FC Gold Pride was an American professional women's soccer club based in the San Francisco Bay Area , which participated in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). The club replaced the San Jose CyberRays of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association as the top-level women's soccer team in the San Francisco Bay Area . FC Gold Pride moved to its final home of Pioneer Stadium on the campus of CSU East Bay in June 2010 after opening their 2010 home schedule at the Castro Valley High School Athletic Stadium. The club ceased operations in November 2010, two years before the WPS folded, after struggling financially and unable to find new investors.
20-570: FC Gold Pride was founded on September 3, 2008, as the seventh and final team to join the new top-tier Women's Professional Soccer league. The team was owned by a group led by Brian and Nancy NeSmith, the former being the CEO of Sunnyvale -based internet technology company Blue Coat Systems . Former San Jose Clash midfielder and local youth coach Albertin Montoya was named the team's first head coach, while former CyberRays and Brazil national team player Sissi
40-587: A final 3–2 win against the Washington Freedom on August 1, 2009. However, a last loss to Sky Blue FC and a tie with Saint Louis Athletica did not allow FC Gold Pride to avoid finishing last in the WPS standings. The only player FC Gold Pride lost to the 2009 WPS Expansion Draft was defender Leigh Ann Robinson , chosen by the Atlanta Beat . Over the course of the offseason, the club traded Allison Whitworth to
60-465: A loss to LA Sol. Whitworth saw an improved result when she faced LA Sol next, earning shutout on July 23. Whitworth earned the first win of her professional career against the Washington Freedom on August 1. Over the season she appeared in four matches, allowing five goals and keeping one clean sheet. Following the 2009 season she was traded on October 29, 2009, sent along with the 23rd pick in
80-532: A one-year deal with Formiga in February 2009, as well as Arakawa, post-draft discovery pick Adriane ( Brazil ), Érika, and Sinclair. At the 2009 WPS Draft , FC Gold Pride drafted three former college players: UCLA midfielder Christina DiMartino , Notre Dame defender Carrie Dew , and Penn State forward Tiffany Weimer . Also amongst the 2009 draftees was former United States national team star Brandi Chastain . FC Gold Pride won their inaugural WPS game against
100-564: A season-ending injury. She started one game for Chicago, on July 10, making two saves to earn a shut out for the Red Stars against the defending WPS champions Sky Blue FC. In 2011 Witworth returned to the Atlanta Beat by the Red Stars, and started eleven matches for the Beat in what was ultimately the final WPS season as well as the final for the Beat as a club. She was nominated for goalkeeper of
120-491: Is an American former professional soccer player and coach who played as a goalkeeper . Whitworth most recently served as assistant coach for the Mississippi State Bulldogs women's soccer team. She capped her Tiger career by setting a school record with 356 saves, including an Southeastern Conference -high of 132 during her senior campaign which still remains an Auburn record. The 356 saves place her third in
140-427: The 2008 USL W-League season , helping propel them to a perfect 13-0-0 record and a playoff berth. Whitworth was drafted FC Gold Pride after being drafted in the 8th round of the 2009 Women's Professional Soccer Draft ahead of the league and team's inaugural season. She served as backup to United States Women's National Team player Nicole Barnhart during the 2009 WPS season . Her first start came on May 24 in
160-654: The 2009 UEFA Women's Championship , the club signed Norwegian international Solveig Gulbrandsen on December 10. FC Gold Pride acquired Los Angeles Sol player Camille Abily in exchange for midfielder Tina DiMartino , FC Gold Pride's top 2009 WPS Draft pick, and the 14th-overall pick in the 2010 draft and rights to a 2009 international discovery player. In the 2010 WPS Draft , FC Gold Pride selected 2009 Hermann Trophy winner Kelley O'Hara , New Zealand international Ali Riley , and 2008 U-20 World Cup champions Becky Edwards and Kaley Fountain , among others. The Los Angeles Sol ceased operations not long afterward, and in
180-590: The 2010 WPS Draft to the Atlanta Beat for the 10th and 12th picks in the same draft. This trade saw Whitworth return to play soccer in Atlanta just a couple years after featuring for the W-League's Silverbacks. In 2010 she started three games for the Atlanta Beat, making 22 saves on 29 shots (76% save percentage). On June 18, 2010, Whitworth was traded to the Chicago Red Stars after Chicago's Kelsey Davis suffered
200-520: The Boston Breakers on April 5, 2009. The club remained in strong contention until defender Kandace Wilson was injured during a home game against the Los Angeles Sol . After that, FC Gold Pride's second loss at the hands of the Washington Freedom marked the beginning of the club's slide to the bottom of the WPS rankings, where it would remain for the rest of the season. The club's transactions in
220-565: The Beat for the 10th- and 12th-overall picks in the 2010 WPS Draft , lost team co-captain Leslie Osborne and assists leader Tiffany Weimer to the Boston Breakers in free agency, loaned Eriko Arakawa back to her former Nadeshiko League club NTV Beleza for the remainder of her WPS contract, waived contract options for Adriane , Érika , and Formiga , and in February 2010 also waived Brandi Chastain . The club signed Canadian player Candace Chapman on October 8, 2009, and after scouting
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#1732855854482240-564: The SEC league record book. She registered 22 career shutouts, including eight during each of her junior and senior years, tied for eighth in SEC history. She received First Team All-SEC honors thanks in part to her 1.02 goals-against average. This was her second league accolade after picking up a Second Team award the previous season. Whitworth was chosen as a SEC Defensive Player of the Week at least once in each of her last three seasons, culminating with winning
260-521: The award three times as a senior. She saw action in 73 career matches, posting a 1.13 career goals-against average. After graduating, she became the first Auburn alumni to be drafted into a professional soccer league. Whitworth's first season of club soccer came in 2008 at the amateur level with the Atlanta Silverbacks in the USL W-League . She amassed a perfect 8-0-0 record with Atlanta during
280-619: The close of the 2010 season, it was revealed on November 16, 2010, that FC Gold Pride had folded and would not be returning for the 2011 season. Sunnyvale, California Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 29035881 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 04:50:54 GMT Allison Whitworth Allison Leigh Whitworth (born December 11, 1985)
300-460: The ensuing 2010 WPS Dispersal Draft FC Gold Pride acquired Marta , Kiki Bosio , and Lindsay Browne . The club separately signed another Los Angeles Sol goalkeeper Brittany Cameron as a free agent. FC Gold Pride started fast and kept its momentum running throughout the 2010 season . Despite the departure of Solveig Gulbrandsen and trading Kaley Fountain to the Atlanta Beat , the Pride dominated
320-576: The league's regular season and on September 26, 2010, won their first WPS Championship by defeating the Philadelphia Independence , 4–0. Three members of the team garnered end of season honors: Marta was named Player of the Year and won the Golden Boot , both for the second consecutive season; Nicole Barnhart was named Goalkeeper of the Year ; and Ali Riley was named Rookie of the Year . After
340-579: The public for the first time on November 19, 2008. On September 16, 2008, WPS conducted its initial player allocation of United States national team players. The league allocated Nicole Barnhart , Leslie Osborne , and Rachel Buehler to FC Gold Pride. On September 24, 2008, the league allocated a further four players to the Bay Area via the 2008 WPS International Draft : strikers Christine Sinclair ( Canada ) and Eriko Arakawa ( Japan ), and Brazilian midfielder Formiga and defender Érika . The Pride signed
360-490: The wake of Wilson's injury included signing Los Angeles Sol draftee Greer Barnes, elevating developmental player Marisa Abegg to the full roster, and returning Sissi to the field as a player. In the end, FC Gold Pride failed to make the 2009 Women's Professional Soccer Playoffs , after a must-win game against the Saint Louis Athletica ended in a 1–1 draw. The club finally snapped its ten-game winless streak with
380-438: The year following the conclusion of the regular season. Whitworth began her coaching career at Middle Tennessee State University where she was an assistant for two seasons in 2011 and 2012. The Blue Raiders went 24-14-1 and recorded 14 shutouts along with claiming a 2012 Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship. Whitworth spent the next 3 years as the goalkeeper coach and recruit coordinator at Ohio University for
400-582: Was announced as the team's first assistant coach on September 29, 2008. On November 13, 2008, the team announced that it would play its home matches at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara , which it shared with the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer as well as the Santa Clara University soccer teams. The team revealed its official name of FC Gold Pride, and its logo of a lioness, to
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