2010 WPS Power Rankings: Week 18
It seems FC Gold Pride's offensive firepower has hit a snag this late in the 2010 Women's Professional Soccer season. One would think that the Lionesses of the East Bay would continue to put the pedal to the metal.
That is not the case. What is the case is the Boston Breakers making their move on the rest of the league. Could Tony DiCicco's club be the team that wins it all? Or has the slump brought a false sense of security to the Breakers, the Philadelphia Independence and others in the race for the postseason?
The questions go on and on and on as we take a look at this week's Power Rankings.
It was not even close. The Breakers' break-neck pace, combined with finishing touch and precision, led to goals from four different scorers and highlighted the deficiencies in the visitors' porous defense.
In the ninth minute, Jordan Angeli's initial header found the header of Lauren Cheney. The goal was Cheney's fifth of the season.
In the 37th minute, Cheney reciprocated her by sending a pass from defender Stephanie Cox to Angeli for Angeli's sixth of the season.
The 58th minute saw Lindsay Tarpley add to Boston's advantage at Soldiers Field. A bad save by Sky Blue FC goalkeeper Jenni Branam found the feet of Tarpley for her second of the campaign and first in Breaker Blue.
Laura Del Rio finally opened her scoring account in the 80th minute, capitalizing off a deflection by a Sky Blue FC defender. A blistering left-foot shot from the Spanish international put the icing on the cake.
"Every game here is difficult and our club has been improving of late," DiCicco said after the match. "I just sensed that we were ready today. This was the first time that we beat them, so our players from last season really wanted this victory. I thought our defensive effort was fantastic and then we scored some pretty good goals too. All in all, a good win for the Breakers.
"I think we were a good team earlier in the season. There hasn’t been a lot of adjustment, but I think we have a formula now and that everyone is on the same page."
Boston outshot Sky Blue FC 17-10 with nine shots on goal. The Breakers also chalked up 10 corners.
"We’ve stuck together this whole year and I think this is one of the best games we’ve played all season," Cheney said following the match. "Obviously we don’t want this to be our peak, we want to be playing at our peak when the playoffs start. I think we are on a roll and we’re playing well together. Hopefully that will continue."
Next up for the Breakers is a trip to Veterans Memorial Stadium in New Britain, Connecticut for their official home finale against the Atlanta Beat. Kickoff is scheduled for August 21 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
On Wednesday, the Indies traveled to Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois to face off against the Chicago Red Stars. Lianne Sanderson donned her "super sub" role quite nicely as Philly defeated the Red Stars 2-1 on Sunday, Aug. 15.
Amy Rodriguez scored her 12th goal of the season off the delivery from Lori Lindsey in the 53rd minute to give the Indies an early 1-0 advantage.
Sixteen minutes after Chicago equalized, it was Sanderson's 78th minute goal that gave Philadelphia a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish. The goal was Sanderson's fourth of the campaign.
On Sunday, the Independence returned to John A. Farrell Stadium on the campus of West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania for their final meeting with the Atlanta Beat.
Down 2-0 early in the first half, Tina DiMartino launched the comeback with her third of the season in the 41st minute.
DiMartino's fourth would not take long to develop. She completed her brace thanks to a Rodriguez delivery to put the match on level terms in the 60th minute.
Joanna Lohman completed the comeback in the 81st minute through a chaleira from Rodriguez for her fourth goal of the year.
All in all, Philadelphia outshot Atlanta 12 to six and had five shots on goal. They did show some chippiness, committing 14 fouls.
Needless to say, Riley was pleased with the performance.
"I think getting the goal before halftime was vital," Riley said after the match. "It gave us some spark going into the second half...the girls knew they were still in it. Plus, it was a brilliant goal from Tina [in the 41st minute]."
Could Philadelphia catch FC Gold Pride before the season ends? The possibility is there.
Next up for the Indies is a road trip to Joe Yurcak Field to take on Sky Blue FC. Kickoff is scheduled for Sunday, August 22 at 4:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by Comcast SportsNet.
The last three matches have all ended in scoreless draws, and their Saturday, Aug. 14 contest with the Washington Freedom was no different.
Kelley O'Hara had two attempts she wished she got back. In the sixth minute, a shot from the 18-yard box went over the goal. A volley off a delivery from Marta was blocked by Freedom goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris in the 88th minute.
Kiki Bosio also had a chance in the 83rd, but that too went over the goal.
Compounding matters for FC Gold Pride were the fouls. Three of the Pride players earned yellow cards because of their frustrations over the lack of production.
Without question, finishing is the problem the Lionesses of the East Bay must address if they are to keep their hold on first place in the WPS. Can they clean up their act? If so, when?
A trip to Bridgeview's Toyota Park to face the Chicago Red Stars may provide the answer. Kickoff is scheduled for Sunday, August 22 at 6:00 p.m. PT and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel.
On Wednesday, Aug. 11, at Joe Yurcak Field on the campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, the Freedom seemed to have three points on the board.
But a poor clearance attempt by defender Cat Whitehill in the 80th minute consigned Washington to a 1-1 draw with Sky Blue FC.
Sonia Bompastor scored her second of the season off the delivery from Sarah Huffman in the 65th minute to give Washington the initial advantage.
Ashlyn Harris, in relief of the injured Erin McLeod, made five saves in the draw.
The Freedom hoped to get one back from FC Gold Pride at Pioneer Stadium on Saturday, but even that didn't amount to much, as frustration boiled into a scoreless draw. McLeod made four saves to earn her shutout.
Washington's next match is on Thursday against the Chicago Red Stars at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown. Kickoff is scheduled for Thursday, August 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
On Wednesday, Aug. 11, the Ladies of the Raritan took on the Washington Freedom at Joe Yurcak Field. An own goal by Cat Whitehill in the 80th minute gave the home side a 1-1 draw with the Freedom.
“Tonight, we did a pretty nice job of the reading the ball and anticipating the flow of action,” Stainton said after the match. “We played cohesively for the most part, and it was great to see the team play with such an uplifting demeanor when we needed to get an equalizing goal. We continue to grow and move forward with each passing game, and that is something we look to keep building upon.”
Sky Blue FC outshot Washington 13 to seven, with seven shots on target. As part of the Project Pink initiative, the team wore special pink and white outfits.
“It’s definitely coming together, and we’re feeling more comfortable and confident in the back,” Meagan Schnur said afterward. “I don’t think they got as many scoring opportunities as they would’ve liked, or have gotten in the past. A particularly great effort was given tonight by Keeley (Dowling) on defending Abby Wambach, who is a world class player.”
Sky Blue FC may have put it all together on Wednesday, but on Sunday it all fell apart against the Boston Breakers.
Goalkeeper Jenni Branam, in spite of making five saves, was harassed non-stop by the Boston attack in their 4-0 defeat at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge.
"Boston did a good job of interchanging the roles of certain players tonight, and that really seemed to confuse us," Stainton said after the match. "As a team, we have to do a better job of balancing our defense and competing for every ball. These are challenges that we as coaches, in addition to the players, must accept and take on with complete dedication.
"We have the pieces here to be successful, but we have to have the internal belief that we can accomplish great things."
For the defending WPS Champions, belief may not be enough. This is a side that needs to win if they want to defend their crown.
Up next for Sky Blue FC is home match with rivals Philadelphia Independence on Sunday, August 22. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by Comcast SportsNet.
On Wednesday, Aug. 11, Chicago hosted the Philadelphia Independence at Toyota Park in Bridgeview and fell 2-1.
Ella Masar continued to show her form in spite of the losing effort with her sixth of the season in the 62nd minute of play.
The Red Stars outshot Philly nine to five, but committed 13 fouls and were booked four times.
"We're not a very good team when we go down a goal, based on records," Namazi said following the match. "We're very good when we go up. We fought and we came back, and we had the momentum going."
Nogueira—who helped set up the Masar goal—put a different spin on the matters at Toyota Park.
"I think all of us just need to take more shots overall. I know I do. That's the only way we're going to score, so we have to take all of our half chances and stop waiting for the perfect shot," Nogueira said after the match, "We're excited to face them again [on Sept. 1]."
Chicago will hit the road on Thursday, August 19 to take on the Washington Freedom at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Their latest setback came in the form of a lead they would relinquish on Sunday, Aug. 15 at John A. Farrell Stadium in West Chester.
The Beat were leading early in the first half, but a second-half rally sparked by Tina DiMartino and Joanna Lohman relegated the Beat to a 3-2 defeat on the road.
"I’m disappointed that we gave up the late goal when we did,” O'Sullivan said after the match. “We had a great start to the game and I wish that we’d taken advantage of going ahead early like we did."
Johanna Rasmussen opened the scoring in the fourth minute with her fourth goal of the season off the Ramona Bachmann feed. Lori Chalupny made it 2-0 with her second of the campaign in the 18th minute.
The Beat will need to figure out something, as they are continuing to run out of time and points. And it won't get any easier.
Up next for the Beat...a trip to Veterans Memorial Stadium in New Britain against the team at the top of the Power Rankings: the Boston Breakers.
Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, August 21 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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