WASHINGTON FREEDOM 3 - 1 NJ SKY BLUE FC

Two goals and an assist from forward Abby Wambach propelled the Washington Freedom to a 3-1 win over Sky Blue FC on Saturday night at the Maryland SoccerPlex.

With the win, Washington clinches a playoff spot and the third seed in the WPS Playoffs, meaning they will host next week’s first round match against either Sky Blue FC or the Boston Breakers

Washington came out attacking early and was the better team in the first half. After heading the ball just over the bar in the 14th minute, Rebecca Moros set up the opening goal for the Freedom in the 19th minute when she crossed a ball in from the right side for Wambach to finish from close range.

Sky Blue FC put together a prolonged offensive spurt later in the opening half but came away empty from its efforts. In the 33rd minute, Yael Averbuch played a nice ball behind for Natasha Kai and the Sky Blue FC striker lifted the ball over charging Freedom keeper Erin McLeod but wide of the goal. A minute later, Heather O'Reilly sent a serve into the box that Rosana headed wide and in the 36th minute, Kacey White lined a deflection off an O'Reilly cross over the bar.
In the 44^th minute, Rosana got loose down the right wing and cracked a shot from about 12 yards out, but McLeod leapt to her right and parried the shot over the goal.

Washington struck for a timely goal four minutes into the second half on 48th minute thanks to the Lisa De Vanna-Wambach combination. De Vanna carried the ball up the left side and sent a great low cross through the box for Wambach to finish easily into an open goal at the far post.

Rosana brought Sky Blue FC back within one with a 23-yard bomb to the top left corner of the goal in the 53^rd minute.

However, Washington responded four minutes later to regain the two-goal edge by a goal by De Vanna. Wambach sent in a hard, low cross from the right for the Australian striker to touch inside the left post from eight yards out.

Sky Blue again got chances towards the end of the half but were unable to convert.

Kai penetrated the Freedom defense and fired a shot, which McLeod got a glove on, it was cleared off the line by Becky Sauerbrunn. And in the 85th minute Rosana saw her curling free-kick from 25 yards out hit the crossbar.

The Freedom held on for the win and a playoff spot.

Both teams now await the result between the Boston Breakers and Los Angles Sol on Sunday to learn whether the Freedom will be hosting Boston or Sky Blue FC in the First Round match on August 15th.


Washington Head Coach Jim Gabarra

“We have won three in a row at home and are playing our best soccer of the season,Trending upward as a team heading into the playoffs is great and being able to play at home is huge for us.”


Washington Freedom forward Abby Wambach

"It's huge,Obviously now we're going to be watching who wins the game tomorrow [between] Boston and L.A. . . . We're glad to have the playoff game here. We feel that this environment that the Washington Freedom community puts out is an environment that is playoff [comparable] almost every game."


Lineups:

Washington Freedom: Erin McLeod; Sarah Senty, Cat Whitehill, Becky Sauerbrunn, Ali Krieger; Lori Lindsey (Jill Gilbeau 71'), Sonia Bompastor (Allie Long 90+'), Homare Sawa, Rebecca Moros (Joanna Lohman 84'); Lisa De Vanna, Abby Wambach(C).

Sky Blue FC: Jenni Branam; Christie Rampone(C), Anita Asante, Meghan Schnur (Jen Buczkowski 68'), Keeley Dowling; Kelly Parker (Collette McCallum 45'), Heather O'Reilly, Yael Averbuch, Rosana; Kacey White, Natasha Kai.

Washington Freedom v Boston Breakers Highlights

WASHINGTON FREEDOM 1 - 0 BOSTON BREAKERS

Abby Wambach scored the winning goal for the Washington Freedom against the Boston Breakers last night at the Maryland Soccerplex to keep Washington on-track for the playoffs.

The Freedom leapfrog the Breakers into 3rd place in the standings , with a game in hand.

The game started badly for Boston when Alex Scott was redcarded in the 5th minute for a tackle against Sonia Bompastor. Studs were showing as Scott slide tackled and caught Bompastor on the ankle. That changed the game. Boston retreated into a defensive shell and played counterattack.

As a result of the red card, the Freedom enjoyed the better of the play for much of the first half, although Boston did mount some pressure in the later stages, and was only out-shot, 6-4.

The best scoring chance of the first half came from Rebecca Moros in the 21st minute, when she received a cross with space to the far post on the right side of the goal, but she shot high over the bar.

The Freedom did not make the most of their player advantage. The midfield did not penetrate and they were not stretching the Breakers enough.

The 2nd half was pretty much the same with Washington finding it difficult to break down the Breakers. Allie Long came on in the 58th minute for Moros to bring some creativity to their attack. With close ball control and the willingness to dribble at defenders, Long added a spark to Washington.

Kelly Smith came on for the Breakers on 55 minutes for Jenni Nobis. Whenever Smith got the ball Freedom defender Cat Whithill followed. At one point she followed Smith into the Boston half hounding her until Smith lost control of the ball.

Wambach's goal came in the 73rd minute when she stole the ball from a Boston midfielder , passed it to strike partner Lisa De Vanna who 1-2'd it back to Wambach in the penalty area. Wambach beat the defender and shot a low ball passed GK Ali Lipsher.

Boston nearly leveled the game in stoppage time when Smith broke free from her marker and shot a hard ball towards goal. Washington GK Erin McLeod making a spectacular stop tiping the ball over the bar to preserve the lead. The ball was heading for the top right hand corner.

Both teams play their next games on Saturday. Washington head to North California to play FC Gold Pride.For the Freedom it will be their third game in a week. A win will see them jump to 2nd place in the standing for a few hours till the Athletica game.

Boston head to Saint Louis to take on 2nd place Athletica. A win there would put them in the playoffs.



"We were way too frantic," Freedom Coach Jim Gabarra said. "And we weren't using the width and we weren't possessing at all."

“I’m really proud of the players, they played their hearts out,” said Breakers head coach Tony DiCicco. “The game changed unfortunately in the fifth minute and Washington did what they needed to do. I just feel very bad for my players to have to have played a very difficult game.”

Lineups:

WASHINGTON: Erin McLeod; Jill Gilbeau (Kristin DeDycker, 82), Cat
Whitehill, Becky Sauerbrunn, Alex Singer (Ali Krieger, 39); Sonia
Bompastor, Homare Sawa, Lori Lindsey, Rebecca Moros (Allie Long, 58); Lisa De Vanna, Abby Wambach (C) .

BOSTON: Alli Lipsher; Alex Scott, Amy LePeilbet, Candace Chapman, Heather
Mitts; Maggie Tomecka, Fabiana (Nancy Augustyniak-Goffi, 70),
Mary-Frances Monroe (Kelly Schmedes, 64), Angela Hucles, Kristine
Lilly (C) ; Jennie Nobis (Kelly Smith, 56).

Chicago Red Stars v Washington Freedom Highlights

2-3

CHICAGO RED STARS 2 - 3 WASHINGTON FREEDOM

The Chicago Red Stars were eliminated from the playoff contention after going down 1 minute from time by the Washington Freedom at Toyota Park.

In front of their 2nd biggest home crowd, 5226 and wearing green shirts for charity for the Environment the Red Stars had got off to a great start but were pipped at the post by an Allie Long goal.

Chicago’s Megan Rapinoe got the scoring going in the game when she took a Carli Lloyd pass and beat Freedom goalie Erin McLeod to the right corner of the net on the 15th minute.

Freedom then leveled the game through a Abby Wambach goal in the 35th minute. Wambach had several chances before that to score , getting closer each time. This time she out muscles or virtually runs over Red Stars defender Ifeoma Dieke to run in on goal.

Into the 2nd half and Wambach put the Freedom in front in the 56th minute, 2-1, to score her 5th goal of the season from a pass from Lisa De Vanna.

Red Stars heads started to drop as they couldn't get a foothold in the game and passes and movement of the ball were not what it should be.

Australian Heather Garriock was substituted in on the 68th minute for Captain Lindsey Tarpley and immediately made an impact on her teamates and on the game. On her first touch of the ball Garriock sent a ball to Karen Carney wide open on the right side of the net. Carney drilled a shot to the other side of the goal to level the match once again 2-2.

It looked like the game was going to peater as a draw when Long a 74th minute substitute dribbled her way into the box past several Red Stars defenders(like they weren't there) to coolly slot the ball past the on rushing Caroline Jonsson in the 89th minute.

Cruel end to the game and the season for the Red Stars.

With the loss, Chicago remains at 17 points with two games remaining in the regular season. Washington moves into a tie with Sky Blue FC for 23 points. Because those two teams still have a head-to-head meeting remaining, the Red Stars have been eliminated from postseason contention.

Chicago Red Stars Head Coach Emma Hayes

“I think everybody knows it was a must win game for both teams. I think we started out relatively ok, but after the first goal we were very flat. We looked quite tired and the heat seemed to drain us quite a bit. We struggled to retain the ball and equally struggled to try to position when we lost it. Credit to Washington, I thought they should have scored more than one goal in the first half.”

“I don’t think the back four had a good game today. I thought as a unit they struggled. But I also think that you have to work to deny service into them, in the front and the midfielders, and I don’t think we got close to them consistently enough in the first half.”

“I think for us as a team from this point on we want to make sure that we put in good performances for our fans and start the rebuilding process going into next season to make sure that we have the vital pieces that are going to push this team on.”

Washington Freedom Head Coach Jim Gabbara

“I told our team before the game today that we couldn’t ask to be in a better position because we control our own playoff destiny and do not have to rely on other teams to help us,” said Gabarra. “This might be our toughest stretch all year with three games in three cities in a week but we responded today on the road against a team that desperately needed a win.”


Lineups:

Chicago Red Stars – Caroline Jönsson; Marian Dalmy,Jill Oakes, Ifeoma Dieke, Natalie Spilger (Frida Östberg, 61); Karen Carney,Carli Lloyd, Brittany Klein, Megan Rapinoe (Ella Masar, 55); Lindsey Tarpley(C) , (Heather Garriock, 68), Cristiane.

Washington Freedom – Erin McLeod; Jill Gilbeau, Cat Whitehill, Becky Sauerbrunn, Alex Singer (Allie Long, 74); Rebecca Moros (Joanna Lohman, 81), Homare Sawa, Lori Lindsey, Sonia Bompastor; Abby Wambach(C) ,Lisa De Vanna.

WASHINGTON FREEDOM 0 - 1 LOS ANGELES SOL

The Los Angeles Sol rallied in the closing moments to break a scoreless tie and defeat the Washington Freedom, 1-0, at the Maryland SoccerPlex in front of 5,143 fans on Sunday night.

The Sol, who became the first team in WPS to clinch a playoff berth last week, traded scoring opportunities with the Freedom for the first 90 minutes of the match before three-time FIFA World Player of the Year Marta found the back of the net in stoppage time.

In the 91st minute, Marta collected a pass left of the area from Japanese international Aya Miyama, touched it and immediately drilled a shot towards the far post to give the Sol its fourth consecutive victory and extend its unbeaten streak to eleven games.

Washington’s best chance came early, when Abby Wambach drilled a left-footed shot from the top of the box, saved only by a spectacular dive by LA’s keeper, Karina LeBlanc. Later on, in the 25th minute, Freedom defender Cat Whitehill took a beautiful free kick from nearly 35 yards out, but it hit the right goal post.

The rest of the half was slightly more stagnant than the first half, punctuated by the occasional hustle play by Washington’s Lisa De Vanna or fancy footwork by Marta.

The 2nd half started with a collision. Sol defender Christie Shaner a trade from Sky Blue FC making her 1st start with LA went in to challenge for the ball with Wambach in the penalty box. Shaner came out the worst with a nasty injury which looks like it could be a broken leg. Play was held up for 10 minutes while Shaner was being attended to. She was taken of the field on a stretcher right into an ambulance.

Play continued in the 2nd half and LA created a lot of chances as Washington got frustrated. In the 2nd half, LA had seven shots on goal in comparison to the Freedom’s one. The one that counted was Marta's.

Though it took her 46 minutes to score once the second half began, Marta put on a speed and footwork clinic for the 5,143 fans in attendance. Freedom defender Alex Singer, tasked with the job of defending the seemingly unstoppable Marta, explained her defensive strategy: “I just do anything I can to make sure she [Marta] doesn’t get past me with the ball. She can get past me, or the ball can go by me, but never together.”

The Sol will play its next game in just three days against St. Louis, as the Freedom get 10 days to rest before traveling to New Jersey on July 15 to play Sky Blue FC.


Lineups:

Washington Freedom: Erin McLeod; Becky Sauerbrunn, Cat Whitehill, Alex Singer, Sarah Senty, Homare Sawa, Sonia Bompastor, Ali Krieger (Rebecca Moros, 72'), Lori Lindsey, Abby Wambach (C), Lisa De Vanna (Allie Long, 82')

Los Angeles Sol: Karina LeBlanc; Stephanie Cox, Brittany Bock, Christie Shaner (Manya Makoski, 52'), Shannon Boxx (C), Camille Abily, Aya Miyama, Katie Larkin, McCall Zerboni, Han Duan, Marta

CHICAGO RED STARS 2 - 1 WASHINGTON FREEDOM

The Red Stars became the first team in WPS history to come from behind to win a game, scoring a pair of second-half goals Wednesday night to beat the Washington Freedom, 2-1, in front of 4,127 at TOYOTA PARK. In the process Chicago ended its WPS-record scoreless streak at 451 consecutive minutes, snapped a nine-match winless streak and kept itself in the heart of the league playoff race.

The Freedom jumped out to a 1-0 first half lead when Abby Wambach scored in the 34th minute on an assist from Lisa De Vanna, but despite some close shots it was the only goal Washington would score in the game. The Freedom did come close, particularly in the last few minutes of the match, but ultimately could not find the back of the net a second time.

Cristiane got the Red Stars (3-6-5) on the board in the 48th minute with a brilliant goal scored with her back to the net. Lindsay Tarpley had her initial shot deflected by Washington goalkeeper Erin McLeod, but the deflection found its way straight to the Brazilian striker, who kicked it backwards with her left foot straight in.

Tarpley would record the game-winner in the 61st minute. The Chicago forward took a feed from Megan Rapinoe, spun around a Freedom defender and buried her shot in the upper left corner for her third goal of the season, retying Cristiane for the team scoring lead.

Washington (4-5-4) nearly earned a draw in the match’s final minute. During stoppage time Abby Wambach took a shot from the right side of the goal line that deflected off Red Stars goalkeeper Caroline Jönsson to a wide open Lisa De Vanna, but the forward was unable to strike the ball and it continued harmlessly out of bounds.

The two goals highlighted a strong offensive night for the Red Stars, who outshot Washington by a 28-16 margin. Carli Lloyd had a shot cleared off the line by Washington defender Cat Whitehill in the match’s opening minute and Cristiane barely missed on more goals when two of her shots hit the crossbar.

With the win, Chicago moves into fifth place in the WPS standings with 14 points, and Washington holds in fourth. The Red Stars have played one more game than the Freedom.

he Red Stars return to the field on Sunday, July 5th for an exhibition match with the Ireland Women’s National Team. The match will take place at 3 pm at the Benedictine University Sports Complex in Lisle, Ill. The Red Stars then return to WPS action the following Sunday, July 12th, when they host FC Gold Pride at 7:00pm. The game will be a celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the U.S. victory in the 1999 Women’s World Cup and feature special appearances by World Cup team members Brandi Chastain and Brianna Scurry.

The Freedom will be back in action this Sunday, July 5 when they host the Los Angeles Sol in a 6:00pm start.


“What we did differently this week, as you know, we put the ball in the back of the net,” Red Stars Coach Emma Hayes said. “The law of averages suggests that the amount of chances we have, we have to bloody put the ball in the back of the net.

“For our fans tonight and the players, I’m delighted. The pressure is taken off of them and I don’t care what anyone says we’re a match for anyone in this league.”


“The first half we could have been up 2-0 but had a couple of bad breaks,” said Washington Freedom head coach Jim Gabarra. “Chicago also had several opportunities to score but either squandered them or Erin (McLeod) would make a great save.”

Line-Ups:

Chicago Red Stars : Jonsson; Spilger, Oakes,Dieke,Ostberg,Carney,Lloyd,Klein,Rapinoe,Tarpley(c),(92mins Maser),Cristiane(88mins Adams)

Washington Freedom: McLeod; Krieger(80mins Singer),Whitehill,Sauerbrunn, Bompastor,Gilbeau(68mins Senty),Sawa,Lindsey,Moros(88mins Eyorokon) ,Devanna,Wambach(c)

MIDWEEK GAME - Wednesday 1st July

Chicago Red Stars v Washington Freedom Wed July 1 8.30pm ET Live on Webcam


The Chicago Red Stars will host one of the most successful national team players in U.S. women’s soccer history when Abby Wambach and the Washington Freedom come to town for a match Wednesday at TOYOTA PARK.

With 99 goals in 128 international matches, Wambach ranks fifth on the U.S. Women’s National Team all-time goal scoring list. The Rochester, N.Y., native has scored two goals for the Freedom (4-4-4, 16 pts) this season.

The Red Stars (2-6-5, 11 pts) enter the game on a nine-match winless streak and have played a Women’s Professional Soccer-record 403 consecutive minutes without a goal. Chicago sits just five points back of Washington in the WPS standings; the Freedom are currently in fourth position and possess the last playoff spot.

Wednesday marks the only midweek home game for the Red Stars this season, and Chicago will once again play shorthanded. Midfielder Chioma Igwe will miss the match after earning the first yellow card accumulation suspension in league history by drawing her fourth caution of the year during Saturday’s loss at Los Angeles.

The match will be available for fans to watch via webcast on www.chicagoredstars.com with both English and Spanish language audio feeds.

This past week, both the Freedom and the Red Stars were on the road. The Freedom traveled to Boston for a Wednesday game in a face-off between the second and third place teams in the WPS standings. The only goal of the game came off a free kick by Boston defender Heather Mitts, which found the head of Christine Latham and past Freedom goalkeeper Erin McLeod. Going into the second half down by a goal, the Freedom stepped up their play and had multiple opportunities to tie the game, but as the clock wound down the Freedom was unable to score and the game ended in a disappointing 1-0 loss.

The Red Stars faced the league-leading Los Angeles Sol on Saturday at the Home Depot Center in California. Sitting at the bottom of the standings, the Red Stars fought to gain a game on the Sol but instead conceded four goals and failed to score themselves. The Sol’s Shannon Boxx and Camille Abily scored in the first half, and Marta scored twice in the second half to put the game out of reach.

The question for both teams coming into the game this Wednesday is, who will score? The Chicago Red Stars have gone four consecutive games without scoring a single goal, and have only scored eight goals this season. Their team leaders in scoring, Lindsay Tarpley and Cristiane, have only two goals apiece. The Freedom finds itself in a similar, though not as drastic, scoring dearth. After going on a run during which they scored 13 goals in five games, the Freedom has now scored only twice in their last four games. With the Freedom’s leader in points, Sonia Bompastor (3 goals, 4 assists), now playing in the backline, the Freedom has struggled to make the most of their scoring opportunities. They will look to change all that this Wednesday against Chicago, while still maintaining their strong backline that has conceded just one goal in the last three games.

Erin McLeod selected Week 13 WPS Player of the Week

Well thank god for that. About time another defensive player gets the nod.And the 2nd goalie after Athletica's Jillian Loyden.


Washington goalkeeper Erin McLeod has been selected WPS's Player of the Week for Week 13 after notching her second shutout in six appearances to lead the visiting Freedom to a 1-0 triumph over Saint Louis Athletica. The Canadian made seven saves, including a big 63rd-minute stop on Week 12 winner Eniola Aluko, and twice received help from her crossbar as Washington climbed to second place in the WPS standings.

McLeod is the third Freedom player to receive Player of the Week honors, joining Abby Wambach (Week 5) and Sonia Bompastor (Week 6). She's the second Canadian selection (FC Gold Pride's Christine Sinclair, Week 8) and the second goalkeeper honored (Saint Louis' Jillian Loyden, Week 9). The WPS Player of the Week is selected by a panel of writers from the North American Soccer Reporters.

WPS Players of the Week

Week 1: Aya Miyama (Los Angeles Sol)
Week 2: Marta (Los Angeles Sol)
Week 3: Kelly Smith (Boston Breakers)
Week 4: Aly Wagner (Los Angeles Sol)
Week 5: Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom)
Week 6: Sonia Bompastor (Washington Freedom)
Week 7: Lori Chalupny (Saint Louis Athletica)
Week 8: Christine Sinclair (FC Gold Pride)
Week 9: Jillian Loyden (Saint Louis Athletica)
Week 10: Shannon Boxx (Los Angeles Sol)
Week 11: Camille Abily (Los Angeles Sol)
Week 12: Eniola Aluko (Saint Louis Athletica)

Week 13: Erin McLeod (Washington Freedom)

MIDWEEK GAMES -WEDNESDAY 24TH JUNE 09

Boston Breakers vs. Washington Freedom (7 pm ET - CSN)
Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA

The third of four matches between these two teams whose namesakes stem from the old WUSA. Boston has the chance to clinch the season series with a win after notching a 3-1 victory in the first game at Maryland SoccerPlex and drawing 1-1 in Boston one month ago. Just one point separates these two teams, with Washington sitting in second in the WPS Standings and the Breakers in third.

The Breakers broke out of several slumps over the weekend, winning their first game since May 2 with a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Red Stars. Kristine Lilly notched her first tally since May 2 and Amy Rodriguez ended her scoreless slump with an early goal. Boston is now 3-0 when Lilly scores.

Likewise, the Freedom come into the game having won on the road in Week 13 against Saint Louis. The Freedom’s 83rd-minute game-winner by Rebecca Moros was the third time this year that the Washington side has scored a clutch goal in the last 10 minutes to either win or tie a game. Abby Wambach will feature at some point although she is hampered by a hamstring injury.

This match will air on the Comcast Sports Network on Wednesday, June 24 at 7 pm ET.








Saint Louis Athletica vs. Los Angeles Sol (8 pm ET)
Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Fenton, MO

Saint Louis played Los Angeles tough earlier this season when the Sol visited the Gateway City, earning the Athetica’s first points on the year with a scoreless draw after two losses. But the Sol dominated the return match in Southern California, doubling the Athletica in shots (16-8) and shots on goal (8-4) in their 2-0 victory on May 30.

While the Athletica have a speedy defense which has neutralized forwards Marta and Brittany Bock in previous games, it’s midfielders Sol Camile Abily, Shannon Boxx and Aya Miyama that look to control the midfield possession and build up towards the attack for Los Angeles. For Saint Louis, Eniola Aluko has developed into a proven attacker up front – but the Los Angeles defense has given up only four goals all year and have only one multi-goal game against them this season. Aluko will need some support from Melissa Tancredi or Christie Welsh, who began the season in Los Angeles before being traded to Saint Louis in mid-May.

With a 14 point cushion for Los Angeles over the Athletica, this game is critical for Saint Louis if they want to maintain any hopes of catching the Sol in the race for first and the right to host the WPS Championship on August 20. They are the last of the seven WPS teams to begin the second half of their regular season with only 10 games played thus far.

WASHINGTON FREEDOM 0 - 0 CHICAGO RED STARS

In a fiercely fought game, the Washington Freedom (3-3-4) and Chicago Red Stars (2-3-5) played to a 0-0 tie Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 5,049 at Washington’s RFK Stadium.

The key to this game was toughness and intensity. Chicago players, never afraid to go body-to-body, brought their rough playing style to Washington. Each team recorded a pair of yellow cards, and head referee Juan Carlos Rivero ejected Chicago’s Karen Carney in the 60th minute after a hard foul on Washington’s captain Abby Wambach.

This was the second straight game against Washington that a Chicago player was red-carded (the last game took place at the Maryland Soccer Plex on April 11, with Red Stars captain Frida Ostberg earning the ejection).

Through the first 20 minutes, Washington took four shots to Chicago’s two, but none found the net. This shooting disparity would continue
throughout the game, with Washington taking 24 shots to Chicago’s nine. After Carney was ejected, Washington took a staggering 13 shots, including six on frame. Chicago’s best first half chance came at the 25 minute mark from midfielder Megan Rapinoe, who struck the ball well but missed the goal high. Washington’s best chance came at the 41 minute mark, when midfielder Allie Long’s shot sailed just over the crossbar.On Chicago’s end, Rapinoe ran hard throughout the game, giving the Red Stars all four of their crosses. These opportunities never came to fruition, but were some of Chicago’s best chances during the hard-fought draw.

Washington recorded its first shutout of the year, despite the fact that coach Jim Gabarra had to make two changes to his back line, which lost Alex Singer to an injury. Added to the defense was Ali Krieger, who played her first game with the Freedom after arriving from her previous club in Frankfurt, Germany.

Chicago are still the only team to remain unbeaton on the road.

Lineups:

Chicago: Jönsson; Dalmy, Spilger, Oakes, Ostberg; Carney (Ejected, 60^th), Klein (Adams, 71^st), Igwe, Rapinoe (Vandenbergh, 81^st); Tarpley (Lloyd, 56th), Cristiane

Washington: McLeod; Krieger(Gilbeau ,72nd),Whitehill, Sauerbrumn,Bompastor; Sawa , Lindsey(DeDyker, 85th) ,Moros;Long, Wambach, DeVanna

FC GOLD PRIDE 3 - 4 WASHINGTON FREEDOM

WAMBACH SCORES AT LAST!


WEIMER GOAL AND AN ASSIST!

Striker Abby Wambach scored on a header in the 90th minute, giving the Washington Freedom a 4-3 win over FC Gold Pride at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara.

Wambach finished with two goals and one assist.

FC Gold Pride tied it 3-3 on goals by Tiffany Weimer in the 75th minute and substitute Christine Sinclair in the 83rd minute.

It was never a matter of if, it was always a matter of when. After failing to connect on her first 16 shots over the previous three Women's Professional Soccer games, Abby Wambach finally did what everyone expected her to do on Sunday - score a goal.

But Wambach didn't stop there. After heading in the game's first goal on a free kick from Cat Whitehill, Wambach put the period on the match by heading in another Whitehill free kick in stoppage time to give the Freedom its first WPS win, 4-3 over FC Gold Pride.

Lori Lindsay, assisted by Wambach, slipped a short range goal in the 51st minute followed by a goal by Ally Long assisted by Lori Lindsay in the 70th minute, her first of the season.

"Well, I'd rather win in un-dramatic fashion but we are glad that we got the result," said Freedom head coach Jim Gabarra.

"We've been playing well the first couple weeks of the season but we haven't got any bounces and we've given up some tough goals and not put our chances away so it was nice to do so today. Even though it was the last minute, I thought both teams played well attacking-wise, but we are very happy to get the first win."

FC Gold Pride had good play at times with Tiffany Weimer and Tina DiMartino combining well in midfield. Good combination resulted in the 1st goal as Weimer put a ball through to striker Tiffany Millbrett who lobbed the ball over the head of 6ft keeper Kati Jo Spicek who was starting her 1st match after replacing Briana Scurry.

Tiffany Weimer scored the first goal of her WPS career, assisted by the speedy Kandace Wilson, in the 75th minute. Christine Sinclair then followed that up with her first goal of the year, assisted by Rachel Buehler, in the 83rd minute.

“I thought it showed a lot of heart to come back after being down three to one,” said FC Gold Pride head Coach Albertin Montoya. “The positives are that we never give up on anything and I think there are very few teams that have that type of heart. Unfortunately, one of the world’s best goal scorers decided to get hot against us.”

Lineups:

FC Gold Pride: Barnhart; Wilson, Graczyk, Buehler, Robinson (Massengale, 78); Weimer, Yokers (Sinclair, 60), DiMartino, Osborne, Milbrett, Arakawa.

Washington: Spisak; Gilbeau, Whitehill, Sauerbrunn, Singer; DeDycker (De Vanna, 62), Lindsey, Sawa, Long, Wambach, Moros (Janss, 76).

WASHINGTON FREEDOM 1 - 3 BOSTON BREAKERS

The Breakers win again.Courtesy of a flurry of goals in the 2nd half.The first two penalty kicks in league history each turned out favorably for Boston as Kelly Smith opened the scoring from the penalty spot while Kristin Luckenbill saved what would have been a go-ahead Abby Wambach penalty 16 minutes later in the Breakers' 3-1 win over the Washington Freedom on Saturday evening at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md.

Smith put the Breakers in front with her third goal of the season in the 56th minute. Angela Hucles was poleaxed inside the area by Freedom goalkeeper Briana Scurry to lead to the spot kick.

The Freedom came right back and leveled the score just four minutes later on a goal from Lori Lindsey, assisted by Rebecca Moros, and then had a chance to take the lead in the 72nd minute after Boston defender Amy LePeilbet was called for a hand ball in the box. Wambach's penalty attempt was saved by a diving Luckenbill, who read correctly toward the lower right hand corner.

The Breakers made the Freedom pay for the miss by capitalizing four minutes later on a header by second-half substitute Christine Latham. After a nice run by Kristine Lilly led to a Latham cross that was cleared by Scurry, Alex Scott sent the ball back in to Latham, who headed the ball past Scurry. Scott was a machine going up and down the right flank and shackled Sonia Bompastor.Her best game by far in the WPS.

Hucles added to the Breakers lead in the 81st minute with an stunner of a goal from the edge of the penalty area into the upper corner of the goal. A diving Scurry had no chance.

"There was some good and some bad," said Breakers head coach Tony DiCicco. "I thought our back line and our goalkeeper Luckenbill defended very well. Offensively we finished very well in the second half. I didn't think we passed the ball as well as we normally have, and we gave a lot of balls away, but give credit to Washington for that.

"I'm proud of this team though. The best teams find a way to get results even when not playing their best, and I thought we did that tonight."

The teams battled an evenly contested first half with chances on both sides despite the 0-0 scoreline. Boston's best chance of the first half came in the 36th minute when Lilly turned and beat a Freedom defender in side the penalty area, beat Scurry, but had her effort headed away by Becky Sauerbrunn in time to prevent the goal.Washington's best chance was when Wambach was through on goal from a headed flick by Scott only to be superbly tackled in the box by Lepeilbet.


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LINEUPS

WSH: 1 – Scurry (GK), 11 – Janss (3 – Gilbeau, 46’), 4 – Whitehill , 22 – Sauerbrunn , 21 – Singer , 8 – Bompastor, 6 – Lindsey, 9 – Long (19 – Moros, 46’), 10 – Sawa, 20 – Wambach – Capt.), 17 - De Vanna (25 – Zimmeck, 84’)

BOS: 1 – Luckenbill (GK), 2 – Mitts, 6 – LePeilbet, 20 – Weber, 22 – Scott, 10 – Smith, 16 – Hucles, 17 – Moore (4 – Bishop, 61’), 13 – Lilly - Capt.), 3 – Schmedes (5 – Tomecka, 84’), 8 – Rodriquez,(7 – Latham, 68’).