WPS 1st Championship Match Mirrors Inaugural Season: Surprise!

Sky Blue FC Named Underdog Sports "Ultimate Underdogs" in Upset Victory over league behemoth, LA Sol!

Carson, CA (Aug. 22, 2009)—One o'clock PM, Pacific Daylight Time.The stage was set. The fledgling Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league was poised to crown its first champion. The next ninety minutes would tell the story.

It would be a classic American confrontation as iconic as the Gunfight at the OK Corral. And in that sense, it could not be a better match-up for America's newest major sports league, the world's premier organization for professional women's soccer.

Would the eventual winner be a team that loomed as large over the new league through the regular season as the city it represents dominates its nation: the big guns, the bullies, the Los Angeles Sol?

Or would it be a team whose very existence, from the first kickoff to their last minute capture of the final playoff berth, was marred by chaos and instability—the posers, the strangers, Sky Blue FC?

A WPS official who will remain unnamed has been overheard describing Sky Blue FC (like their counterparts FC Gold Pride) as being "geographically challenged." 

But despite its absence of reference in the team identification, Sky Blue is based in New Jersey, and that is significant. The back story of their season could have been adapted from a season of the Sopranos.

You could say this club began its season as a lesser "family" in the "syndicate" of WPS. Although their "boss" Ian Sawyers came with strong soccer credentials, he was unable to command the respect of his players. He was suspended after six matches and terminated soon after, replaced by his No. 2, Kelly Lindsey.

Lindsey's first game at the helm came at Toyota Park versus the host Chicago Red Stars. Expecting to easily dispatch a team they had previously dominated on the field and tied on the scoreboard at their home opener, Chicago left the field at the final whistle in shock. 

Instead of finding their opponents in disarray, it was the Red Stars who had been disoriented. It was the Red Stars who found themselves beaten much worse than the 2-0 score would indicate.

From there, New Jersey continued to show improvement. Under Sawyers, the club had a record of 1-3-2. Beginning with the Chicago romp, the club posted a 5-4-3 mark for Lindsey.

But with two matches and ten days remaining in the season, with the club in fifth place and in the heat of a race for the final playoff berth, Lindsey abruptly resigned.

According to ESPN Soccernet, Lindsey, who was a close personal friend of her assistant, Joe Dorini, showed up at high noon on a Wednesday, just as practice was set to begin.

She handed her General Manager, Gerry Marrone two one sentence notes: her resignation and that of Dorini, who had been suspended the previous day, quickly announced to the players that she was quitting, and walked away.

Dorini had been suspended for what Marrone described as, a "pretty serious personnel issue," and while he could not divulge any details, "any employer would've dealt with (the situation) the same way."

Marrone states he attempted to contact Lindsey late into the evening to advise her of the suspension and the reasons for it, but she ignored his messages, only to arrive and resign without any engagement.

"No matter what that issue was, had she taken the time to hear what I could've told her about it—she could've made an informed decision. Instead, she chose to walk out on the players who were playing for her, with 10 days to go in the season, two games to play and us in the middle of a playoff race.

...I can't imagine any circumstance if I was in her shoes that would've been justifiable to walk out on my team with 10 days to go. None," Marrone said.

Marrone offered the interim head coaching position to 32 year old team captain and U.S. international, Christine Rampone. Rampone immediately accepted, acting as player-coach.

“I just wanted to let everyone have fun”, said Rampone.  “We didn’t need more fitness or desire. We had the players and I just wanted them to enjoy playing”.

On Aug. 5, the playoffs were on the line. Having lost and tied their previous two outings, Sky Blue FC, under their third coach this season, defeated their geographically challenged twins, FC Gold Pride 2-0, in front of a sell-out crowd of 5,455 at home on Yurcak Field in Piscataway.

Things were looking up. But it would all come down to a final showdown with the Washington Freedom. If Sky Blue could defeat the Freedom, they controlled their destiny and clinched a playoff slot.

If this were a movie script, Sky Blue would have come from behind at the last minute and beaten Washongton with seconds left in stoppage time. Instead, it wasn't even close. Washington won 3-1, and the storm clouds scrolled across New Jersey's Sky Blue.

But, wait, there's more. Perhaps this would make a better script.

There was still a chance, but the prospects didn't look good. After clinching the regular season championship, the Los Angeles Sol was taking a three game winless streak to the season finale versus Boston—the only club Los Angeles had not defeated at least once up to that point.

Boston had to win to survive. LA had been playing as if their games were meaningless. It looked as if Boston would win and clinch the fourth and final playoff berth.

But in classic WPS inaugural season form, the unexpected, unlikely outcome occurred. Los Angeles defeated Boston, jettisoning Sky Blue into the playoffs.

When one considers that in addition to the turmoil in the front office, this team had only defeated two teams until the second to the last game of the regular season, their ultimate success is even more remarkable.

Unbelievable as it is, Sky Blue had only defeated Chicago and Boston prior to their final meeting with FC Gold Pride. Even last place Gold Pride came into that match unbeaten by New Jersey.

Sky Blue won that match, but it was the only game the club had won all year against a team other than the Red Stars and Breakers. In other words, Sky Blue FC entered the playoffs having defeated only three of six opponents, and having won the series against only two of six.

But the "clean page" opportunity enjoyed in the playoffs was more than a worn-out sports cliche for this bunch.

After winning their first playoff match against Washington, who had nearly knocked them out of the post-season in the final regular match, Sky Blue surprised the league's hottest team at the close of the season, St. Louis Athletica.

With both matches won on the road, New Jersey showed the world they could win when it counted.

In Washington's house, Sky Blue out-shot the Freedom 22-11 in a 2-1 win. 

In St. Louis, only an all-world game from Athletica and U.S. international goalkeeper Hope Solo, kept the game close.  The final score: 1-0 on the strength of Keeley Dowling's first career goal. With the win, Sky Blue FC had their ticket punched to the WPS Med-Immune Championship Game.  

And there they were, on the home turf of the LA Sol, the club that had opened the back door to the playoffs for New Jersey two weeks before by defeating Boston; the club that had dominated the league for most of the season and was a heavy favorite to win the ultimate prize.

So, the stage was set. Shootout in the LA Corral. 7,218 partisan fans were ready. Their heroes, the big guns were ready. The posers were ready. The whistle blew. The match was underway. 
 
It didn't take long for the posers to fire the first shot. 

In the 17th minute, outside back Keeley Dowling served a ball into the box from the right flank. Natasha Kai, positioned in the center of the box flicked the ball to Heather O'reilly (Most Valuable Player of the match) who was waiting at the back post.

O'Reilly's solid shot caromed off Sol keeper Karina LeBlanc's foot, and into the right side of the goal for the 1-0 advantage.  

New Jersey's Sky grew Blue-er in the 27th minute when defender Allison Falk was sent off for tripping Natasha Kai from behind. The foul occurred as the New Jersey forward dribbled towards the goal.  This left Sky Blue FC with a player up for the remaining 63 minutes.

The Sol compensated for Falk’s loss by substituting defender Sharolta Nonen for midfielder McCall Zerboni in the 35th minute, and dropping midfielder Manya Makoski onto the backline. But, while it would prevent further damage, the adjusted lineup would be unable to even the score.

There were some chances, however.

Early in the second half, Sol's Aly Wagner sent a long, aerial ball into the goalmouth. It was close, but Jersey keeper Jenni Branam was able to out-jump Brittany Bock to catch the ball and deny the goal.

In the 52nd minute, Sol midfielder Aya Miyama dribbled into the box. New Jersey's Keeley O’Reilly made a clean, yet dangerous tackle to prevent an attempt. 

In the 71st minute, Shannon Boxx drilled a shot to the lower left corner, which Branam pushed out of bounds.

In the 84th minute, Marta took a dangerous shot that Branam parried just wide, causing a corner kick. 

Corner Kick. The hometown fans had reason to be hopeful. Their club had often waited until late in a match, sometimes into stoppage time, before settling the outcome.

Corner kick launched. Hometown hopes were rising.

The ball fell to LA's Shannon Boxx at the back post. The home crowd's anticipation of an equalizer was palpable.

Boxx slid a pass to substitute Lyndsey Patterson near the top of the six yard box. Branum connected with the ball but bobbled it. Loose ball. Home crowd hopes soared.

Loose ball. Patterson versus Branum. Time stood still.

Loose ball. Patterson charging. Branum falling.

Then... at the last possible minute, Branum landed on the ball, cradling it like a baby beneath her, denying the big guns' a last shot.  

It should be noted that Branum herself is an underdog story. She started the season as No. 2 keeper on the New Jersey roster. After a few half and half duels with Karen Bardsley for the starting spot, Branum finally prevailed, but not without uncertainty. 

She battled injuries and illness and played with a frenetic, high-risk style that had given Sky Blue FC fans many anxious moments during the season. Still, like her team, she came through when it counted.

“Amazing,” Player-Coach Rampone said of Branam, “Jenni was a huge part of our success.  She allows the backline to hold a higher line at times because she comes off her line.  She basically won a lot of these games for us. She does get hit and she goes down, but I know nothing is going to keep her off the field.”

And so it is over. Shootout in the LA Corral. The smoke has cleared. The posers remain standing.

It could not be more fitting that a league's historic first championship match would go like this. It was a season in which the only thing predictable throughout the campaign was that the unpredictable would happen.

It was a season with one dominant club and six others who played a continuous game of musical chairs in the standings, where the final playoff berth was in play until the final day of action.

It was a season in which most matches were decided by one goal or less, in which, for weeks at a time, two points separated four clubs.

And so, with such a trend, should we not have expected a suspenseful match, an unpredictable outcome, and a victory for the posers over the big guns?

And what about the posers? Can anyone begrudge Sky Blue FC this victory, even in Los Angeles. To have begun so slowly, to have overcome all they have overcome, to play for or in spite of three head coaches, and yet to have finally hit their stride at the onset of the playoffs under the tutelage of a player-coach?

How could anyone begrudge them? How could anyone invent a better story (yet this one is true)?

New Jersey/New York Sky Blue FC reigns as the inaugural champions of Women's Professional Soccer, and in the world of women's professional club soccer, that makes the World Champions as well. 

And finally, one more, albeit lesser honor. At the conclusion of the match, citing Sky Blue FC's tremendous story, Underdog Sports e-zine (www.underdog.sports.officelive.com) announced it has crowned a new Ultimate Underdog.