This week we review the Westfield W-League's 2015-16 season, which ended with the Grand Final this past weekend, examine the U.S. and Canadian National Team rosters for the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament this month and talk about New Zealand's odd qualification for the Rio Olympic Games.
AUSTRALIAN W-LEAGUE REVIEW
Expansion side Melbourne City won the Grand Final to conclude the eighth season of the Westfield W-League—Australia's National Women's League—on January 31, 2016 after defeating Sydney FC 4-1, to go with their Premiership (Regular Season crown).
Scottish internationals defender Jennifer Beattie (Manchester City) and midfielder Kim Little (Seattle Reign) both scored for the winners, as did Australian youth international Beattie Goad and three time Australian World Cup team forward Lisa DeVanna. Australian international forward Kyah Simon scored from the penalty spot for Sydney.
Melbourne set a number of records including the first W-League club to go unbeaten and untied during the regular season, though their semifinal against Brisbane Roar had to go to penalty kicks with a 0-0 deadlock after 120 minutes, which is officially a tie. Melbourne City prevailed in the penalty shootout (5-4) with DeVanna scoring the winning spot kick. The game attracted 4,491 at AAMI Park in Melbourne, home of the city's A-League men's sides.
Melbourne City had the league Golden Boot winner in Australian international Larissa Crummer with 11 regular season goals, followed by Kim Little (8 goals) and Australian youth international Marianna Tabain (7 goals). City's 38 goals for the season was one goal short of the W-League record of 39 in a season, set by Perth Glory last season.
Melbourne did set a record for fewest goals allowed in a season (4). City set a record for points in the season with 36 from their 12-0-0 record, and goal difference of +34, 5 more than Perth Glory's +29 last season. Melbourne City set a high standard on the field, constructing a tremendous side, with key internationals in Little, Beattie, Welsh international Jess Fishlock, Rebekah Stott of New Zealand and Australian internationals Steph Catley, DeVanna, Crummer, Aivi Luik and Brianna Davey in goal.
Off the field, they also set a benchmark for home attendance, with 4,491 at last week's semifinal win over Brisbane and 4,206 at the Grand Final, for a total of over 8,500 to watch women's football in a week. Melbourne City seems set next season to break the all-time W-League attendance record for a stand-alone women's game of 4,554 in Brisbane when the Roar won the W-League's first Grand Final in 2008/09. Melbourne City has increased the pressure on the other teams in the league, which will only further propel the growth and development of what has become a very stable and competitive league.
Note: Five members of the City side won a W-League title with Melbourne Victory two years ago, including Fishlock, Davey, Goad, DeVanna and wing back Steph Catley.
Sydney FC was attempting to win its third Grand Final from four appearances. Sydney finished third in the regular season with a 6-1-5 record for 19 points and made the Grand Final by defeating host side and second placed Canberra United (8-2-2 for 26 points) 1-0 in the semifinal. American forward Jasmyne Spencer scored the winner for Sydney after an hour but on a controversial goal, after Kyah Simon clearly obstructed Canberra goalkeeper Lydia Williams before Spencer's shot. Spencer has now scored 13 goals in two seasons with Sydney. Spencer, who has played for Washington Spirit in 2013 and then for two seasons with the Western New York Flash, will play for Orlando Pride this season. Spencer has only 6 goals while playing four times as many games in NWSL, but look to her to have a breakout season with the Tom Sermanni coached expansion franchise.
Sydney's semifinal win on the road shouldn't come as a surprise and was reflective of a trend in the W-League this season as the home team won only 18 games (40%) and lost 27 (60%) in 45 games decided in a victory (9 games ended in ties). This compares with 55% home wins in the W-League's 2014-15 season and 65% home wins in NWSL last season.
Australian internationals Ashleigh Sykes (7 goals and tied for third with Melbourne City's Marianna Tabian) and Western New York's Michelle Heyman (5 goals) powered Canberra. Australian international goalkeeper Williams, who has played in NWSL with the Western New York Flash in 2014 before tearing her ACL on national team duty, signed with the Houston Dash for 2016.
Brisbane Roar (5-1-6 for 16 points) finished fourth, and struggled during the first half of the season--at one point the Roar had 2 wins and 5 losses after 7 games and looked to have missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The Roar clinched the playoff berth on the last weekend, tying Newcastle Jets at home, when a win would have given the Jets the playoff berth for only the second time in their history. New Zealand international Kristy Yallop was a late addition during the season for Brisbane and chipped in two goals.
For Adelaide United and Newcastle Jets (both 3-4-5 for 13 points and tied for fifth) it was so close yet so far in their quest for the postseason; they were the neutrals' favorites as both sides have a combined one W-League playoff berth in 7 previous seasons (Newcastle finished second in the inaugural 2008-09 season). Adelaide tied its all-time points record for a season of 13 (in 2013/14) and was in fourth for much of the campaign but one point out of nine from their last three matches doomed them. American import Abby Dahlkemper, a defender with the Western New York Flash and a U-23 international, was a revelation with 5 goals on the season, tying her with Rosie Sutton. For the Jets, their trouble was scoring as they tallied only 9 goals on the season. Tara Andrews, who scored 18 goals for Colorado Pride and was the League Most Valuable Player and Golden Boot winner in the now defunct North American W-League last summer, led the Jets with 3 goals but missed some games with her first Matilda's [national side] call-up.
Western Sydney Wanderers (3-3-6 for 12 points) fell off the playoff hunt with only 5 points out of 18 in the second half of the season. Their season ending victory at home over Perth Glory edged the Western Australian side for seventh place. Perth made the Grand Final last season but injuries hurt their campaign, losing two-time World Cup winger Caitlyn Foord mid-season. American import Vanessa DiBernardo was a revelation; the Chicago Red Star and youth international had 6 goals in 8 matches.
Melbourne Victory (2-1-9 for 7 points) won the wooden spoon and didn't win their first game until week 7. English international forward Natasha Dowie arrived mid-season and showed class in scoring 2 goals, tying her for the team lead with Laura Spironovic and 15-year old Mindy Barbieri, who demonstrated the importance of the W-League in developing young Aussie talent.
US AND CANADA NAME 20 TEAM ROSTERS FOR OLYMPIC QUALIFYING
The U.S. and Canada announced their national team rosters for the 2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship, which will be held from Feb 10-21 in Houston and suburban Dallas, Texas.
Thirteen of the 23 2015 Women's World Cup winners are on the squad. Shannon Boxx, Lori Chalupny, Lauren Holiday and Shannon Boxx retired after the World Cup, while Christie Rampone and Megan Rapinoe are injured and Amy Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux are on maternity leave. The other two World Cup winners—Heather O'Reilly and Whitney Engen--were left off of the Olympic Qualifying tournament roster. Engen, who played in the past for Liverpool in the FA WSL a few seasons ago, was the only field player on the squad to not play in a World Cup match and will play for her former Liverpool coach Matt Beard with Boston this season.
Sydney Leroux announced this week that she is pregnant and will miss the Olympic Qualifiers and Finals (should the U.S. qualify as expected) and is expected to miss the entire 2016 NWSL season. She recently was traded from Western New York Flash to FC Kansas City—Leroux's husband Dom Dwyer plays for Sporting Kansas City in MLS.
The average age of this team is just under 26, down three years from 29 for the Women's World Cup side, which was the highest of any of the 24 teams in Canada. Seven players who are new to senior national team tournaments have helped to reduce that average age, as they range from 21-23, with the exception of teenager Mallory Pugh:
Crystal Dunn--the NWSL Most Valuable Paper and leading scorer with Washington Spirit in 2015, was the last cut from the 2015 World Cup team.
Jaeline Hinkle—played at Texas Tech and was taken by the Western New York Flash in the 2016 draft.
Lindsey Horan—returns from Paris St. Germain after 3 seasons. Horan was a key member on the 2014 U-20 U.S. World Cup team which lost to Korea DPR on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals. She will play this season with Portland Thorns.
Stephanie McCaffrey—played at Boston College and with Boston Breakers and is a dynamic wing back.
Sam Mewis—had an impressive rookie season in midfield with the Western New York Flash. She won a U-20 World Cup title in 2012 in Japan.
Mallory Pugh—still in high school, she is lauded as a future lynchpin of the national team. She scored a goal in her debut for the full national team last week in a 5-0 win against the Republic of Ireland. Despite reports that she would bypass college for a professional career with the Thorns—as Horan did in going to France--her parents insist that she will play for UCLA next fall.
Emily Sonnett—played at the University of Virginia and in a number of Victory Tour games last year with the national team. She was the number one pick in the NWSL draft and will play in Portland.
U.S. Women's National Team Olympic Qualifying Roster By Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars), Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)
DEFENDERS (7): Jaelene Hinkle (Western New York Flash), Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), Meghan Klingenberg (Portland Thorns FC), Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Kelley O'Hara (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), Samantha Mewis (Western New York Flash)
FORWARDS (5): Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), Stephanie McCaffrey (Boston Breakers), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), Mallory Pugh (Real Colorado)
Canada mixes experience and youth on their CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament Team
Head Coach John Herdman named 13 players who were on the 2015 Women's World Cup squad, as did U.S. coach Jill Ellis; Herdman's squad made the quarterfinals at home last summer.
Herdman explained: “The team we have selected represents the best of Canadian soccer, consisting of a subtle blend of youth and experience. Right now, we are in a position to focus on the upcoming qualification tournament and hopefully position ourselves to defend our Olympic bronze medal this summer in Rio."
Five of Canada's top ten most capped international women's players are on the squad, including Christine Sinclair (232), midfielders Diana Matheson (178) and Sophie Schmidt (137), defender Rhian Wilkinson (168) and goalkeeper Erin McLeod (112). All four of the active top ten Canadian women's goal scorers will be present, including Sinclair (158), Schmidt (16), Matheson (16) and Melissa Tancredi (22).
The average age of the roster is 25 years old, ranging from 16 year old Deanne Rose to the 34 year old Tancredi. Canada, ranked 11th in the world, will play Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala in Group B.
Position/Name/Country Currently Playing In/Current Team
GK- Sabrina D'Angelo—Western New York Flash
GK- Stephanie Labbé | CAN /
GK- Erin McLeod | USA / Houston Dash
FB- Kadeisha Buchanan | USA / West Virginia U.
FB- Rebecca Quinn | USA / Duke University
FB- Shelina Zadorsky | SWE / Vittsjö GIK
FB- Josée Belanger |SWE / FC Rosengård
FB- Allysha Chapman | USA / Houston Dash
FB- Rhian Wilkinson | USA / Portland Thorns FC
M-Josee Belanger| SWE / FC Rosengard
M- Jessie Fleming | CAN /
M- Ashley Lawrence | USA / West Virginia Univ.
M- Diana Matheson | USA / Washington Spirit
M- Sophie Schmidt| GER / FFC Frankfurt
M- Desiree Scott | ENG / Nott County Ladies
F- Janine Beckie | USA / Texas Tech
F- Gabrielle Carle | CAN / Dynamo de Québec
F- Deanne Rose | CAN / Allison ONT Soccer Club
F- Nichelle Prince | USA / Ohio State University
F- Christine Sinclair | USA / Portland Thorns FC
F- Melissa Tancredi | USA / Chicago Red Stars
NEW ZEALAND QUALIFIES FOR RIO AFTER SECOND LEG WALK-OVER
New Zealand's Football Ferns have qualified for the Women's Olympic Football Finals in Rio de Janeiro as a result of their Oceania Finals opponent--Papua New Guinea--withdrawing from the second leg of their Confederation Olympic Qualifier in Auckland, New Zealand after their 7-1 victory on January 23 in Papua New Guinea.
The goalscorers were Amber Hearn (FFUSV Jena of Germany), Annalie Longo (Coastal Spirit FC of New Zealand) who both had braces, along with singles by Rebekah Stott (Melbourne City of Australia), Aimee Phillips (Forrest Hill Milford Utd AFC) and Abby Erceg (Western New York Flash). Meagan Gunemba got the hosts on the board in the 79th minute.
Papua New Guinea, coached by former Boston Breakers coach Lisa Cole, clearly made an economic decision to not travel to New Zealand. They had no hope of qualifying but it is a negative message for the women's game and is a very short-sighted decision, particularly when PNG will host the U-20 FIFA Women's World Cup Finals in November and the 8 team Oceania Cup for men, which will double as the World Cup qualifiers for the region.
They have put their region and FIFA in a difficult position through not upholding their commitments and we expect sanctions to be rightly applied.
New Zealand Football CEO Andy Martin said: “While we're obviously delighted the Football Ferns will be making the trip to Rio, we're disappointed (Tuesday's) game will not be going ahead and we won't get the chance to secure our place on the field in front of our fans."
New Zealand hosted an international friendly in place of the qualifier, winning 5-0 in Auckland on January 26. New Zealand has now made the Olympic Games for the third consecutive time and were quarterfinalists in London in 2012.
New Zealand joins host Brazil and Colombia from CONMEBOL, France and Germany from UEFA, and South Africa and Zimbabwe from CAF, with two finalists from CONCACAF, AFC (Asia) and one more from Europe still to be determined.
