2010 WPS Power Rankings: Week 22

There will be a new champion in Women's Professional Soccer. I repeat, there will be a new champion in Women's Professional Soccer. The only question remaining in the second season of the WPS is whether it will be FC Gold Pride, the Boston Breakers, the Philadelphia Independence, or the Washington Freedom.

One thing's for certain. There will be no second star on tap for Sky Blue FC, at least not this year.

With Marta and FC Gold Pride having two weeks to prepare for the curtain-closer to the 2010 WPS campaign, can the Brazilian international wash the bad taste from last year off her mouth? Or will the resurgent Freedom get one final shot at besting the Lionesses of the East Bay where it matters most?

Let's take a look in the penultimate WPS Power Rankings for the 2010 WPS season.

1. FC Gold Pride

On top for one more week are Albertin Montoya's FC Gold Pride, who ended the 2010 WPS Regular Season with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Independence at Pioneer Stadium, on the campus of California State University East Bay in Hayward, California.

"I thought it was an excellent game for us," said Pride head coach Albertin Montoya. "I thought we were dangerous all game long and played 90 minutes strong all the way through."

The big question now for the Pride is the health of Kelley O'Hara, who left the game in the 55th minute due to a bad right quadriceps.

"It was bittersweet seeing her get hurt," said Montoya in the injury. "She was playing the best game she's played this season and after seeing her get those two goals you could see her confidence rise. She'll be going in for an MRI on Monday and we'll hope for the best because she's very important to our team, but this team has found a way all season long to play well with whoever we have out on the field."

Otherwise, it was business as usual for Marta and the gang. FC Gold Pride ended the regular season with a 16-3-5 record and 53 points, a remarkable turnaround from last season, where they finished last on the table with a record of 4-10-6 (18 points).

In spite of the injury, O'Hara got a well-deserved brace. In the 40th minute, Marta (the presumptive Michelle Akers Player of the Year) delivered a pass to O'Hara, who thought that the cross would find somebody in the box. Little did she know that the somebody in particular happened to be the back of the net to make it 1-0 Pride.

The goal was O'Hara's fifth of the season.

O'Hara returned the favor one minute later, with Marta faking Indies goalkeeper Val Henderson out en route to her 19th goal of the season. Could goal No. 20 come on the 26th? Stay tuned...

Immediately after Philadelphia responded, O'Hara earned her sixth of the season from Marta, winning a header on the set piece from the Brazilian international to make it 3-1.

Finally, Christine Sinclair earned her 10th of the season from Marta via a Philly deflection in the 65th minute of play to make it 4-1

The Lionesses of the East Bay outshot Philadelphia 12 to seven and had nine shots on goal.

Up next for the Pride is the true season finale, the WPS Championship presented by Citi, on September 26 at Pioneer Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. PT/2:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Sports Net. As always, your good friends Mark Rogandino and Jenn Hildreth will have the call.

2. Boston Breakers

Tony DiCicco's Boston Breakers may want to evaluate their game plan after their scoreless draw with Sky Blue FC at Joe Yurcak Field on the campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Although they outshot Sky Blue FC 11 to three, the inability to find the back of the net could spell trouble when either Philadelphia or Washington come to Harvard Stadium for the Super Semifinal.

Kickoff for that match is scheduled for September 19 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel.

The Breakers end their regular season with the second seed in the playoffs and a record of 10-8-6 (36 points).

3. Washington Freedom

Jim Gabarra's Washington Freedom are on the comeback trail once again as they rise to third in this week's Power Rankings. Could they take a page out of Sky Blue FC's playbook and be FC Gold Pride's final opponent?

In spite of their final match of the season against the Atlanta Beat ending in a humble 1-0 shutout win, the possibility beckons as the home fans at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Maryland celebrated into the night.

And who else to cap off the comeback run than Abby Wambach, who donned the captain's armband again? With minutes remaining, her 88th minute goal set the crowd alight.

"It's exciting to clinch a playoff spot. We're going to celebrate that tonight, but we still have a lot of work to do," Wambach said after the match. "It's good to end on a good note. It's good to go into the playoffs with our heads held high and I think that it shows a lot of the character of what this team has had to build, not saying that we have had it all along.

"We have gone through a lot of ups and downs and I think that those ups and downs have really given us a platform to be able to build and create ourselves and the product I guess is right here."

Gabarra echoed the same sentiments.

"I think everyone really lifted it, specifically from our last time out," Gabarra said after the match. "Still, it goes back to winning our home game, like I said seven games ago, if we win our home games, we'll be in the playoffs and they delivered four wins in a row at home and that's a tremendous achievement in this league.

"It gives you hope that it can be done. Obviously it's very difficult, but we've got to prepare. We haven't performed really well on the road, but I think in this league, everything tends to balance out at the end of the day."

Washington outshot Atlanta seven to four, and all of those shots were the direction of Hope Solo. And nearly all of them were saved. Nearly.

"It has been a long season," Freedom goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris said. "We fought and we battled. It was a passionate game. We needed to step up. We tend to wait until the last minute to see what happens and tonight was no different, I guess."

The Freedom end their regular season campaign with a record of 8-9-7 (31 points). And thanks to their win and Sky Blue FC's draw, the Freedom get to play some more football.

Up next is the First Round match against the Philadelphia Independence at John A. Farrel Stadium on the campus of the University ofl West Chester in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. PT/2:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Sports Net.

4. Philadelphia Independence

In spite of clinching the third seed in the 2010 WPS Playoffs, Paul Riley's Philadelphia Independence fall to fourth in the Power Ranking after an unimpressive 4-1 defeat away to FC Gold Pride to conclude their regular season run.

Lianne Sanderson provided a consolation goal for the Indies in the 51st minute, catching Pride goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart off guard for her fifth of the season.

With the defeat, Philly falls to 10-10-4 (34 points) and will host the Washington Freedom in the First Round on Sunday, September 19 at John A. Farrell Stadium on the campus of the University of West Chester. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. PT/2:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Sports Net.

5. Sky Blue FC

There will be no title defense on the cards for Rick Stainton's Sky Blue FC, who finish with a record of 7-10-1 (28 points).

An atrocious 2010 campaign, highlighted by the sacking of Pauliina Miettinen ended with a whimper in the form of a scoreless draw against the Boston Breakers at Joe Yurcak Field on the campus of Rutgers University.

"Overall, we played a pretty good match," Stainton said after the match. "We gave a gritty performance, and our girls absolutely played their hearts out tonight. It's obviously deflating to know we're not moving forward, but at no point did we ever quit.

"Something that makes me so proud of this group is that we were given many opportunities to give up throughout the season, and we never quit. Through all the ups and downs—the injuries, the changes, whatever adversity was thrown our way—we never quit. We remained committed to righting the ship and doing whatever we could to be successful.

"The overall character of this team speaks for itself. These girls are incredible players and people, and I'm just so proud to have been associated with them this season."

6. Chicago Red Stars

Omid Namazi's Chicago Red Stars ended their season on September 5 with a 2-1 victory over the Washington Freedom. They finish with a record of 7-11-6 (27 points), good for sixth place in the league this year.

7. Atlanta Beat

The sorry inaugural season for James Galanis's Atlanta Beat ended on the losing end, a 1-0 shutout loss to the Washington Freedom at the Maryland SoccerPlex. The only bright spot came from goalkeeper Hope Solo, who made six saves in the defeat.

"This has been one of the toughest years of my playing career," Solo said, referring perhaps to her career with now-defunct St. Louis Athletica. "You know, I've never been on a losing team or had a losing season, but it humbles you and you learn a lot. I don't regret it."

"We just came here with a mission to play good football and only worry about ourselves and whatever the outcome was going to be was going to be and I think that we played a really solid game," Galanis said after the match. "At the end, I think we were unlucky to concede a goal, but at the same time, I'm happy for Washington Freedom for progressing."

Atlanta ends their year with a record of 5-13-6 (21 points).