The purposes of this dissertation were to examine the physical and technical demands of collegiate NCAA D-I male soccer players over the course of a competitive season. The following are the major findings of the dissertation: Study 1 – GPS normative data was calculated by position using data from 5 seasons (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022). GPS data was compared by position for 5 different GPS-derived metrics. No statistically significant differences were found in any field or lab testing data by position. Statistically significant relationships were found between physical match performance variables of TD and SPR with both YYIRT-1 and 20m sprint time, as well as between IMA-A and 20m sprint time. These results suggest that both the YYIRT-1 and the 20m sprint test is related to match performance in soccer players of this population. Study 2 – Normative data was provided for technical-tactical variables retrieved via WyScout®, a video analysis software used to tag technical actions of soccer games. Normative technical-tactical data are presented as mean ± SD. Statistically significant low to moderate negative correlations were found between total volume of technical actions and GPS variables. No statistically significant relationships were found between the strength-power lab tests measures and any of the total volume measures of technical actions. Statistically significant low to moderate correlations were found between speed and endurance field tests and total volume of technical actions. Study 3 – The relationship between training load and physical capabilities was examined by using appropriate testing. Bootstrapped ANOVA results showed statistically significant changes in pre and post testing for Static Jump Peak Power in the loaded condition. No other significant changes in lab testing results were found. Statistically significant changes in Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test scores were found in pre- and post-testing. The relationship between GPS training load metrics and percentage of change in the administered test was found to be statistically significant between HSR distance and YYIRT distance, CMJ Peak Power and both TD and IMA-D. Physical capacity of NCAA D-I male soccer players seems to deteriorate over the season, but not differ statistically from baseline measurements. Physical changes could be context-dependent and a consequence of the specific training plan. Overall, soccer performance at the NCAA D-I level is multi-factorial and an analysis of the in-season demands of this population of athletes appears to yield some counterintuitive results.

The present PhD thesis is compilation of various investigations for the development of a physiological profile in women’s soccer. After an extensive literature review, several literature gaps in this area were identified including: physiological demands of a women’s soccer match including simultaneous measurements with portable metabolic equipment and GPS technology; physical performance analysis of women’s soccer competitive matches of different competition levels using GPS technology; and fitness testing and fitness profiles of female soccer players of different competitive levels by means of laboratory and field tests. The investigations that are part of this thesis targeted these gaps and provided for the first time novel and objective findings in these subjects. The popularity of women’s soccer as well as the number of female soccer players worldwide has increased exponentially in the last 30 years. Furthermore, there are now multiple women’s soccer international competitions and professional leagues around the globe and they will continue to increase in the next few years. Therefore, there is currently high demand for scientific research specific to the women’s game in these topics which may aid coaches, physical trainers, and other practitioners to develop more effective fitness assessments and training programs for their female players in order to improve their fitness status and overall match performance according to their competitive level and positional role.:DEDICATION iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION vi ABSTRACT vii LIST OF PUBLICATIONS viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ix LIST OF TABLES xi LIST OF FIGURES xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xiii 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. WOMEN’S SOCCER BACKGROUND 1 1.2. PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FEMALE SOCCER PLAYERS 3 1.3. PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL DEMANDS OF WOMEN’S SOCCER 4 2 DISSERTATION AIMS 6 3 STATE OF THE ART 8 3.1. PORTABLE METABOLIC, HEART RATE AND BLOOD LACTATE MEASUREMENTS 8 3.2. GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) MEASUREMENTS 9 3.3. TEST PROTOCOLS 10 3.3.1. ANTHROPOMETRY ASSESSMENT 10 3.3.2. AEROBIC CAPACITY TESTS 11 3.3.3. SPEED, ANAEROBIC ABILITY AND EXPLOSIVE POWER TESTS 15 4 OWN AREAS OF RESEARCH 18 4.1. PHYSIOLOGICAL DEMANDS OF A WOMEN’S FOOTBALL MATCH (ENGLISH SUMMARY FROM “PHYSIOLOGISCHE BEANSPRUCHUNG EINES FRAUENFUẞBALLSPIELS)” – (P-I) 18 4.2. GPS PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF WOMEN’S SOCCER COMPETITIVE MATCHES OF THE SECOND AND FOURTH GERMAN LEAGUES – (P-IV) 21 4.3. VALIDITY OF THE YO-YO INTERMITTENT RECOVERY TEST LEVEL 1 FOR DIRECT MEASUREMENT OR INDIRECT ESTIMATION OF MAXIMAL OXYGEN UPTAKE AMONG FEMALE SOCCER PLAYERS – (P-II) 25 4.4. FITNESS PROFILES OF GERMAN FEMALE SOCCER PLAYERS (UNPUBLISHED RESULTS) 26 5 CONCLUSIONS AND OUTLOOK 31 5.1. MAIN FINDINGS 31 5.2. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS 33 5.3. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS 33 5.4. FUTURE DIRECTIONS 34 6 REFERENCES 36 EIGENSTÄNDIGKEITSERKLÄRUNG 39 AUTHOR’S RESUME 40 ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS 42 PUBLICATION 1 (P-I) 43 PUBLICATION 2 (P-II) 50 PUBLICATION 3 (P-III) 58 PUBLICATION 4 (P-IV) 74