Nov
07
Don’t forget to catch the NCAA Women’s Soccer Selection Show tonight at 4:30pm Eastern Time on NCAA.com. This is when they bracket out the teams for the 2011 NCAA Division 1 Women’s Soccer Championships. Can’t wait to see the match ups! I’m also curious to see if Notre Dame did enough to make the 64 team selection and be able to defend their championship…
Nov
02
Hey women’s soccer fans,
Here’s a fun post of the best hair in women’s soccer inspired by this awesome Megan Rapinoe Nike soccer t-shirt that’s currently for sale for about $23 through the official US Soccer website. There have been noted wacky hair styles in all of sports (mohawks, fros, dreads, etc.), especially in soccer. We put together our favorite crazy soccer hair styles from the top ladies of women’s professional (and international) soccer.
If we left someone out or if you think you should be included, comment below with a link to a picture (if you can find one)!
We’ll first start with the woman who made this post possible, Megan Rapinoe. Her hair is blonde, tall, and fierce (and hey, they made a t-shirt of her hair)!
If you thought Rapinoe’s hair was tall, check out Japan’s Eriko Arakawa’s fro!
Maybe it’s a goalkeeper thing, check out Jillian Loyden’s tough hair style for the World Cup. Definitely cool and intimidating.
Maybe Jill’s hair was a World Cup goalkeeper thing – check out Saskia Webber’s hair from the ’99 World Cup!
Yeah, it’s safe to say some of the craziest soccer hair belongs to goalkeepers – how does Karina Leblanc get her hair to stay like that throughout a whole game?
Nov
01
Hello women of the soccer world,
The adidas Top Sala X aren’t indoor soccer shoes specifically for women, but with the limited selection of women’s indoor soccer shoes, I’ve decided to review them. You can expect the review sometime next week after they are tested for multiple sessions. I have only been able to find three pairs of women’s indoor soccer shoes – two are from PUMA and one are from Nike. Quick details of the Top Salas and the women’s indoors soccer shoes are below:
Adidas Top Sala X (in Bright Yellow) Indoor Soccer Shoes – $60
The adidas Top Salas are one of the most popular indoor soccer shoes this season (yellow seems to be a very popular choice). The upper consists of a combination of synthetic leather and mesh creating a light and breathable, yet soft feel. The upper also consists of adiTUFF which is a technology specific to adidas – it’s abrasion resistance in the toe area. I’m really excited to test out adiTUFF!
PUMA Women’s Speed Star Indoors – $65
Leave it to PUMA to create a good looking women’s soccer shoe that’s also built to perform – they’ve really been great at finding the balance between competent and stylish. The PUMA Women’s Speed star has a unique look (and I’m assuming feel) from it’s grey lightweight suede upper induced with abrasion resistance. This shoe is made for your indoor or futsal league, but also made to look good with a pair of jeans.
PUMA Esito Finale IT Women’s Indoor Soccer Shoes – $35
Simple, stylish, and on pretty inexpensive – the PUMA Esito Finale women’s indoor soccer shoes are the perfect pair of indoors for someone looking for a women’s sized shoe and are on a budget. You’ll be hard-pressed to find another pair of indoors from a top brand at only $35. The only drawback, these indoor shoes may be a little stiff and may take more time breaking in.
Nike Women’s Tiempo Natural IV IC Indoors – $45
If you’re going for the modest look, a plain and simple black cleat with a white logo will definitely get you there. I’d say black indoor shoes may even be the minority lately, it seems that they come in ever color combination imaginable. The upper consists of soft synthetic leather which is great bang for your buck material as these indoors are only $45.
Oct
31
Hey women’s soccer fans,
This is our first of many weekly women’s college soccer rankings. We’ll start off slow and only rank the top 20 D1 soccer programs. All teams have the NCAA tournament on their mind as conference championships are beginning and are some teams only hope of making it to the big dance. Here’s our stab at it for 10/31/2011.
1. Stanford
2. Oklahoma State
3. Duke
4. Marquette
5. Wake Forest
6. UCLA
7. Louisville
8. Virginia
9. Santa Clara
10. West Virginia
11. Florida
12. Memphis
13. North Carolina
14. Penn State
15. Florida State
16. Boston College
17. Wisconsin-Milwaukee
18. Georgetown
19. Pepperdine
20. Maryland
Close Calls: La Salle, Baylor, UC Irvine, Notre Dame
Oct
30
There’s a rumor going around the soccer world that Connecticut will be the home of the next WPS expansion team for the 2012 season. The addition of this phantom team will bring the total number of teams back up to 6. However, this makes all of the teams in the North East – what’s going to happen to viewership when the furthest west team is the Atlanta Beat? How will the WPS create interest from the rest of the US? Take a look at how it would look on a map below to see the layout of the 6 WPS teams:
Oct
30
These women's soccer fans know what we're talking about!
Can’t get enough women’s soccer? Looking for more blogs, websites, newsletters, and magazines to stay up to date on all things related to women’s soccer – youth, college, professional, and international/national teams? We’ll try our best to fulfill your needs, but in case we don’t have it all, here are some of our favorite soccer blogs and websites with great coverage of the women’s game:
Our Game Magazine – Interviews and blog posts from players like Jordan Angeli, Ali Riley, Kate Markgraf, and Christie Welsh make Our Game Magazine a great tool for true insight from the top women of the game.
All White Kit – Very personable and well written blog on women’s soccer news – college, professional, and International play.
Never miss a story about Natasha Kai and your favorite stars
From A Left Wing - Art meets women’s soccer – bet you can’t spend less than 5 minutes on this site without wanting to bookmark it or send it to a friend.
Women’s Soccer United - If you like getting your women’s soccer updates from ESPN, check out Women’s Soccer United for a team dedicated to delivering every bit of women’s soccer news.
Are we missing one of your favorite women’s soccer blogs or websites? Comment below and share your favorites!
Oct
29
Need a new pair of women’s soccer cleats? On a budget and watching your spending before the holidays? Below are four great pairs of women’s soccer cleats on sale.
Save $40! adidas adiPower Predator TRX firm ground cleats
Only $120 for the women’s version of the adidas predator cleats. Upper is calf leather for a glove-like fit. Great color combination.
Save $30! adidas women’s F530 TRX pink cleats
If you’re looking for cheap women’s cleats and ones that are on sale and that are pink – these are calling your name. Now only $75.
Save $50! PUMA Women’s King Finale i white soccer cleats
Get a great pair of white cleats for just $93. We reviewed the Women’s PUMA King Finale and were big fans.
Oct
27
I bet you saw this coming! The troubled MagicJack WPS franchise was voted out of the Women’s Professional Soccer league earlier this week. The many problems of MagicJack’s management (and Dan Borislow) from uniforms to the team’s website to field and coaching issues forced the WPS to make a decision that ultimately led to MagicJack being kicked out of the league. Last year the Women’s Pro Soccer league’s Chicago and Washington teams folded during the off-season because of a lack of interest from sponsors and owners. We also can’t forget the terrible mid-season fold of the St. Louis Athletica. Maybe there will be another California team to take MagicJack’s place for the 2012 season!
Oct
27
The list of the 2011 best women’s soccer player has been shortened and will be decided between Sonia Bompastor, Kerstin Garefrekes, Marta, Aya Miyama, Alex Morgan, Loisa Necib, Homare Sawa, Lotta Chelin, Hope Solo, and Abby Wambach. Four of those soccer legends are currently playing in the WPS.
My hunch is Abby Wambach from the US or Homare Sawa from Japan. Wambach had a fantastic World Cup winning the Silver Ball, leading the US to a stellar comeback against Brazil, and also had a great WPS season where she even served as a player/coach. Homare Sawa on the other hand, lead Japan to back to back to back upsets and their country’s first ever Women’s World Cup championship. She also won the Golden Ball and Golden Boot. The other players all deserve to be nominated, but Abby Wambach and Homare Sawa had the most impressive year. I think the poor sportsmanship on the Brazil side during the World Cup hurts Marta’s chances. Even though she is arguably the most skilled player in the women’s game, people may remember her for being on the team that faked injuries and may forget about that one of a kind goal against Hope Solo in the semi final match.
Quality of this video isn’t great, but it’s one heck of a goal by Marta
Oct
26
Hey ladies,
I recently tested out the PUMA King Finale women’s soccer cleats in white (worn by Marta, Amy Rodriguez, and the rest of the women’s team PUMA). I was very loyal to the adidas Copas when I was playing youth soccer — I wore the full range minus the World Cup soft ground cleats. The PUMA Kings reminded me of an upgraded version of the Copas. They both have very soft and durable leather, good foot and ankle support, similar stud designs, and provide a soft touch on the ball. However, the PUMA King Finales come in a variety of colors – a simple black and white, black and bright green, white and black, all black, white and bright green, white and navy blue, and then the special edition Maradona cleats in white and light blue. They are also lighter than the adidas Copa cleats. The adidas Copas weigh in at 11.7 oz and a similar size PUMA King Finale is only 9.6 oz. As always, I’ll review the women’s cleats on durability, comfort/fit, traction, innovation, support, style, ball control, and value.
| Durability: 10 | One of the reasons why I loved the Copas when I was playing youth soccer was because they lasted double days, summers of playing 7 days a week, and in the harshest weather conditions. Wearing the PUMA Kings over 7 times already, I have not noticed any wear or tear. PUMA made a very durable cleat here, it’s most likely due to the Kangaroo leather and the stitching/molding methods used. |
| Traction: 9 | I tested the PUMA King Finale cleats on artificial grass, firm ground, and hard ground fields. I never had a problem with traction of the cleats – never slipped or had my studs get caught in the artificial grass field. I didn’t give it the cleats a 10 for traction because I feel I get a little more push off the ground with a blade style stud design compared to the post style that the Kings use. |
| Comfort/Fit: 10 | It took a couple of times wearing the cleats to get used to them. The cut of the ankle of the cleat feels more aggressive and lower than your average pair. I had to retie my laces to ensure that the cleat wouldn’t come off because the ankle was cut so low. However, I ended up loving the cut because it made the cleat feel very light and provided a lot of flexibility. |
| Ball Control: 9 | The leather is very soft so it gives you a nice touch on the ball, however, I would prefer a cleat without such a large tongue. I hate to blame my poor passes on my cleats, but the tongue never stayed in place – it always laid awkward on my cleats. |
| Innovation: 8 | These cleats are your typical and traditional match soccer cleats with a few upgrades. |
| Style: 9 | I love the look of the PUMA King Finale cleats and all the color combos that are available! They’re so simple, yet they’re so PUMA. They’re loud in their own way, but not as flashy as the PUMA v1.10, v1.11, and some of the PUMA PWR-C color combinations.
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| Support: 8 | I think these cleats slightly lack in ankle support and stability. They do not fit as high on your ankle as other cleats, which gives you a lot of flexibility and control, but at the slight expense of ankle support. It takes a couple of times wearing them to get used to the cut. |
| Value: 10 | You can find these PUMA cleats on sale selling for under $95. |
| Overall: 9.1 | If you like the adidas Copas, but what something different, want the top of the line women’s soccer cleats at a fair price, or just want what Marta wears, these cleats are for you. They’re a great replacement for the adidas Copas, they’re the best bang for your buck in regards to women’s cleats, and they’re what the PUMA sponsored WPS stars wear. |
