Snowstorms are always fun. They provide a great opportunity to spend time with family, have plenty of drinks both of the chocolate and adult variety (sometimes both!), and to watch tons of soccer. For Washington Spirit supporters that included watching forward Crystal Dunn and Ali Krieger starting for the United States Women’s National Team in their 5-0 thrashing of the Republic of Ireland.
Although the snow was coming down quite heavy in the DMV, the national team match and Dunn and Krieger’s appearance meant two things. First, it means that spring is almost here. But perhaps most importantly for Spirit supporters it means that the NWSL season is also just around the corner. Much like in the same way pitchers and catchers report is a sign that baseball season is nearly here January camp for U.S. Soccer almost acts as a call for the beginning of the club season.
Trades, drafts, and signings are all very nice and certainly add some spice to what can at times be a quiet time in the footballing schedule. But there is nothing better than watching a match. Even a preseason match or an international friendly can draw some level of excitement, mostly because they are signs that soccer is back.
So as we all patiently await the announcement of the 2016 Spirit season schedule let’s try and go through some of the News and Notes around the team.
Crystal Dunn and Ali Krieger called up for the U.S. Women’s Olympic qualifying roster
The call-ups just keep coming for Crystal Dunn and Ali Krieger. After the Spirit teammates played an integral role in Saturday’s victory over Ireland both players earned another another call-up to the national team. This time the stakes will be raised as the United States will be involved in qualification for the 2016 Olympics.
Dunn and Krieger were among twenty women called up to national team coach Jill Ellis’ squad ahead of the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship. The eight team tournament will take place from February 10-21 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas. The United States is in Group A and will take on Costa Rica (February 10,) Mexico (February 13,) and Puerto Rico (February 15). More on Group B in a bit.
The top two teams in each group will then face each other in the knockout round. The two sides that make the final of the CONCACAF tournament will qualify for Rio 2016.
We have already talked about Dunn and what this means for her career but in short it appears that she has taken full advantage of her recent opportunities with the Women’s National Team. The reigning NWSL MVP seems to have found a consistent starting role on the wing for Ellis. Her speed gave the Irish fits on Saturday and opened up the center of the pitch for Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan.
Krieger meanwhile has become a mainstay for the USA and during a time of transition will be called upon to be a rock on defense. With the injury to Christie Rampone and the retirement of Lori Chalupny there are openings along the back four for players like Emily Sonnett (five caps) and Jaelene Hinkle(five caps). Having a veteran like Krieger should help ease the transition process and provide back-up when issues do occur.
Despite being the reigning World Cup champions qualification from this group will not be an easy task for the United States. Both Costa Rica (29th) and Mexico (34th) are ranked in the top thirty- five of FIFA’s World Rankings.
Spirit midfielder Diana Matheson seen here about to make a cross against the Western New York Flash in 2013 (image credit: Erica McCaulley/Wikimedia Images)
Diana Matheson called up for Canadian Olympic qualifying roster
The divide of club versus country conflict never gets old. On the same day that two of the Spirit’s most important players were called up for U.S. national team duty, one of their teammates was called up to national duty for the U.S.A.’s top rivals. While Spirit supporters were certainly be cheering on Dunn and Krieger next month, they will also have to cheer on (perhaps in a more subdued form) Diana Matheson as she has been called up to the Canadian national team.
Matheson, 31, has made 169 appearances for Canada and was part of the side that won the bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics. She has been a member of the Spirit since their debut season in 2013 and has made 53 appearances with the club.
Canada is slotted in Group B where they will take on Guyana (February 11), Trinidad and Tobago (February 11.), and Guatemala (February 13).
This is an interesting time for Canadian soccer and in particular their women’s team. After a slightly disappointing 2015 World Cup which saw the host nation be bounced out in the quarterfinals the pressure appears to be on to not just qualify for the Olympics this year but to win it. Five of Canada’s most-capped players (Christine Sinclair, Matheson, Sophie Schmidt, Rhian Wilkinson, and Erin McLeod) have made coach John Herdman’s final roster.
Preseason matches announced
Although national team call-ups may divide supporters we do have some good news that everyone will enjoy: the Spirit’s preseason has been announced! The club announced on Monday that they will play four preseason matches this season against the University of Virginia (Saturday March 19 at 7pm), Penn State University (Saturday March 26 at 4pm), the University of North Carolina (Saturday April 2 at 4pm), and Duke University (Saturday April 9 at 7pm). Each match will be played at the Maryland SoccerPlex. It has not yet been announced if there will a live stream of the matches.
The other piece of good news is that tickets will be free for the first three matches. Tickets for the Duke match will be $10 ($15 at the gate) but all proceeds will go towards a charity that will be determined at a later date.
