2008 All-America High School Girls Soccer Team
She's a keeper
Choate goalie Mastroianni honored as one of the best players in the United States
By Sean Krofssik
Record-Journal staff
WALLINGFORD - When Jill Mas­troianni was playing youth soccer on a travel team at the age of 9, her coach put her in goal for the first time. The game came down to a penalty kick (taken by the opposing goalie) that landed directly into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She immediately kicked the ball down field to set up the game winning-goal into the vacant net. That was the start of some­thing special.

Eight years later, the Choate Rosemary Hall senior has received one of the top honors a high school athlete could earn. Today, Mastroianni is featured in PA­RADE magazine as a member of the All­ America High School Girls Soccer Team. The Durham resident is one of 38 players from 18 states chosen for the girls and boys teams. The athletes are selected by coaches, scouts and recruiters.

"It's something that you grow up thinking about,"� Mastroianni said. "Actually getting the award is a great accomplishment. It shows that all of the hard work has paid off and that I have to keep working hard because there is always someone out there ready to take your place."

Mastroianni, 17, was a four-year starter for a Choate team that made New Englands in her first three seasons and served as a captain in her senior campaign.

Anne Armour, who has been Choate's coach since 1996, said she saw Mastroianni's abilities early and started the keeper as a freshman."Not only is she a fantastically athletic kid with great hand-eye coordination and great skills that came from many years of training," Armour said, "she is a great leader and plays the game with great de­tail. She's also has an engaging personality and just makes the rest of the team better. She inspires the younger players."

Armour said Mastroianni elevates her game during big moments, even in practice
"The more intense the drill, the more she gets that light in her eyes,"Armour said. "She's serious about the game. If she wasn't such a great goaltender, she could be starting the field for almost any team. She could certainly be a starting midfield­er for us."

Mastroianni served as a captain in her finals two years while playing point guard and small forward on the Choate basketball team. At a young age, Mastroianni has already seen the world through soccer. In parts of the last two years she has competed on the U16 and U17 U.S. women's national teams that have traveled to Europe and South American opposing teams that include Germany, England, Uruguay and Argentina.

Also in the past two years she has also played in the Women's Premier Soccer League with the SoccerPlus CT Reds (3-0) that play their home games in Veterans Memorial Stadium at Willow Brook Park in New Britain.

On Friday night, Mastroianni (the youngest player on the team) played the second half in goal, stopping one shot to share a shutout in a 5-0 win over Adirondack.

The Reds won a National Cup last year in Seattle with a 2-0 win over KC Dynamos. Mastroianni picked up one shutout victory on the season over the Philadelphia Liberty.

"I've never won a national championship before,"� Mastroianni said. "What an amazing experience."

The Reds are coached by Wethersfield native Tony DiCicco, who has a 103-8-8 career record coaching the U.S. National Team. He owns more wins at that level than any coach in U.S. soccer history.

In 1996, he led the U.S. team to the first-ever gold medal in Olympic women's soccer.

"Playing under a coach like Tony DiCicco is an amazing ex­perience," Mastroianni said. "He treats us like the national team. I'm playing with some of the best players in the country and one of the best coaches in the country. It's great training for me."

As far as collegiate play, Mastroianni will attend Boston College in the fall and will play with the Eagles, where she committed to play in her junior season. The goalkeeper plans to study business management. "It was just a great fit,"� Mastroianni said. "It just came down to that fact that I love the girls, team, campus and city. It was just perfect. The academics were great for me as well."

TIFFANY WEIMER, 2007 WPSL East Player of the Year and
Many Makoski, 2007 CT Reds Player
CALLED INTO US WOMEN'S FULL NATIONAL TEAM CAMP

U.S. WOMEN TO HOLD MEGA-CAMP IN FEBRUARY AT THE HDC;
SUNDHAGE CALLS IN 37 PLAYERS TO START 17-DAY CAMP

Ten Players Get First Look Under Sundhage as USA Prepares for 2008 Algarve Cup in Portugal; U.S. Women Will Face China, Norway and Italy in Group Play


CHICAGO (January 28, 2008) – Coming off a championship at the 2008 Four Nations Tournament in China, U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage has called 37 players to the next U.S. Women’s National Team training camp that begins on Feb. 1 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The camp is part of preparations for the CONCACAF Olympic Women’s Qualifying Tournament, being held April 2-13 in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

After a week of training and evaluation, Sundhage will release some players and focus on the remainder of the group to pick a 20-player roster for the 2008 Algarve Cup, which will be held from March 5-12 in Portugal.

At the annual tournament staged in March for the past 14 years in the south of Portugal, the USA will face China (March 5), Norway (March 7) and Italy (March 10) in Group B play. Group A is made up of Women’s World Cup champion Germany, Sweden, and Finland. The placement matches will be held on March 12. Venues and kickoff times have yet to be confirmed.

For the first week, Sundhage will split the 37 players into two groups, a larger one consisting of younger players and the other made up of veterans, who will focus primarily on fitness and strength training with new fitness coach Helena Andersson. On Feb. 9, the remaining players from the first group will come together with the veterans for a week of training before Sundhage chooses the Algarve Cup roster.

“With such a short amount of time until qualifying, we are going to continue to look at players with a focus on who can help us in Mexico,” said Sundhage. “Of course, we will also need to choose a roster for the Algarve Cup, which is a big competition, so this camp will be important for that selection as well.”

Sundhage has already looked at 35 players so far in 2008 and will see an additional 10 for the first time in a camp environment during the first week of training.

For the majority of new call-ups, almost all of whom have extensive experience with the U.S. Youth National Teams, it will be their first camp with the full Women’s National Team. Among the more experienced players getting their first call-up under Sundhage are Olympic gold medalist Kristin Luckenbill, who was the back-up to Briana Scurry in 2004, and forward Christie Welsh, who has played 39 times for the USA. Defender Heather Mitts, a 2004 Olympian with 71 caps, returns after recovering from an ACL injury suffered last May.

Nineteen of the 20 players who helped the USA win the Four Nations Tournament in China are on the roster, with the exception of defender Ali Krieger, who returned to Germany to play for her club team FFC Frankfurt. Two players from the USA’s 2007 Women’s World Cup Team return to camp in defender Kate Markgraf and forward Natasha Kai, after missing the last event with injury and illness, respectively.

U.S. Women's National Team Roster by Position
Training Camp Roster – Feb. 1-7
The Home Depot Center – Carson, Calif.
(A detailed roster is available at ussoccer.com)

GOALKEEPERS (4): Cori Alexander (Martinez, Calif.), Kristen Luckenbill (Paoli, Pa.), Briana Scurry (Dayton, Minn.), Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.);
DEFENDERS (12): Stephanie Cox (Elk Grove, Calif.), Marian Dalmy (Lakewood, Colo.), Keeley Dowling (Carmel, Ind.), Tobin Heath (Basking Ridge, N.J.), Amy LePeilbet (Crystal Lake, Ill.), Kate Markgraf (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Heather Mitts (Cincinnati, Ohio), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant, N.J.), Becky Sauerbrunn (St. Louis, Mo.), Brittany Taylor (Campbell Hall, N.Y.), India Trotter (Plantation, Fla.), Cat Whitehill (Birmingham, Ala.);
MIDFIELDERS (13): Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Jen Buczkowski (Elk Grove Village, Ill.), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis, Mo.), Tina DiMartino (Massapequa Park, N.Y.), Angela Hucles (Virginia Beach, Va.), Lindsay Huie (Mission Viejo, Calif.), Sarah Huffman (Flower Mound, Texas), Noelle Keselica (Gaithersburg, Md.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Joanna Lohman (Silver Spring, Md.), Manya Makoski (Trumbull, Conn.), Leslie Osborne (Brookfield, Wis.), Angie Woznuk (El Cajon, Calif.);
FORWARDS (8): Lauren Cheney (Indianapolis, Ind.), Natasha Kai (Kahuku, Hawaii), Heather O’Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Amy Rodriguez (Lake Forest, Calif.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.). Tiffany Weimer (North Haven, Conn.), Christie Welsh (Massapequa Park, N.Y.).

PSU GOALIE HAS FACED WORLD'S BEST
Tuesday, Oct. 02, 2007
Gordon Brunskill, Centre Daily Times

After taking on Marta, Christiane and the rest of the Brazilian national team in front of 70,000 raucous soccer-mad Brazilian fans, having to face Illinois or Purdue really doesn’t seem all that bad.

Penn State goalie Alyssa Naeher faced the Brazilian National Team this past summer while playing for the United States Under-20 National Team in the Pan-American Games.

Just ask Alyssa Naeher, who had to try to stop one of the world’s top women’s teams during her version of “What I did last summer.”

“It was an absolutely amazing experience,” Naeher said. “It’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Brazil’s such a soccer culture. Being down there, basically living down there for a month with my team was an experience of a lifetime.”

The Penn State sophomore was the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. under-20 national team, which was in Rio de Janeiro for the Pan-American Games. The thing is, while this was the U-20 team, every other country brought their full national team.

Argentina, Mexico, Canada — and, yes, Brazil — all played the big girls. Those same Samba-dancing Brazilians who dismantled the U.S. in the World Cup last week in China were right there one the same pitch as a bunch of teen-age Americans.

The U.S. made it all the way to the finals before losing to Brazil 5-0 in Maracana Stadium, one of the world’s great soccer cathedrals. Marta scored twice, both on penalty kicks, and Christiane also netted two goals. Brazil dominated, outshooting the Americans 15-5, and Naeher made four saves.

And she wouldn’t trade any of it. “We’re all only 19 years old and we’re playing against these women,” Naeher said. “Even though it was a disappointing loss in the final, we gave it a good game and we played well. We couldn’t ask for a better learning experience.”

And, yes, Marta was just as remarkable to face that day in late July.

“That was an experience in itself,” Naeher said, her eyes growing wide and her face showing a touch of awe. “There’s no player like her that I’ve ever played against, no one else even comes close.”

The experience has carried over to this fall. Penn State (7-2-1) has battled a slew of top-20 teams and began the conference schedule Sunday with a 2-1 win against Illinois.

She also faced Notre Dame a little more than a week ago, turning back eight of nine shots on goal in a 2-1 win to avenge a loss to the Fighting Irish in last year’s NCAA quarterfinals.

“It helps put college soccer into perspective,” head coach Erica Walsh said of the international experience. “When you’re playing Notre Dame and Illinois, everyone’s nervous, she’s not. It helps to take you out of your little college world.”

Naeher would have liked to have played in that meeting against the Irish last season, but her campaign was cut short by a thigh contusion. There was internal bleeding, the blood calcified in her quad and she could barely bend her knee. She played in the first half of Penn State’s NCAA first round game, then had to miss the rest of the postseason.

After logging a 0.91 goals-against average with eight shutouts and an .800 save percentage in 2006, she has a 0.70 goals-against average, three shutouts and leads the Big Ten with 57 saves and an .891 save percentage this year.

Opponents are also getting more shots on goal than the Nittany Lions this season, 58 to 41. In her first season, Walsh has been tinkering with the team’s lineup and system, and that has put a lot more pressure on Naeher to cover up the inevitable breakdowns that accompany all those changes.

“I don’t think it was our intention, but it has certainly become clear she’s needed to play that role,” Walsh said. “It’s been a byproduct of trying different things and different combinations.”

The Bridgeport, Conn., native hopes to stick with the national program and keep working up the ranks. For now, though, she is quite satisfied to go after conference title No. 10 and get the Nittany Lions another trip to the College Cup.

“It’s different from last year,” Naeher said. “I’m not quite as nervous as I was. It’s nice to be settled in a little bit and feeling more comfortable.”

Facing down Brazil will do that.

WEIMER NAMED EAST PLAYER OF THE YEAR

FARMINGTON, CT (7/26/07) – Reds co-captain Tiffany Weimer received two honors from the league office on July 26^th when she was named 1^st Team All-WPSL and East Player of the Year.

These honors follow her terrific season where she led the league in goals and points and finished second in assists.

Connecticut midfielder Kristen Graczyk made the All-WPSL Honorable Mention.

For more information and to view the complete teams, click here.

U-20 WNT Advance to Pan-Am Final With 2-1 Victory Against Full Canadian National Team
USA Will Face Host Brazil on July 26 at Maracaña Stadium in Rio de Janeiro
Cheney Scores Both U.S. Goals as Americans Upset Older Canadians

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (July 23, 2007) - The U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team pulled off a stellar victory in the semifinal of the 2007 Pan American Games, stunning the full Canadian Women’s National Team with a 2-1 victory as forward Lauren Cheney scored both goals.

The USA will now face host Brazil for the gold medal on Thursday, July 26, at the famed Maracaña Stadium, at one time the largest stadium in the world. Brazil defeated Mexico, 2-0, in the other semifinal on two goals from Rosana in a dominating victory that saw the hosts pile up a 29-3 shot advantage.

Both the USA and Canada were coming off disappointing losses in their final group matches. The USA let in three late goals in a 3-2 loss to Mexico while Canada suffered a 7-0 defeat to Brazil.

The young U.S. team, which is preparing for next year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championship in Chile, were out-shot 15-6 by a Canadian team that is heading to the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup in China this September, but got a goal in both halves from Cheney, then fended off a late rally to record the emotional win.

Cheney did not play against Mexico in the final group match while serving a suspension for the red card she received in the previous game against Argentina, and the 5-foot-9 forward came out bursting with energy, scoring in the 18th minute and the 77th minute. Canada pulled a goal back with two minutes left through a long shot from the wing by Kara Lang, who is Cheney’s college teammate at UCLA, but it was too little, too late for the Canadians, who will face Mexico for the bronze medal.

“I think it needed to happen for us,” said Cheney of the loss to Mexico. “We were sliding by in the second half in games, and not putting the whole game together. We realized that if we didn’t, it would come back to bite us. I think for this game, I was especially motivated playing in Maracaña Stadium against Canada’s World Cup Team. If that doesn’t motivate you, nothing will. “

U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher came up huge for the USA as she stopped a penalty kick late in the game from Canada’s star forward Christine Sinclair. Naeher dove to her right to corral the shot that was not well-struck.

“Going into the game, we talked about needing a 90-minute performance and it was from all 11 players on the field,” said U.S. head coach Jillian Ellis. “Overall, our backs sustained our team against a lot of pressure. Alyssa (Naeher) had an amazing game, making the save on the PK, and she made a couple other great saves. When we got the ball, we connected some passes and were able to put together some good possession. It was a concerted team effort defensively, and we were composed in the attacking the third. At the end of the game, they couldn’t even celebrate they were so exhausted.”

Cheney’s first goal came courtesy of a slashing run through the Canadian midfield by Tobin Heath, who then slipped a shot pass behind the Canada defense to the U.S. forward and she ripped the ball into the lower right corner from 16 yards out.

“I think we had some good opportunities throughout the match,” said Cheney. “Canada played really direct, but our backs did their job. They played awesome and stuck together and battled. Canada is not an easy team to play against for sure. This team just has a lot of heart and joy and passion for the game.”

The second goal came off an assist from Casey Nogueira, whose pass put Cheney in one-on-one with Canadian goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc. Cheney didn’t flinch, finishing crisply into the right corner from 15 yards away. Cheney, who has one goal in two career caps for the full U.S. Women’s National Team, has scored six goals so far in the Pan Ams, upping her U-20 international total to 15 in 19 matches. Cheney is one of two “overage” players on the Pan Am roster who is not age-eligible for next year’s U-20 Women’s World Cup.

Cheney almost notched her second hat trick of the tournament, but was called offside after slamming home a rebound off a Kelley O’Hara shot.

“The experience of the Pan Am games, the intense schedule of games, the large stadiums and unfavorable crowds, that all adds up to great preparation,” said Ellis. “There must have been 25,000 people in the stadium for the Mexico-Brazil game before our match, and when we came out, they were booing the USA. You can’t buy that kind of experience. The kids can’t hear themselves out there. It’s so loud, it’s fantastic.”

The USA now faces a Brazil team featuring most of its first-choice full National Team players that will be playing in the 2007 Women’s World Cup, including the 2006 FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, Marta, who scored five goals in Brazil’s victory over Canada in group play. Brazil has scored 28 goals in the tournament and allowed zero.

“The game doesn’t know who is supposed to win,” said Cheney of the gold medal game. “In the game of soccer, anything can happen.”

“They are young, and with youth comes energy,” added Ellis. “They are just exited about the game.”

U.S. UNDER-20 WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT

Match-up: USA vs. Canada
Competition: 2007 Pan American Games – Semifinal
Venue: Maracaña Stadium – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date: July 20, 2007; Kickoff – 7:00 p.m. local
Attendance: 3,000
Weather: Sunny - 75 degrees

Scoring Summary:
1 2 F
USA 1 1 2
CAN 0 1 1

USA – Lauren Cheney (Tobin Heath) 18th minute.
USA – Lauren Cheney (Casey Nogueira) 77.
CAN -- Kara Lang (n/a) 88.

Lineups:
USA –1-Alyssa Naeher, 2-Brittany Taylor, 6-Nikki Marshall, 16-Lauren Wilmoth, 4-Kaley Fountain; 10-Michelle Enyeart (12-Kylie Wright, 60), 11-Tobin Heath, 15-Becky Edwards; 7-Casey Nogueira, 17-Kelley O’Hara (9-Jessica McDonald, 85), Lauren Cheney (capt.)
Subs not used: 1-Alyssa Naeher, 3-Nikki Washington, 5-Teresa Noyola, 13-Lauren Barnes, 14-Gina Dimartino, 18-Chantel Jones.
Head Coach: Jillian Ellis

CAN – 1-Karina LeBlanc; 2-Melanie Booth (Amy Vermeulen, 46), Melissa Tancredi, 6-Sasha Andrews, 11-Randee Hermus, 5-Andrea Neil, 8-Diana Matheson, 16-Katie Thorlakson, 7-Rhian Wilkinson, 15-Kara Lang, 12-Christie Sinclair (capt.)
Subs not used: 2-Kristina Kiss, 9-Candace Chapman, 10-Martina Franko, 13-Amy Walsh, 17-Brittany Timko, 20-Taryn Swiatek.
Head Coach: Even Pellerud

Statistical Summary:
USA / CAN
Shots: 6 / 15
Shots on Goal: 5 / 9
Saves: 8 / 3
Corner Kicks: 0 / 6
Fouls: 10 / 15
Offside: 4 / 6

Semifinals
July 23, 2007 Venue
USA 2, Canada 1 Maracanã Stadium
Brazil 2, Mexico 0 Maracanã Stadium