Annual Women's Professional Soccer Awards
Women's Professional Soccer hands out a number of yearly awards. Six were awarded from the start in 2009 and one more, the Rookie of the year award, was added in 2010. The first five awards listed are voted on by fans, players & coaches, and media, each group accounting for 33% of the total vote. Player of the Year Award The Michelle Akers Player of the Year Award is a soccer award for players in Women's Professional Soccer. The award is given to the player deemed the most valuable player in the league each season. It is named after former USA great Michelle Akers. * 2009 – Marta, Los Angeles Sol * 2010 – Marta, FC Gold Pride * 2011 – Verónica Boquete, Philadelphia Independence Coach of the Year The Coach of the Year Award is an award given by Women's Professional Soccer to the best coach in any given season. The award has been given since the league's inception in 2009. * 2009 – Abner Rogers, Los Angeles Sol * 2010 – Paul Riley, Philadelphia Independence ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Women's Professional Soccer
Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 season, with continued plans for future expansion. The WPS was the highest level in the United States soccer pyramid for the women's game. On January 30, 2012, the league announced suspension of the 2012 season, citing several internal organization struggles as the primary cause. Some of these issues included an ongoing legal battle with magicJack owner Dan Borislow and the lack of resources invested into the league. On May 18, 2012, WPS announced the league folded and would not return in 2013. After the WPS folded, the National Women's Soccer League formed in 2013 and took WPS's place as the top professional women's soccer league. History Planning After the folding of Women's United Soccer Association, which played its third and final ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Nicole Barnhart
Nicole Renee Barnhart (born October 10, 1981) is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previously played for FC Gold Pride and Philadelphia Independence in Women's Professional Soccer, and for the United States national team where she was a two-time Olympic gold medalist. She competed in qualifying matches for 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, 2011 Four Nations Tournament and 2011 Algarve Cup. Early life Barnhart was born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania and grew up in Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania. She attended Boyertown High School in Berks County, Pennsylvania where she played for the boys' team for all four years, playing on the field as well as in goal. She also played basketball and lacrosse, and was named an All-American. Stanford University Barnhart played college soccer for the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford University. She was named an all-Pacific-10 Conference playe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Washington Freedom
Washington Freedom was an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Germantown, Maryland, that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The Freedom was founded in 2001 as a member of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association. Beginning in 2004, the Freedom played its home games at the Maryland SoccerPlex. In 2011, the team relocated to Boca Raton, Florida, and became magicJack. History WUSA (2001–03) The team played its home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., where the team offices were also located. The team's "founding players" (players from the national team allocated three to each WUSA team) were Mia Hamm, Siri Mullinix and Michelle French. They were expected by some to be one of the best in the league but finished seventh out of the eight teams their first season. However, this finish allowed the Freedom to select Abby Wambach as their first pick in the 2002 WUSA draft. Additional person ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Abby Wambach
Mary Abigail Wambach (born June 2, 1980) is an American retired soccer player, coach, and member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. A six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award, Wambach was a regular on the U.S. women's national soccer team from 2003 to 2015, earning her first cap in 2001. As a forward, she currently stands as the highest all-time goal scorer for the national team and is second in international goals for both female and male soccer players with 184 goals, behind Canadian Christine Sinclair. Wambach was awarded the 2012 FIFA World Player of the Year, becoming the first American woman to win the award in ten years. She was included on the 2015 ''Time'' 100 list as one of the most influential people in the world. Wambach competed in four FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments: 2003 in the United States, 2007 in China, 2011 in Germany, and 2015 in Canada, being champion of the last edition; and two Olympics tournaments: 2004 in Athens and 2012 in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Camille Abily
Camille Anne Françoise Abily (born 5 December 1984) is a French football manager and former player, best known as a star midfielder for both the French women's national team and for the Lyon club in the Division 1 Féminine. She currently is the assistant manager of Olympique Lyonnais. As a player, Abily played primarily as an attacking midfielder. She was a two-time winner of the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Female Player of the Year and, following her second consecutive honour in 2007, became the first woman to win the award in back-to-back seasons. Following a move to the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league in the United States, she earned Player of the Month and All-Star honors. Abily began her football career joining Jeanne d'Arc Bruz in 1992. In 1994, she joined nearby club FC Bruz. After a year's stint at another local club, Abily spent time in the first division playing for Stade Briochin and La Roche-sur-Yon. In 2002, she was selected to at ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Puma AG
Puma SE, branded as Puma, is a German multinational corporation that designs and manufactures athletic and casual footwear, apparel and accessories, which is headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. Puma is the third largest sportswear manufacturer in the world. The company was founded in 1948 by Rudolf Dassler. In 1924, Rudolf and his brother Adolf "Adi" Dassler had jointly formed the company ''Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik'' (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory). The relationship between the two brothers deteriorated until the two agreed to split in 1948, forming two separate entities, Adidas and Puma. Following the split, Rudolf originally registered the newly established company as ''Ruda'' (derived from ''Ru''dolf ''Da''ssler, as Adidas was based on Adi Dassler), but later changed the name to ''Puma''. Puma's earliest logo consisted of a square and beast jumping through a ''D'', which was registered, along with the company's name, in 1948. Puma's shoe and clothing desig ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
MagicJack (WPS)
magicJack (stylized with the first letter in lower case) was an American professional soccer club based in Boca Raton, Florida. The team competed in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) for one season until legal challenges caused the team's owner, Dan Borislow, to be banned from the WPS, which folded in 2012. History Freedom era In 2001, magicJack was founded as Washington Freedom, a team of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). The Freedom were the only team to continue as an organization after WUSA folded, first playing exhibition games, then joining the W-League. The Freedom were a founding member of WUSA's successor, Women's Professional Soccer. In 2011, the team was purchased by Dan Borislow, the owner of the phone tech company magicJack, renamed, and relocated to Boca Raton, Florida. First season The team opened its 2011 season with three wins, and was the only team with a perfect record for the first month of the season. Despite this, coach Mike Lyons ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Christen Press
Christen Annemarie Press (born December 29, 1988) is an American soccer player for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. She first appeared for the United States national team during an international friendly against Scotland on February 9, 2013. She has made 155 appearances for her country and is currently ninth all-time with 64 goals scored. Press was the recipient of the Hermann Trophy in 2010 and holds the all-time scoring and assists records at Stanford Cardinal. Following her collegiate career, Press was selected fourth overall by the Washington Freedom in the 2011 WPS Draft, where she was named WPS Rookie of the Year. She was the Damallsvenskan's top scorer in 2013 with 23 goals scored for Tyresö FF and became the first American to earn the Golden Boot award in the history of the Swedish League. Press has played for the Chicago Red Stars and Utah Royals in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), Koppar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ali Riley
Alexandra Lowe Riley (born 30 October 1987) is an American-born New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a defender for Angel City of the American National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), as well as the New Zealand women's national football team. She captains both her club and national teams. As a collegiate athlete, she captained the Stanford soccer team to two NCAA semi-finals and one final. Early life Born in Los Angeles, California to parents John Graham Riley and Beverly Fong Lowe, Ali attended St. Matthew's Parish School in Pacific Palisades and Harvard-Westlake School in North Hollywood, California. She was named captain of the soccer team during her senior season and was a two-time Mission League Offensive MVP as well as a two-time first-team San Fernando Valley selection. As a senior, she helped lead the Wolverines to the 2006 Southern Section Division I final and was named to the All-CIF Southern Section Division I first team. Riley also competed for local so ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
United States Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer at the international, professional, and amateur levels, including: the men's and women's national teams, Major League Soccer, National Women's Soccer League, youth organizations, beach soccer, futsal, Paralympic and deaf national teams. U.S. Soccer sanctions referees and soccer tournaments for most soccer leagues in the United States. The U.S. Soccer Federation also administers and operates the U.S. Open Cup and the SheBelieves Cup. History U.S. Soccer was originally known as the United States Football Association. It formed on 5 April 1913, at the Astor House Hotel in Lower Manhattan and on 15 August of that year was accepted as one of the earliest member organizations of FIFA and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Whitney Engen
Whitney Elizabeth Engen (born November 28, 1987) is an American soccer player and FIFA Women's World Cup champion. She most recently played as a defender for the United States women's national soccer team as well as the Boston Breakers of the National Women's Soccer League, the highest division of women's soccer in the United States. She first appeared for the United States national team during the 2011 Algarve Cup in a match against Norway on March 4. During her time with the team, she made 40 appearances for the team and scored four goals. Engen has represented the United States in one FIFA Women's World Cup in 2015 and one Olympic tournament in 2016. Engen played collegiate soccer with the North Carolina Tar Heels from 2006 to 2009. Following her collegiate career, she was selected fourth overall by the Chicago Red Stars in the 2010 WPS Draft that took place on January 15, 2010. Between 2011 and 2015, Engen played professionally for the Western New York Flash, Tyresö ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Boston Breakers (WPS)
The Boston Breakers were an American professional soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defunct Women's United Soccer Association, as the Boston area's professional women's soccer team. The Breakers played their home games at Jordan Field in Boston and were managed in their final season by Matt Beard. History Original franchise The original Boston Breakers played in the WUSA from 2001 to 2003. In the final season in the WUSA, the Breakers had their best record (10–4–7) and placed first in the regular season before losing to the Washington Freedom in the semifinals. Women's Professional Soccer Re-establishment (2007–2009) The formation of Women's Professional Soccer was announced on September 4, 2007, during which time it was also announced that a franchise had been awarded to Boston. The Boston Breakers franchise was offi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |