Post by markilizer on Apr 11, 2013 17:11:31 GMT 8
April 10, 2013
SEATTLE -- Washington women's soccer has made a name for itself on the international level in recent years, most notably with the success of former Husky goalkeeper Hope Solo. The latest in the tradition comes from an unlikely corner of the world and involves Husky sophomores Chelsea Archer and Christina Archer.
Recently, the twin sisters were contacted from officials with the Philippines gauging their interest in participating for their national team. The country is looking to get more competitive in soccer and decided to come to the United States to recruit players with Filipino descent.
The Archer sisters' mother Yolanda is Filipino-Japanese, so despite the twins being born and raised in Northern California, they are eligible to play for the country.
The Philippines heard about the Archer twins from their club teammate Katherine Lim who plays for Boston University. She had already been contacted by the country and let the Archer's know about their interest in American players.
"We got an email from a manager asking if we would be interested," said Chelsea. "They told us they were coming to the U.S. to have these camps and asked us if we would participate."
The training camp involved 50 American players, mostly collegiate "Phil-Americans" as they were called. The Philippine Federation wanted to select 15 players out of the 50 and team them with five native Filipino's and three goalkeepers to form the national team.
"The camp was in Los Angeles for Americans that are Filipino," said Christina. "There is more of a talent pool here, so the coach decided to give this a try. He was having trouble finding enough good players back in the Philippines."
Both of the Archer twins earned selection and now have the opportunity to travel to Bangladesh to play in the Asian Federation Cup in May. The tournament is the top competition in Asia with 16 teams assigned to four groups.
Assuming the Archer's see action in the games, they will have committed to playing for the Philippines for good. Once you have played at the full national team level for a country, you can't switch.
The Philippines were assigned to Group B of the tournament with Thailand, Iran and the host Bangladesh. They hope to finish in the top two and advance to the knockout stage of the tournament.
Currently, the Philippines is ranked 83rd in the world and is the 18th-ranked country in Asia. Japan is Asia's top team and ranked third in the world as witnessed when they upset the United States in the 2011 Women's World Cup Final.
Now, with the influx of American players, the Philippines should be competitive in a group with 29th-ranked Thailand, 52nd-ranked Iran and 108th-ranked Bangladesh.
"It came a little out of the blue," said Chelsea. "It's exciting, though."
www.gohuskies.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/041013aaa.html
SEATTLE -- Washington women's soccer has made a name for itself on the international level in recent years, most notably with the success of former Husky goalkeeper Hope Solo. The latest in the tradition comes from an unlikely corner of the world and involves Husky sophomores Chelsea Archer and Christina Archer.
Recently, the twin sisters were contacted from officials with the Philippines gauging their interest in participating for their national team. The country is looking to get more competitive in soccer and decided to come to the United States to recruit players with Filipino descent.
The Archer sisters' mother Yolanda is Filipino-Japanese, so despite the twins being born and raised in Northern California, they are eligible to play for the country.
The Philippines heard about the Archer twins from their club teammate Katherine Lim who plays for Boston University. She had already been contacted by the country and let the Archer's know about their interest in American players.
"We got an email from a manager asking if we would be interested," said Chelsea. "They told us they were coming to the U.S. to have these camps and asked us if we would participate."
The training camp involved 50 American players, mostly collegiate "Phil-Americans" as they were called. The Philippine Federation wanted to select 15 players out of the 50 and team them with five native Filipino's and three goalkeepers to form the national team.
"The camp was in Los Angeles for Americans that are Filipino," said Christina. "There is more of a talent pool here, so the coach decided to give this a try. He was having trouble finding enough good players back in the Philippines."
Both of the Archer twins earned selection and now have the opportunity to travel to Bangladesh to play in the Asian Federation Cup in May. The tournament is the top competition in Asia with 16 teams assigned to four groups.
Assuming the Archer's see action in the games, they will have committed to playing for the Philippines for good. Once you have played at the full national team level for a country, you can't switch.
The Philippines were assigned to Group B of the tournament with Thailand, Iran and the host Bangladesh. They hope to finish in the top two and advance to the knockout stage of the tournament.
Currently, the Philippines is ranked 83rd in the world and is the 18th-ranked country in Asia. Japan is Asia's top team and ranked third in the world as witnessed when they upset the United States in the 2011 Women's World Cup Final.
Now, with the influx of American players, the Philippines should be competitive in a group with 29th-ranked Thailand, 52nd-ranked Iran and 108th-ranked Bangladesh.
"It came a little out of the blue," said Chelsea. "It's exciting, though."
www.gohuskies.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/041013aaa.html