It’s time to recount some of the year’s prettiest goals.

11.) Sylvia Smit (3:37)/December 16th - Netherlands 3, Mexico 1 - Torneio Internacional Cidade de Sao Paolo Group Stage

*Insert requisite video of free kick driven in to top right corner by Dutch player. Remember to note technique, precision, power.*

<

p style="text-align: justify;">

10.) Guadelupe Worbis (1:37)/October 30th - Mexico 7, Guyana 2/CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifying Group Stage

There were plenty of goals in this match - one every 10 minutes to be exact. But Worbis’ arching long-range effort is a real peach.

9.) Kandace Wilson/September 26th - FC Gold Pride 4, Philadelphia Independence 0 - 2010 WPS Championship

The fullback chose a memorable occassion to score her first professional goal. Wilson came streaking down the left flank with pace, exchanged passes with Marta before retrieving the ball, battling with center-back Allison Falk and looping in a hopeful shot whilst falling to the ground. It’s difficult to judge who was more surprised when it hit the back of the net: goalkeeper Val Henderson or Wilson herself.

<

p style="text-align: justify;">

8.) Laura del Rio/August 15th - Boston Breakers 4, Sky Blue FC 0

Did anyone in WPS strike a goal-bound ball harder than del Rio did for this beauty? At such an acute angle? Off a one-timed effort? Unlikely. And that probably wasn’t even the best goal of the game, as will be explained in a bit.

<

p style="text-align: justify;">

<

p style="text-align: justify;">

7.) Yael Averbuch (:51)/August 22nd - Sky Blue FC 1, Philadelphia Independence 0

Prior to Averbuch’s strike, Sky Blue FC had only garnered one win in eight. Determined to snap the streak of dour results, Heather O’Reilly scooped a pass to her former Tar Heel teammate who was left unmarked in the heart of the area. What Averbuch did next was, well just watch it. The one-timed volley deservingly won the match for Sky Blue FC.

6.) Jordan Angeli (1:18)/August 15th - Boston Breakers 4, Sky Blue FC

Jordan Angeli’s mid-season awakening helped the Boston Breakers surge up the table. This was the rookie’s seventh and final goal of the season. An off-balanced half-volley half-turn pulled off to perfection with a defender in her face? She clearly saved the best for last.

<

p style="text-align: justify;">

5.) Mandy Laddish (2:12)/December 3rd - Notre Dame 1, Ohio State 0/NCAA College Cup Semifinals http://www.und.com/allaccess/?media=215504

Laddish’s charging run through midfield and icy cool finish couldn’t be denied by Ohio State goalkeeper Katie Baumgardener. The freshman’s late strike was just her second goal of the season. It sent Notre Dame to the College Cup Final with the momentum and pomp it needed to best Stanford.

4.) Yoreli Rincon/July 24th - Sweden 0, Colombia 2/2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Quarterfinals

<

p style="text-align: justify;">

Rincon’s laser shot from distance was named Goal of the Tournament and justly so. The goal also sealed the upset of the competition as plucky Colombia topped a solid Swedish side.

3.) Marta (2:00)/December 19th - Brazil 2, Canada 2/Torneio Internacional Cidade de Sao Paolo Final

<

p style="text-align: justify;">

It’s hard to say what’s most impressive about this goal: Marta’s blistering pace, the way she made mince meat our of three defenders or the procedural manner in which she slotted the ball in the corner of the net. Regardless, it was magical work from a player whose brilliance seemingly knows no bounds.

2.) Christine Sinclair/December 19th - Brazil 2, Canada 2/Torneio Internacional Cidade de Sao Paolo Final

Who says Christine Sinclair is merely a target woman? Canada’s taliswoman wound up dispatching a ball that would have been brilliant had it been a mere cross. Rather, it was a brilliant goal that sealed Canada’s win in the tournament and affirmed Sinclair’s place among the game’s elite.

<

p style="text-align: justify;">

1.) Kumi Yokoyama/September 21st - North Korea 1, Japan 2 - 2010 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Semifinals

The FIFA Puskás Award is an annual honor bestowed upon the player who scored the most superb goal of the year. The 17 year-old’s fabulous solo run is the only effort from a female player to be nominated which is reason enough to head this list. The name of the video kind of says it all.

Agree? Disagree? Have other suggestions? Feel free to sound off.

View Original Post at allwhitekit.wordpress.com | View jennaawk's Full Profile

• Filed Under:  
• Soccer, Sports, Media, Videos, WPS, WNT, FIFA, Europe/Intl, W. College Soccer

This post is related to an ongoing story:

• 2010: the Year in Review