Legends of Soccer at the Union

 

        Great night at the Philadelphia Union Foundation's "Legends of Soccer" benefit at the elegant Wanamaker's Crystal Tea Room in Center City.  I was fortunate to be invited by my friend, Jim Stavros, whose partner is on the Foundation's Board and whose firm sponsored a table.

        Got to see my former player, Carli (Lloyd) Hollins, who was honored along with Mayor Jim Kenney and Bimbo Bakeries USA president Fred Penny.  That along with good food and a lot of good soccer talk made it a fun evening.

        The Union's website has a story and a photo of the party.  It was obviously a big success, raising more than $250,000.

A Different Kind of Hat Trick

 New Zealand's Meikayla Moore had a worse day than you did Sunday.  In a She Believes Cup match in Frisco, Texas, Moore, a veteran with 50 caps, scored the first three goals of the match - for the United States.  The U.S. went on to score two more goals to wrap up the 5-0 win.

Watch the hat trick here.

U.S. Women Finally Achieve Equality

 After some six years of litigation, the current and former United States Women's National Team players agreed to a settlement with U.S. Soccer that will pay about $24 million to compensate for underpayment compared to the men's team.  The agreement is subject to ratification of an agreement between the women's player's union and U.S. Soccer.  

Andrew Das reports on the settlement in the New York Times.

The Passing of a "Great Soccer Dad": R.I.P. George Sierra

 

I was terribly saddened this morning to learn of the passing of George Sierra, father of Medford Strikers Xtreme (MSX) player Linda Sierra Wall and her brother Andrew, and wife of Bettie.  

Linda was an outstanding player on the MSX and Cherokee High School and then for Rowan University and was also one of the nicest girls a coach could have on a team, not to mention one of the hardest working.   I do not know their son but am guessing he is just the same.

George and Bettie were the ultimate team parents, supportive of the coaches and the entire team.  George was often the club linesman on our side of the field.

During and after the MSX years Debbie and I stayed in touch with George and Bettie and would occasionally meet for dinner.  The photo below was taken at our house January 1, 2012.  For several years I would see George on a regular basis at the Virtua Health Center in Moorestown, but had not seen him since that closed just before the pandemic.

Former MSX player Brenna (Rubino) Henry nailed it when she commented on Facebook that George was "a great soccer dad."  That he was and so much more.  

My heart goes out to Bettie, Linda, Andrew and the entire family.  A great guy who will be missed.

        Photo below taken at our house, 1/1/12.

Free Kick: a New Newsletter

 Just discovered a new soccer newsletter and it made a good first impression on me with an article about the English FA Cup.  The newsletter is called Free Kick from We Are Soccer.  The informative FA piece was written by Paul Hearn.  I recommend it. 

With a new year upon us perhaps I can be more active with this blog than in the past.  In 2021 I missed out on, among other things,  the Union making it to the MLS conference finals, Carli Lloyd's final game for the National Team and my granddaughter Allison's high school debut as a JV goalie at West Chester Henderson.  It was not a lack of interest - just a lack of time.

Happy New Year to everyone.

Carli's Hometown Retirement Party

 

Delran, New Jersey, threw a huge party to celebrate the imminent retirement from professional soccer of its most famous citizen: Carli Lloyd, who played for the '81-82 Medford Strikers I helped coach.

At least 10 women who played on that team showed up for the event at Delran Community Park.  Most I keep in touch with on Facebook, but it was great to see them in person and also to see Bobbi Dadura, wife of the late Joe Dadura, who founded the team and with whom I had the pleasure of coaching for four years.  Also nice to see Carli's parents, Steve and Pam.

Some of us had a chance to chat with Carli before the program began, and to pose for a picture.  Unfortunately a few of our teammates had not yet arrived when the photo was taken.

Speakers for the event included the governor's wife and Carli's college coach, Glenn Crooks.  But the star was Carli, who gave an impressive speech about her career.  Mayor Gary Catrambone announced that a soccer field to be built at this park would be named Carli Lloyd Field.  A very fitting tribute to the GOAT of women's soccer.

Carli's Farewell Tour in Philadelphia

 Pretty cool to watch my former player, Carli Lloyd, on TV playing her next to last regular season league game in Philadelphia -actually Chester southwest of the city - at Subaru Park, home of the MLS Philadelphia Union.  Game ended in a 0-0 draw.  Many girls from our '81-'82 Medford Strikers team were there and planned a tailgate.  I would loved to have gone, but did not want to commit just a week after Debbie's surgery.  So I had to settle for watching on television.  I am hoping to have some photos from players who were there.

Carli's hometown of Delran Township is throwing a party for her next week and I plan to be at that.