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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 2017)
SPORTS Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER November 6, 2017 Asians in American sports w Asian Americans in world sports Asian talent shines in NWSL’s fifth season By Mike Street Special to The Asian Reporter hen the Portland Thorns defeated the North Carolina Courage in this year’s National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) final, the match featured two teams that started the season with a pair of Asian players apiece. Across the NWSL, Asian representation continues to grow on offense and defense and between the posts, though knee injuries hampered the seasons of several. Defenders Abby Erceg and Yuri Kawamura anchored the Courage back line, while the Thorns began the season with both midfielder Meleana “Mana” Shim and dangerous striker Nadia Nadim. New Zealand’s most-capped women’s soccer player ever, Erceg, who has Maori heritage, has made her mark in the NWSL. She played for two years with the Chicago Red Stars before joining the Western New York Flash during the 2016 season in time to lead the team to its first NWSL championship. When the Flash moved to North Carolina and became the Courage, Erceg followed them and has been an anchor on a defensive line that led the league in shutouts and fewest goals allowed. The only Courage defender with more minutes played than Erceg was Abby Dahlkemper, who played every minute for the Courage and was named the NWSL 2017 Defender of the Year. This formidable pair should have been joined all season by Japan’s Kawamura, a standout W SOCCER STANDOUTS. The fifth year of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) saw the Portland Thorns win the club’s second championship. The Thorns de- feated the North Carolina Courage 1-0 in a physical match played at Orlando City Sta- dium in Orlando, Florida. Pictured are Abby Erceg (#6) of the Courage challenging Hayley Raso (#21) of the Thorns (left photo) and Nadia Nadim (#9) of the Thorns dribbling the ball in a match against Chicago (right photo). (AR Photos/Jan Landis) fullback for the Japanese appeared in 74 matches for the National Team and in Japan’s Thorns, fourth-most in team Nadeshiko League, but after just history. But Shim became the odd eight matches with the Courage, player out on a talented club Kawamura suffered a season- when the Thorns activated Tobin ending knee injury. North Heath from injured reserve near Carolina is looking forward to the end of the 2017 campaign. seeing Kawamura and Erceg Växjö DFF in Sweden offered again frustrate opposing for- Shim a spot on their club in late August, so she and the Thorns wards in 2018. On the other side of the pitch in agreed to part ways and she the championship match, the joined Växjö shortly thereafter. Mana will be missed next Thorns will have to look elsewhere for Asian talent in season, as will Nadim. The 2018. Fan-favorite Shim, a Afghani native joined the Thorns Hawai‘i native, joined the club in before the 2016 season after 2013 during an open tryout and nearly two seasons with Sky Blue Wong says China rise means trade trumps rights Continued from page 3 under threat. They are due in court November 7 to appeal the sentences. Wong, who is also awaiting sentencing in another case, is prepared to go back to jail. He turned 21 while behind bars and said it “might not be the last time I will celebrate my birthday inside prison.” Though he has become synonymous with Hong Kong’s democracy movement, Wong said it was important not to forget others who are also paying a price but haven’t attracted the same international spotlight. About two dozen other young activists are serving prison sentences longer than his, “just because they were asking for democracy, freedom, and human rights by non-violent civil disobedience,” he said. During his time behind bars, Wong did compulsory marching exercises 30 minutes a day and ate with a spoon because forks, knives, and chopsticks are banned. Asked if the prison guards singled him out for harsher treatment, he said, “They treated me fairly with swear words and foul language.” Not allowed a phone, he couldn’t update his popular social media accounts but said being unplugged allowed him the opportunity for “spiritual reflection.” Prison news was limited to Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing publications, but he read books such as I Am Malala by 20-year-old Pakistani activist and Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai. Letters from supporters in places like New York, London, and Berlin helped buoy his spirits. Out of prison, he is making the most of time, hanging out with his parents and girlfriend, playing video games, and enjoying favorite local foods like Hong Kong-style milk tea. Wong plans to keep fighting for full democracy in Hong Kong. In the short term, he said his political party, Demosisto, will announce a candidate soon to run in an election next year to fill a seat in the city’s semi-democratic legislature vacated when Law was disqualified because of a government legal challenge. In the long run, he said there’s plenty of work to do getting Hong Kongers to “adjust their mindset” to resist Beijing’s tightening grip. “I still believe Hong Kong peo- ple can overcome, even though we are inside the prison set by China.” FC. In 2016, Nadim led the Thorns with nine goals while assisting in three others. In 2017, she scored six goals and gave four assists, which were third best and second best on the team, respectively. Both stat lines are all the more impressive because Nadim played in only 18 of the Thorns 26 matches. Nadim’s talent has not gone unrecognized, and Manchester City Women’s Football Club made her an offer the Thorns could not match. So Nadim, also a member of the Denmark Women’s National Team that nearly won the Euro 2017 tourna- ment, will be playing with one of Europe’s top clubs next season, an acknowledgement of this Hmong pop singer gains popularity Continued from page 7 embracing it,” Xiong said. Mixing old and new to create a new form of music isn’t the only way Vue challenges traditional Hmong thinking. A young married woman traditionally would not travel alone, but she must as she performs in live concerts across the country. When she first started singing, in a show choir in middle school in Green Bay, she hid her singing desires from her parents. When she continued singing in high school, she had to tell them, and they discouraged her from participating. She stubbornly held out. Vue just loved to sing. That’s where she picked up her love of pop and show-tune style music. Vue was working a minimum- wage job, taking care of her mother, who is diabetic and blind, while juggling school and choir. “I was singing all kinds of songs, Beatles, Aretha Franklin, musicals,” Vue said. “I loved it. I loved singing. I loved per- forming.” She was still a student at Green Bay East High School when she met her future husband, Hmong Zong Yang, who attended D.C. Everest Senior High School. Yang encouraged her to pursue her dreams, and his support gave her the confidence to work for a musical career. Even as she sang and built her fame, she was studying business and arts management, first at the University of Wisconsin (UW) Marathon County and then at UW-Stevens Point. Vue put school on hold when her career gained traction and she began to earn a steady income from singing. She plans to return soon to finish her degree. Meanwhile, Yang is completing his degree at UW-Stevens Point where he’s studying computer information systems. He has no ambition to step into a spotlight. “I just want a normal, 9-to-5 job,” he said, although he has been working to create video games. As for Vue, she plans to slowly ease out of her performing schedule to focus on producing and working with Yellow Diamond Records to aid other young performers. “I think this is leading me to a higher calling,” Vue said, “to create a more impressive Hmong music industry.” Vue was featured on the October 19 episode of Wisconsin Public Television’s “Wisconsin Life.” To learn more, visit <www.wisconsinlife.org>. Asian star’s incredible talent. The NWSL team with the strongest Asian representation is Portland’s northern neighbor, the Seattle Reign. The squad features an outstanding Japanese tandem and a veteran goalkeeper with aboriginal roots who is among the best in the world. Lydia Williams is that keeper. She joined the Houston Dash in 2016, enjoying a solid season in which she allowed 22 goals in 15 starts. That’s not surprising from a player who has anchored the Australian national team. But a midseason coaching change in Continued on page 13 Talking Story: When I’m sixty-four, oooh Continued from page 6 (unthinkable Ferguson or unjust East Portland) don’t matter. Website hits and shares do. And herein lies the possibility of a heartless nation. You and me segregated into tight consumer communities. Trending news, films, fashion, people. Disconnected from the “other.” You never have to talk to him. You won’t hear his mom wail. Cops and prosecutors will deal with cross-town others. Our awesome Navy Seals and our stealthy Air Force will handle those over the horizon. “Will you still need me, will you still feed me,” Paul McCartney sang sweetly, surely to his lovely Linda, “when I’m sixty-four, oooh” — a sassy clarinet flourish finishes his line. That Beatles album was released exactly 50 years ago. Today, I’m feeling it too. Pero it’s not a grumpy opa’s grievance. Really not. It’s an American believer’s hope that we’re just taking a little break from a world of hurt. And our role in all that. It’s me wading through red leaves on S.W. Fifth’s autumn sidewalk, knowing that Red from Rosebud Rez and Ski from Polsk North Portland and Brooklyn from Paisan Brooklyn will soon round the corner. Sharing smokes and chocolate bars.
