Sarah Teegarden – '67 in the heat of Felton

The envelope, please …

Remember where you heard it first: In my last blog post, I outlined the conundrum for picking this year’s Player of the Year. So what does the club go and do, in the advent of this weekend’s semifinal at Hampden against Old Firm FC? Celtic has decided to release the ballots for superlative players and performances for the year.

Thanks, guys!

Go and vote here. Meanwhile, here’s how I voted, if you are interested.

Player of the Year: Joe Hart

First things first: Each of the nominees are easily qualified for the award, and truly there are no wrong answers on this one. It takes a special type of leadership to harness the wide range of talent at Celtic, so that’s where Callum McGregor deserves the award. Tom Rogic’s renaissance on the pitch this season has been a godsend. Jota zooming past defenders on the wing is a joy to watch, and he gets what Celtic is all about, which of course begs the question why the club hasn’t signed him yet. Kyogo Furuhashi is a phenomenal threat whenever he sets foot on the pitch. Cameron Carter-Vickers is the linchpin of the airtight Celtic defense and, like Jota, needs to be signed as soon as possible.

But I am sticking with Joe Hart. Hart’s reboot between the sticks at Celtic is, in large part, one of the primary reasons for the Hoops remarkable turnaround. Many times, goalkeepers tend to get overlooked, unless they become a goal-leaking sieve, but Hart has been a rock. A wall. All of the candidates deserve the nod, but I would give it to Hart.

Honorable mention: Given a second choice, I’d go with CCV.

Goal of the Season: Kyogo Furuhashi vs Ferencvaros

Those who know me know that I am a sucker for long-range shots. So you might think that I might go with David Turnbull’s shot against Motherwell or Reo Hatate against Hearts, but no. And while Tom Rogic navigating the Dundee United defense deserves special mention, I have to go with Kyogo Furuhashi’s goal against Ferencvaros, not only for the goal itself but for the remarkable long pass from Jota that put the ball right at the Japanese lad’s instep at mid-stride on his way to the goal. If there’s any clip of any goal that should be taught at soccer academies worldwide, it’s this one.

Honorable Mention should also go to both of Kyogo’s goals against Hibs as well.

Young Player of the Year: Liel Abada

Another category where all the candidates are deserving, even with David Turnbull out with injury for a significant portion of the season. Matt O’Riley’s play since coming to Celtic has put him in the starting blocks of becoming a Celtic favorite, and maybe someday a Celtic legend. And B-team/Academy grad Stephen Welsh shows what hard work and good training with the B team can produce for Celtic.

But Liel Abada gets the nod because, more often than not, he’s always at the right place at the right time and deserved the award this year.

Honorable mention should go to Matt O’Riley, who will definitely be on annual ballots for years to come.

Women’s Player of the Year: Charlie Wellings

In the words of the ancient Charlie perfume ad: Kinda young, kinda now, kinda free, kinda wow. Charlie Wellings has been a scoring machine for the Ghirls this season and makes her the clear choice. And though both Jacynta Galabadaarachchi and Olivia Chance are both remarkable players worthy of the award, it’s unfortunate that this category wasn’t expanded to include other candidates, like my American homeghirl Sarah Harkes.

So, how did you vote?

Mon the Hoops.

Kelly won the league at K-Park

I think I’ve seen this movie before: The team captain, a midfielder, painfully late in the game on a corner kick that goes amiss, rams home the winning goal with seconds left to spare in injury time.

Scott Brown winning the league at Rugby Park?

No, Kelly Clark winning the inaugural pro game for Celtic FC Women at K-Park, in less than ideal playing conditions on Friday night to give the Hoops the opener, and new coach Fran Alonso his first win at the helm.

Also noteworthy: Clark didn’t get a red card for celebrating.

There’s probably a song in there somewhere for Clark, but the Ghirls in Green, facing a tenacious Glasgow City FC team and an even more tenacious rain, prevailed in horrendous conditions 2-1 to start the season.

Thank you, Celtic TV, for carrying the game, even though Tom Boyd seemed a little subdued for the course of the game — I get it, Tom: The weather was awful. And in a game that was very well played by both sides and with a draw all but certain, the never-say-die ghirls pulled it out in breathtaking fashion.

American midfielder Sarah Teegarden came close to scoring at 26 minutes after a pass from Sarah Ewens, but the shot went wide. Teegarden also nearly scored again later close to the 40-minute mark after a pass from her compatriot Summer Green, but her shot again went wide.

Glasgow City FC’s opened the scoring just after the start of the second half when Clare Shine scored on a corner that the Hoops were unable to clear. However, nearly three minutes later, Ewens equialized for Celtic with a stunner that ended up in the top left corner of the net.

Here’s hoping the ghirls build on this victory. Next for the Celtic FC Women is at Ainslie Park Stadium for an away game against Spartans FC on March 1. Hopefully, the game will be bit drier than it was Friday evening.

Buffalo gals, won’t you come out tonight?

Americans Summer Green and Sarah Teegarden join the Celtic FC Women.

While a lot of the focus on “who will Celtic sign” is aimed primarily on the men’s team at the moment, the newly professional Celtic FC Women have been hard at work, signing players and a new coach.

Not only is the focus on quality players local, Celtic FC Women have been looking abroad as well, and the squad is bolstered by two American stars, Summer Green and Sarah Teegarden.

I wish they all could be California ghirls: Born in Arcadia and raised in nearby Monrovia in Southern California, Sarah Teegarden grew up a star in the area as a player for Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, before a stellar college career at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. She was captain for two years while starting all 75 games she played for the Demon Deacons, logging a total of 6,648 career minutes on the pitch.

Teegarden sandwiched a short stop with the North Carolina Courage of the National Women’s Soccer League in 2018 between a stint with Gotenborg FC women in 2017, where she spent most of her European playing time, and Lille OSC in 2019.

Summer Green, a forward, graduated a year early from high school in Michigan in order to start her college soccer career at the University of North Carolina (incidentally, a rival of Teegarden’s alma mater, Wake Forest). A mainstay in the USA teams at the U-17, U-20, and U-23 levels, Green has the distinction of setting a record of 12 goals in five games during the CONACAF qualifications as a U-17 player in 2012; a feat that included three hat-tricks during the tournament.

After being drafted in 2016 by the Seattle Reign in the NWSL, Green sat out the season due to an injury she picked up in the NCAA college tournament. She was traded to the Chicago Red Stars for a draft pick the following season, and played for Chicago before moving to Vittsjo in Sweden in 2019.

It’s great that both Teegarden and Green bolster an already strong Celtic Ghirls squad, joining new signees Chloe Logan, Keeva Keenan, Chloe Craig, Sarah Ewens and Natalie Ross, all of whom have agreed to new professional contracts with the club, along with new head coach Fran Alonso.