2010 WPS Power Rankings: Week 8
We are now in Week 8 of the 2010 Women's Professional Soccer season, and in spite of the Atlanta Beat making new changes in the lineup...it's still the Atlanta Beat. While the World Cup is on for the next few weeks, the women's game rolls right along.
On to the rankings:
Paul Riley's Philadelphia Independence are the top team in this week's Power Rankings.
How did they leap ahead of Washington and FC Gold Pride?
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With all due respect to Al Davis, they just won, baby. The Indies defeated Sky Blue FC 2-1 off of goals by Lori Lindsey in the second minute and Amy Rodriguez in the 28th minute.
"I was definitely excited because we are at a point in the season where every game is so important, and a lot of them are based on pure momentum," Rodriguez said after the contest. "I don’t think it was our best soccer, but at the end of the day we got the points that we needed.
"We have to establish ourselves and every game is important, so getting a win at home was important."
Goalkeeper Val Henderson was clutch in the net for Philadelphia with five saves.
"To be honest I thought there was a 25 minute span where we looked outstanding, but I think we were outplayed for a lot of the game," Riley said after the match. "We were slow to the ball, our midfield wasn’t keeping possession, and I thought their offense was extremely dangerous."
"I thought we looked better last week against Washington, but tonight we scored the goals we needed and got the three points."
Philly will next face FC Gold Pride on Sunday, June 13. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel.
Albertin Montoya's FC Gold Pride rise to second in this week's WPS Power Rankings after ending their home campaign at the Castro Valley Athletic Stadium with a scoreless draw against the Washington Freedom.
In the 75th minute, Marta received a pass from Christine Sinclair on the right flank and used her speed to slot the equalizer past Erin McLeod.
The goal was Marta's fourth of the season.
The Lionesses of the Easy Bay were ruthless in their determination to increase their hold on the WPS standings, with 18 shots compared to the Freedom's 10. The Pride also managed 14 corners to just one for Washington. However, the Freedom defense prevented FC Gold Pride from making that possible, forcing a point split.
Despite the draw, the Pride remain two points ahead of the Freedom and Philadelphia Independence for first place at the top of the WPS Standings
The Lionesses of the East Bay go coast to coast when they take on the Philadelphia Independence at John A. Farrell Stadium in West Chester, Pa. on Sunday, June 13. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET and the game will be televised byFox Soccer Channel.
Allie Long's 38th minute goal may have given Jim Gabarra's Freedom a 1-0 lead heading into the break, but they were unable to hold on to the lead as the Freedom settled for a 1-1 draw.
Goalkeeper Erin McLeod made five saves to preserve the draw as wave after wave of Pride attackers kept her on her line.
Homare Sawa nearly stole three points for the Freedom, but her chance off the Sonia Bompastor delivery missed wide.
The Freedom will return to the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown to take on the Chicago Red Stars on Saturday, June 12. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.
Omid Namazi's Chicago Red Stars hosted the Atlanta Beat at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. on Sunday. All they could manage was a scoreless draw.
"I could look at it in a disappointing way and say we dropped some points, but it's my first game here so we're trying to change certain things," Namazi said after the match. "We did some of it, but we were missing that final pass. Our play in the final third wasn't that great, but I was encouraged by the way we controlled the game.
"It's pleasing to me that we can create chances. We have the players who can do things in the final third. Would I have liked to seen one in the back of the net? Sure, but hopefully we can train and get on the same page and make things happen even more."
Namazi was hired as the new manager of the Chicago Red Stars after Emma Hayes was sacked earlier this season.
Early in the the match, Natalie Spilger suffered a bloody gash in a collision with the Beat's Mami Yamaguchi.
That was the only major highlight (or is it lowlight) for Chicago in a match that saw chances for Cristiane miss wide or sail into the arms of new Atlanta Beat goalkeeper Hope Solo.
"I think every game we give our all and we put on a good performance," said Red Stars midfielder Katie Chapman after the contest. "I think we're lacking the final third and scoring goals and that's obviously a big thing in football.
"We need to produce those chances and to finish them."
Chapman herself had a golden opportunity to give Namazi his first victory at the helm (or at least the lead) in the 72nd minute, but she was off on the delivery from Marian Dalmy.
"It came across really quickly," Chapman said on the pass. "I don't think I expected it to come that fast. I think I was really, really close from tapping it in."
"It's one of those opportunities we need to finish to win games."
And what a hatful of opportunities the Red Stars had. Chicago had more shots for the game than Atlanta (16 to five) and had eight of them on goal. But the best teams finish their opportunities, and this is why they are fourth in the WPS Power Rankings.
Chicago will take on the Washington Freedom at the Maryland SoccerPlex on Saturday, June 12. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.
Tony DiCicco's Boston Breakers were off this week. However, they did make some changes over the bye week. A new addition for the Breakers is Lindsay Tarpley.
“Lindsay Tarpley is a wonderful addition for the Breakers,” said DiCicco over the week. “She is a proven goal scorer and a player that finds the way to win. I really look forward to coaching her and I know that Breaker fans will love watching her play.”
The Kalamazoo, Mich. native had played in five matches with the Athletica this season, scoring one goal. Tarpley was traded to Saint Louis from the Chicago Red Stars on January 15, 2010 in exchange for goalkeeper Jillian Loyden. In 2009, Tarpley appeared in 17 games for the Red Stars, scoring four goals and tallying four assists. She was twice named the WPS Player of the week in 2009.
Boston will take on Sky Blue FC next week at Harvard Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 13.
Pauliina Miettenen's Sky Blue FC was back in poor form once again, losing 2-1 to the Philadelphia Union at John A. Farrell Stadium in Chester, Pa.
A Laura Kalmari goal in the 11th minute was all that Sky Blue FC could muster, as they would eventually drop to 3-3-2 for the year.
The match marked the return of Christie Rampone to the pitch for the first time since the 2009 WPS championship game.
"We created chances on the goal line, but we just weren't able to put them away," Miettinen said after the match. "We just need to do a little bit more work on moving faster off the ball, and we will be able to capitalize on those opportunities."
Still, Rampone couldn't hide the glee from being back on the pitch after a long layoff.
"The first thing Kacey did was come straight to me with the captain's band, and it is a truly special feeling to be treated in such a manner by your teammate," Rampone stated. "As far as the game was concerned, everything on the ground felt good today. The next step will be to get more minutes so I can really begin to feel more comfortable.
"Overall, it's just exciting to be back!"
Sky Blue FC outshot Philadelphia 10 to six and has twice as many shots on goal (six to three). But they were unable to figure out the staunch Indies defense, led by goalkeeper Val Henderson.
Sky Blue FC will next take on the Boston Breakers at Harvard Stadium on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET.
A new line-up and new faces...equals to the same old Atlanta Beat.
Gareth O'Sullivan's club had to settle for a scoreless draw with the Chicago Red Stars on Sunday at Toyota Park in Bridgeview.
"I think it was one of those games where we didn't get an opportunity to play that much football," a grim-faced O'Sullivan said after the contest. "I thought that Chicago closed us down very well. And we had a game plan for the second half, but we never really got it going. We tried to make a few adjustments defensively. But our keeper came up big on several occasions and hence the shutout."
The goalkeeper O'Sullivan was referring to was Hope Solo, who made eight saves on the day under thrreatening skies above Chicagoland.
Japanese international Mami Yamaguchi was subbed early after suffering a bloody head-on collision with Natalie Spilger.
With the new acquisitions on hand for Atlanta that included Eniola Aluko, there was no doubt that it would take some time for the group's chemistry to improve.
"It's going to take us a while to jell together as a team and get to know each other," O'Sullivan added. "But at the same time, you can tell that the players we brought in are quality players."
Atlanta will have a week to sort things out before their next match, a June 19 contest with the same Red Stars at Atlanta Beat/KSU Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
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