The US Deaf Women’s National Soccer Team won the gold medal in the 24th Deaflympics held in Brazil this past May. https://www.ussoccer.com/teams/womens-deaf-national-team Apparently, they won 4-2 in penalty kicks (KFTPM) after the game against Poland ended 2-2. [After much web searching, I could not find an account of the game; even the Deaflympics web site failed to post the pdf of football results, which are available for all the other sports]. Prior to US Soccer’s Annual General Meeting on March 4, 2022, the USDWNT played under the USA Deaf Soccer Association https://usdeafsoccer.com/; so the program is brand new to the federation organization, even though the USDWNT has won several gold medals over the years. So why post now? It is “old” news. Every year I scan the NWSL draft list for non-D1 players and look them up. Yesterday, for the 2023 draft, I found Erin Cembrale, senior midfielder for D3 Huntingdon College in Montgomery, AL. It turned out that she was on the 2022 USDWNT gold medal squad in Brazil. Another D3 player on the gold medal squad is Mia White, who I saw play for the Rochester (NY) Institute of Technology 2016-2019. She was RIT team captain and Liberty League Player of the Year for 2019. She is now a Player Representative on the Board of Directors for USA Deaf Soccer Association. The 2022 team was coached by Amy Griffin and assisted by Joy Fawcett. Some highlights of the gold medal game are shown at 12:40, with Mia White speaking post-game at 13:00: Closed captioning works when people are signing to the camera, for those who do not know ASL. If anyone can post a full team roster and/or game box scores, that would be terrific. Thanks, CJ
The best info I've ever found on the team is on Twitter. This was the starting line-up for the gold medal match: It’s go time!! pic.twitter.com/8sC3qKAVCL— U.S. Deaf Soccer WNT (@USDeaf_WNT) May 15, 2022 Their Twitter account also has scores for each game and goal scorers as well as the full roster (posted in multiple tweets; just linking the defenders here): Our mighty defense for Brazil! pic.twitter.com/lsuj2i57xo— U.S. Deaf Soccer WNT (@USDeaf_WNT) April 13, 2022
Thanks @lil_one for the information! When I was assembling a list from the twitter posts and looking up players, I found this page: https://usdwnt.weebly.com/ It has the roster, USA game lineups, scores and scorers for 2022 and going back to 2005. I copied the roster info and put it in the table below. Quite an eclectic group! The age range is 18-42, 5 are Deaflympic veterans and 16 are rookies in the competition. No.NamePositionAgeHometown 1Taegan FrandsenGK18Centerville UT 2Kate Ward MID (Captain)28El Paso TX 3Paige BeaudryDEF 19Riverview MI 4McCall MadriagoMID26Folsom CA 5Gracie FitzgeraldDEF23Georgetown IN 6Mia WhiteFWD23Littleton CO 7Olivia MakeyDEF30Puyallup WA 8Erin CembraleMID 21Palm Harbor FL 9Ani KhachadourianMID20Cary NC 10Anessa CamposFWD (injured)20Riverside CA 11Sydney AndrewsDEF 28Aptos CA 12Sophia PostFWD18Murray UT 13Ashley DerringtonMID31Playa Vista CA 14Paris PriceMID17 Fall City WA 15Elizabeth FeustelDEF42Atlanta GA 16Krystyna MillerFWD20Plainville CT 17Nicole NunesDEF20Santa Clara CA 18Faith WylieFWD18Dripping Springs TX 19Ella SheridanGK16Dallas TX 21Emily CressyFWD 33Huntington Beach CA 22Nicole KoehnFWD27San Jose CA The 2023 Deaf Women’s World Cup is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia September 20 – October 8. The US won both previous world cups it entered (2012 and 2016). Let us hope the US Soccer Federation doesn’t screw it up this year. -CJ 63
The USDWNT just kicked off their first camp under the USSF umbrella, so apparently even though the vote was last March, the team becoming an official USSF team started perhaps with this calendar year. In the future, maybe that means it'll be easier to find info about them. Welcome, U.S. Women’s Deaf National Team (#USdeafWNT)! 🎉They kicked off their first training camp under @ussoccer in Lakewood Ranch, FL this past weekend as prep begins for the @DIFAWorld Championship in September. pic.twitter.com/2OWAphKGJ8— U.S. Soccer Extended National Teams (@ussoccer_ENT) January 16, 2023
They have moved to the semifinals of the World Deaf Championships. FT | Three wins, three clean sheets and the #USdeafWNT secured a spot in the World Deaf Championship semifinals! pic.twitter.com/dDoehIOkaA— U.S. Soccer Extended National Teams (@ussoccer_ENT) September 29, 2023
Onto the finals after pounding England: FT | WE'RE GOING TO THE 'SHIP! 🙌The #USdeafWNT had a smashing second half and is headed to the Women's World Deaf Championships final! pic.twitter.com/N6Z2DHW79u— U.S. Soccer Extended National Teams (@ussoccer_ENT) October 3, 2023 They were only up 2-1 at the half, so they really poured things on late.
I have been delinquent, even knowing the world championships were coming in the Fall 2023, I missed the action until today. Today US beat England 10-1 and play Turkey in the Final on October 6. https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...rld-championship-final-in-10-1-win-vs-england Friday, Oct. 6. Kickoff of USA-Turkey is set for 8:30 a.m. ET (8:30 p.m. local) from Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium and the match will be streamed live via the Malaysia Deaf Sports Association’s YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@malaysiandeafsportsassocia4712/featured Since last I checked, ussoccer.com has updated their site to provide more information about the US Women’s Deaf National Team: The Current Roster, of course; but also the 2023 Schedule with results, recaps, videos, and box scores; 2023 Stats; and All Time Results, going back to the 2005 Deaflympics in Melbourne, Australia. Nice. https://www.ussoccer.com/teams/womens-deaf-national-team Here is the Current Roster, still eclectic, with NAIA, D1, D2 & D3 athletes, plus some that did not play in college. Ages 18-43. I love it. No.NamePositionAgeHometown 1Taegan Frandsen*GK19Centerville, UT 2Kate Ward*M29Atlanta, Ga. 3Paige Beaudry*D20Riverview, MI 4McCall Madriago*D27Sacramento, CA 5Gracie Fitzgerald*M24Georgetown, IN 6Mia McMurryD30Asheville, NC 7Sabina ShyshM20Tucson, AZ 8Erin Cembrale*M22Oyster Bay, NY 9Ani Kachadourian*M21Cary, NC 10Emily Cressy Spreeman*F34Fountain Valley, CA 11Sydney Andrews*D29Wichita, KS 12Sophie Post*F19Murray, Utah 13Ashley Derrington*M32Alpharetta, GA 14Paris Price*M18Fall City, WA 15Beth Barbiers Feustal*D43Atlanta, Ga. 16Emma Neff*M18Oakwood, OH 17Mia White*D24Littleton, CO 18Faith Wylie*D19Decatur, TX 21Payton DeGrawGK22Salt Lake City, UT 22Nikki Koehn*F28Fremont, Calif. 23Casey KingF23Bexley, Ohio 24Holly HunterM20Temecula, CA *2022 Deaflympics in Brazil Amy Griffin is still head coach and Joy Fawcett is assistant coach. They have added Gallaudet University's 7-year assistant Meghan Maiwald as goalkeeper coach.
World Champs after beating Turkey 3-0: FT | MASSIVE saves from GK Taegan Frandsen and a strong performance for the #USdeafWNT to capture the 2023 Women’s World Deaf Football title. 🏆🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/zqz5zzxpWI— U.S. Soccer Extended National Teams (@ussoccer_ENT) October 6, 2023
The US Deaf Women’s National Team won the World Deaf Football Championship by beating Turkey 3-0 in the Final yesterday. https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...third-womens-world-deaf-football-championship Emily Cressy Spreeman (34, Fountain Valley, CA) won the golden boot, having scored 13 goals and made 5 assists over six games and she won the golden ball as the tournament’s best player. Balled out 🔥Congrats to Emily Spreeman, winner of Women’s World Deaf Football Golden Ball and the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top scorer! #USdeafWNT pic.twitter.com/bGyclMF9hS— U.S. Soccer Extended National Teams (@ussoccer_ENT) October 6, 2023 Taegan Frandsen (19, Centerville, UT) earned the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper. Huge saves and stellar play throughout Women’s World Deaf Football. Congrats to Golden Glove winner Taegan Frandsen! 🧤🇺🇸#USdeafWNT pic.twitter.com/Ytmng2ngOx— U.S. Soccer Extended National Teams (@ussoccer_ENT) October 6, 2023 I watched the replay on youtube. It was evidently hot and humid – there were puddles in the assistant referee runway along each sideline, but not on the field, and there was a hydration break at about 28 minutes into the first half (but not second half). As evidence of the continued growth of women’s football worldwide, 3 of the 4 referees wore a hijab, as well as one of the Turkish bench players. There was a contingent of Turkish men wearing red shirts in the stands who contributed organized and enthusiastic vocal support to their team. Music, which was likely Malaysian – certainly not American pop- was played over the PA system throughout the match. Not having been at deaf matches in person, this was a little surprising to me. However, having attended Rochester Lancers women’s games locally where music is played throughout the game, I feel it adds positively to the atmosphere. I thought Turkey midfielder #6 Havane Dilbe was a warrior – she was everywhere all the time, involved in many tackles and had to be attended to for injury a handful of times, and kept getting up and getting back into the fray.
Hi. I am Erin's Mother, Lynne. The USDWNT has an upcoming game against the Australian Deaf team in Denver CO. Keep an eye on USSOCCER_ent on instagram for updates.
Welcome to the BigSoccer forum, Lynne! And thank you for the information. Please drop in occasionally and let us know what's going on with the team. Information can sometimes be hard to come by.
Thank you! The USDWNT will be having a double header. They will play the deaf Australian team and then the USWNT will play Korea after. Here is the info. Hope you all can tune in and watch these talented ladies.
This is SO exciting! Thanks for posting, this event might have flown past my radar if not for me casually checking in on Bigsoccer after being away for a couple of weeks. From ussoccer.com, here is the 18- player roster, including Erin Cembrale DETAILED ROSTER BY POSITION (Hometown; Caps/Goals) GOALKEEPER (1): 1-Taegan Frandsen*^ (Centerville, Utah; 8/0) DEFENDERS (6): 11-Sydney Andrews*^ (Wichita, Kan.; 27/1), 15-Beth Barbiers*^ (Atlanta, Ga.; 3/0), 3-Paige Beaudry*^ (Riverview, Mich.; 11/0), 6-Mia McMurry* (Asheville, N.C.; 4/0), 17-Mia White*^ (Littleton, Colo.; 11/1), 18-Faith Wylie*^ (Decatur, Texas; 10/6) MIDFIELDERS (8): 8-Erin Cembrale*^ (Oyster Bay, N.Y.; 10/5), 5-Gracie Fitzgerald*^ (Georgetown, Ind.; 17/4), 24-Holly Hunter (Temecula, Calif.; 5/5), 9-Ani Khachadourian*^ (Cary, N.C.; 9/7),16-Emma Neff* (Oakwood, Ohio; 5/1), 14-Paris Price*^ (Fall City, Wash.; 11/1), 7-Sabina Shysh* (Tucson, Ariz.; 1/0), 2-Kate Ward*^ (Atlanta, Ga.; 30/8) FORWARDS (3): 12-Sophie Post*^ (Murry, Utah; 11/6), 20-Hannah Romero (Rialto, Calif.; 0/0), 10-Emily Spreeman*^ (Fountain Valley, Calif.; 23/27) *Part of squad at 2023 DIFA World Deaf Football Championships ^Part of squad at 2022 Deaflympics
FWIW: I noticed that the match on Jun 1 is being televised on the Tru network. This marks the first time I will be able to watch these ladies as their matches are so poorly advertised that I never noticed their matches. Are there any "special" things I should be aware of? I know that the referee's whistle must be a problem and communication with the players as well. Are the referees for "deaf" matches required to be able to sign? Also I guess visual queues are very very important (more than for the non-hearing impaired). The following is intended to funny I hope the more sensitive types do not take what I say as any kind of slight. I can see the scenario where the ref makes a call (or does not make one) and players surround the ref and everyone starts signing and players start slapping each other's hands to make them shut up. Are there any alterations to the laws or procedures? I enjoy watching soccer a lot and, now that i know how to find the matches, there is one more set of matches I have the ability to watch. As long as I do not have to read sing. As that is one of the languages I have never learned, except for a kind of abbreviated version. I have had four deaf or nearly deaf players play for me and they all were pretty good. Fortunately for me they all had mastered lip reading and as long as I kept my mustache trimmed well they had no trouble understanding instructions. I really enjoyed those players. Has any deaf play, male or female, ever played for the full national team? I would think it would be hard for them but I have seen too many people overcome obstacles at least that high but being deaf is unique. I do remember a player many many years ago that had lost, or maybe never had, their ability to speak playing for at least one USA national team but i do not remember their name or even if they were male or female. It was a long time ago, back in the 80s or 90s I think. I know it was before my stint in Laos and I do remember wondering, at the time, if the obstacles to the hearing impaired were to great to overcome. The only major team sport i ever remember actually seeing a deaf player playing regularly was American football. I think he played for the Browns in the 50s or 60s. Thanks for understanding my naivety and please don't yell at me too loudly.
Hi! My daughter, Erin, plays for the USDWNT. As far as the refs go, they use flags. They do not have to or know sign language. We have interpreters there for that. All equipment is off (cochlear implants, hearing aids). They play visually. As you watch, you will see how their heads are always up, looking. This is a tight group of talented ladies. They have been together for years. They are undefeated internationally. 3 Gold Medals. This is an amazing opportunity for them to play on US soil, first time ever! For those that cannot watch the game and would like to, please follow me on Instagram....Newyorkmamaof3.
Thank you very much. I figured that the equipment was not allowed, but i am a little surprised about cochlear implants as those do not seem to have any external component. But I know very little as the only deaf people i have known well are the players that have played for me. Flags make sense and the idea of heads being up and always moving is something I wish there was more of in the regular matches. We have strikers and defenders and goalkeepers that get "target fixation" and do not look around at all. The only player that I have a hard time understand how they could do the "normal" communication required for their position is goalkeeping. You don't want defenders looking at their own goal when attacks happen or when runners are coming from multiple places. I guess I will find out about some of that by watching Saturday. I know that some forms of deafness can be "fixed" by implants but there are people that are deaf that have no way to get their hearing fixed. One of the girls I coached that was deaf was born without any of the normal inner ear structures and she, through another player that signed, told me that she had zero hearing but she could usually tell when someone was yelling at her. She played right wing in an attacking roll and was very good at it in spite of her lack of hearing and the fact that she was VERY left footed. She also, somehow, knew when a players was coming at her from behind. I thought if that could be taught to the hearing players we would have greater ball possession. But I guess you have to be deaf to have that skill. Not one player that we tried to teach that skill to could perform that skill at all. In spite of the deaf girl's willingness, even three players that worked with the girl for over two seasons never saw any improvement in their ability to detect runners from behind. ( But they did get very good at signing.) It was always amazing to me to see the deaf girl turn away from a defender she could not possibly have seen. My tendency to ramble has crept into this post, sorry.
No worries. I love explaining the deaf world to hearing people. The cochlears need to come off as well because that's their transmitter (obviously the metal plate in the head, stays in). But they need to remove all equipment that helps with hearing. They need to have at least 55 decibel lost or more in order to qualify for this team. We do have a few players that are profoundly deaf( absolutely no hearing) that only depend on sign. A lot of the players have really good speech. But all the girls use sign when they are together. Yes, being visually is always a great asset to soccer. The deaf/HOH can feel the vibration of someone behind them. Like when my daughter has her aids out, she cannot hear. But if I put music on, she feels the vibration and gets the beat from that. Even though the ref uses flags, it is hard to get the girls attention when fouled. But if a player sees a flag, they stop, raise their hand and then others begin to stop as well. It's amazing to watch! These ladies have overcome a lot and are very thankful that US soccer has taken them on. All these ladies want to do is bring awareness and to let others with disabilities know to never give up! please google my daughter. Erin Cembrale. In 22 yrs she has accomplished a lot as a deaf person in a hearing world. You can also find her on instagram at erincembrale20. Thank you for your interest. We love bringing awareness