UPDATE: We've confirmed that the Sounders Women will be playing at Starfire Sports Complex.

There couldn't be a stronger signal that the state of women's soccer in America is in flux than to have Hope Solo and Sydney Leroux join the Seattle Sounders Women. With WPS faltering, WPSL forming a limited elite division and adding a team in Issaquah, it was already clear that there would be some change. After a strong World Cup run that resulted in a second place finish for the American women and a in year when they can pursue Olympic Gold, 2012 may be the best chance in ages for women's soccer to take off on a professional level in the U.S.

In the Puget Sound those efforts will be lead through a familiar story as a legendary national team goalkeeper returns to the place she calls home. Leroux is a controversial figure north of the border where she is seen as leaving her birth nation to chase glory with the United States. She will be repeating that on the club level as the Vancouver Whitecaps also have a W-League team within their brand umbrella.

Amy Carnell, Sounders Women GM, in a statement released at SoundersFC.com indicates that more may be yet to come;

"Hope is undoubtedly the best women’s keeper in the game today," said Sounders General Manager Amy Carnell. "Her signing represents the caliber player Sounders Women’s fans can expect in 2012. As the landscape of women’s soccer continues to evolve, we realize the unique opportunity before us. The addition of Hope Solo and Sydney Leroux sets the tone for what we think will be a very special year for Sounders Women’s soccer."

The Sounders Women are coached by National Team legend Michelle French. Their Western Conference opponents are Vancouver, the Victoria Highlanders, Santa Clarita Blue Heat, Pali Blues, LA Strikers, Colorado Rush and Colorado Force.

United States national team players will be in games that do not interfere with their Olympics quest.

While MLS has in the last few years reached a level of stability that will hopefully give us a break from our perennial worrying about "the future of the game", the women's pro game is still struggling for survival in this country. The Women's National Team is currently preparing for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament this month and the roster is officially listed as:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Nicole Barnhart (out of contract), Hope Solo (out of contract)

DEFENDERS (7): Rachel Buehler (Atlanta Beat), Ali Krieger (FFC Frankfurt), Amy LePeilbet (Atlanta Beat), Heather Mitts (out of contract), Kelley O’Hara (Atlanta Beat), Christie Rampone (out of contract), Becky Sauerbrunn (Sky Blue FC)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Shannon Boxx (out of contract), Tobin Heath (out of contract), Lori Lindsey (Western New York Flash), Carli Lloyd (Atlanta Beat), Heather O’Reilly (Boston Breakers), Megan Rapinoe (out of contract), Amy Rodriguez (out of contract)

FORWARDS (4): Lauren Cheney (out of contract), Sydney Leroux (Atlanta beat), Alex Morgan (Western New York Flash), Abby Wambach (out of contract)

That's 10 players out of 20 who don't currently have a club team, which is remarkable for a country that has dominated the sport internationally for decades. Much of it is due to the forced contraction from WPS of the magicJack franchise, which finally collapsed under the weight of the sort of batty, megalomaniacal owner that sports franchises too often attract (you can find a good summary here of Dan Borislow's unfortunate reign over some of our most talented female players).

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Admittedly, we don't cover women's soccer around here as much as we probably should. There is, after all, a professional team playing under the name Sounders that was once officially part of the same organization. They play their games at Starfire and are actually hosting the USL's W-League Final Four starting tonight. (The Sounders Women play at 7 p.m. against Ottawa by the way. If you're interested, you should definitely check out the Seattle Times' preview. Solid stuff.)

Part of the reason we don't cover the Sounders Women more, though, is because we don't get a sense there's much demand for it. As far as I know, we've never been asked about doing more.

I have a feeling that would change pretty quickly if they ever chose to join the WPS, similar to how interest in the Sounders rose considerably after they joined MLS.

Not to read too much into some comments team owner Jon Billings made to the Times, but it sounds like joining WPS is at least a possibility:

(You mentioned the bigger picture goals of the weekend beyond just this championship. Is making the leap to WPS a goal for this organization?) "Definitely a possibility. We're actually considering everything and this weekend can really create some momentum and turn some heads. ... I don't know if our future is WPS, based on how that league is, but certainly taking the team to a higher level -- whether it be within this league or adjusting it to a more professional thing or expanding on the organization so we can reach more people -- that's definitely a goal. If we do this right, it can turn and take this to a higher level."

I'm sure this weekend's tournament, which concludes at 4 p.m. on Sunday and will be played on Fox Soccer, is being used to at least somewhat gauge interest. If you feel like women's soccer in the Pacific Northwest is currently under covered, heading out to Starfire this weekend is probably a good start.

Robbie Christner scored two goals, Seattle Sounders draft pick Bryan Meredith saved a penalty and the Kitsap Pumas survived the final 10 minutes of their match against the Portland Timbers U-23s to win 3-2 and advance to the U.S. Open Cup. The match, which was also played as a regular-season PDL game, was played instead of a traditional Open Cup qualifying tiebreaker. The Pumas became the first PDL team in history to qualify for the Open Cup in each of their first three seasons.

Christner put the Pumas up 1-0 with a goal in the 20th minute and Nik Besagno sent them into halftime up 2-0. Brent Richards cut the lead in half with a goal in the 54th minute, but Christner restored the lead with a 66th goal that came off a free kick which seemed to leave the Pumas in control.

But the match took a drastic turn in the 72nd minute when Pumas forward Brian Burke was sent off with a straight red card. Three minutes later, the Timbers were given a penalty when Ricky Abrego was taken down in the box. Meredith, though, turned aside Miles Byass' shot and then Byass sent the rebound high.

Sounders academy product was Nick Palodichuk was able to cut the deficit to 3-2 with a goal in the 80th minute. It was his first goal for the Timbers.

Special thanks to Chris Coulter of SoundersPhotos.com for supplying the photo above.

Starting in the Pacific Northwest of the PDL where the Kitsap Pumas and Portland Timbers U-23 wind up their US Open Cup Qualifying perfectly tied. Tuesday there will be a coin flip to determine which team gets to compete for the Open Cup and a potential regional Third Round match with the Seattle Sounders.

The Portland Timbers U-23s beat both the North Sound Seawolves and the Tacoma Tide two-nil. On Wednesday in beating the Seawolves Sean Morris went 66 minutes and got a Yellow. While, Nick Palodichuk went 89 minutes also getting a Yellow. The PDL website has yet to update with the performance from the late Sunday night game.

Peter Fewing's Pumas crushed the Tacoma Tide on Friday night 6-1. Nik Besagno went 45 minutes. Tye Perdido went 67. Bryan Meredith got in a full 90 with three saves and one allowed. On Sunday the Kitsap side edged the Seawolves 1-0. Meredith went 90 with two saves for the shutout. Besagno started and played 73 minutes while Perdido started and went 52.

Washington Crossfire is the other PNW PDL side with a former Sounder trialist on it (Kevin Forrest) but they did not play in the last week.

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Lower than MLS soccer in America/Canada/Caribbean is always in a state of flux. In light of that Falk just posted a look at the Northwest PDL of 2011. Sadly Eastern WA is empty, as is all of Oregon not Timbers related.

Below the break are simple tables broken down by tiers on the pyramid

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