The Aztexan

This hasn't been the best season for my MLS and USL-1 club teams: FC Dallas and the Austin Aztex have both struggled mightily, and short of a miracle or two, will both wind up at or near the bottom of their respective tables.

St. Louis Athletica, however, are a different story. Despite a slow start, my team in the brand-new Women's Professional Soccer league has had an excellent season. They recently clinched 2nd place, just behind the Marta-led Los Angeles Sol. That position puts them directly into the semifinals, hosted at Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in St. Louis, without having to get past a quarterfinal playoff game. (Similarly, under WPS' unique system, regular-season champions Sol place directly into the final, also with home field advantage.)

Athletica have pulled off this record even after Daniela was sidelined by injury (an injury "so painful she lost consciousness", and for which Abby Wambach was ultimately suspended by the WPS Commissioner). Although it's not like their roster is weak without their star Brazilian player; it features such players as Lori Chalupny, England's Eniola Aluko, Australia's Sarah Walsh and of course, Hope Solo in goal.

A national team regular, Solo is widely considered to be among the top goalkeepers in the world today. She's also a great player for WPS off the field, garnering extra publicity in articles like this one in The Atlantic: The Bad Girl of Women's Soccer.

Solo, who plays goalie for the St. Louis Athletica, wasn’t impressed [by Puma's new WPS uniforms]. “They go and make this padded goalkeeper jersey and it’s hot pink—it just looks girly, it looks juvenile, it doesn’t look professional,” she told me one afternoon as we sat on a bench in an empty Harvard Stadium, where her team had just finished practicing for its game the next day against the Boston Breakers. “And so I said, ‘There’s no way in hell I’m wearing this.’”

The Athletica will face new Jersey's Sky Blue FC in the semifinal game tonight, Wednesday, August 19. Sky Blue backed into these playoffs, suffering more than their fair share of first-season drama.

The league in general has had a pretty rough first year, to nobody's surprise. Starting a professional sports league from scratch would be challenging in the best of times, let alone during the kind of economy WPS was dealt for its first year.

"We knew there was going to be some choppy water with respect to the launch," [Commissioner Tonya] Antonucci said. "Some are losing twice as much as projected, and that's not an easy thing to experience. … We're taking it seriously, though I don't think it will have serious effects. I think the owners are just as committed as when they started.

"What it means is it will take longer to get to break even. Should the economic conditions of this year continue and if these losses were to continue for three years, then we'd have a serious issue on our hands, just like many businesses. Let's talk in three years."

The league has had about one game per week on national television, broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel. The level of play has been outstanding, no surprise given the caliber of talent drawn from around the world. The playoff games, as well as an MLS-style all-star game against Umeå IK of Sweden, will also be televised.

Wed. 8/19 — Super Semifinal: St. Louis Athletica vs Sky Blue FC
Sat. 8/22 — Championship: semifinal winner vs Los Angeles Sol
Sun. 8/30 — All-Star Game: WPS All-Stars vs. Umeå IK

Also on the field for Athletica during their playoff run will be former University of Texas defender Stephanie Logterman. She's one of several Longhorn alumnae making their mark on the new league. Another is Boston Breakers defender Kasey Moore, who was featured in a recent CBS News segment on WPS.

Speaking of UT soccer, their season starts this Friday, August 21 at 7:00 PM, hosting TCU here at Mike A. Myers stadium:

The UT Longhorns will start the season ranked 15th in the country, one of four ranked Big 12 teams, along with Texas A&M (7), Oklahoma State (11), and Missouri (24). The Horns play an exhibition game at LSU this Friday [which they lost 2-1], and start the regular season next Friday, Aug. 21, 7pm, hosting TCU. A very young defense will be a concern, as the Horns graduated four four-year starters on the back line.

At just $7, tickets to see these matches on the beautiful grass at Myers are a steal. In fact, tickets to the opening game are even cheaper: $3 gets you into the game, plus free popcorn.

This has been called the "Summer of Soccer" for U.S. fans, from the Confederations and Gold Cups to friendlies featuring high-profile foreign clubs, many drawing record crowds and TV audiences across the country. Though not as headline-grabbing as Azteca, Beckham or Chelsea, our country's new pro women's league is off to an auspicious start. If you haven't checked it out yet, I recommend it. Go Athletica!

Labels: UT, WPS