SPORTS
Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
October 6, 2014
Asians in American sports w Asian Americans in world sports
Asian talent growing in the NWSL
By Mike Street
Special to The Asian Reporter
A
s the National Women’s Soccer
League (NWSL) finished its
second season, the league con-
tinued to add players of Asian heritage.
Several came from Japan’s Nadeshiko
League, suggesting a developing pipeline
between the two leagues. The new players
joined an already successful pool of NWSL
Asian talent, helping the burgeoning
league draw in more fans with a better
quality of play and a more international
flavor.
The talent pipeline from INAC Kobe
Leonessa began in the front office, as their
head coach, Takayoshi “Taka” Ishihara,
was hired by the NWSL’s Sky Blue FC in
January. Ishihara held many coaching
positions in Japan, from Tsukuba Univer-
sity to the nationally known programs at
Maebashi Ikuei and Teikyo high schools,
but his greatest success came with
Leonessa, already a force in the Nadeshiko
League.
After serving as Leonessa’s assistant
coach and head coach of the development
squad (similar positions he now holds with
Sky Blue), Ishihara was promoted to head
coach in 2013. Under his leadership,
Leonessa set a record for women’s pro-
fessional teams by winning four titles last
season, including their third straight
Nadeshiko championship.
A month later, Sky Blue signed forward
Nanase “Na Na” Kiryu, who has played for
Nadeshiko’s other powerhouse, NTV
Beleza, since 2007. With Beleza, Kiryu has
scored 40 goals in 127 appearances, help-
ing the team win three league champion-
ships, three league cup championships,
INTERNATIONAL ADDITIONS. As the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) finished its second season, the league continued to add players of Asian heri-
tage. Forwards from Japan who played in 2014 included Nanase “Na Na” Kiryu of Sky Blue FC (left photo, on right) and Nahomi “Naho” Kawasumi of Seattle Reign FC
(middle photo). A player who gained experience playing in the Japanese Nadeshiko League, Rebecca Moros, was a member of the Portland Thorns (left photo, on left).
Also playing for the Thorns in 2014 was Hawai’i native Meleana “Mana” Shim (right photo). (AR Photos/Jan Landis)
and two Empress Cup Championships.
She earned “Best 11” honors last season,
scoring 14 goals in 28 appearances.
Kiryu failed to score in her 16 games
with Sky Blue, but the NWSL saw a
dazzling debut from a teammate with
Asian roots, Nadia Nadim. Nadim was
born in Afghanistan but fled to Denmark
with her mother and sisters after Taliban
sympathizers executed their father. She
flourished in her new country, and is now a
star forward for the Denmark Women’s
National Team and Danish club Fortuna
Hjørring, which loaned her to Sky Blue.
Although she joined Sky Blue with only
six regular-season matches remaining,
Nadim had a tremendous impact, notching
CAN THEY REALLY
CANCEL OUR POLICY
IF WE MAKE A CLAIM?
seven goals and three assists. Those seven
goals tied her for the team lead with
forward Kelley O’Hara, who took more
than three times as many games to match
Nadim. And only O’Hara and midfielder
Katy Freels had more assists on the club
than Nadim.
Another player from INAC Kobe
Leonessa, Rebecca Moros, joined our own
Portland Thorns this season. Moros played
three seasons in the Women’s Professional
Soccer (WPS), the league that preceded the
NWSL, and helped the Western New York
Flash win a title in 2011 before joining
Leonessa.
Portland secured the rights to Moros
from the Seattle Reign, and the former
WPS champion brought her offensive-
minded style to the Thorns. Though she
did not find the net in 2014, Moros took
eight shots, four on goal, to lead all Thorns
defenders.
Seattle has a Leonessa player of its own:
forward Nahomi “Naho” Kawasumi, on
loan from the Japanese team. With
Leonessa, Kawasumi won league MVP in
2013 and “Best 11” honors in four straight
seasons.
ASTHMA
IS
ON
THE RISE.
With the Reign this season, Kawasumi
was dominant, winning the NWSL Player
of the Week honor twice and scoring nine
goals in 20 matches, second-best on Seattle
and tied for fifth in the league. Her efforts
earned her NWSL Best XI honors, making
her the first Japanese player to earn the
award in the league.
Beyond the contributions of imports
from Leonessa, plenty of other players
with Asian roots made their mark in 2014,
like defenders Abby Erceg and Rachel
Quon of the Chicago Red Stars. This
dynamic duo helped Chicago allow just 26
goals this season, second-best in the
NWSL.
Quon, who is of Chinese descent, has
been a fixture on Chicago’s back line,
ranking in the top four on the team in
minutes played in both 2013 and 2014.
Erceg, captain of the New Zealand
National Team, has played for teams in
the Australian, Spanish, and German
leagues. Erceg joined the Red Stars for the
final 11 games of the season, earning the
team’s Unsung Hero award for her gritty
play.
Continued on page 13
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