Women's Soccer Players Continue Family Tradition in Montgomery County

By KAYLA FARIA | Capital News Service

Two-time collegiate All-American Stephanie Ochs “literally had nothing to do” living in a New York apartment when she was playing soccer in 2012. Now that the U.S. Under-23 Women's National Team standout from San Diego has found a family in Germantown, there's always someone around. Professional athletes are bunking with host families in Maryland and the District. It's not a study abroad exchange program. It's the National Women's Soccer League – the third shot at a professional women's soccer league, which is set to kickoff on April 13. The living arrangement has become tradition for the country’s best women soccer players, and it helps build a fan base for the sport that needs support to become financially sustainable. It's also born of …

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Soccer Pros Find Home in Rockville Retirement Community

Two members of the Washington Spirit will be living at a Rockville retirement community for the duration of their season.

Chris Hummer, the general manager of the Washington Spirit, was searching high and low for affordable housing for members of his professional women's soccer team when he was put into contact with an unlikely location: Ingleside at King Farm retirement community. The community volunteered to host members of his team, and that is how Robyn Gayle and Diana Matheson found themselves as the new residents of the Rockville-based retirement community. "When I first told [Matheson], she thought I was joking," said Gayle, who was teammates with Matheson on Canada's bronze medal-winning 2012 Olympic soccer team. "But we took a look at the place and said 'This looks pretty cool.'" The two players, both in their 20s, will be sharing a two-bedroom suite…

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Local Soccer Team Earns Fourth at Youth Tournament in Peru

Alianza Lima de Maryland Soccer Team was the only one from the U.S. to compete in the tournament.

Members of the Alianza Lima de Maryland Soccer Team recently traveled to Lima, Peru, to compete in the prestigious South American youth soccer tournament, the Copa de la Amistad, a Montgomery County spokeswoman said. The team was recognized with certificates presented by County Executive Isiah Leggett on Tuesday, said Sue Tucker, a county spokeswoman. The players are from Rockville, Bethesda and Potomac. Thier team was the only one from the U.S. to take part in the tournament, where it finished fourth, according to Tucker.

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New Women’s Pro Soccer Team Will Call Germantown Home

The Washington Spirit will play, train at the Maryland SoccerPlex.

Women’s Pro Soccer Team Will Call Germantown Home

The Washington Spirit will play, train at the Maryland SoccerPlex.

A professional women’s soccer team is coming to Germantown, team administrators announced Wednesday. The Washington Spirit, to be managed by the U.S. Soccer Federation, will train and compete at the Maryland SoccerPlex—the former home of women’s pro team the Washington Freedom, according to the team's general manager Chris Hummer. Mike Jorden, coach of the amateur team that played as the DC United Women at the 'Plex, would lead the Washington Spirit. "Mike is an excellent coach on the training field, a strong game tactician, and he's a great communicator with the players," Hummer said in a statement. "He is also one of the hardest-working coaches off the field. He already bleeds for the club, and I'm confident no one will outwork him off …

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Terps Win ACC Title at the SoccerPlex

Maryland defeats North Carolina, capping the ACC Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds

Unversity of Maryland won the 2012 ACC Men’s Soccer Championship in a match Sunday against North Carolina at the Maryland SoccerPlex. The Terps beat the Tar Heels 2-1. Scoring for the Terps were freshmen Dakota Edwards and Schillo Tshuma before a crowd of more than 9,000 soccer fans, according to the team’s post-game recap online. Edwards scored in the 11th minute of the game; Tshuma scored the 62nd minute with an angled strike from the near sideline off a throw-in from Mikey Ambrose. North Carolina forward Rob Lovejoy earned the team's lone goal with less than five minutes on the clock, but a “calm and collected defensive effort” enabled Maryland to hold on for the win. A photo gallery of the game is posted at UMTerps.com.

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SoccerPlex Hosts ACC Soccer Championship

Terps face Clemson at 8 p.m. Friday; winners will square off noon Sunday in the ACC Championship Final.

University of Maryland will face Clemson on the soccer field Friday, as the ACC Championship Tournament moves into the semifinal round at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds. Game time is 8 p.m. Friday, capping a double-header at the ‘Plex. The North Carolina-Virginia match is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The games will be televised on ESPN3. Friday’s victors will square off noon Sunday in the ACC Championship Final with an automatic NCAA Tournament bid and a conference title on the line. The top-seeded Terps defeated ninth-seeded Virginia Tech 2-1 on Tuesday. The Clemson Tigers enter the game as the No. 4 seed with a win over Boston. The last time the SoccerPlex hosted the ACC Men’s soccer championship was in 2006, according to the Conference and…

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Gaithersburg Sports: GHS Soccer, QO Tennis, WM Football Make Headlines

Athletes and coaches from Gaithersburg, Quince Orchard, Watkins Mill high schools are making news this week for their success.

Gaithersburg athletes and coaches are making headlines this week for their success on the field and tennis court. Gaithersburg High School Soccer Gaithersburg High School's girls' soccer team was expected to show improvement in its second year under coach Greg Kenel, but not to the tune of a 7-0 start, The Washington Post reported. Kenel's squad is one of four remaining area public schools with a perfect record and the lone team in Montgomery County. “I knew we could get [to seven wins]", Kenel told The Washington Post. “It just happened a whole lot faster than I thought.” The Trojans have never appeared in the state playoffs, but as of Wednesday they are tied atop the division standings with four-time defending state champ Bethesda-Chevy …

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DC United Women Clinch Eastern Conference Championship

Photos from Sunday’s title match at the Maryland SocerPlex on Sunday

D.C. United Women soccer team’s 3-0 win over the Virginia Beach Piranhas on Sunday earned the young franchise the No. 2 seed at the W-League Championship in Ottawa. The match capped a weekend of Eastern Conference Championship Semifinals play at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds. The W-League Championship is July 27-29 in Ottawa. In their second season as a franchise, the D.C. United women went undefeated in 12 regular season games and two postseason games. The team’s home stadium is at the Maryland SoccerPlex. The team submitted photos from Sunday’s title match.

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Michael H

12:15 pm on Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Glad to see this covered here, albeit briefly. At one point, we had Abby Wambach, Sonia Bompastor and Homare Sawa playing on the same team on a regular basis at the Soccerplex. It would be nice to keep at least a W-league team.   more ›

'Sky's the Limit' For Wolverines Soccer

Watkins Mill boys kick off rain-delayed season with 2-0 win in playoff rematch with Quince Orchard.

Article by Sebastian Montes; photos by Andrew Jones. Three rainouts in their first three games: Champing at the bit to pick up from their playoff run last year, Watkins Mill boys' soccer finally got their 2011 campaign underway Monday night with a dominating 2-0 win at Quince Orchard. The anxiety of their long wait showed in the first half in a string of near misses in front of the Cougars' goal. Senior striker William Yougnia whizzed a shot just wide of the left post, hit the same post a few minutes later, and had another try in close turned back by a quick reaction from Cougar keeper Christian Ross. But Yougnia—one of the Montgomery County’s elite sprinters—netted the Wolverines' first goal of the season when he collected the ball with …

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