2010 WPS Power Rankings: Week 16
After several weeks of staying at the top of the 2010 Women's Professional Soccer Power Rankings, a new face rises to the top.
Paul Riley's Philadelphia Independence is first in this week's WPS Power Rankings after shutting out the Chicago Red Stars 3-0.
Amy Rodriguez was instrumental behind the Indies' victory. In the 12th minute, Rodriguez earned her 10th goal of the season from Lori Lindsey. She completed her brace in the 25th minute thanks to the Allison Falk delivery.
Caroline Seger, better known for racking up the assists on the score sheet for Philly, opened her scoring account in the 56th minute following the Rodriguez feed.
The Indies out-shot Chicago 12 to nine and had five shots on goal.
"[Rodriguez has] been playing brilliantly and I think she was sensational again," Riley said after the match. "There are very few game-changers in WPS, and she’s proven herself to be one of those players."
The Philadelphia Independence will look to the golden touch from the A-Rod of WPS to bring home the bacon again this week.
The fun starts with a road trip to Germantown, Maryland to face the cellar-dwelling Washington Freedom. Kickoff at the Maryland SportsPlex is scheduled for August 4 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The Indies will then head back to John A. Farrell Stadium on Sunday, August 8 to face the Boston Breakers. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET.
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Albertin Montoya's FC Gold Pride couldn't buy a goal in their scoreless draw with the Atlanta Beat on Sunday at Beat/KSU Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia.
“We are a little bit frustrated by the number of quality chances we had that we didn’t finish,” Montoya said after the match. “I think we played better at times this time around than when we beat them 4-0. This time the post and Hope Solo kept them in it.
“I think we played very well under tough conditions in this heat against a team that’s been on a roll. Two weeks ago, when we started our three-game road trip we felt that earning seven points on the road would be an excellent result, nine points would be the cherry on top; we earned the seven that we set as our goal.”
The inability for the Lionesses of the East Bay to solve Atlanta goalkeeper Hope Solo means that the Pride will have to wait at least one more week before they clinch a playoff berth.
FC Gold Pride out-shot Atlanta 16 to nine and had six shots on goal. The Pride also won nine corners on Sunday and had their best shots at stealing three points in the 62nd and 90th minutes, when chances from Tiffeny Milbrett and Christine Sinclair hit the woodwork, respectively.
The Pride will hope that no such bad luck befalls them on their way back to Pioneer Stadium, on the campus of Cal State East Bay in Hayward, California. They can sew up that playoff spot with a win against the Chicago Red Stars on August 7. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. ET.
The power surge for Tony DiCicco's Boston Breakers continued on Saturday against the struggling Washington Freedom.
Donning special pink uniforms for breast cancer awareness, the Breakers summoned the power of pink to send the Freedom in blushes with a 3-1 victory at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
"My grandma had breast cancer and I know a lot of people that have been affected," Breakers forward Lauren Cheney said on the occasion. "To be playing for this cause and to be auctioning off these jerseys, it was fun, a good time and it made me want to work a little bit harder."
"[I'm] real delighted with the win tonight," said midfielder Kelly Smith after the victory. "We scored three goals, which is good for our confidence and I’m just really, really, really pleased."
And Smith was instrumental in the first of those three goals. In the 21st minute, a delivery from Jordan Angeli gave the England international her seventh of the season to make it 1-0 Boston.
The Breakers doubled their advantage in the 56th minute as Jordan Angeli's fifth of the season from Cheney made it 2-0 Boston.
Cheney herself got on the score sheet as a result of a bad save from Washington's Ashlyn Harris in the 85th minute. Boston's third goal of the match was Cheney's third of the season.
"It was a good win for us," DiCicco said after the match. "It was good to see Jordan Angeli score again. It was really good to see Lauren Cheney get another goal. I thought she played strong and the team came out and played a better second half and we’re happy with the win."
Boston out-shot Washington 14-11 and had nine shots on goal.
Up next for the Breakers is a home tie with the Atlanta Beat in Cambridge on Wednesday, August 4. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.
The Beat's rhythm continues to improve with each passing game. Not very often do the Beat finish a week unbeaten, but that was indeed the case. Could Gareth O'Sullivan's side be making a late push for the last WPS Playoffs spot?
On Wednesday, it was an offensive display from Mexican international Monica Ocampo that paced the Beat to a 3-2 win over the slumping Washington Freedom.
Johanna Rasmussen opened the scoring in the 20th minutes off the delivery from Aya Miyama. The goal was her third of the year.
Three minutes after Washington took the lead, Ocampo earned her second of the season off McCall Zerboni's through ball. But it didn't stop there. Ocampo got her third of the season off Miyama's second assist of the match in the 88th minute to give the Beat a hard-fought victory at home.
Atlanta out-shot the Freedom 17-11, while Hope Solo made five saves.
More home cooking was on the way for Atlanta, but this time it was the defense's turn to dish out the goods. And it came off sous chef/goalkeeper Hope Solo.
Against FC Gold Pride on Sunday, Solo made six saves to help the Beat withstand the barrage of looks the visitors gave to salvage a scoreless draw.
"There were a lot of chances on both sides of the field, and unfortunately we weren’t able to put one in but it’s a good point," O'Sullivan said after the match. "There’s not too many people taking points off this team, so I’m glad we got a point."
Atlanta's best opportunities to take three points instead of one came late in the second half. Ocampo's shot in the 75th minute went over the crossbar, and in the 79th minute, Ramona Bachmann's shot missed the far post by inches.
Still, the Beat are looking prime for an assault at the middle of the pack. The next couple of matches will tell the story as to whether or not Atlanta can challenge for that fourth WPS Playoff spot.
On Wednesday, August 4, the Beat will take on the Boston Breakers at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge. Kickoff at Soldiers Field is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET. Atlanta will then return home to the Owls' Next to host the defending champions Sky Blue FC. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, August 7 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
It was another hit-and-miss week for Omid Namazi's Chicago Red Stars as they continued their race for the postseason.
On Wednesday, the Red Stars were given a rude welcome to John A. Farrell Stadium in West Chester as they were shut out 3-0 by the Philadelphia Independence.
Chicago goalkeeper Jillian Loyden was left out to dry as Amy Rodriguez, Caroline Seger and the Indies attack carved up the Red Stars defense.
With a loss comes a victory. That came against Sky Blue FC on Sunday at Joe Yurcak Field on the campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey.
In the fourth minute, Ella Masar scored her fifth goal of the season in the fourth minute of play from Karen Carney.
Carney would open her scoring account in the 61st minute of play through Marian Dalmy to make it 2-0 Red Stars before a stoppage time goal by Sky Blue FC made it 2-1. The Red Stars had six shots on goal on Sunday.
Up next for the Red Stars is an August 7 contest with FC Gold Pride at Pioneer Stadium in Hayward. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. ET.
Rick Stainton's Sky Blue FC is searching for answers as to why they are on the downswing. Sunday's 2-1 defeat to the Chicago Red Stars at Joe Yurcak Field in Piscataway was the team's fourth straight loss.
Brittany Taylor earned her second goal of the season in second half stoppage time from Natasha Kai , but it was not enough. Bad shot selection was another culprit in Sky Blue's latest setback, as they out-shot Chicago 11-8 but only had one goal to account for.
Jenni Branam, in her first start back from a long layoff, made four saves in the defeat.
Sky Blue FC will face the Atlanta Beat on Saturday, August 7. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.
The Washington Freedom are bound and shackled by their own shortcomings, and once again their plight continued, starting with a 3-2 loss on Wednesday by the unlikeliest of victors: the Atlanta Beat.
After Atlanta took a 1-0 lead, Nikki Marshall scored off a Homare Sawa assist to make even the score going into the break. In the 64th minute, Sarah Huffman opened her scoring account thanks to Abby Wambach to make it 2-1 Washington.
Unfortunately for Jim Gabarra, that was as far as the Freedom would go, as they would surrender the lead in due time and continue their dry spell.
In goal for the Freedom was Ashlyn Harris, who took over for injured started Erin McLeod. The match was Harris's debut.
It just got worse for Washington as they traveled to Soldiers Field to face the Boston Breakers on Saturday. Although Abby Wambach scored her seventh of the season of a Lene Mykjaland feed in the 67th minute, it proved to not be enough as the Freedom fell 3-1 at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge.
"I think every team in this league over the past two years goes through a very tough stretch at some point," Gabarra said after the match. "I think we have had a combination of some critical injuries, some National Team call-ups and an overloaded schedule to go with that. Just a really tough stretch and we’ve got to find a way out of it.
"Tonight was simply defensive presence and hardness. Boston did that very well and we were caught off guard."
"It’s obviously not easy to lose a lot of games in a row," Wambach added after the loss. "For me, I think this might be the longest losing streak I’ve ever had. I think the things that we’re trying to focus on are the positive challenges for this team, because we do feel like we’re still within reach of making the playoffs – we’ve just got to string a few wins together in order to get those points to get into the playoffs.
"I’m not quite sure what it’s going to take; I think that’s been our issue all along, is we really can’t put our finger on what’s the problem. But that’s why we’re trying to focus on the things we can control and moving forward, we’ve just got to get one win under our belt and then we’ll be alright."
As the Freedom limp back to Germantown waiting, hoping, praying for their fortunes to change, patience has to be running thin among its supporters, if it hasn't already.
Up next for Washington is a home tie with the in-form Philadelphia Independence. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, August 4.
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