Vancouver joins WPSL (Women's Premier Soccer League; USA D2)

[Blue and White Army]

This was already mentioned in the "W League folds" thread, but surely deserves a thread of its own.

Vancouver-based North Shore Girls Soccer Club (NSGSC) is a regional women's club soccer powerhouse in southern B.C., often dominating the Metro Women's Soccer League. They competed for the national 2015 Jubilee Trophy after winning the 2015 BC Provincial Cup.

NSGSC now appears on the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) list of clubs, as has some initial contact info posted. The league is in the second tier of the U.S. women's club pyramid, and has more than 82 member teams.

In late December, five teams formerly in the W-League joined the WPSL, including Seattle Sounders Women.

Vancouver hasn't had a senior women's team in a spectator-oriented league since Vancouver Whitecaps axed their senior team after the 2012 W-League season.

[amanfromvancouver]

Interesting that VWFC axes the women but says they still want to have a team.... and it is these local people that make it happen.

 

 

[Blue and White Army]

Do the Whitecaps still claim to want a senior women's team? News to me. Their most senior involvement is that "REX" girls program run by the CSA.

Who needs spectators in soccer?

[tc-in-bc]

In July 2015, Mallett gave an ambiguous, open-ended, response to the question about  the Vancouver Whitecaps being in the NWSL:

        ' Vancouver Whitecaps FC co-owner Jeff Mallett was available during a mid-season roundtable discussion earlier this week and clarified the organizations thoughts on bringing the NWSL to Vancouver.

“We’re looking at the league (NWSL),” Mallett said. “We know everybody down there. Portland has a team; we’re exposed to everything inside the walls. There’s nothing imminent that we’re working on at this particular time. It’s something strategically if you look at our pyramid, it’s something down the road that could be a possibility for us.” '

http://equalizersoccer.com/2015/07/14/vancouver-whitecaps-nwsl-expansion-not-imminent/

[Blue and White Army]

The Whitecaps killed their women's team in 2012. They could have kept it in the W-League, or moved it to the WPSL to cut costs.

It seems financial investments are more important for the club's current gang of four than having a senior team for women to play on. WPSL costs peanuts compared to MLS expenses.

Women's player development is great, but it's just one piece of the puzzle. Just like buying a franchise in a senior league is only one piece of the puzzle.

NWSL isn't the only option for the Whitecaps. Seattle Sounders Women play in the WPSL.

[tc-in-bc]

Look I'm not here to defend the wrongness of the Whitecap's past actions or past inactions but Mallett did use the word "possibility" concerning a women's team in the future. Now that could be a bald-face politically correct lie or perhaps there's some truth here given that the Portland Thorns actually make money.  Maybe the Whitecaps' eyes are slowly re-opening to the idea about bringing  women's club soccer back to Vancouver.

[Blue and White Army]

2016 WPSL schedule released.

HOME (at Kinsmen Park, North Vancouver)
vs. Issaquah Gunners - Sunday, May 29, 4:30 PM
vs. Tualatin Hills United (Beaverton, OR) - Saturday, June 18, 4:30 PM
vs. Westside Timbers (Sherwood, OR) - Sunday, June 19, 3:00 PM
vs. Seattle Sounders Women - Saturday, July 16, 5:00 PM

AWAY
at Seattle Sounders Women - Sunday, May 22, 12:00 PM (Starfire Stadium, Tukwila, WA)
at Issaquah Gunners - Saturday, May 28, 7:00 PM (Issaquah High School)
at Eugene Timbers FC Azul - Saturday, June 4, 6:00 PM (South Eugene High School)
at Portland Spartans - Sunday, June 5, 2:00 PM (Delta Park)
at OSA Football Club (Kent, WA) - Friday, June 10, 7:45 PM (Kent-Meridian High School)

Unless I'm mistaken, Vancouver NSGSC now competes at the highest level of any women's club in Canada.

[tc-in-bc]

[  1 ]   It appears that Katie Kraeutner, recently of NSGSC and  University of Nebraska ( Huskers ), could be part of Outbound Soccer’s  tour of Great Britain. Outbound Soccer is a new, venturesome project where players, who recently concluded playing college soccer,  form a touring team  and play matches against  a handful of British women's clubs and thus showcase themselves individually.  A tentative schedule:

July  28, 2016   West Ham Ladies            FA Women’s Premier League South               tier  three  England

July 29, 2016     Watford Ladies               FAWSL 2                                                         tier  two  England 

July  31 , 2016   Chelsea Ladies               FAWSL                                                            tier one  England 

Aug   3, 2016     Liverpool  Ladies            FAWSL                                                            tier  one  England 

Aug   4, 2016     Coventry United LFC      FA Women’s Premier League South               tier  three  England

Aug   7, 2016     Durham WFC                  FAWSL 2                                                         tier  two   England 

Aug   9, 2016     Ranger Ladies                 SWPL                                                             tier one Scotland 

Aug  10, 2016     Glasgow City FC             SWPL                                                              tier one Scotland 

Aug  11, 2016     Celtic LFC                       SWPL                                                              tier one Scotland 

      The current status of this soccer tour is unknown and Outbound  Soccer doesn’t put much detail out there beyond  their twitter account:   https://twitter.com/outboundsoccer

[  2  ]   Hannah Taylor, who was born in Edmonds, Washington state, AND who recently played as a defender for CANWNT U17  in China, was listed as part of the  2016 WPSL roster  for the Seattle Sounders  Women  – though  she played no matches or minutes.

[  3  ]    Should preface this by saying that WPSL has not  fully updated the Northwest conference table yet,  but it does contain a few questionable entries :  Eugene Timbers FC Azul  is listed with eleven  games played but the season was only  ten games long?  In addition Eugene Timbers FC Azul  is also credited with  three wins when their own fixtures/results  schedule reveals only two  wins?