it’s the end of a major goalkeeping era. Naeher’s career stands comfortably in the top three amongst other World Cup winners Briana Scurry and Hope Solo.

    “Every tear shed in the challenging times and disappointments made every smile and celebration in the moments of success that much more joyful,” Naeher wrote Monday in her announcement on social media. “This has been a special team to be a part of and I am beyond proud of what we have achieved both on and off the field.”

    Naeher made her debut a decade ago in December 2014, and after stints as the primary backup goalkeeper for the 2015 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, she took over the no. 1 spot following that quarterfinal exit. Ahead of what could be her two final games for the United States, she holds a record 88 wins, 14 draws and only six losses through 113 appearances.

    “Having the opportunity to be a part of the USWNT for the last 15 years has been the greatest honor,” she wrote. “When I began this journey, I never could have imagined where it would take me.”

    She earned her 100th cap earlier this year during the W Gold Cup and cemented her status not just as someone who could save penalty kicks, but convert them as well. In the W Gold Cup semifinal against Canada, she buried her attempt from the spot but also saved three of Canada’s attempts — marking her as the only USWNT goalkeeper to make three saves in a PK shootout. She’d repeat the same double later that spring, against Canada, during the SheBelieves Cup.

    At the Olympics this summer, she once again stepped up to help propel the USWNT to their gold medal victory, including a poster-worthy save against Brazil in the closing moments of the gold cup game at Parc des Princes. Off the field, she bonded with the forward line of Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mal Swanson (also known as “Triple Espresso”) who pulled her out of her shell.

    go-deeper

    GO DEEPER

    USWNT on goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher: ‘We’re making her a little more mushy gushy’

    “We’re making her a little more mushy gushy with us, which I think is nice,” Rodman said in France. “We’re opening up a side that I think has always been there, but it’s hidden a little bit.”

    (Top photo: Joe Robbins / Getty Images)



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  • Men’s Soccer: Hoos defeat Mountaineers in NCAA second round, 2-1 : Jerry Ratcliffe

    Men’s Soccer: Hoos defeat Mountaineers in NCAA second round, 2-1 : Jerry Ratcliffe

    By Colin Moore
    JerryRatcliffe.com correspondent

    Photos by Nikolozi Khutsishvili

    No. 11 Virginia got a huge NCAA second-round victory against West Virginia at Klöckner stadium Sunday night, prevailing by a 2-1 score. The Cavaliers began the match slow and on the back foot, as they needed time to find their footing, but were able to advance to the next round.

    “That is a great playoff win against a very good West Virginia team,” said UVA head coach George Gelnovatch. “When the final RPI came out, they were 16th, so I think we just played one of the top, better teams in the tournament in our first game and did a great job of handling it.”

    UVA (11-6-3) went down early within the first three minutes, as the Mountaineers (13-2-7) created two corner kicks and managed to capitalize on the second. Both times, they played an inswinging ball towards the near post into a bunch of traffic and hoped for something good to happen. They managed just that when Marcus Caldeira cleaned up the bouncing ball in the box for the opening goal of the match.

    “They scored and there isn’t anything you can do about it afterwards, so it was just getting back to our plan — the plan the whole week — and go from there. Don’t adjust because they scored,” said UVA’s Albin Gashi. “We have been working on set pieces. I kind of lost my guy and they took advantage of it.” 

    The Hoos responded minutes later with a goal from Gashi. This occurred on a quick transition opportunity for the Hoos when Nick Dang launched a long ball towards AJ Smith. Smith perfectly redirected the ball with his header into the path of Gashi.

    Gashi may have been fortunate to get this goal, as his build-up touch was a tad too long, allowing WVU keeper Marc Bonnaire to come off his line. Bonnaire made the initial save, but the ball deflected back into Gashi’s path and he finished on the open goal to tie it at 1-1.

    “I saw a long ball go to AJ, and he was bullying their defenders today, so I knew he was going to flick it on,” Gashi said of his goal. “I ran behind and had a poor touch, but played a 1-2 with the keeper and somehow I got the ball in. I was just happy to get the ball in, as it’s very important to get a goal after theirs.”

    Both teams had numerous scoring opportunities throughout, but both defenses and goalies were playing well, keeping it knotted up. The Hoos broke the tie in the 33rd minute from a great piece of possession. They had spurts where they really took care of the ball and possessed, which allowed them to generate some chances.

    The second goal was initiated from a great switch off field from Paul Wiese. Wiese played a diagonal ball in the air to Daniel Mangorov, who took down the ball beautifully and before it touched the ground, he flicked it over his head to a sprinting Branden Lambe.

    Lambe collected the ball and made a hard run towards the endline before cutting it back perfectly to Smith, who was sitting on the back post for an easy tap-in.

    “Getting AJ going has been huge,” said Gelnovatch. “The guy is 6-5 and the most athletic, fastest guy on the team. I mean, I don’t think we have seen half of what he is capable of when he’s fully fit, but yeah, we can send him on the run and allow him to hold the ball up.”

    The second half was nothing short of exciting, but neither team was able to score again. West Virginia actually generated more shots and shots on target in this match, but the Hoos’ resilience was the difference that allowed them to come out on top.

    Joey Batrouni made numerous bigtime saves in the second half, keeping the Hoos in the lead. He made 3 saves from headers from the Mountaineers that could have completely changed the outcome of this match.

    “Joey was nice and steady in there, calmed us down and was a good presence,” Gelnovatch said. 

    The entire back line and midfield fought for the entire 90 minutes against a great West Virginia team and had spurts where they were defending for long stretches in this match.

    Nick Dang was the catalyst and talked about it post-match, saying, “It’s hard, I mean they have a lot of threats up top, the balls they were serving in were very difficult to deal with, but it takes a toll on you. But at some point, you kind of get used to it, and those you just have to grind it out.” 

    Dang also spoke on his team’s upcoming home matchup against Massachusetts, saying, “They are pretty happy being able to be here at home, a little warmer than Pennsylvania and we don’t have to travel, which is nice. Get to stay home for Thanksgiving.”

    GOALS
    WVU: 3’ – Marcus Calderia
    UVA: 6’ – Albin Gashi (AJ Smith and Nick Dang)
    UVA: 33’ – AJ Smith (Brenden Lambe and Daniel Mangorov)

    ADDITIONAL NOTES

    Courtesy UVA Media Relations

    • AJ Smith scored his second career goal and first career game-winner
    • Smith recorded a career-high, three points on the night
    • Smith’s assist was the first of his Cavalier career
    • Albin Gashi recorded his first goal since scoring in a 2-1 win over Virginia Tech (10/4)
    • West Virginia’s goal in the third minute was the quickest of any Virginia opponent this season
    • A total of 10 different Cavaliers have recorded game-winning goals in 2024

    WITH THE WIN…

    • Virginia advances to the third round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship for the second consecutive season
    • UVA records its first come-from-behind victory in the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship since a 2-1 overtime win over Vermont (11/20/2016)
    • The Cavaliers record their third comeback victory of the season and their second in the postseason
    • The Cavaliers improve to 6-3 all-time against West Virginia

    UP NEXT

    The Cavaliers advance to the NCAA Round of 16 and will host UMass on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium (ESPN+). The unseeded Minutemen upset No. 6 seed Penn in the second round, 1-0. See the full bracket here.



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  • Lawyer for former soccer coach Bev Priestman says fallout from drone scandal a ‘master class of blame-shifting’

    Lawyer for former soccer coach Bev Priestman says fallout from drone scandal a ‘master class of blame-shifting’

    Open this photo in gallery:

    The lawyer for former Soccer Canada coach Bev Priestman, pictured here in 2023, says her client was the victim of “blame shifting” in the wake of the Paris Olympics drone-spying scandal.Scott Barbour/The Canadian Press

    The lawyer for former senior women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman says her client is the victim of “blame shifting” in the wake of the Paris Olympics drone-spying scandal.

    Muneeza Sheikh, a Toronto-based employment and human rights lawyer, posted a statement to LinkedIn after The Globe and Mail published an investigation this weekend into the drone spying scandal and complaints from staff about the culture within Canada Soccer. The lawyer said the story contained allegations that were untrue, but did not specify what she was referring to.

    “What happened at the Paris Olympics should have been a catalyst for change for Soccer,” Ms. Sheikh wrote. “Instead, the world has observed a master class of blame-shifting.”

    She said Ms. Priestman has “proved her tenacity” as a coach across multiple teams over the past decade and as a leader in women’s sport.

    Ms. Priestman was suspended by FIFA and Canada Soccer after performance analyst Joey Lombardi was caught by French police illegally flying a drone over an opponent’s closed practice on July 22. An investigation by lawyer Sonia Regenbogen found Ms. Priestman and assistant coach Jasmine Mander — whose names were redacted from the public version of the report — directed Mr. Lombardi to twice spy on New Zealand ahead of their match at the Olympics.

    Open this photo in gallery:

    Jasmine Mander, pictured.Supplied

    Canada Soccer announced earlier this month that Ms. Priestman and Ms. Mander will no longer be working for the organization. Mr. Lombardi resigned from Canada Soccer after the Olympics.

    The Globe’s investigation found Ms. Priestman and Ms. Mander oversaw a program that was already in turmoil long before the Olympic scandal. Some current and former staff told The Globe that the team had become a toxic place to work and they complained about staff drinking sessions the night before games.

    The Globe investigation also revealed that Canada Soccer launched two workplace investigations in 2023; Canada Soccer has said those investigations did not find violations of the organization’s Code of Conduct and Ethics.

    Ms. Sheikh, who declined to comment before The Globe published its investigation, said in her LinkedIn post that Ms. Priestman has been targeted by false allegations.

    “What has transpired continues to shed light on double standards in sport, hypocrisy, and false narratives. The recent article levies several fabricated claims against Bev,” Ms. Sheikh wrote. “These are demonstratively being raised now to detract from the real story. Bev has never harassed anyone.”

    She added that the claims against Ms. Priestman are “designed to discredit and malign a gay woman in professional sports.”

    Ms. Priestman issued a statement late Friday night in a post on Instagram — her first public comments since the spying scandal at the Paris Olympics in July.

    “I hope out of a really tough situation this is a turning point for our game,” she wrote. “There has been a standard and precedent set now, irrespective of gender, tournament or associated revenues that will hopefully clean up our game.”

    The statement from Ms. Priestman, who took over the women’s program in 2020 and coached the gold medal-winning team at the Tokyo Olympics, did not address the allegations that she ordered her staff to gather surveillance on opposing teams.

    Dean Crawford, a lawyer for Ms. Mander, previously said accounts provided to The Globe about his client directing spying are inaccurate, but declined to elaborate. “At a high level, I can tell you that the allegations made by others to you about Ms. Mander’s involvement in various attempts to obtain surveillance of opponents are not accurate,” Mr. Crawford said.

    Canada Soccer previously told The Globe that it commissioned the workplace investigations but declined to identify who among the organization’s leadership had received a copy. Instead, spokesperson Paulo Senra pointed to former executives at the organization who “fell short” of the disclosure obligations the organization is now implementing. A review of the minutes from that time show the report was not submitted to the board, he said.

    Canada Soccer’s interim chief executive officer at that time was Jason deVos, now an assistant coach with Toronto FC, the city’s Major League Soccer team. The Globe previously reported that Mr. deVos had fielded a complaint in August, 2023, from one staffer about employees being asked to spy against their objections. Mr. deVos, a former player with Canada’s men’s national team, had said he could not discuss the workplace investigations, but said he introduced policy changes as a result.

    Open this photo in gallery:

    Jason Devos assists in the draw during the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final Draw at the Canadian Museum of History on December 6, 2014 in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada.Francois Laplante/FreestylePhoto/Getty Images

    The spying scandal cost the Canadians six points in Paris — the equivalent of two wins at the Olympics — and a $315,000 fine, and prompted the federal government to withhold some of Canada Soccer’s funding. The women’s team went home without a medal for the first time since 2008 after losing to Germany in the quarterfinals.

    “It has and will continue to take some time to process, heal, find the words and step back in to a public setting but I felt I should say something irrespective of ongoing circumstances,” Ms. Priestman wrote in her Instagram post.

    “I know that amazing group was ready to reach the top again this summer but in many ways what they did was even more special under such difficult circumstances.”



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  • State roundup: Freeman football advances to State 2B semifinal; Scotties girls soccer earns program’s first state title

    State roundup: Freeman football advances to State 2B semifinal; Scotties girls soccer earns program’s first state title

    Freeman put up a bunch of points on Saturday, but its defense really came to play. 

    The fifth-seeded Scotties’ defense shut out fourth-seeded Onalaska en route to a 28-0 win in a State 2B quarterfinal at Tiger Stadium in Centralia. 

    Freeman (10-1) forced three turnovers on downs, in addition to retrieving a fumble on defense. The Loggers (11-2) averaged more than 52 points per game this season. 

    “We have a phenomenal team”, Freeman first year coach Mike McKeown said. “And I don’t just mean the guys on the field – our young guys help us prepare week in and week out. Our defensive coordinator did a phenomenal job putting kids in the right spots.”

    The Scotties advanced to a state semifinal in their first season in the 2B classification, but it’s their second semi in the past three seasons – Freeman reached the 1A semifinals in 2022, bowing to eventual state champ Royal 57-21.

    “Football is such a special game,” McKeown said. “It requires so many moving pieces, and we have such a special group that got us here.” 

    Freeman junior quarterback Logan Schultz connected with receiver Nash McLean for a 30-yard first quarter touchdown pass, and the rest was up to the defense.

    “We hit them first, and they had nothing to respond with,” Schultz said. “We knew what they were going to run, and we stopped them on defense, and spread things out on offense.”

    Schultz threw two touchdowns and ran for another. He leads the classification in passing yards.

    –Lane Mathews contributed to this report.

    Gonzaga Prep to face No. 1 Camas in 4A semifinal: The Papermakers (12-0) defeated eighth-seeded Arlington (10-2) 35-21 at Doc Harris Stadium in Camas to advance in the 4A bracket.

    They will host the fifth-seeded Bullpups (12-0) in a semifinal on Saturday at 1 p.m. at McKenzie Stadium in Camas. G-Prep outlasted fourth-seeded Kennedy Catholic 34-28 at Highline Stadium in Burien on Friday to advance. 

    Anacortes 55, West Valley 13: The visiting, seventh-seeded Eagles (11-1) saw their perfect season ended with a lopsided loss to the second-seeded Seahawks (11-1). Anacortes hosts sixth-seeded W.F. West (11-1) in a semifinal on Saturday. 

    Almira/Coulee-Hartline 14, Neah Bay 12: The fourth-seeded Warriors (10-2) edged the fifth-seeded Red Devils (10-2) in a quarterfinal at Lions Field. ACH takes on No. 1 Liberty Christian (Richland) (11-0) in a semifinal on Saturday. The Patriots beat ACH 50-36 on Sept. 20 in a nonleague game.

    Girls soccer

    Freeman 3, Mount Vernon Christian 0: Junior striker Rylee Russell is a goal-scoring machine, and she added to her state-leading total on Saturday. Russell scored twice and the Scotties (21-0) shut out the Hurricanes (17-4-1) in the State 2B/1B championship game at Federal Way Memorial Stadium.

    It is the first state championship Freeman soccer has won, and the first title for the school since 2018 when baseball won.

    Russell ends the season with 64 goals, most in the state across all classifications and tied for second in the country according to MaxPreps. 

    Goalie Kelsey Hollen made 13 saves and did not give up a single goal in four state games.

    Freeman scored 152 goals this year and allowed just 12. The Scotties were the only team in the state across all classifications to enjoy a “perfect” season – all 21 wins came in regulation with no ties. 

    “I’m so proud of them for battling.” Freeman coach Dave Ellis said. “This was the goal they set at the beginning of the year as a family.”

    After a scoreless first half, Russell got the Scotties on the board 4 minutes after intermission. 

    “Rylee is a good scorer,” Ellis said. “She really allowed us to open things up and exploit some things.”

    “We made good passes in the second half. We made sure we found the right people.” Russell said. “We wanted to make history. We wanted to be the first.”

    Freshman forward Nora Gass scored midway through the second half, and Russell sealed the game with just under 10 minutes to play. Senior Morgan LaMotte assisted on both of Russell’s goals. 

    “It means so much to see all of our players step on that field with so much grit.” senior Aubrey Gregory said. “I couldn’t ask for a better team to play with.”

    –Lane Mathews contributed to this report.

    Bellevue 2, Mt. Spokane 0: The second-seeded Wolverines (13-4-3) defeated the visiting eight-seeded Wildcats (15-5) in the State 3A third-place game at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.

    West Valley 5, Bellingham 0: The second-seeded Eagles (21-1-1) shut out the visiting fourth-seeded Bayhawks (20-4) in the State 2A third-place game at Mount Tahoma HS. 

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  • No. 9 Women’s Soccer Drops Heartbreaker in Overtime to Trinity (TX) in NCAA Sweet 16, 1-0

    No. 9 Women’s Soccer Drops Heartbreaker in Overtime to Trinity (TX) in NCAA Sweet 16, 1-0

    Article Courtesy of Sports Information Intern, Vin Rinella

    SCRANTON, PA — The University of Scranton women’s soccer team saw their season come to an end with a heartbreaking 1-0 overtime loss to Trinity University (TX) in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 action on Saturday afternoon at Weiss Field.

    The Basics

    • Final Score (OT): Trinity (TX) – 1, No. 9 Scranton – 0

    • Records: No. 9 Scranton (19-2-2), Trinity (18-2-3)

    • Scranton ends a historic season, reaching 19 wins for just the third time in program history (1999, 2003).

    How it Happened

    • Scranton put the pressure on Trinity from the start, but the Tigers’ fourth ranked defense was up to the task.

    • Goalkeeper Lauryn Lewis denied two shots from Royals’ graduate student Niamh Healy and freshman Molly Martys en route to making three saves in the first half.

    • Scranton’s defensive unit also came to play early, limiting the Tigers to just four shots in the first half.

    • Senior goalkeeper Nicole Olson made one save in the opening half.

    • The Royals continued to pressure the Tigers’ defense in the second half, recording 17 shots, five shots on goal. 

    • Senior Samantha Goffice had her shot get deflected off the crossbar in the 48th minute.

    • In the 78th minute graduate student Mary Haggerty ripped a shot from long-range that was bound for the top right corner but Lewis made a leaping save.

    • Graduate student Claire Mulholland drilled the crossbar on a shot from distance in the final minutes of regulation.

    • Despite the number of opportunities the Royals had, the game was deadlocked at 0-0 after regulation, forcing overtime.

    • With under a minute left in the first overtime period, the Tigers earned a corner kick. After Michaela Bosco served the ball into the box, it was redirected by Alex Doran to freshman Elie Kriek who softly flicked it over the diving Olson and into the back of the net to send Trinity into the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. The game-winning goal was the first of Kriek’s collegiate career.

    Top Performers

    • Healy led the Royals with seven shots and three shots on goal.

    • Olson tallied three saves in the loss.

    Inside the Box Score

    • Scranton out shot Trinity 22-11 in the contest. 

    • The Royals held an 8-2 edge in corner kicks over the Tigers.

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  • Geneva’s Lee shares boys soccer county coach of the year award | Sports

    Geneva’s Lee shares boys soccer county coach of the year award | Sports

    sports@starbeacon.com

    First-year Geneva boys soccer coach Jamie Lee was pleased that his team showed a big improvement this fall.

    The Eagles finished the season with a 7-11-2 record including winning in the first round of the postseason tournament.

    Geneva improved from two wins the previous season and finished second in the Chagrin Valley Conference Lake Division with a 3-1 record.

    Lee was rewarded for his efforts by being named the 2024 Ashtabula County Co-Coach of the Year, as voted on the coaches, with Grand Valley’s Rick Huffman.

    Lee was happy, even though his fellow county coaches weren’t familar with him very well, they saw the difference he had helped make in the Eagles’ soccer program.

    “A lot of the guys don’t know me from anybody, so to be nominated and then voted upon, it was super awesome, a super awesome feeling, to know that they noticed the difference that we made this year as far as the team goes,” Lee said.

    “We were much more of a cohesive unit this year and the kids were in better spirits and overall just played better, so that fact that people noticed that means a lot to me.”

    Lee said one of his team’s highlights was a battle against Kirtland, which ended in a 1-1 tie, after the Hornets pretty much had their way with the Eagles the previous season.

    “It was a very tough battle that I wanted to do well in and we showed them that we really improved and basically we didn’t let them push us around and I was very proud of that,” Lee said.

    He said junior Paxton Galliazzo led the team in points scored, and his goalkeeper, senior Kyle Hejduk, had 136 saves, with more than 300 for his career.

    The Eagles had a roster of 18 players, including five seniors and four juniors, four sophomores, and five freshmen.

    Geneva is expected to have a large number of returners next season.

    Lee has been a club soccer coach for at least five years, so transitioning to coaching high school players was a bit different.

    In club soccer, he said, the idea was to keep pushing forward as often as possible to try to get scoring opportunities.

    With the high school team, patience to maintain possession of the ball was the key strategy because of how the team was constructed and players’ skills.

    “Most of my team were all travel kids,” Lee said. “So getting them to switch that mindset from ‘hey let’s move the ball downfield, up the field’ to we need to hold the ball and maintain possession.”

    He said it took some time to establish that mindset, but the resulting patience allowed his players more time to think and make a better path and smarter decisions.

    “We didn’t do well against high-pressure teams, so when we would get challenged it would turn into a 50/50 and we would lose the ball,” Lee said.

    “They got better as the season progressed and by the end, we were definitely playing much more patient ball, much better, smarter soccer,” Lee said. “It was definitely a progression.”



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  • CEO Michele Kang makes largest-ever donation to ‘undervalued’ U.S. Soccer women and girls programs

    CEO Michele Kang makes largest-ever donation to ‘undervalued’ U.S. Soccer women and girls programs

    Businesswoman and philanthropist Michele Kang just made a historic donation to women’s soccer. 

    Kang, owner of the professional soccer team Washington Spirit, has pledged $30 million to the girls and women’s programs of U.S. Soccer, the organization announced on Tuesday. It’s the largest donation ever made to the soccer body by a woman, as well as to girls and women’s soccer. 

    In a news release, Kang said she hopes the donation prompts other donors to invest in women’s sports. 

    “Women’s sports have been undervalued and overlooked for far too long,” Kang said.

    Kang’s donation will help the organization double the number of camps it currently runs to six per age group, specifically funding those for women and girls, according to the press release said.

    The funds will also help expand U.S. Soccer’s digital talent identification platform, seeking to increase twelvefold the number of players recruited into the youth national team, creating 100,000 openings for female players. Additionally, the release said, the donation will be used to add 70,000 female coaches and referees, doubling the number of those female professionals today. 

    “Michele Kang’s gift will transform soccer for women and girls in the United States,” said Cindy Parlow Cone, president of the U.S. Soccer. “It will impact generations of women and girls in our game, including players, coaches, and referees.” 

    Kang, also founder and CEO of Kynisca, a global organization dedicated to women’s soccer, made history in 2022 when she became the first woman of color to own a team in the U.S. National Women’s Soccer League. She also owns Olympique Lyonnais, a women soccer team that plays in France, and London City Lionesses, in England. 

    When Kang first got involved in the sport two years ago, she told CNBC that it was immediately clear to her that there was “enormous potential” in the field.   

    “I was actually flabbergasted that not many people have seen that,” Kang told CNBC. 

    She told the outlet that she hopes to continue investing in teams globally and inspire girls across many countries. 

    “This is also about making sure that all the young girls around the world know that this is not just a U.S., English, French phenomenon,” Kang said. “When I get a team in those countries, I’m going to bring the same infrastructure, technology and capabilities to those countries so that they can feel that, ‘If I can put my best into it, I can be the next Alex Morgan.’”

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  • CEO Michele Kang makes largest-ever donation to ‘undervalued’ U.S. Soccer women and girls programs

    CEO Michele Kang makes largest-ever donation to ‘undervalued’ U.S. Soccer women and girls programs

    Businesswoman and philanthropist Michele Kang just made a historic donation to women’s soccer. 

    Kang, owner of the professional soccer team Washington Spirit, has pledged $30 million to the girls and women’s programs of U.S. Soccer, the organization announced on Tuesday. It’s the largest donation ever made to the soccer body by a woman, as well as to girls and women’s soccer. 

    In a news release, Kang said she hopes the donation prompts other donors to invest in women’s sports. 

    “Women’s sports have been undervalued and overlooked for far too long,” Kang said.

    Kang’s donation will help the organization double the number of camps it currently runs to six per age group, specifically funding those for women and girls, according to the press release said.

    The funds will also help expand U.S. Soccer’s digital talent identification platform, seeking to increase twelvefold the number of players recruited into the youth national team, creating 100,000 openings for female players. Additionally, the release said, the donation will be used to add 70,000 female coaches and referees, doubling the number of those female professionals today. 

    “Michele Kang’s gift will transform soccer for women and girls in the United States,” said Cindy Parlow Cone, president of the U.S. Soccer. “It will impact generations of women and girls in our game, including players, coaches, and referees.” 

    Kang, also founder and CEO of Kynisca, a global organization dedicated to women’s soccer, made history in 2022 when she became the first woman of color to own a team in the U.S. National Women’s Soccer League. She also owns Olympique Lyonnais, a women soccer team that plays in France, and London City Lionesses, in England. 

    When Kang first got involved in the sport two years ago, she told CNBC that it was immediately clear to her that there was “enormous potential” in the field.   

    “I was actually flabbergasted that not many people have seen that,” Kang told CNBC. 

    She told the outlet that she hopes to continue investing in teams globally and inspire girls across many countries. 

    “This is also about making sure that all the young girls around the world know that this is not just a U.S., English, French phenomenon,” Kang said. “When I get a team in those countries, I’m going to bring the same infrastructure, technology and capabilities to those countries so that they can feel that, ‘If I can put my best into it, I can be the next Alex Morgan.’”

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  • Jogo boo-nito: jeers for Brazil and not enough love for Wales | Soccer

    THE SELEÇ-OW!

    In its largely forgotten previous incarnation before the big rebrand, Football Daily rarely bothered to muddy its spats in the world of South American football unless it was to poke fun at the kind of news we would otherwise be forced to tut sanctimoniously over if it happened closer to home. A ref getting booted repeatedly up the backside after being chased around the pitch by an angry Ecuadorian centre-back, for example. Or a mass brawl that resulted in three Chileans and two Paraguayans getting shown straight reds and refusing to leave the field. Or perhaps a pitch invasion led by angry Peruvians upset that one of their players has been sent off for blowing his trumpet in the fourth official’s ear at full blast. In summary, the kind of scenes that “nobody wants to see”, unless of course they happen to unfold thousands of miles away, in which case we all want to see them.

    So, when we spoke to the Football Daily Ed earlier and suggested that Wales topping their Nations League group with a fine win over Iceland, coupled with Craig Bellamy’s post-match remarks about only taking the job to prove to everyone that he is not completely crazy [well, that’s spoiled Quote of the Day – Football Daily Ed], was the only show in town for today’s thrilling instalment of the world’s most daily football email, our curiosity was piqued when that idea was shot down in flames and we were told to “do something on what happened in Brazil instead”. Oblivious to overnight news of any crowd violence, pitch invasions, acts of GBH on a match official or the Delapping of severed animal heads on to the field of play during Brazil’s World Cup qualifier against Uruguay, we immediately went a’Googling to see what on earth had happened during the game and find out how it had passed us by.

    The answer? Not a great deal, apart from Brazil getting booed off in Salvador because they only drew 1-1 in a game low on chances, leaving their chances of qualifying for the next World Cup in jeopardy so mild you could mistake it for a warm sea breeze on a sunny summer’s day. Having gone behind to a fine strike from Uruguay’s Fede Valverde, Brazil equalised soon after courtesy of Gerson (not that one), whose first goal for his country leaves them fifth in the South American qualifying table, two points off second place and still set extremely fair to be among the six teams that qualify automatically. And quite frankly, if thinking such a scenario is far less interesting than Bellamy’s amusing take on why he became manager of Wales is wrong, then Football Daily doesn’t want to be right.

    However, we’re just here to follow orders, here’s what Raphinha had to say about the barracking to which he and his teammates were subjected. “I think the booing is more about the result, because in my opinion we gave it all,” he gasped. “I’m proud of those who played and even those on the bench. We did everything we could to get the result. We played a lot of football and we have to leave with our heads held high.” The same cannot be said for Football Daily, whose head could scarcely hang any lower as it slinks apologetically into your spam folder with this disappointingly inconsequential news at the tail-end of what has been, by our snakebelly low standards, an otherwise uncharacteristically productive interlull.

    LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE

    Join Sarah Rendell from 8pm GMT for minute-by-minute coverage of Chelsea 4-1 Celtic in Women’s Big Cup.

    QUOTE OF THE DAY

    “I probably feel it was important to show people I am not a lunatic – I’m quite sane. People thought I was going to be running on the pitch and pushing the ref and stuff, getting sent off. I probably felt more pushed into management to show I am not like that. People used to bring temperament up. ‘Oh yeah, but his temperament.’ I was like: ‘Really?’ Now you get to see this side of me” – Craig Bellamy responds to those judgmental types [cough – Football Daily Ed] who have been left wondering where the real Craig Bellamy is after his Zen-like approach to leadership guided Wales to Nations League promotion.

    Harry Wilson wangs one home in the 4-1 win over Iceland. Photograph: Dan Istitene/Getty Images

    Re: yesterday’s Football Daily. I see one of San Marino’s goals was scored by Nicola Nanni. A few more and Nanni could be their Goat” – Trevor Field.

    I’ll admit, I was sniffy about the Nations League when it was first introduced, but there’s nothing like a plucky underdog story to win the doubters round. I actually found myself getting quite emotional seeing this nation of part-time pub players secure not just one, but two scarcely believable victories, when I and many others had given up hope of ever seeing them win a competitive fixture in my lifetime. Huge congratulations to Steve Clarke and everyone at the SFA who made it possible” – Ollie Forrest.

    Mexico’s Aguirre hit by a beer can (yesterday’s News, Bits and Bobs, full email edition)? Was it the Wrath of Grog?” – Tim Grey.

    Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s letter o’ the day winner is … Tim Grey, who lands their very own piece of Football Weekly merch. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here.

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