Brandi's Blog
New Women’s Soccer Team Has Several “Goals”
By Mark Emmons
Mercury News
Posted: 04/02/2009 10:10:45 PM PDT
U.S. Olympic Champion soccer players Brandi Chastain, practices with other… ( Maria Avila )
Because this is soccer, the word “goal” is thrown around quite a bit by the FC Gold Pride. But these players and coaches aren’t just talking about putting the ball in the back of the net.
That’s only part of the mission for the Gold Pride, the Bay Area’s entry in the new seven-team Women’s Professional Soccer league. When the curtain goes up Sunday afternoon at Buck Shaw Stadium, the Pride will be shooting for other goals.
Be entertaining.
“I always tell my players: ‘Let’s go out and put on a show,‘“ Coach Albertin Montoya said.
Or as midfielder Leslie Osborne put it: “We want people to watch us and say, ‘Wow.‘“
Help the fledgling league get off on a good foot.
Oh, and winning would be nice.
“Everybody talks about parity and how it’s good for the fans and good for the games,“ said midfielder Brandi Chastain, referring to the league’s attempt to equally distribute the top talent. “But trust me, the players aren’t interested in parity. We’re all interested in scoring lots of goals and killing everybody on the field.“
WPS has been praised for implementing a more realistic business model than its predecessor, the Women’s United Soccer Association, which folded in 2003 after just three seasons. Yet the deepening recession hardly makes it an ideal time to be launching a new sports venture.
The league opener, last Sunday between the Los Angeles Sol and Washington Freedom, drew 14,832 spectators
in Los Angeles. The expectation is that there will be a more modest turnout for the Gold Pride opener. Thus far the team has sold about 1,000 season tickets.
But the mantra of the organization — which has been trying to cultivate support in the Bay Area’s vast network of youth leagues — is that if people come, they will like what they see.
“We just need to get them out there one time,“ Osborne said.
The squad features 11 players who have played on their country’s national teams. Some names are familiar. Chastain, a local favorite, was the star of the 1999 Women’s World Cup. Osborne is a former Santa Clara standout. Tiffeny Milbrett was a U.S. national team fixture for years.
none.