Hottest WPS Player Poll: Finals

Twenty WPS players have been whittled down to eight. It’s time to crown the Hottest WPS Player. We started with four groups of five, and the voting went this way:

Group A
Heather Mitts – 40.7%
Lauren Sesselmann – 22.2%
Becky Sauerbrunn – 14.8%
Lauren Cheney – 11.1%
Keeley Dowling – 11.1%
Heather Mitts winning the group was no surprise, but Lauren Cheney not making it out of the group was. I wonder whether she might have done better if the voting had occurred after the goal she scored on Sunday, because that was hot. Mitts was the group winner with the widest margin of victory.

Group B
Taryn Hemmings – 32.1%
Bianca D’Agostino – 32.1%
Hope Solo – 28.6%
Kelley O’Hara – 7.1%
Carli Lloyd – 0%
This was the closest race for the finals, with Solo barely missing out on a three way tie. That Solo did not move on is a surprise, as two relatively unknown players combine to keep her out.

Group C
Amy Rodriguez – 28%
Leslie Osborne – 28%
Katherine Reynolds – 24%
Ashlyn Harris – 20%
Meghan Schnur – 0%
I never thought this group would be so close overall, save Schnur. Harris being eliminated means no goalkeepers move on. Rodriguez and Osborne were the chalk, though Reynolds made an upset bid.

Group D
Alex Morgan – 46.2%
Cat Whitehill – 38.5%
Carrie Dew – 11.5%
Tina DiMartino – 3.9%
Marian Dalmy – 0%
Morgan and Whitehill simply trounced this group. Morgan was the winner with the highest percentage of votes.

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So on we go to the finals. No fluff, just photos. You know the drill.

Heather Mitts

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Lauren Sesselmann

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Taryn Hemmings

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Bianca D’Agostino

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Amy Rodriguez

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Leslie Osborne

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Alex Morgan

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Cat Whitehill

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Polls close Thursday, June 9th.

MLS SuperDraft Thoughts

Prior to the start of MLS SuperDraft 2011, I expected that DC United would take either a forward or center back with the third overall pick. I was pulling for a forward, but when arguably the two best at the position, Omar Salgado and Darlington Nagbe, went off the board, it became clear that the team would not reach for a forward, instead opting to take the best player available. Perry Kitchen is viewed by many to be the best player in the entire draft, and I can only hope that’s the case. I won’t pretend that I know much of him from watching his matches at Akron, but it does appear that we got ourselves a steal. At 6’0, 160 pounds, I have questions about him going up against bigger, physical center forwards, but those will be answered in due time.

Once DC United did not select a foward in the first round, I wondered whether it meant that the front office had a good line on acquiring a forward by some other means. The odds of finding one who could contribute in the 2nd and 3rd rounds (and Supplemental Draft) were very slim, so I didn’t expect anything from that. The offseason is still going, so it’s too soon to jump to any conclusions, but I cannot imagine that they are standing pat with the stable of forwards that currently exists, with Chris Pontius, Josh Wolff, and Joseph Ngwenya. Before and now after the draft, goalscorer was this team’s biggest need. I anxiously wait to see when/how/if it is addressed.

Other draft notes:

– The best represented groups of supporters were DC, Philadelphia, and Metros. There was a small segment of New England supporters, and just a smattering of the others.

– Metros supporters set up directly behind us, and the back and forth between our group and theirs was a lot of fun. Too bad almost all Metros fans have to sing about us is about how they think the team is moving to Baltimore. The "I believe that DC sucks" call and answer was penned by 10-year-olds.

– The speeches by drafted players were forced and awkward, and made the draft much longer than it needed to be. The number of them who thanked their girlfriends was only eclipsed by the number of them who thanked God.

– What in the hell is a timeout during the draft about? Doesn’t that eliminate the purpose of a clock?

With roster holes still to fill, the offseason trudges on. I have as much of an idea about what’s going to happen in the next few weeks as I do what the Powerball numbers will be tomorrow. Ben Olsen’s putting his stamp on the team, but he isn’t done yet. I hope.

Back in the game

It’s been a long time, but Quarter Volley is back. If you’ve never been here before, you’re going to find coverage of the following:

D.C. United
Washington Freedom
NOVA FC (Northern Virginia Royals and Majestics)
US Soccer
Tottenham Hotspur

I go to every D.C. United home match and as many Freedom matches as I can, but I’ve gone to less NOVA FC matches as they’ve become less and less “Northern” (they play in Woodbridge now). All that said, I’m going to cover everything as best as I can. Thanks in advance for reading.

Coming up: Taking in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft in Baltimore in person.

Stick around.

I’m not dead

I was there, in the stands in Giants Stadium, and now I’m back. There is a lot to do to catch up around here, and here’s what’s on the coming agenda:

– Preview of DC United v. FC Dallas
– Four Fs of DC United v. FC Dallas
– Analysis of Washington Freedom to this point
– MLS Statistical Analysis 2.1a and 2.1b, just like last year’s offense and defense & goalkeeping, before the whole domain snafu.
– Completion and release of Quarter Volley Local Soccer Calendar

Watch this space.

Weekend in Review

DC United v. Chicago Fire wrapup

Live Blog: Washington Freedom v. LA Sol

MLS schedule release

The MLS regular season schedule is slated to be released at 12 noon EST today. DC United schedule analysis is soon to follow.

I’m back!

After a considerable hiatus, Quarter Volley is back in 2009. So, what happened?

Long story short, I was lazy. As you may notice, this is now quartervolley.net, and not quartervolley.com. Renewal for my domain was up, and I kept procrastinating and procrastinating (or forgetting), and when I eventually got around to renewal, some schmuck had bought the rights to the domain. I stepped away for awhile.

Now that the 2009 domestic season is kicking back into gear, with World Cup qualifiers, MLS, and the WPS, things around here are going to be running again.

Why I’m excited for the season:

– The chance to beat Mexico 2-0 in Columbus
– The startup of the WPS
– DC United, no matter what their condition is
– The return of (Quarter Volley Favorite) Joanna Lohman to the Freedom

Among other things.

So stay tuned. I’m back.

Destination?

Mmmm… road trip.

Local Soccer Roundup – 2.1

Every Monday/Tuesday I’m going to run the weekly roundup of local soccer, primarily focused on the semi-pro happenings in the area. Once these teams start hosting games that I can attend you’ll be seeing more in-depth posts on those games.

US WNT 6 – 0 Canada
Yeah, it wasn’t local in the sense that it was the National team, but it was at local because it was played at RFK Stadium. Natasha Kai’s hat trick as well as single goals by Carli Lloyd, Leslie Osborne and Lindsay Tarpley were more than enough for the US to dispatch with Canada. Kai’s hat trick came over a 21 minute span, with goals in the 54th, 60th, and 75th minute.

Freedom 3 – 1 Long Island Lady Rough Riders
Opening the defense of their 2007 W-League title on the road, the Washington Freedom defeated Long Island behind a Christie Welsh brace and a single goal by Sarah Huffman. Welsh’s first strike came on 6 minutes to give the Freedom a 1-0 lead which they held at halftime. Long Island’s goal did not come until the 80th minute. The Freedom open the season with 4 road games, not playing at home until June 1st. Next up is a May 15th date at the Fort Collins Force.

Royals 1 – 0 Hampton Roads Piranhas
The Northern Virginia Royals opened their season with a 1-0 victory over defending regular season champions Hampton Roads at their home field at Virginia Wesleyan College (what happened to the Hampton Roads Soccerplex?). The lone goal of the match came in the 2nd minute of 2nd half stoppage, courtesy of Royals forward David Atkinson. The Royals play Thursday 5/15 at the Fredericksburg Gunners before the hope opener at Fairfax High School against the Vermont Voltage on 5/17

We shall not be moved

Whew.