Our other Championship team

Angie may get a shot at Wagner's spot before Keelin does. Woznuk is more of an attacking mid than Keelin, which I think wagner also is. I agree about Lily, but she is more of an outside mid/attacker. I don't think either Portland player fits that bill (possibly Angie).

There are plenty of possibilities. The women out of college have contracts with USA soccer along with salaries etc. It may end up being decided by whose contract is expiring and whether Pia thinks a younger player is ready. That is what is so exciting about the new league. We will see all our recent favorites on the same field. We should get some answers regarding who can play and who will star.

The January draft should be interesting for Tiff who was working out with the team last season. I hope she makes it.

Unfortunately, I believe the coaches of the national team since the early 90's have placed more emphasis on fitness than a player's ability to actually play the game. The overriding philosophy seems to be "if you can't get to a certain level on the beep test, then you can't be much of a player." It's sad because there are a lot of players on the national team who are super fit but can't creatively think their way out of situations or pass worth a damn. True, fitness is an important component of the game, however just because a player isn't scoring a 25 (or whatever the standard is) on the beep test, doesn't mean they aren't fit to play. I think Wagner and probably Woznuk fall into that category, unfortunately: players who are relegated to a secondary role because they aren't scoring the highest beep test score, but are creative playmakers who do more than kick the ball to whoever is the predominant forward at the time. And as you can see, it's a detriment to the game. Wagner and Woznuk are two of the best creative and technically gifted players to come through women's soccer in the last 10 years, and I'm just hoping Woznuk gets a better shot to play than Wagner did. Yes, the US teams are winning, but at what cost in the long run? No one I know enjoys watching them and their brand of soccer. They aren't bad, per se, but I don't see them sustaining it in the long run--especially when our U20's are being taught that physical aggression trumps passing, dribbling and creative thinking. Brazil will get us in the long run.

I cannot recall if Portland has ever utilized the beep test as fitness standard players are required to pass; I think it's been done a few times here and there to baseline a player's fitness, but there was no minimum level to pass so players didn't freak out about it. Either a player comes in fit to play or they don't. The overriding philosophy at UP, I think, is the best way to get match fit is to actually play the game, rather than spending training time to pass tests running between cones. That's not to say Portland doesn't do fitness; they have always done a lot of the traditional timed running and some other interesting stuff with Terry Favero, and a lot of fitness with the ball to help players increase their fitness levels; it's treated as necessary work to be done, not punishment or something you only have to do twice a year in order to be cleared to play. Fitness is treated as A component of the game, not THE ONLY component of the game that separates a player from his or her opponent. That's just my theory, anyway.

Until then, for all the magic of the U-20 World Cup, one story's global ending is another's local beginning: "I, along with my Portland teammates Elli Reed and Michelle Enyeart, now know exactly what it takes to be champions," Winters said. "We have won a World Championship, but now we want to win a national championship with our team at Portland."

Rochin - thanks a million for sharing this great quote! All three of our U20's will be upperclassmen and big-time leaders next season. Michelle will be a senior, and Elli and Keelin will be juniors for the 2009 get down!!!

fan from afar wrote:Angie may get a shot at Wagner's spot before Keelin does. Woznuk is more of an attacking mid than Keelin, which I think wagner also is. I agree about Lily, but she is more of an outside mid/attacker. I don't think either Portland player fits that bill (possibly Angie).

I think its kind of a toss up. Keelin is more of ball winner but Angie was a crafty passer and played with more finesse IMHO. Keelin is young in the national system so we will see. Angie definately benefits from being in the full national pool and already has six caps and one goal.

Well put, AP - Wouldn't it be neat if Angie ended up being the attacking mid and Keelin the holding mid? Those seem to me to be their natural positions.

Tina DeMartino plays a lot like Angie, as I recall. Although Tina is shorter, she is a dervish on the field. Both have a fabulous passing and control game. To my mind it's not that the US needs to choose between the direct style (long 50-50 blast to Wambach) and dribbling brilliance (watch Marta dance) ... how about generating our own style based on the actual skills of the best available US players?