2010 WPS Power Rankings: Week 11
As the 2010 FIFA World Cup enters the knockout stages, the 2010 Women's Professional Soccer season rolls on.
Let's take a look at this week's WPS Power Rankings.
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Paul Riley's Philadelphia Independence could have easily secured a clean sweep this past week.
Nonetheless, their win over the Washington Freedom and draw with Atlanta Beat placed the Indies first in this week's Power Rankings.
Ironically it could have been a win over the Beat and a draw with the Freedom. But the outcome is what it is.
On Wednesday, Philadelphia almost bested the Beat again, but Tina Ellertson spoiled those plans with a header from Aya Miyama to make it 2-2 at the Beat/KSU Soccer Stadium in Kennessaw, Georgia.
Amy Rodriguez earned her fourth of the season with a delivery from Danesha Adams in the 35th minute to level the scoreline at 1-1.
Stacy Bishop gave up a howler for the Beat in the second half. Her own goal in the 48th minute made it 2-1 Philadelphia, a lead the Indies would squander late in stoppage time.
Karina LeBlanc made four saves in the draw. Philadelphia committed seven fouls against Atlanta in what was a physical contest from start to finish.
However, the luck of stoppage time would fall in Philly's favor at John A. Farrell Stadium in West Chester as the Indies edged Washing 3-2 on a 91st minute goal by Lianne Sanderson.
As a matter of fact, things were looking rather grim for Philadelphia, as they were down 2-0 at the break.
But in the 63rd minute of play, Rodriguez worked her magic as Tina DiMartino's cross found the Indies' scoring taliswoman for her fifth of the season.
Ten minutes later, Rodriguez got her brace thanks to a feed from Jen Buczkowski to make it 2-2.
And in the first minute of second half stoppage time, the Indies' rally was complete with Sanderson's third of the season.
Philadelphia outshot the Freedom eight to seven, and the Independence has six shots on goal. The Indies also had four corners.
The results put Philly in good stead, as they continue to chase FC Gold Pride. Their next contest is on Saturday, July 4 against the Boston Breakers at John A. Farrell Stadium. Kickoff for this Independence Day contest is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET.
Pauliina Miettinen's Sky Blue FC did the business at Hayward's Pioneer Stadium against FC Gold Pride, winning 2-0 to maintaining their hold on third place in the standings.
“We played very disciplined and cohesively tonight,” Miettinen said. “The communication was very good between our players, and we got another solid game from our back line.”
A physical encounter saw Sky Blue FC commit 10 fouls against FC Gold Pride's four. And the Ladies of the Raritan, the defending WPS Champs, made the Lionesses of the East Bay pay for their dreadful finishing.
In the 59th minute, Rosana scored off the delivery by Heather O'Reilly to make it 1-0 Sky Blue FC. The goal was her first non-penalty goal and third of the season.
“As soon as Heather crossed that ball, I knew Rosana would score,” Miettinen said on the score. “She is a great header, and she proved it on that goal.”
Natasha Kai shut down the door on the Pride, taking the home side out of its misery and sending its disgruntled fans home with a breakaway goal in transition. Kai's 89th minute tap-in was her third of the season.
Sky Blue FC will look to maintain their momentum with a July 7 contest with the Washington Freedom at Joe Yurcak Field on the Rutgers University. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET. They will follow that up with a July 10 road contest with the Chicago Red Stars. Kickoff for that contest is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.
Jim Gabarra's Washington Freedom need to ponder this question: why have they, all of a sudden, been able to give up rallies with ease?
Saturday at John A. Farrell Stadium was a day to forget for the Freedom as they dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to the Philadelphia Independence.
Lene Mykjaland started the proceedings for Washington with an unassisted goal in the third minute of play. The initial shot by Abby Wambach found the Norwegian international, who scored her third of the season.
10 minutes later, Abby Wambach slotted home a penalty kick for her fifth of the campaign.
But that was as far as the Freedom would go, as the Washington's defense crumbled late in the second half. Erin McLeod was at the mercy of her own defense, who failed to keep Amy Rodriguez and Lianne Sanderson at bay.
With only two points in their last three matches, a call to form could not be any more urgent for Gabarra's club.
The Freedom will return to the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Maryland to take on the Chicago Red Stars. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET.
Albertin Montoya's FC Gold Pride slink to seventh in this week's WPS Power Rankings with a 2-0 drubbing at the hands of Sky Blue FC at Pioneer Stadium on the campus of Cal State East Bay in Hayward, California.
"They capitalized on their opportunities,” said FC Gold Pride captain Rachel Buehler on the defeat. "They had one or two counterattacks, and they did a good job making that shot not quite perfect, condensing their defense, and making it difficult to get that last pass in or shot off.”
The saying goes like this: when you can't finish, you can't win games. Not a single one of the Pride's 17 shots got past one of most tenacious defenses in Sky Blue FC.
"It's how you bounce back from [a loss], and going into Atlanta next week will be a very difficult game,” Montoya said on the loss. "They've got a lot of energy and they're excited about turning their season around.”
FC Gold Pride will look to rebound when they travel to Kennesaw's Beat/KSU Soccer Stadium to face the Atlanta Beat on Saturday, July 3. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Omid Namazi's Chicago Red Stars picked up a 2-1 win over the Boston Breakers on Friday, June 25, 2010 at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Ella Masar was the culprit behind Chicago's win, scoring a brace in what will go down as her first breakout performance with the Red Stars.
"She has been practicing really well, and I noticed that she was creating a lot of chances," Namazi said on Masar's performance. "I felt it was a good time to give her a start and see how it works, and it worked to perfection. She got behind the Boston defenders and she finished tonight."
In the 14th minute, Kate Markgraf and Cristiane teamed up to deliver a crisp through ball to Masar for her first-ever goal in her WPS career.
Later on in the 80th minute, French international Marian Dalmy played a diagonal ball to Masar, who toe-poked it in to secure her first-ever brace.
"Ella gives us a different look, being able to get behind defenders," Namazi added. "On her second goal, we won the ball in transition and spun her away."
Chicago outshot Boston 11 to five and also doubled the shots on goal (six to three) over the Breakers. The Red Stars also had seven corners.
Despite the victory, Namazi felt that there was work to do.
"We had some chances in the first half," Namazi said. "Sometime it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t. Finishing has been our Achilles Heel."
The Red Stars will look to improve on their finishing on Sunday, July 4, 2010 against the Washington Freedom at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Md. Kickoff is scheduled 6:00 p.m. ET.
Gareth O'Sullivan's Atlanta Beat salvaged a 2-2 draw with the Philadelphia Independence off an equalizer by Tina Ellertson in the 91st minute.
"It just looked like America today, where it looked like we weren’t going to get one and we got one at the decks," O'Sullivan said, "which was maybe symbolic of America’s goal earlier today in the World Cup [against Algeria]."
The Beat outshot Philadelphia nine to three, and had six of those chances on goal.
Mami Yamaguchi opened her account on a McCall Zerboni delivery to make it 1-0 Atlanta in the 16th minute.
After hosting the All-Star Game, Atlanta will next host FC Gold Pride on Saturday, July 3 at Beat/KSU Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Tony DiCicco's Boston Breakers sink to the bottom of this week's WPS Power Rankings with their 2-1 defeat to the Chicago Red Stars.
“Four home games in a row with a loss,” DiCicco said. “If somebody told me that at the start of the season, I’d say that you were crazy, but the team has to stay together and keep working hard.”
"It was a very physical game tonight," said Breakers forward Kelly Smith, "but that’s to be expected when there’s a lot at stake for both teams. Both teams really wanted to win it and unfortunately tonight wasn’t our night."
Smith didn't fail to his her deep disappointment in the team's recent slump.
"It’s something obviously that I’m dealing with and the team is dealing with," Smith said. "It’s frustrating. You give everything on the night and it’s tough.
"You got to keep your heads up. You can’t come out in your shell. We go away next week and we have to win."
Boston's only goal came in the 47th minute. Fabiana opened her scoring account with a delivery from Laura Del Rio.
The Breakers committed 11 fouls, compared to nine for Chicago. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher was harassed all night and only managed three saves on the night.
Can Boston snap out of their funk? It won't get any easier as they face the in-form Philadelphia Independence on Independence Day at John A. Farrell Stadium in West Chester. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET.
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