Los Angeles Sol Team Profile

All images courtesy of the Los Angeles Sol.

One of the seven new franchises for the inaugural season of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) will kick off with a nationally televised game with the Washington Freedom on 29 March. Fox Soccer Channel will televise a Sunday night game of the week, and the Sol are scheduled to appear six times.

Team Schedule (Courtesy of The Sol).

One of the Best Soccer-Specific Facilities: The Home Depot Center

Located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills, the Home Depot Center has a capacity of 27,000, and is also the official training site of the US Men’s National Team.

For a map and directions, please click here.

Ownership and Executive Management

The Sol is owned by Blue Star LLC and AEG.

Their General Manager is Charlie Naimo.

Coaching Staff

Abner Rogers is the head coach of the Sol. Prior to his appointment with the Sol, Coach Rogers managed the Laguna Hills Soccer Club Eclipse. He is a native of London, England, and eleven players under his tutelage have become professionals.

“As we prepare for the inaugural WPS season, our priority was to find an experienced, qualified individual who will bring a strong work ethic to the team, on and off the field, as well as creating an exciting, winning style of play that our fans will appreciate,” said Scott Hanley, Vice President, AEG Sports, investors in the franchise. “We are pleased to have found these attributes in Abner, and look forward to launching a successful and exciting franchise for Los Angeles under his leadership.”

Player Profiles

The Sol has a veteran lineup of foreign and domestic stars that should produce an extremely entertaining style of play.

Courtesy of the Sol and Puma.

Marta Vieira da Silva has won the FIFA World Women’s Player of the Year a record breaking three times in a row, and was runner up in 2005. She is recognized as one of the most creative, technical, and entertaining athletes on the global stage. She played many years in Sweden for Umea IK, where she won the domestic title three times, the UEFA Champions League once, and was a runner-up on another occasion for Europe’s greatest women’s team competition. She scored 111 goals during her Swedish career with a strike rate of over 1 goal per game.

Marta has been capped 45 times for Brasil with 47 goals, and has won two Silver Medals at the Olympic Games (2004 and 2008), along with a Silver Medal at the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup in China. She also won the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe at the 2007 World Cup, respectively.

I recall a description by a Brazilian commentator during the 2007 World Cup semifinal against the USA: “There are no words to describe Marta.”

Shannon Boxx has been capped 103 times for the USA with 18 goals. She has won two Olympic Gold Medals (2004 and 2008), and a bronze medal at the 2007 FIFA World Cup in China. Shannon played her collegiate soccer at the University of Notre Dame. On 16 September 2008, Shannon became the first player allocated to the Sol.

Aly Wagner has been capped 126 times for the USA with 21 goals. She has won two Olympic Gold Medals (2004 and 2008), and a bronze medal at the 2007 FIFA World Cup in China. Aly played her collegiate soccer at Santa Clara University.

Stephanie Cox has been capped 49 times for the USA. She won an Olympic Gold Medal at the 2008 Beijing Games. Aly played her collegiate soccer at the University of Portland.

Han Duan has been capped 17 times for China. She has appeared in the last two Olympic Games, along with the FIFA World Cups, for her country.

Karina LeBlanc has been capped 65 times for Canada, and has 21 clean sheets. She has appeared in two FIFA World Cups (1999 and 2003), along with Beijing Olympics. Karina played collegiate soccer at the University of Nebraska.

For a look at their full roster, please click here.

I would like to thank Mr. Nick Ammazzalorso, Public Relations of The Sol, for his kind assistance with this article.

Steve Amoia writes the World Football Commentaries blog. He has written for AC Cugini Scuola Calcio, Football Media, Keeper Skool, and Soccerlens.