WPS Weekly, August 4th: It's What's Happening in the WPS

Saint Louis Athletica players found out at halftime of their game Saturday that they had clinched a playoff berth as a result of Washington Freedom’s loss to FC Gold Pride earlier in the afternoon. Then they went out and finished off the Boston Breakers in the second half to wrap up a second-place finish in the 2009 WPS Regular Season—and earn the right to host the WPS Super Semifinal on August 19 that goes with it.

Three teams entered the weekend with the chance to clinch playoff berths—Boston, Saint Louis and Washington—but only the Athletica could get the job done, as three teams will now vie for the final two spots in the WPS Playoffs in the last week of the regular season. Sky Blue FC, the third team with a chance to reach the playoffs, had a bye in Week 19.

FC Gold Pride 3, Washington Freedom 2

For the second time in three head-to-head games between these two teams, a late goal in a high-scoring affair was the difference as FC Gold Pride put Washington’s playoff hopes on hold until Week 20 with a 3-2 victory at Buck Shaw Stadium on an 83rd-minute goal by Adriane.

Washington came in with a chance to clinch a playoff berth, but were undone by FC Gold Pride’s offense which had a multi-goal game for the first time since late April to end a 10-game winless streak. Sixteen goals were scored in three head-to-head games between these cross-country rivals this season. Washington hosts Sky Blue FC to close the season.

Saint Louis Athletica 1, Boston Breakers 0

Saint Louis Athletica were just minutes away from clinching a playoff berth last weekend before giving up a late goal to FC Gold Pride. This week, the Athletica found out at halftime that Washington’s loss had put them in the playoffs—and they went on to notch a 1-0 victory over Boston to secure a place in the WPS Super Semifinal as the second-place finisher in the WPS Regular Season.

A first-half goal by Eniola Aluko—her sixth this season—was all the Athletica needed, as the Breakers failed to score for the third straight game and will see their playoff fate come down to the final weekend.

Chicago Red Stars 3, Los Angeles Sol 1

In a meaningless game in the standings, the Chicago Red Stars defeated the Los Angeles Sol, 3-1 in front of 7,959 fans at Toyota Park, the third-highest attendance on the WPS Season. The Red Stars played one of their most complete games of the season as all three offensive stars—Carli Lloyd, Lindsay Tarpley and Cristiane—notched goals in the upset of the regular season-winners.

Chicago finishes its season Wednesday at Midwest rival Saint Louis, while the Sol travel to Boston on Sunday. Los Angeles is now 0-2-1 in their last three games, but have already clinched a place in the WPS Championship at The Home Depot Center on August 22.

WPS Weekly—Tuesday, August 4

League Standings
Team                           GP    W L T        GF     GA    Points
Los Angeles Sol-z         19    11-3-5        25      9        38
Saint Louis Athletica-y   18      9-6-3        16    14        30
Washington Freedom    19      7-7-5        29    31        26
Boston Breakers           19      7-8-4        17    18        25
Sky Blue FC                18      6-7-5        16    17        23
Chicago Red Stars       19      5-9-5         18    23        20
FC Gold Pride             18      4-9-5         16    25        17

z-clinched regular season title
y-clinched playoff berth

Wednesday, July 29
Washington Freedom 1, Boston Breakers 0

Saturday, August 1
FC Gold Pride 3, Washington Freedom 2
Saint Louis Athletica 1, Boston Breakers 0

Sunday, August 2
Chicago Red Stars 3, Los Angeles Sol 1

The WPS Playoff Picture—Week 19

Updates on the WPS Playoff Picture will be posted on the league website Thursday morning following the Sky Blue FC vs. FC Gold Pride game. The current playoff picture can be viewed at: http://www.womensprosoccer.com/Home/news/general/090726-playoffs.aspx


Lineup Notables

Boston Breakers: The Boston Breakers fell to the Washington Freedom last Wednesday after losing defender Alex Scott to a red card in the fifth minute. Scott and Head Coach Tony DiCicco, who was on a one-game suspension for public criticism towards a referee, were sidelined for the Breakers following match against the Athletica. Forward, Amy Rodriguez, was not on the roster for the two-game road trip.

Chicago Red Stars: In their last home game of the season, Chicago went out with a bang, becoming only the third team in WPS to beat the Sol and the first team to score three goals against them. Carli Lloyd scored her second goal of the year, while Lindsey Tarpley posted a goal and assist Sunday. Cristiane scored her seventh of the season.

FC Gold Pride: Pride midfielder, Kimberly Yokers, scored her first goal of the season in the 8th minute of play against the Freedom off an assist from Eriko Arakawa—her second of the season. Brazilian international, Adriane scored the game-winner and her first goal of the season lifting the Bay Area team to a 3-2 victory over Washington on Saturday. Allison Whitworth started in goal.

Los Angeles Sol: The Sol, in preparation for the championship match, kept Camille Abily off the pitch against the Red Stars as she will not be available for the final due to the Euros. Han Duan, who has struggled in front of the net most of the season, nudged in a ball from Shannon Boxx to give the Sol late hope in their loss Sunday against Chicago. Brittany Bock started the match up top in a two front with Marta and Sharolta Nonen was slotted into the back line.

Saint Louis Athletica: The Athletica secured a bye into the Super Semifinal with a win Saturday against the Boston Breakers. Saint Louis’s lone goal in the match came from English international Eniola Aluko, who will be absent from the WPS playoffs due to the 2009 Euros.

Washington Freedom: WPS Player of Week 18, Abby Wambach, scored the game-winning goal against Boston last Wednesday that put her on a two-game scoring streak. Homare Sawa, proved her effectiveness in the attacking midfield position Saturday against FC Gold Pride and scored her 2nd and 3rd goals of the season.

Quotables From Notables
A few words from players and coaches…

“It helped that we knew at halftime because it helped later in the game to push us, when the legs got tired you just needed to think about what was at stake,” said captain Lori Chalupny.

“It was a big relief, a lot of pressure off our shoulders and now we are in the best position we could possibly be in after Los Angeles clinched first. Tonight was great, the park was packed, and the atmosphere was great. I love this home field and playing here. We have played a lot of games and now we have two games left and 19 days to prepare for the semifinal.”

“My biggest dream is to give St. Louis a title in the WPS and God willing we will make this happen,” said Athletica Head Coach Jorge Barcellos. “I identify a lot with the fans here, the fans are part of the club, they come here to have fun and they believe in the work we do so we want to return that by giving them some happiness.”

“I think we played pretty well,” said Breakers assistant coach Lisa Cole, who filled in for head coach Tony DiCicco tonight following his suspension handed down by the league on Friday. “There were moments in the first half in which we kind of got away from our game plan. We put together a good half and put together several good opportunities that just didn’t fall for us. I’m proud of how we played and competed, but we have to finish.”

“Albertin [Montoya] has been saying the same thing from day one, he has been the one that has had a plan and a vision for this team and he’s really tried to keep the players going that way.  We have players from many different backgrounds many different ages and experiences; it takes some time to get that together. Albertin is the biggest push behind us and I think players are responding,” said FC Gold Pride forward, Tiffeny Milbrett of the team’s performance.


Abby Wambach Is WPS Player of the Month Selection for July

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (August 4, 2009)—Washington Freedom forward Abby Wambach has been named the WPS Player of the Month for July, leading her team to a 3-2-1 record during the month of July and putting the Freedom on the cusp of a playoff berth going into the final week of the WPS Regular Season.

Wambach scored four goals and had one assist, bringing her total to six goals on the season, tied for fourth-most among league leaders. Highlights for Wambach included a two-goal game in a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Chicago Red Stars, and the only goal in a pivotal 1-0 victory over the Boston Breakers at the Maryland SoccerPlex on July 29.

Wambach becomes the first U.S. National Team player to win the WPS Player of the Month Award after Kelly Smith (England, Boston Breakers), Sonia Bompastor (France, Washington Freedom) and Camille Abily (France, Los Angeles Sol) won it in April, May and June. Each voting group—fans, teams and media—accounts for one-third of the final tally. Chicago Red Stars forward Cristiane was second in the voting, with Saint Louis Athletica goalkeeper Hope Solo also receiving considerable votes.


WPS Player of the Week: Week 19

Chicago forward Lindsay Tarpley has been selected WPS's Player of the Week for Week 19 after scoring one goal and assisting another to lead the Red Stars to a 3-1 triumph Sunday over the regular season champion Los Angeles Sol.

Tarpley, the third player honored twice with Women's Professional Soccer's weekly honor, fed Carli Lloyd for Chicago's 24th-minute opener, then doubled the advantage at the start of the second half as the Red Stars (5-9-5) wrapped up their home slate with a win over the league's top team before a season-best Toyota Park turnout of 7,959.

Tarpley also was Player of the Week in Week 15. Sol forward Marta and Washington Freedom forward Abby Wambach are the other two-time winners this season.

Chicago's other winner this season was Brazilian forward Cristiane, who won the vote in Week 16.

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)
Week 16: Cristiane (Chicago Red Stars)
Week 17: Natasha Kai (Sky Blue FC)
Week 18: Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom)
Week 19: Lindsay Tarpley (Chicago Red Stars)

Note: Weeks 1-2 selected by The Soccer Magazine; weeks 3-19 selected by North American Soccer Reporters panel.


Chicago Red Stars See Best Crowd of the Season at Toyota Park

Chicago’s home finale against the Los Angeles Sol had an attendance of 7,959, the third-best crowd on the year and the best crowd at Toyota Park to see a WPS game this season. Nine of the top ten crowds in WPS in 2009 have featured the Los Angeles Sol with the only exception being FC Gold Pride’s home opener on April 5 at Buck Shaw Stadium against the Boston Breakers:

3/29 Los Angeles Sol vs. Washington Freedom     Home Depot Center        14,832
5/2   Boston Breakers vs. Los Angeles Sol         Harvard Stadium                   8,031
8/2   Chicago Red Stars vs. Los Angeles Sol     Toyota Park                    7,959
4/5   FC Gold Pride vs. Boston Breakers         Buck Shaw Stadium                 6,459
5/30 Los Angeles Sol vs. Saint Louis Athletica     Home Depot Center             6,288
5/24 FC Gold Pride vs. Los Angeles Sol        Buck Shaw Stadium                   6,280
5/10 Los Angeles Sol vs. Boston Breakers         Home Depot Center               6,210
4/19 Los Angeles Sol FC vs. Gold Pride         Home Depot Center                  6,119
5/15 Los Angeles Sol vs. Sky Blue FC         Home Depot Center                     6,115
4/5   Sky Blue FC vs. Los Angeles Sol         TD Bank Park                              6,053


Abby Wambach Given Credit for Assist

Upon videotape review, the league has given an assist to Abby Wambach for Allie Long’s 89th minute goal for the Washington Freedom against the Chicago Red Stars on July 26 based on continuous possession guideline for the same team. The goal was previously listed as unassisted.


Tony DiCicco Suspended One Game

Tony DiCicco, head coach of the Boston Breakers, was suspended for his team's August 1 match vs. Saint Louis Athletica, fined $1,000 and required to perform six hours of community service to the sport of soccer. The WPS Disciplinary Committee issued this decision after DiCicco publicly criticized game officials after the Breakers match vs. the Washington Freedom on July 29. 

WPS Disciplinary Committee decisions are posted within 24 hours of the decision on the league website at: http://www.womensprosoccer.com/Home/news/league-discipline.aspx


Goals by the Numbers

Top Scorers—Los Angeles Sol’s Marta (9), Los Angeles Sol’s Camille Abily (8),  Chicago Red Star’s Cristiane (7), Saint Louis Athletica’s Eniola Aluko (6), FC Gold Pride’s Christine Sinclair (6), Washington Freedom’s Abby Wambach (6)

Goals by Team—Washington Freedom (29), Los Angeles Sol (25), Chicago Red Stars (18), Boston Breakers (17), Sky Blue FC (16), Saint Louis Athletica (16), FC Gold Pride (16)

Total Goals—137 goals scored since WPS Inaugural Match on March 29, 2009 with an average of 2.10 goals per game.

Quickest Goal in League Play: Second 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: 2 goals in 3 minutes—42 minute, 45 minute— from Marta in Los Angeles Sol vs. Sky Blue FC match (4/5/09)

Quickest back-to-back goals by both teams: 2 goals in 58 seconds—46 minute, 47 minute—from Kacey White and Lisa De Vanna in Sky Blue FC vs. Washington Freedom match (7/15/09)

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), Chicago Red Stars 4-0 Boston Breakers (4/25/09), and Sky Blue FC 4-4 Washington Freedom (7/15/09)

Most Goals in One Game by both teams: 8, Sky Blue FC 4-4 Washington Freedom (7/15/09)

Most Goals in a Game by a player: 3, Cristiane (Chicago Red Stars vs. FC Gold Pride 7/12/09)

Penalty Kick Rates: 60 percent success rate, 6 out of 10 attempted

Longest Scoring Drought: 451 minutes, Chicago Red Stars


WPS Media Info Section

The WPS Media Info Section is now up and running including specialty stats, team media guides, contacts lists and other media information. It will become more comprehensive in the coming weeks in months in preparation for 2010.
http://www.womensprosoccer.com/news/media-info
Username: WPSinfo
Password:  mediaWPS 


Media Credentials—WPS Playoffs, WPS Championship and WPS All-Star Game

Media and photos credentials for the WPS Playoffs, WPS Championship and WPS All-Star Game will be handled by the local WPS team. Please direct media inquiries about any post-season games to the host team no later than 48 hours in advance of the game.

The 2009 WPS All-Stadium credential will get you into the stadium for the post-season, but does not guarantee a spot in the press room unless you have contacted the local team in advance to request a spot. To obtain a credential application for the inaugural WPS Championship, please email your full name and media affiliation to: [e-mail].


The Weekly Forecast

Wednesday, August 5

Sky Blue FC vs. FC Gold Pride (7 pm ET)

Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ

Sky Blue FC has had a 10-day break to rest and regroup since playing to a 0-0 draw against Boston on July 25 and they needed it. On July 29, Head Coach Kelly Lindsey resigned suddenly with no warning; Sky Blue FC acted quickly to name captain Christie Rampone as Interim Player/Coach, along with veteran soccer coach Mike Lyons as an assistant to finish the season. Rampone is the third coach to lead Sky Blue FC during their turbulent inaugural season, but credit the team’s perseverance for remaining in the playoff hunt until the final week.

Sky Blue FC’s doggedness has left the team with WPS Playoff destiny in its own hands. A pair of wins will not only get Sky Blue FC into the playoffs, but would earn them a home game on August 15 in the WPS First Round.

The New Jersey-side has won back-to-back games only once all year and has struggled against teams not from Boston or Chicago, going a combined 6-0-2 against the Breakers and Red Stars, but 0-7-3 against the rest of the WPS. Against FC Gold Pride, Sky Blue FC will help their cause with a tie or a win, but will still be in playoff contention even if they falter and lose. For its part, FC Gold Pride is looking to finish the season on a high note after going 1-0-2 in its past three games and an exciting 3-2 victory over Washington.

Saint Louis Athletica vs. Chicago Red Stars (8 pm ET)
Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Fenton, MO

These Midwest rivals are 1-1 against each other this season and Chicago will end the season just like it started 2009: with road game at Saint Louis. The Athletica will look to rest some players as they have clinched second place in the WPS Standings and will have two weeks until their next meaningful game with the WPS Super Semifinal on August 19 at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park.

Chicago looks to finish with consecutive wins for the second time this season after defeating league-leading Los Angeles on Sunday. Chicago went in streaks all year: in half of their games—10 times this season—the Red Stars' result in a game was the same result as the week before.


Saturday, August 8

Washington Freedom vs. Sky Blue FC (7 pm ET)
Maryland SoccerPlex, Germantown, MD

The game that every fan circled on their calendars weeks ago is now a playoff elimination game. Regardless of the outcome of this game, one of the teams will have to sit back and watch the Boston Breakers vs. Los Angeles Sol game on Sunday to see if they qualify for the WPS Playoffs. It’s especially a must-win game for Sky Blue FC, if they want to take playoff destiny into their own hands. Washington can still tie and would clinch a playoff berth based on tiebreaker with Sky Blue FC.

The two teams played to a dramatic 4-4 tie in New Jersey on July 15 with Washington’s Cat Whitehill scoring in the final minutes to pull the Freedom level in a game that, looking back, had massive playoff implications for the two teams. And with Boston playing on Sunday with the opportunity to get to 28 points, both Washington and Sky Blue will be looking to get maximum points. In head-to-head play, the record is currently 1-0-1 in favor of Washington with the Freedom at +1 in goal differential (and Sky Blue FC at -1) in games between the two teams.

Sunday, August 9

Boston Breakers vs. Los Angeles Sol (6 pm ET – FSC)
Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA

One thing is certain: Boston will know what they need to do against Los Angeles in order to make the playoffs by the time they step onto the field Sunday evening, based on the two games earlier in the week involving Sky Blue FC. Boston Breakers coaches will be closely watching the Sky Blue FC vs. Washington Freedom game on Saturday as Boston owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over Washington, but Sky Blue FC has the head-to-head tiebreaker over Boston. 

Regardless of the outcome of Sky Blue FC vs. Washington, a victory by Boston would guarantee the Breakers a playoff spot, so the team controls its own destiny. But they face a Los Angeles Sol team that is looking, surprisingly, beatable in the past few weeks. Since a 4-0 victory over Chicago at the end of June, the Sol have gone 1-2-1 with only two goals in four games. The last time the Sol had that kind of limited scoring output was at the end of April/early May, after which the team followed up with a 3-game winning streak and 11-game unbeaten streak.

FC Gold Pride vs. Saint Louis Athletica (8 pm ET)
Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara, CA

The final game of the 2009 WPS Regular Season will see FC Gold Pride and Saint Louis Athletica face off for the second time in two weeks. On July 22, a late goal by Christine Sinclair knotted the score at 1-1 for the Pride and kept Saint Louis from clinching a playoff berth for another week. Saint Louis will not have much to play for having clinched second place in the WPS Standings and the right to host the the WPS Super Semifinal on August 19.

FC Gold will be playing for pride; a win over Saint Louis would give Albertin Montoya’s side a win over five of the league’s six teams they have faced during the course of the season—proving the depth of WPS in its Inaugural Season that on any given day, any team can win.

On TV

The WPS Sunday on FSC match between the Boston Breakers and Los Angeles Sol will air on the Fox Soccer Channel on Sunday, August 9 at 6 pm ET.

WPS Weekly is published each week by the Women's Professional Soccer League public relations office and is excerpted by What's News of the Bleacher Report.  What's News is the alternate profile of Todd Civin and is used to post press releases of the WPS, the AHL and the Eastern Baseball league.

Todd Civin is a freelance writer for the Bleacher Report and Seamheads.com. Todd can be contacted for comment or hire at [e-mail]. His stories can be reprinted only with permission by writing to Todd at this address.  Todd is also a supporter of A Glove of Their Own—the award winning children's story that is capturing the heart of the nation.  Visit www.agloveoftheirown.com for details.