WPS Weekly July 8, 2009: It's What's Happening in the WPS

Los Angeles Can Clinch WPS Regular Season Title on Wednesday

With five weeks left in the WPS Regular Season, the Los Angeles Sol have opened up a 17-point lead in the WPS Standings, with only the second-place St. Louis Athletica and third-place Boston Breakers having any mathematical chance at overtaking the Sol in the table.

The top two teams in WPS will battle it out at 3 p.m. Eastern/noon Pacific on Wednesday, July 8 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. with Los Angeles having its first opportunity to officially clinch the regular season title with a victory against St. Louis at home.

A tie would also benefit the Sol, as a draw would keep the gap between the two teams at 17 points, which means Athletica would have to win all six of its remaining games and Los Angeles would have to fail to earn a single point in their three remaining games this season for Saint Louis to overtake the Sol.

A tie would also mean that the Boston Breakers would have to win all of its remaining seven games for any chance to overtake Los Angeles, while also needing Los Angeles to falter down the stretch.

Not only would Los Angeles capture the trophy that goes with the regular season title with a win but under the WPS Playoff format, the Sol would earn the right to host the WPS Championship on Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Home Depot Center.

Weekend Report

With another shutout from goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc and another clutch goal from star forward Marta, the Los Angeles Sol moved just one win away from clinching the WPS regular season crown when they defeated the Washington Freedom, 1-0, Sunday in front of a packed house at the Maryland SoccerPlex.

The Athletica escaped with a 1-0 victory at FC Gold Pride on Sunday evening and moved into second place in the WPS Standings, two points ahead of the Boston Breakers, who were defeated 1-0 by Sky Blue FC on Independence Day.

With its win, Sky Blue FC moves just one point behind Washington in the race for the fourth and final playoff position in WPS.

Sky Blue FC 1, Boston Breakers 0

With every game crucial to its playoff hopes, Sky Blue FC got a game-winning goal in the sixth minute when Heather O'Reilly scored directly off a corner kick.

Goalkeeper Jenni Branam led a strong defensive effort in goal, as Sky Blue FC held on for a 1-0 victory over the Boston Breakers. With the win, Sky Blue FC improves to 4-6-3 for 15 points and moves into fifth place in the standings.

The Breakers drop to 5-5-3 for 18 points. It was the second straight one-goal win for Sky Blue FC over Boston.

Sky Blue FC’s four wins this year have come against two teams—Chicago and Boston—and the New Jersey-side will look to clinch the season series against Boston with a win or tie this weekend in the second of two straight games against the Breakers.

Los Angeles Sol 1, Washington Freedom 0

The Sol rallied in the closing moments to break a scoreless tie and defeat the Washington Freedom, 1-0, at the Maryland SoccerPlex in front of 5,143 fans on Sunday night.

The Sol became the first team in WPS to clinch a playoff berth last week, traded scoring opportunities with the Freedom for the first 90 minutes of the match before three-time FIFA World Player of the Year Marta found the back of the net in stoppage time.

In the 91st minute, Marta collected a pass left of the area from Japanese international Aya Miyama, touched it and immediately drilled a shot towards the far post to give the Sol its fourth consecutive victory and extend its unbeaten streak to 11 games.

St. Louis Athletica 1, FC Gold Pride 0

Athletica midfielder Lori Chalupny struck what may have been one of the most clutch goals of her career to give St. Louis Athletica a 1-0 win over FC Gold Pride at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

Chalupny’s 73rd minute effort was a cleanly struck line drive from well outside the left edge of the penalty area that beat Nicole Barnhart to the upper far corner.

The goal, Chalupny’s second of the year, gave Athletica a hard earned three points and moves them into sole possession of second place in the WPS standings. 

FC Gold Pride are now winless since May 16 and have fallen into last place in the WPS Standings, just four points from the playoff position.

Lineup Notables

Chicago Red Stars: The Red Stars made WPS history Wednesday, when they came back from a one-goal deficit to beat the Washington Freedom 2-1.

Lindsay Tarpley tied Kristine Lilly and Abby Wambach as the only American players in WPS to reach a three-goal tally this season. Ella Masar made her first appearance (for one minute) since injuring her hip against FC Gold Pride on June 7. Chioma Igwe sat out the match due to yellow card accumulation.

Boston Breakers: With sporadic appearances in the starting lineup since the beginning of the season, Nancy Augustyniak-Goffi, returned to the starting 11, leaving recent regular Candace Chapman out. Recently signed Sophia Mundy made her second appearance with the Breakers.

FC Gold Pride: 1999 World Cup veteran and Brazilian star, Sissi, set foot on the pitch for the first with the Pride since she was added to the developmental roster June 16. Along with Sissi, former '99er Brandi Chastain made only her fourth appearance in a game this season. A surprise in the frontline of starters was Brazilian defender Erika.

Los Angeles Sol: On a four-game goal streak, Sol forward Marta surpassed her teammate Camille Abily and became the league-leader in goals scored with nine. Her goal Sunday lifted the Sol to a 1-0 win in the 91st minute.

Christie Shaner, acquired on a trade with Sky Blue FC, made her first start and appearance with the team, but left the match in the 52nd minute after colliding with Freedom forward Abby Wambach.

St. Louis Athletica: The Athletica’s 1-0 win over FC Gold Pride Sunday was in large part due to the outstanding saves made by Hope Solo, who kept several late chances by the Pride out of the net. Her shutout total went up to five for the season, a number second to league-leader Karina LeBlanc of the Sol.

Sky Blue FC: With a stroke of good fortune, Heather O’Reilly became the second WPS player to score directly off a corner-kick this season, which proved to be the game-winner against Boston Saturday; the first corner-kick goal came from the Athletica’s Lori Chalupny.

Former St. Louis Athletica forward Kerri Hanks made her debut with the New Jersey club and posted 22 minutes.

Washington Freedom: On Wednesday, Abby Wambach became tied with Lindsay Tarpley and Kristine Lilly as the only American players in WPS to tally three goals this season.

Defender Sarah Senty earned her first start this season on Sunday. Allie Long played as a substitute for the first time this season, and only logged eight minutes in Sunday’s match.


Quotables From Notables
A few words from players and coaches…

“It was a great ball from Tina Ellertson to free me up on the left side,” said Athletica captain Lori Chalupny. “I took a good first touch across the defender to find some space. It couldn’t have been a better strike, upper corner, far post.”

"Obviously it was a little bit of a lucky goal for us, but at the same time I think that we created enough chances and that we deserved a goal today," said Sky Blue FC head coach Kelly Lindsey. "It's not necessarily the way we mapped it out in practice, but we'll gladly take it."

"I can't say that I meant to bend that in on goal, but if you create chances, good things will happen," said Sky Blue’s Heather O'Reilly said. "We did a good job of earning that corner kick, and luck was on our side today. We've been missing out on good fortune all season; maybe the tide has turned."

“The first half we could have been up 2-0 but had a couple of bad breaks,” said Washington Freedom head coach Jim Gabarra. “Chicago also had several opportunities to score but either squandered them or Erin (McLeod) would make a great save.”

“We felt that we could have won this game. We are creating opportunities, we are being dangerous,” Gold Pride head coach Albertin Montoya said. “It’s not like we are constantly being bombarded in our goal, if anything it was the other way around.”


WPS Player of the Week: Week 15

Chicago forward Lindsay Tarpley has been selected WPS's Player of the Week for Week 15 after leading the Red Stars to a come-from-behind victory over the visiting Washington Freedom.

On Wednesday, Tarpley, a U.S. national team standout, assisted Cristiane's equalizer in the 48th minute and netted the winner in the 61st as Chicago prevailed, 2-1. The Red Stars are the first WPS team to notch a victory after trailing in the game.

Tarpley is the first Chicago player to win the honor and the fifth U.S. national-teamer awarded, joining Los Angeles' Aly Wagner (Week 4), Washington's Abby Wambach (Week 5), Saint Louis' Lori Chalupny (Week 7) and Los Angeles' Shannon Boxx (Week 10).

WPS's Player of the Week award is selected by a panel of writers with the North American Soccer Reporters.

WPS Players of the Week
Week 1: Aya Miyama (Los Angeles Sol)
Week 2: Marta (Los Angeles Sol)
Week 3: Kelly Smith (Boston Breakers)
Week 4: Aly Wagner (Los Angeles Sol)
Week 5: Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom)
Week 6: Sonia Bompastor (Washington Freedom)
Week 7: Lori Chalupny (Saint Louis Athletica)
Week 8: Christine Sinclair (FC Gold Pride)
Week 9: Jillian Loyden (Saint Louis Athletica)
Week 10: Shannon Boxx (Los Angeles Sol)
Week 11: Camille Abily (Los Angeles Sol)
Week 12: Eniola Aluko (Saint Louis Athletica)
Week 13: Erin McLeod (Washington Freedom)
Week 14: Marta (Los Angeles Sol)
Week 15: Lindsay Tarpley (Chicago Red Stars)

Note: Weeks 1-2 selected by The Soccer Magazine; weeks 3-9 selected by North American Soccer Reporters panel.

Abily wins WPS Player of the Month for June

Los Angeles Sol midfielder Camille Abily was selected as the WPS Player of the Month for June in a voting by fans, teams, and media.

The 24-year-old French international from Rennes had five goals in the month of June helping the Sol to an undefeated 4-0-2 record for the month and an impressive 16-point lead in the WPS Standings as the Sol close in on the WPS Regular Season crown.

Highlights for Abily included a two-goal game in a 3-1 victory over the Washington Freedom and a stoppage-time goal against the Chicago Red Stars to earn Los Angeles an exciting 1-1 draw and remain undefeated at home this season.

Los Angeles Sol’s Marta Nominated for ESPY

The current and three-time FIFA World Player of the Year, Marta has been nominated in the category of Best Female International Athlete.

She will be competing against Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, Mexican golfer Lorena Ochoa, Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice, and Russian tennis player Dinara Safina.

The ESPYS, which take place July 15 and air July 19, are the one night each year where athletes from all sports join together to celebrate the best moments of the year. Marta leads the league in scoring.

Roster Freeze Date Set for July 15

All WPS player contracts were guaranteed as of July 1 for the rest of the season and the roster freeze date for the 18-player roster is at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific on July 15. Movement and transactions among developmental players is still allowed.


Athletica and KPLR 11 Announce Broadcast Agreement

Saint Louis Athletica announced a local television broadcast agreement with KPLR 11 who will air two Athletica games this season. That brings the television coverage for WPS to 28 of 70 regular season games.

The two new matches scheduled for broadcast are on Saturday, July 18 in Washington, when Athletica visits RFK Stadium to face the Washington Freedom and Saturday, August 1 when Athletica hosts the Boston Breakers at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park. The broadcast dates and times for the two matches are as follows:

Saturday, July 18 – 3:30 p.m, Pre-Game Show
4:00 p.m. Athletica @ Washington Freedom

Saturday, August 1 – 6:30 p.m. Pre-Game Show
7:00 p.m. Athletica vs. Boston Breakers

English Internationals Called up for National Team Duty Next Week

Several English national team players in WPS have been called up by English national team trainer Hope Powell for next week’s friendlies against Iceland on July 16 and Denmark on July 22.

They include: Karen Bardsley (Sky Blue), Alex Scott (Boston Breakers), Anita Asante (Sky Blue), Kelly Smith (Boston Breakers) and Karen Carney (Chicago Red Stars).


U.S. Internationals Called Up for Games against Canada

U.S. National Team Coach Pia Sundhage called up 18 players from WPS for U.S. National Team friendlies against Canada on July 19 and July 22. WPS players include:

Goalkeepers: Nicole Barnhart (FC Gold Pride), Hope Solo (St. Louis Athletica)

Defenders: Rachel Buehler (FC Gold Pride), Stephanie Cox (Los Angeles Sol), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis Athletica), Amy LePeilbet (Boston Breakers), Heather Mitts (Boston Breakers), Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC), Cat Whitehill (Washington Freedom)

Midfielders: Shannon Boxx (Los Angeles Sol), Angela Hucles (Boston Breakers), Carli Lloyd (Chicago Red Stars), Heather O’Reilly (Sky Blue FC), Leslie Osborne (FC Gold Pride), Megan Rapinoe (Chicago Red Stars), Lindsay Tarpley (Chicago Red Stars)
Forwards: Amy Rodriguez (Boston Breakers), Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom)


WPS Concludes Remembering 1999 Tribute Days

Two WPS teams will celebrate the 10th Anniversary and the legacy of the 1999 Women’s World Cup by recognizing members from that legendary team, as WPS concludes its Remembering ’99 tribute series this weekend with special appearances from players and a trophy tour of the 1999 World Cup trophy organized in conjunction with the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

On July 12th, the Boston Breakers will salute Tony DiCicco, Lauren Gregg, Kristine Lilly and Danielle Fotopolous while the Chicago Red Stars will honor Brandi Chastain and Briana Scurry, two current WPS players, at their game against FC Gold Pride later that day. The 1999 World Cup was held June 19-July 10, 1999.


Second Set of WPS Camps underway Next Week

WPS Camps will be held in Dallas with Athletica’s Stephanie Logterman making an appearance. For interview requests with player making appearances or further information, please contact [e-mail].


Goals by the Numbers
Top Scorers – Los Angeles Sol’s Marta (9), Los Angeles Sol’s Camille Abily (8), Boston Breakers’ Kelly Smith (5), FC Gold Pride’s Christine Sinclair (5)

Goals by Team – Los Angeles Sol (24), Washington Freedom (18), Boston Breakers (14), Saint Louis Athletica (12), FC Gold Pride (11), Chicago Red Stars (10), Sky Blue FC (9),

Total Goals – 98 goals scored since WPS Inaugural Match on March 29, 2009 with an average of 2.04 goals per game.

Quickest Goal in League Play: 2nd minute of play, Eniola Aluko – Saint Louis Athletica vs. Sky Blue FC (6/28/09), Kelly Smith – Boston Breakers vs. Los Angeles Sol (5/2/09)

Quickest back-to-back goals by one team: two goals in three minutes – 42nd minute, 45th minute, from Marta in Los Angeles Sol vs. Sky Blue FC match (4/5/09)

Most Goals in One Game by one team: 4, Los Angeles Sol 4-0 Chicago Red Stars (6/27/09), Washington Freedom 4-3 FC Gold Pride (4/26/09), and Chicago Red Stars 4-0 Boston Breakers (4/25/09)

Most Goals in One Game by both teams: 7, Washington Freedom 4-3 FC Gold Pride (4/26/09)

Most Goals in a Game by a player: 2, Marta (Los Angeles Sol – 6/27/09, 4/5/09), Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom – 4/26/09), Daniela (Saint Louis Athletica – 5/3/09), Sonia Bompastor (Washington Freedom – 5/3/09), Camille Abily (Los Angeles Sol – 6/7/09)


Scoring First Is Key To Success

While Chicago Red Stars became the first team to come from behind to win a WPS game last week in their 2-1 defeat of Washigton, scoring first is still a huge factor in the outcomes in league play.

With three 1-0 results in Week 15, teams that score first are now an impressive 35-1-7 this season when scoring the opening goal of the game (out of 48 total games). WPS has had 5 scoreless ties this season.


The Weekly Forecast

Wednesday, July 8

Los Angeles Sol vs. St. Louis Athletica (3:00 pm ET)
Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.
In the midst of an 11-game unbeaten and four-game winning streak, the Los Angeles Sol have put themselves on the cusp of the WPS Regular Season title.

A victory over St. Louis on Wednesday will officially crown them as champions of the regular season and give the Sol the right to host the WPS Championship on Aug. 22.

But to get there, the Sol will have to get through the Athletica, who have clearly been the league’s No. 2 team the past two months, posting a 6-3-0 record since starting the season 0-2-2.

The Athletica have played Los Angeles tough on two occasions; both times at home in St. Louis. The third game was a comfortable 2-0 victory for Los Angeles on May 30 at The Home Depot Center on goals by Camille Abily and Shannon Boxx in each half.

In their last matchup, Saint Louis outshot L.A. more than two-to-one but came up short in a 2-1 loss at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park.

It’s the final home game of the season for Los Angeles and their last game prior to a 15-day stretch of no games until facing FC Gold Pride on July 23.

If the Sol fail to clinch the title on Wednesday with a win, they could very much clinch it if Boston and St. Louis fail to earn maximum points on games played while the Sol are idle.


Sunday, July 12

Boston Breakers vs. Sky Blue FC (6 p.m. ET - FSC)
Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA

The second game of a home-and-home series between the league’s two Northeast rivals is another huge game with playoff implications.

The Boston Breakers entered the two-game series with a six point lead in the standings over Sky Blue FC, but after a loss this past weekend at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, N.J., the Breakers face the possibility of being level on points with Sky Blue FC and losing any tiebreak advantage in the WPS Standings if the New Jersey side can pull out another win.

Sky Blue FC has four wins on the year: two each against Boston and Chicago. But the Breakers have been tough at home with the league’s second-best home field record after Los Angeles, with their only home loss coming to Saint Louis in mid-June.

They were shut out that game by the Athletica as compared with three shutouts on the road for Boston; so look for the Breakers to put at least one or two goals in the back of the net, especially if they have Brazilian international Fabiana at their disposal for the first time this season.

Sky Blue FC continues to struggle with scoring with a measly goals-per-game average of .69 per game but clutch performances by Natasha Kai in one game, Heather O’Reilly in another, and a stingy defense have kept them in the thick of the playoff hunt, just one point back.

A tie by Sky Blue FC would move them into a tie for fourth with the Washington Freedom ...at least for a short while pending the outcome of the late game at Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.


Chicago Red Stars vs. FC Gold Pride (8 p.m. ET - CSN)
Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL

FC Gold Pride is in the same position Chicago found itself in last week: desperate for a win.

Having notched only two points in the WPS Standings since mid-May with a pair of ties, FC Gold Pride needs a win to put them back in the thick of the playoff hunt.

The last FC victory was against this very Red Stars side, 1-0, on May 16 in Chicago.

A tie would also benefit the home side a bit as it would clinch the season series with Chicago against whom they are 1-0-1 coming into the game. But a victory by more than a one-goal margin would give Chicago the series series.

Albertin Montoya shook up his lineup with some subs in the second-half against St. Louis leading to several offensive surges, but no goals as the Gold Pride continue to rely on Christine Sinclair as their only real scoring threat.

On the Chicago side, the Red Stars are rejuvenated after ending their ugly nine-match winless streak and record 451-minute scoreless streak with a solid 2-1 victory over the Washington Freedom last Wednesday, becoming the first WPS team to come from behind to win a game.

Look for a tense affair on both sides of the ball as this becomes practically a must-win game for both teams to stay alive in the hunt for the final playoff spot with both teams scheduled to face league leaders Los Angeles in the final weeks of the season.

League Standings
Team                         GP    W L T       GF  GA  Points
Los Angeles Sol         16    11-1-4       24     5    37
St. Louis Athletica     13    6-5-2        12    12    20
Boston Breakers        13    5-5-3        14    14    18
Washington Freedom  14    4-6-4        18    22    16
Sky Blue FC              13    4-6-3          9    11    15
Chicago Red Stars      14    3-6-5        10    16    14
FC Gold Pride             13    3-7-3        11    18    12

Wednesday, July 1
Chicago Red Stars 2, Washington Freedom 1

Saturday, July 4
Sky Blue FC 1, Boston Breakers 0

Sunday, July 5
Los Angeles Sol 1, Washington Freedom
Saint Louis Athletica 1, FC Gold Pride 0


Off
Washington Freedom are off in Week 16


On TV
The WPS Sunday on FSC match between the Boston Breakers and Sky Blue FC will air on the Fox Soccer Channel on Sunday, July 12 at 6 pm ET.

The Sunday, July 12 match between the Chicago Red Stars and FC Gold Pride will air on Comcast Sports Network at 8 pm ET.

The WPS Weekly is reprinted each week by What's News with permission of the Women's Professional Soccer League. What's News is the alternate profile of Bleacher Report wirter Todd Civin and is used for press releases by the WPS and AHL. Todd Civin can be reached at [e-mail] for hire or comment.

Photo Credit: Argueta | isiphotos.net

Caption: Los Angeles Sol captain Shannon Boxx takes on the Washington Freedom's Homare Sawa.