WPS UPDATE - CHRISTIE RAMPONE TO BE A MOM AGAIN

Sky Blue FC player/coach Christie Rampone is expecting another child in March 2010.

Rampone guided Sky Blue to the inaugural title at the Women's Professional Soccer championship on Saturday. They beat the Los Angeles Sol 1-0, three weeks after Rampone took over the coaching duties when Kelly Lindsey resigned.

Rampone, who is nearly three months pregnant, recently competed in two playoff games and the championship game. She played 90 minutes in each.

"It's been an eventful year to say the least, but the timing of this pregnancy is perfect because I was able to finish off this amazing first season and hopefully get back in time to make a major contribution to Sky Blue FC in 2010," she said Tuesday in a statement.

Rampone has been nominated for defender, coach and sportswoman of the year ahead of the league awards ceremony on Saturday. She expects to play in the WPS All-Star game in St. Louis on Sunday.

A native of Point Pleasant, N.J., Rampone has played in three World Cups and three Olympics. She took off most of 2005 to have her first child.

Rampone, the captain of the U.S. national team, plans to return to the WPS in June.

She will miss the US Women's National Team camps and upcoming game against World Champions Germany in October.

Los Angeles Sol v NJ Sky Blue FC Highlights &Trophy Presentation

0-1

LOS ANGELES SOL 0 - 1 NJ SKY BLUE FC

Sky Blue FC did the unthinkable...they beat the Los Angeles Sol 1- 0 in Saturday's inaugural Women's Professional Soccer Championship Game at The Home Depot Center.

Heather O'Reilly's goal in the 16th minute was enough to see the New Jersey side come through in a remarkable season. You couldn't have scripted it any better.

Sky Blue, which finished fourth in the seven-team league with a 7-8-5 record and had to win two playoff games, both on the road, to reach the championship game, dominated the first half offensively, taking nine shots to one for the Sol and led 3-1 in shots on goal.

The scoring sequence began with a throw-in by Keely Dowling to Kacey White, who sent a cross to Natasha Kai. Kai redirected the ball with her head to O'Reilly, who put a shot from eight yards out past Sol goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc.

Los Angeles started the match flat and it got even worse. Defender Allison Falk was issued a red card in the 27th minute for tackling Kai from behind. The referee maybe thinking that Falk was the last man and prevented a scoring opportunity.

The Sol reeling from the shock had trouble keeping pace with Sky Blue for the rest of the half. Coach Abner Rogers subbed in defender Sharolta Nonen for winger McCall Zerboni in the 35th minute to tighten the defence but this left space in midfield.

Into the second half. Los Angeles came out with more fire in their bellies and were aggressive.Captain Shannon Boxx showed her team the way and was almost always on the attack.Unfortunately for her Sky Blue captain Christie Rampone was also leading the way for her team.Perfect innings for the coach as she snuffed out Marta on several occasions.

As the half wore on Sky Blue players looked out on their feet. The adrenalin they were running on was nearly at empty.Los Angeles were creating more and more chances.

In the 52nd minute midfielder Aya Miyama dribbled into the box, but O’Reilly made a clean, yet dangerous tackle to prevent a shot.The crowd screaming for a penalty. In the 71st minute, Boxx drilled a shot to the lower left corner, which Jenni Branam pushed out of bounds.

In the 84th minute, Marta took a dangerous shot that goalkeeper Branam parried just wide. On the ensuing corner kick, the ball fell to Boxx at the back post and her shot was bobbled by Branam. Los Angeles substitute Lyndsey Patterson tried to get a foot to the ball, but Branam was able to fall on it.

Sky Blue held on for the win in what was a truely remarkable season for them.

In our opinion a team that defeats the 3rd seed Washington Freedom, the 2nd seed Saint Louis Athletica and the 1st Seed Los Angeles Sol, teams they have never beaten before , all in a span of eight days really deserves to be champions. Well deserved!

After the match, O’Reilly was named the Most Valuable Player of the WPS Championship.

We will give it to Christie Rampone and a special mention to Shannon Boxx for a great game. She was awsome.

Well now to answer our questions we had in the preview...LA played well without Abily...in the 2nd half. Sky Blues' legs held out...just and Rampone won out over Boxx..both showing why they are Captains.

Lineups:

Los Angeles Sol – Karina LeBlanc; Stephanie Cox, Brittany Bock, Allison Falk, Manya Makoski; Aya Miyama, Aly Wagner (Katie Larkin 68’), Shannon Boxx (C) , McCall Zerboni (Sharolta Nonen 35’); Marta, Han Duan (Lyndsey Patterson 78’).

Sky Blue FC – Jenni Branam; Meghan Schnur, Christie Rampone (C), Jen Buczkowski, Keeley Dowling; Heather O’Reilly (Noelle Keselica 83’), Yael Averbuch, Francielle, Kacey White; Rosana (Collette McCallum 71’), Natasha Kai (Kerri Hanks 67’).

WPS CHAMPIONSHIP

Los Angeles Sol v NJ Sky Blue FC Sat Aug 22nd 4pm ET Live on FSN and CSN


Well this is it. The Inaugural season of Women's Professional Soccer comes to a close with the championship game between Los Angeles Sol and NJ Sky Blue FC at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

We are back to where it all started.72 matches down, where the regular season champions, the no1 seeds Los Angeles look to cement themselves a place in history as the inaugural champions against the gritty, New Jersey team who stumbled into the playoffs, then bulldozed through to the Final with grit and determination by upsetting the no2 and no3 seeded teams.

Captains Shannon Boxx and Christie Rampone are very good friends from being in the US National team but all that is put aside as they battle for the title. Both have endured vastly different routes to this moment.

Sky Blue FC – the number four seed – has the unenviable task of playing its third playoff game on the road in eight days, the New Jersey side is also on a roll, playing some of its best soccer of the season. After highly inspirational victories over the Washington Freedom and Saint Louis Athletica in the first two rounds of the playoffs, Sky Blue FC will be hoping that momentum and adrenaline will be key factors to help the team bring home the title.

Los Angeles Sol wrapped up the top seed in the playoffs and the right to host the championship match weeks ago. Understandably, with the regular season title secured, Los Angeles closed the season with some subpar results winning just once in its final four games. The last match for the Sol was two weekends ago – a 2-1 road victory over the Boston Breakers on a penalty kick by Shannon Boxx in stoppage time.

In addition to the lengthy time off, the Sol will also have to deal with the absence of an important player in Camille Abily, who is with the France National Team for the UEFA Women’s Euro Championship. Abily was second in WPS with eight goals in the regular season.
Sky Blue FC will be missing key defender Anita Asante and reserve goalkeeper Karen Bardsley – the two are with England for the Euros – but the team has done well defensively in their absence.

So roll on the Final. How will Los Angeles cope without the calm play in midfield of Abily, how much longer can the legs of the Sky Blue players hold up, which captain is going to be the first ever person to hold aloft that championship trophy?

Saint Louis Athletica v NJ Sky Blue FC Highlights

0-1

SAINT LOUIS ATHLETICA 0 - 1 NJ SKY BLUE FC

Sky Blue FC done the unthinkable last night by defeating Saint Louis Athletica 1-0 at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Saint Louis.

They now advance to the WPS Championship where they will face the Los Angeles Sol – the WPS regular season champions.

In front of over a 5,000 strong crowd Sky Blue started the first half with a bang.Passing and moving the ball around they caused problems for Saint Louis.

3 minutes in, Heather O'Reilly playing on the left wing slipped past defender Melissa Tancredi, got to the byline and sent in a fast paced cross into the box. Forward Keri Hanks came on to volley the ball at goal from six yards out, which looked to be going in but Hope Solo made a diving save to her left to somehow keep the ball out. Fantastic save by Solo.

10 minutes later Solo again rescued Athletica when Kacey White struck at goal from inside the box on the right. Solo with the diving save.

Athletica were having problems connecting with the front pairing of Christie Welsh and Sarah Walsh.

Sky Blue got their reward for a dominant first half when in the 30th minute after good possession,right-back Keeley Dowling made a surge down the right wing into Athletica's half. She played the ball to O’Reilly who had now switched to the right, who in turn played a short pass at the top of the right corner of the box to Yael Averbuch. Averbuch made a great pull-back move through two defenders and then fed Dowling who had continued her run into the box. Dowling then curled a left-footed shot just inside the left post passed an outstretched Solo.

Sky Blue deserved the lead.

The best chance for Saint Louis in the opening half came in stoppage time as Welsh forced a falling save from Branam from 22 yards out.

In the second half Athletica came out with a different attitude and started to pile pressure on Sky Blue. However the chances they were creating were not being taken.

Sky Blue hung in there and could have gone 2-0 up when in the 49th minute, Solo punched away a shot from the Rosana from the top of the box and in the 60th minute, the Athletica keeper knocked away a header from Rosana off a corner kick that was headed toward the upper left corner.

Saint Louis through everything forward in the closing minutes but couldn’t break through.Tancredi just missed with a header in the 68th minute and Lori Chalupny nearly equalized with a blistering shot from the left wing that sailed past the goalmouth in the 75th minute.In the 77th minute after Chalupny drew a foul just outside the penalty area. The resulting free kick produced a screaming shot from Niki Cross that just missed the far left post. Minutes later Walsh would shoot just over the top of the bar as she flicked a chance towards goal.

That was the last good chance for Athletica. Sky Blue held on to the 1-0 lead with a gutsy display. Goalkeeper Jenni Branam who was hurt in a collision with Kendall Fletcher earlier in the game was immense,fighting through the pain.Captain Christie Rampone was marshalling her back four brilliantly, pushing them, keeping them going for the 7 extra minutes of stoppage time.

Who would have thought it. A cinderella story?


Saint Louis Athletica Head Coach Jorge Barcellos

“We could have produced more in the first half.We suffered a goal with a mistake on marking. In a game like this you cannot let anyone shoot inside the box and we waited until we were behind to show them what we really have.”

“It was my dream to bring a championship to St. Louis.Sometimes it doesn’t happen the way you want it to but we have to keep our head high so we can win this championship next year…which I know we can do.”

Saint Louis Athletica Captain Lori Chalupny

“It is such a shame, you get to this point and I feel like we only played for 45 minutes.Once this little sting wears off we can be proud of what we accomplished and what we accomplished this first season and learn from this experience and come back stronger next year.”



NJ Sky Blue FC Player/Coach Christie Rampone

"In the first half, we were so successful because we kept the ball moving. There were a good few combos and in the beginning the combinations really helped the way we played. We didn’t do that as much in the second half but still came out on top. There were a lot of goal opportunities for us but we stayed compact and the first ball got us our victory. Midfield did a great job staying back and overall, we couldn’t have played a better game."

NJ Sky Blue FC Defender and scorer of the goal Keeley Dowling

"I had possession of the ball, picked my head up, and placed it with my left foot.It was funny because Hope made such tremendous saves tonight and mine just snuck right by her. We played our game and came out on top. I'm very proud of my goal, but even prouder of my team."


Lineups:

Saint Louis Athletica: Hope Solo; Melissa Tancredi, Kia McNeill (Stephanie Logterman 64'), Tina Ellertson, Elise Weber; Angie Woznuk (Niki Cross 60'), Amanda Cinalli, Kendall Fletcher, Lori Chalupny(C) ; Sarah Walsh, Christie Welsh (Ashlee Pistorius 71').

Sky Blue FC: Jenni Branam; Keeley Dowling, Jen Buczkowski, Christie Rampone(C), Meghan Schnur; Kacey White, Yael Averbuch, Collette McCallum (Francielle 72'), Heather O'Reilly (Kelly Parker 63'); Rosana, Kerri Hanks (Natasha Kai 46').

WPS SUPER SEMI-FINAL - PLAYOFF

Saint Louis Athletica v NJ Sky Blue FC Wed Aug 19th 7pm ET Live FSC, Webcast and audio Team1380


Saint Louis Athletica will host their first ever playoff game Wednesday night when they face Sky Blue FC in the WPS Super Semifinal at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park.

The winner of the match will go on into the WPS Championship game on August 22nd in Los Angeles where they will meet the regular season champions the Los Angeles Sol.

Saint Louis earned the privilege of hosting the semifinal by finishing in second place in the regular season. Sky Blue FC got to this stage by defeating the Washington Freedom on Saturday 2-1 in the 1st round playoff match.

Athletica come into the match with confidence on a 5 game unbeaten streak. English striker Eniola Aluko and Swedish defender Sara Larsson will not be available as they are in preparations with their national teams for Euro 2009.

Aluko is a big lost to Athletica as her goals have helped push them up to the top of the standings. However in the last few games forwards Sarah Walsh, previously of Sky Blue FC and Christie Welsh have kept Athletica going, with Welsh in particular scoring 3 goals in the last two matches.

Sky Blue come into the match on a wave of emotions. After the off-field problems in the last few weeks they were not fancied to even advance to the playoffs nevermind beat the Freedom to the Super Semi-Final spot.The player's are right behind their Captain and Coach Christie Rampone.
Goalkeeper Jenni Branam who was hurt when she collided with Abby Wambach on Saturday is fit to start.

This will be the fourth meeting between the teams with Saint Louis holding a 3-0-0 record. The first game was a 1-0 win for Athletica as Amanda Cinalli scored the winning goal. The second matchup was also a Saint Louis win. Elise Weber scoring a late 84th minute goal to notch a 2-1 road victory. The third match resulted in a 1-0 Athletica win. Eniola Aluko scoring the only goal.

Washington Freedom v NJ Sky Blue FC Highlights

1-2

WASHINGTON FREEDOM 1 - 2 NJ SKY BLUE FC

Sky Blue FC claimed a dramatic 2-1 victory over the Washington Freedom at the Maryland SoccerPlex yesterday to advance to the Super Semi-Finals of the WPS against Saint Louis Athletica.

Natasha Kai and Francielle both came off the bench to score with Francielle’s game-winning goal coming in the 84th minute.

With a 4 p.m. kickoff, the game was played in stifling 92-degree heat and that slowed the pace of the game noticeably.Sky Blue FC held the upper hand in the first half with a 14-5 advantage in shots. Rosana had a great chance in the seventh minute but volleyed right at Freedom keeper Erin McLeod. In the 21st minute, McLeod charged out the block a chance by Kerri Hanks, who started in place of Kai up front.

Washington did not create many chances in the first half. Abby Wambach and Lisa DeVanna did not make the impacts as expected and they looked like they were not on the same page.The whole first half they didn't manage a shot on goal.

In the second half, the Freedom started to create and play well. Ali Krieger hit a great chance over from close range less than two minutes in.

But the game turned in the 54th minute when Kai was substituted in for Hanks. With fresh legs against a tiring defence Kai latched on to a ball from Kacey White, stole the ball away from Cat Whitehill by sneaking in from behind her and rounded McLeod to put Sky Blue 1- nil up.

Washington were shocked into a response as Wambach shot right at Jenni Branam in the 61st minute and then Branam made a key save seven minutes later tipping a blast by Krieger off the crossbar.

The Freedom goal came in the 78th minute off a long ball played forward into the box. Branam charged off her line to box the ball and collided into Wambach in the process. The ball went right to De Vanna and the Australian striker nailed a shot just under the crossbar beating two defenders on the line to tie the score at 1-1.

It looked like the game was going to overtime when in the 84th minute Francielle received a pass from Yael Averbuch to the left side. She froze a defender with a move off the dribble and then unleashed a low shot from 20 yards that nicked off the fingertips of McLeod and into the lower right corner. McLeod should have saved the shot but it just sneaked in the inside of the post.

Sky Blue held out for the win by playing keep ball and making Washington run after the ball which they couldn't do in the searing heat.

Well deserved victory for Sky Blue and Interim player/coach Christie Rampone which keeps their season alive after so many off the field disturbances.They will travel directly to St. Louis to prepare for the WPS Super Semifinal at the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo.



Washington Freedom Head Coach Jim Gabarra

"It's difficult to play the same team twice in a row at home.They had a specific game plan, and we didn't get a goal to force them out of it. We let it play into their game plan. It was a very average performance."

On missing Sonia Bompastor

"She has been our security blanket."


Washington Freedom Forward Abby Wambach

"It was a game with a team like them, who were just keeping possession and getting crosses in the box, against a team like us, who were trying to get in behind on the transition. When you have two teams playing those opposite systems, and if we had gotten a little bit lucky, the result could have been totally different."



Interim Player/ Coach Christie Rampone

"I think the heat is just how you handle it. I was telling the girls that everyone was hot – deal with it and make the ball work. I think it definitely slowed the game for both sides but I think we got the better of it; pinging the ball around, especially late in the game, you could see when we were spraying the ball they didn’t want to make the 20-yard run. The key was keeping the ball and not giving away too many balls in the middle.

After our goal, I really felt like the team settled in and even though they scored, I still felt pretty confident in the team. A couple minutes after the goal they had a little momentum but we got it back. They left Fran wide open and she hit a good shot and we finished out better than we normally do."

Sky Blue FC forward Natash Kai

"I knew I needed to come in and help the team out and give that extra fire, that spark.The ball went over and I just saw Kacey with the ball. I don’t know if she was trying to shoot it or if it was more like a half cross. It had a weird spin to it and I knew Cat (Whitehill) had no idea I was behind her. I knew that if I beat her to the ball it was an easy goal for me.

They came back and scored a great goal but then Fran came in and finished an awesome ball. This is what we needed to do – coming into the playoffs we needed to score and play defense as a team. Our three subs that came in played strong and helped the team out."

Lineups:

Washington Freedom: Erin McLeod; Sarah Senty, Cat Whitehill, Becky Sauerbrunn, Ali Krieger; Lori Lindsey (Sarah Huffman 73'), Jill Gilbeau (Alex Singer 46'), Homare Sawa, Rebecca Moros (Allie Long 59'); Lisa De Vanna, Abby Wambach(C).

Sky Blue FC: Jenni Branam; Jen Buczkowski, Keeley Dowling, Meghan Schnur, Christie Rampone(C) ; Yael Averbuch, Collette McCallum (Francielle 61'), Heather O'Reilly, Kacey White (Kelly Parker 71'); Rosana, Kerri Hanks (Natasha Kai 54').

WPS PLAYOFF - 1ST ROUND

Washington Freedom v NJ Sky Blue FC Sat Aug 15th 4pm ET Live FSN , CSN , Webcast

This WPS First Round will be a re-match of last week’s playoff clinching match-up at the Maryland SoccerPlex, between the Washington Freedom and NJ Sky Blue FC.

It's the last chance for both teams to advance. No get out clauses this time.The rematch was made possible when Boston lost to Los Angeles, clinching a spot for Sky Blue FC.

The Freedom are coming in hot, having won four of their last five games and were a solid 5-2-3 at home this year, the second-best home record in the league (some games played at RFK Stadium).

Sky Blue are coming in confident as well despite the defeat to Washington. They have had more time in training to get the confidence and tactics right.

Both teams are missing players to the Euro 2009. Washington will miss their bright spark French international Sonia Bompastor and Sky Blue will miss the pacy English defender Anita Asante and Goalkeeper Karen Bardsley who was also called by England.

Both teams will need to be mindful of the goals they concede. In the 3 matches already between the sides the Freedom outscored Sky Blue 9-6.

Sky Blue will have to find a way to contain strikers Abby Wambach and Lisa De Vanna. Two pacy players without the speed of Asante.

The Washington defence will keep their eyes on striker Natasha Kai. Kai herself will be looking to take the many chances she will almost certainly get during the game.

The winner can look forward to a match with the Saint Louis Athletica who are waiting in the Super Semi- Final on Wednesday evening.

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.

WPS PREVIEW WEEK 20

Well it's finally hear. The last week of the regular season in the inaugural WPS league. Oh my it has been exciting.
There are three teams still in the hunt, but only two playoff spots remain.It's all come down to this final weekend.
In a nutshell really all teams need to win. They are in control of their own destiny.





Washington Freedom v NJ Sky Blue FC Sat Aug 8 7pm ET Live Audio HERE



This game is a playoff elimination match.Regardless of the outcome of this game, one of the teams will have to sit back and watch the Boston Breakers vs. Los Angeles Sol game on Sunday to see if they qualify for the WPS Playoffs.

Why both matches were not scheduled at the same time mystifies us here.

Sky Blue FC take on the Washington Freedom at the Maryland Soccerplex in a must win game.

Sky Blue FC and the Washington Freedom enter the match tied on points with a 7-7-5 record for 26 points but Washington holds the head-to-head tiebreaker at this point with a win and a tie in the two previous meetings between the teams.

Sky Blue FC heads into the match on the heels of an impressive 2-0 victory over FC Gold Pride on Wednesday night. Rosana and Natasha Kai scored goals while Karen Bardsley posted the shutout in goal as a surprise starter.

The Freedom dropped a 3-2 decision on the road to FC Gold Pride last Saturday in the team’s most recent action. That result broke a four-match unbeaten run for Washington, which had posted three straight wins to climb to third place in the standings. Abby Wambach scored three goals during the winning streak to earn WPS Player of the Month honors for July.

Sonia Bompastor is still available to play for Washington. This will be her last game. She leaves to join her French national teamates for Euro 2009 on Monday.

The Freedom signed goalkeeper Katie Forbis due to injuries to their backup keepers. Forbis had been playing with the Charlotte W-League team before joining the Freedom last week.

For Sky Blue. Goalkeeper Jenni Branam could make her return after sitting out Wednesday's match. English defender Anita Asante returns straight to the starting line-up from suspension as she will also play her last game before leaving for the Euro 2009 championships.


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Boston Breakers v Los Angeles Sol Sun Aug 9th 6pm ET Live FSC & Webcast


The Boston Breakers come into Sunday’s regular-season finale (6 p.m., Harvard Stadium) against the league-leading Los Angeles Sol needing at least a tie, and maybe more, in order to secure a playoff spot.

The Breakers (7-8-4, 25 points) find themselves in fifth place coming into the weekend, one point behind both the Washington Freedom and Sky Blue FC, which play each other on Saturday. Only two of the three teams will earn a spot in the playoffs.

The Breakers, who are the only team that is unbeaten this season against the Sol, come into Sunday’s match having lost two-straight - both 1-0 decisions on the road to Washington and Saint Louis. Boston has not scored a goal in 345 minutes, the team’s longest such streak this season. Conversely, the team’s defense has been stellar, allowing just two goals in the past five matches.

Los Angeles has seen their momentum slow down in recent weeks. The Sol booked their playoff spot early on back on June 29, and subsequently clinched the WPS Regular Season title on July 23. Los Angeles has won just once since securing that playoff spot, a 1-0 win over Washington on July 5, and are just 1-2-1 in July and August.

The teams’ only previous meetings came in a home-and-home series in early May. The Breakers became the first team in the league to score upon, and defeat the Sol with a 2-1 win on May 2 at home. The teams drew, 0-0, eight days later in California.

Kelly Smith and Alex Scott will play their last games for the Breakers. Scott coming back from a suspension. Head coach Tony DiCicco is also back from suspension.

The Sol may start again without French star Camille Abily or maybe they will let her play the final game to try and get the win.

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FC Gold Pride v Saint Louis Athletica Sun Aug 9th 8pm ET


The final game of the 2009 WPS Regular Season will see FC Gold Pride and Saint Louis Athletica play at Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara.

The Pride is currently 0-2-1 against the Athletica and is looking to finish out its season with a victory. Both teams have already secured their postseason fate. The Pride will remain out of contention for a playoff berth despite the outcome of Sunday’s match while the Athletica earned a guaranteed playoff berth earlier in the season with a win over the Boston Breakers on August 1.

On July 22, a late goal by Christine Sinclair knotted the score at 1-1 for the Pride and kept Saint Louis from clinching a playoff berth for another week.

Brazilian star Formiga is still a doubt to start the match for Gold Pride.

Athletica again will look to shape their side for the upcoming playoff game. Christie Welsh could start again after scoring twice on Wednesday against the Red Stars.

A win over Saint Louis would give Gold Pride a win over five of the league’s six teams they have faced during the course of the season – proving the depth of WPS in its Inaugural Season that on any given day, any team can win.

NJ Sky Blue FC v FC Gold Pride Highlights

2-0

NJ SKY BLUE FC 2 - 0 FC GOLD PRIDE

Natasha Kai scored a goal to seal the 2-0 win for Sky Blue FC over FC Gold Pride at a packed Yurcak Field, New Jersey last night.

With a sold-out capacity crowd of 5,455 Sky Blue took one step into the playoffs.

The match was the first for Sky Blue with Captain Christie Rampone serving as interim player/coach. The match didn’t start smoothly with goalkeeper Karen Bardsley replacing Jenni Branam in the starting lineup at the last minute forcing Sky Blue to use one of its substitutions.

Sky Blue held an 11-2 edge in shots in the first half but couldn’t break through. Kai headed a corner kick from Yael Averbuch just wide of the post in the 18th minute and FC Gold Pride keeper Nicole Barnhart did a good job to pick the ball off the foot of Kai in the 35th minute.

FC Gold Pride’s best chance of the game came from Christine Sinclair in the 43rd minute, but Bardsley came up big to slide through the Canadian striker on a breakaway to keep the game scoreless.

After halftime, Sky Blue took control of the game right away as Rosana scored just 46 seconds into the second half. Heather O’Reilly carried the ball up the right side and floated a cross into the box that the Brazilian midfielder headed into the right side of the goal from eight yards out.

Kacey White then curled a 15-yard shot off the left post in the 59th minute. Two minutes later, substitute Collette McCallum just on, lofted a perfect ball forward for Kai and the striker took a touch before slotting a shot past a charging Barnhart for the 2-0 lead.

Gold Pride had a chance near the end.Sinclair rolled a shot just past the post in the 67th minute.

Kai could have got on the board again, once in the 70th minute and twice back-to-back in the 74th minute. Keeper Barnhart was on task to shut her out.

With the victory, Sky Blue FC moved into a tie for third place with a 7-7-5 record for 26 points. The Washington Freedom and Boston Breakers are the other two teams fighting for the final two playoff spots. Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, Washington has an identical 7-7-5 mark but currently holds the tiebreaker with a victory and tie against Sky Blue FC. The pressure is on Boston with the Breakers sitting one point back at 7-8-4 for 25 points.

Sky Blue travels to the Maryland SoccerPlex on Saturday to take on the Freedom at 7 p.m. in the season finale. Boston hosts the regular season champion Los Angeles Sol on Sunday at 6 p.m. in a must-win game for the Breakers.

FC Gold Pride will return home to take on the second place Staint Louis Athletica for their final game of Inaugural season this Sunday, July 9 at 5 p.m. The Pride is 2-0-1 against the Athletica and will be looking to finish their season on a high note.



INTERIM PLAYER/COACH CHRISTIE RAMPONE

"It feels good now that we got a win. It’s been a great week. I think the team really had some great training sessions. Mike and I were just tweaking little things at training and everyone stayed focused and it really showed in the second half. I think the first half was just pure adrenaline and trying to find our rhythm but I think we came out in the second half really focused and we had nothing to lose at that point."


FC GOLD PRIDE HEAD COACH ALBERTIN MONTOYA

"Obviously I thought we did a little bit better in the first half and dealt with their high pressure. We knew they would come out at us. We had three tough games coming into this game and they had a week's rest and I don’t think our players have played in this type of weather in some time but that’s not an excuse. I thought Sky Blue FC played extremely well today and were very effective in making their runs and the way I look at it, they were just buzzing around everywhere. They had good energy and they played like a team that’s fighting for a playoff spot and we unfortunately didn’t come out with the intensity and energy and I think it cost us in the second half. "



Lineups:
Sky Blue FC:– Jenni Branam (Karen Bardsley 1’); Meghan Schnur, Christie Rampone(C), Jen Buczkowski, Keeley Dowling; Heather O’Reilly, Yael Averbuch, Rosana, Kelly Parker (Collette McCallum 60’); Kacey White (Kerri Hanks 71’), Natasha Kai.

FC Gold Pride: – Nicole Barnhart; Greer Barnes, Carrie Dew, Kristen Graczyk, Rachel Buehler; Tina DiMartino, Tiffeny Milbrett (Kim Yokers 83’), Leslie Osborne(C), Brandi Chastain (Adriane 60’); Christine Sinclair, Tiffany Weimer (Eriko Arakawa 56’).

WPS MIDWEEK MATCHES 05/08/09

NJ Sky Blue FC v FC Gold Pride Wed Aug 5th 7pm ET Live audio Here


Sky Blue FC can guarantee a spot in the postseason with victories in its final two games.
First up is their final home match at Yurcak Field against FC Gold Pride.

With the Los Angeles Sol and Saint Louis Athletica already secured in first and second place, respectively, and with FC Gold Pride and the Chicago Red Stars already eliminated from playoff contention, Sky Blue FC is battling it out for one of the final two spots with the Boston Breakers and Washington Freedom. Both the Breakers and the Freedom failed in crucial situations on the road this past weekend as Boston lost to Saint Louis 1-0 and Washington fell to Gold Pride 3-2.

To make the playoffs, Sky Blue FC will have to beat a team other than Boston and Chicago. They have played FC Gold Pride twice already and never won, a 1-1 tie at home and a 1-0 away defeat at Buck Shaw Stadium.

A win over Gold Pride would put Sky Blue FC into a tie for third place heading into the final weekend.

Sky Blue will be heading into the match without their coach Kelly Lindsey. Lindsey resigned last week. No reason so far has been given as to why. Captain Christie Rampone was named as interim player/coach for these last two games.

On the player front Rampone herself could be back from injury. She had undergone a minor operation 2 weeks ago. Forward Natasha Kai could still be out with her ongoing shoulder problems. English defender Anita Asante is suspended after collecting 4 yellow cards.

FC Gold Pride go into the match with confidence after defeating the Washington Freedom at the weekend and denying them a spot in the playoffs on their patch. Head coach Albertin Montoya wants to keep the momentum going and show people just how good his team really is. Once again he will experiment with his starting line-up.


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Saint Louis Athletica v Chicago Red Stars Wed Aug 5th 8pm ET


Saint Louis Athletica will play their final game at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer park tonight against the Chicago Red Stars.

Both teams have nothing to play for except pride.Athletica have qualified already in 2nd place for the playoffs and Chicago have been eliminated from the playoffs.

Both teams are coming of wins in their last games. Athletica defeating the visiting Boston Breakers 1-0 at the weekend to secure the playoff spot and Chicago convincingly beating the 1st place Los Angeles Sol at Toyota Park on Sunday.

In the two previous meeting between them it's a win each. All to play for to win the serious.

Athletica will use this game to rest some players in preparation for their playoff match.
Sarah Walsh could be in right from the start in place of star forward Eniola Aluko. Goalkeeper Jillian Loyden may get a start ahead of Hope Solo.

Sara Larsson, Angie Woznuk and Amanda Cinalli are all suffering from niggling injuries and may not see game time.

Chicago coming of a moral boost with the win against Los Angeles Sol look set to field the same line-up although Lindsey Tarpley could miss due to a slight injury. Defeneder Ifeoma Dieke is still missing due to injury though.

WPS BREAKING NEWS - SKY BLUE COACH LINDSEY RESIGNS, CAPTAIN RAMPONE IS NEW COACH...

What is going on at Sky Blue FC headquarters?..........

Christie Rampone has become Sky Blue's 3rd coach in as many months.

Sky Blue FC announced today that team captain and US Women's National Team star Christie Rampone has agreed to serve as interim player/coach of Sky Blue FC. Rampone will be assisted by long-time New Jersey coach Mike Lyons. This follows yesterday's resignation of Head Coach Kelly Lindsey.

"We are grateful to Christie for stepping up," said Sky Blue FC General Manager Gerry Marrone. "She has been a tremendous leader and support to the players thus far, and a strong asset to management. We have every confidence both she and Mike will not only fill a void, but do a great job."

Regarding Lindsey's resignation, said Marrone, "We are actually quite shocked. We gave Kelly a great opportunity as Head Coach and she was making progress. We are disappointed that she chose to leave the team ten days prior to the end of the regular season, with two remaining games and Sky Blue FC in playoff contention."

Rampone will assume her duties immediately. The team has two remaining regular season games, and is currently in fifth place and in contention for one of the final three open playoff spots in the inaugural season of Women's Professional Soccer. The Los Angeles Sol has already clinched the number one playoff position.

Read more at SkyBlue.com

Boston Breakers v NJ Sky Blue FC Highlights

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WPS UPDATE

Playoff Picture

Week 18 didn’t do much to clarify the playoff picture but it did mark the official end of any post-season dreams for two WPS teams. With a loss Sunday to Washington, the Chicago Red Stars were officially eliminated from playoff contention, as was FC Gold Pride. The Bay Area side needed a victory over Saint Louis to stay in mathematical contention.

The Los Angeles Sol became the first team to clinch their seed in the WPS Playoffs Thursday with a scoreless draw against FC Gold Pride that gave the Sol the WPS Regular Season title. As champions of the regular season, Los Angeles earns the right to host the WPS Championship on August 22 at 4pm ET/1pm PT at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

But positions 2-5 in the WPS Standings are as jumbled as ever as Washington moved into a tie with Sky Blue FC for fourth-place with a game in hand over the New Jersey side. With nine games left in the WPS Regular Season, here’s a basic team-by-team playoff overview with this week’s clinching or elimination scenarios in the current order of the standings:

1.) Los Angeles Sol – has clinched the WPS Regular Season title and a spot in the WPS Championship

2.) Saint Louis Athletica – will clinch a playoff spot and guarantee a home playoff game with a victory on Saturday vs. the Boston Breakers

3.) Boston Breakers – will clinch a playoff spot with a victory on Wednesday vs. the Washington Freedom and could clinch a home playoff game with two victories this week

4.) Washington Freedom – August 8th game vs. Sky Blue FC to close the season looms on the horizon as a key game if these two teams remain within three points of each other.

5.) Sky Blue FC – August 8th game vs. Washington Freedom to close the season looms on the horizon as a key game if these two teams remain within three points of each other.

6.) Chicago Red Stars – Eliminated from playoffs

7.) FC Gold Pride – Eliminated from playoffs

Standings

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(C) L.A.	18	11	5	2	24	6	38
Saint Louis	17	8	3	6	15	14	27
Boston	17	7	4	6	17	16	25
Washington	17	6	5	6	26	28	23
Sky Blue	18	6	5	7	16	17	23
Chicago	18	4	5	9	15	22	17
Gold Pride	17	3	5	9	13	23	14

BOSTON BREAKERS 0 - 0 NJ SKY BLUE FC

Jenni Branam played a blinder for Sky Blue FC to frustrate the Boston Breakers once again at Harvard Stadium, denying them the win that would have clinched a playoff spot and keeping Sky Blue's record of no loses to Boston intact. Branam made eight saves to record the shut-out her sixth of the season – the second best total in Women’s Professional Soccer.

The Breakers started of strongly in the 1st half from the very first minute.In the 11th minute, Maggie Tomecka had perhaps the best chance of the match when she got on the end of a bouncing ball in front of the net, but hit it to the center where Branam was positioned to make the diving save. In the 17th minute, Kristine Lilly sent Jennie Nobis on a breakaway with a long ball, but with just Branam standing in her way of a goal, Nobis was unable to find the corner.

Sky Blue did not have many chances in the 1st half.They only managed 3 shots. Heather O'Reilly being the most offensive player for Sky Blue.In the 26th minute, O’Reilly hit a shot that went right over the middle of the cross bar. Then in the 39th, she again got the ball and took it down the right side before crossing it across the goal mouth, but Ali Lipsher picked it up before one of O’Reilly’s teammates got a foot on it.

The Breakers went into the changing rooms wondering how they failed to score. After dominating the half.

The 2nd Half did not live up to the anticipation.

Kristine Lilly had The Breakers best opportunity in the 54th minute when she shot a ball to the left of the goal. Branam made a diving save to keep the game level.
Alex Scott having moved up to midfield had a breakaway and was tearing down on goal. Branam once again flew out of her goal to take the ball of her before she could get a shot in.

With Boston deflated with their failure to score. Sky Blue came more into the game and started to create chances. The best late on when Kelly Parker hit a shot to the left corner, but Breakers defender Heather Mitts got in front of it to deflect it from the goal.

The Breakers are now 2 pts behind second-place Saint Louis Athletica and remain two points clear of Sky Blue, who are tied in fourth with Washington Freedom. Freedom have a game in hand.

COACH TONY DICICCO On the draw…

Well we’re disappointed. In some ways we thought that was our best offensive half of the season, but we didn’t get anything from it. Jenni Branam made some great saves, but our quality in front of the goal just isn’t good enough and it has kind of plagued us all season long. We’re disappointed, but a point hurts them more than it hurts us. They only have two games left, so it limits how many total points they can get.



COACH KELLY LINDSEY

“Unbelieveable. Thank goodness for Branam, I think that’s the theme of the night for us. She definitely saved us – our team knows it, Boston knows it, Branam was the hero today by far.”

“I expect at this point that they have nothing but dislike for us and were definitely going to come at us. I expected numbers up top. I didn’t know exactly who they were going to throw in there, but I’ve watched their film the past few weeks and just expected them to be on an attacking fury. Every team needs to be at this point.”

“I think after those first 10 or 15 minutes, it was just ‘Let’s get into halftime, tie it or maybe we’ll sneak one and be a goal up,’ but we’re very happy to get into halftime tied. I think we can all take a sigh of relief and kind of start over and rebuild.”


Lineups:

Boston Breakers – Allison Lipsher; Alex Scott, Nancy Augustyniak, Amy LePeilbet, Heather Mitts; Kelly Schmedes, Angela Hucles, Maggie Tomecka, Kristine Lilly(C) ; Jennifer Nobis (Amy Rodriguez 62', Christine Latham 77'), Fabiana (Abby Crumpton 58').

Sky Blue FC – Jenni Branam; Jen Buczkowski, Keeley Dowling(C) , Anita Asante, Meghan Schnur; Heather O'Reilly(C) , Rosana (Noelle Keselica 59’), Collette McCallum, Kelly Parker; Kerri Hanks (Julianne Sitch 65'), Kacey White.

WPS PREVIEW WEEK 18

Boston Breakers v NJ Sky Blue FC Sat July 25th 7pm ET

The Boston Breakers can clinch a playoff berth this weekend as they return home to face northeast nemesis Sky Blue FC in WPS action Saturday at 7 p.m. (ET) at Harvard Stadium. A Boston win and a Washington loss on Sunday would clinch a playoff spot for the Breakers.

Sky Blue FC have won all three previous meetings between the two.

A win on Saturday by Boston would put them back in second with a one-point lead over Athletica, pending Saint Louis’ match Sunday versus FC Gold Pride. The Los Angeles Sol clinched the regular season title last night, meaning teams are now playing to host the Super Semifinal (August 18 or 19) as the second seed.

The Breakers coming off a 1-0 win against FC Gold Pride will have all their national team players back. Expect to see Alex Scott, Amy LePeilbet, Candace Chapman and Heather Mitts all return to the backline.Kelly Smith is still doubtful with a knee injury. She didn't play any games while on International duty with England.

Sky Blue FC are still in fourth place despite the loss Wednesday at Saint Louis. They currently are two points in front of the Washington Freedom for the fourth and final playoff spot, but have played one more match than the Freedom. The New Jersey club will have to play without captain and starting central defender Christie Rampone, who underwent emergency abdominal surgery while with the U.S. National Team in Rochester, N.Y. last week. She is hopeful to return to action by the end of the season. But they welcome back English star Anita Asante and Heather O'Reilly.

All three previous meetings were determined by just one goal. Sky Blue FC won the first two matches at home, 2-1, on May 31 and, 1-0, on July 4. They then took the first meeting in Boston, 2-1, on July 12.

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Chicago Red Stars v Washington Freedom Sun July 26th 4pm ET Live Webcast

The Washington Freedom travels to Chicago this Sunday to face the Red Stars at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. It will be the fourth and final regular season meeting between the two teams.

The Freedom will be looking for their first win against the Red Stars, as they have drawn 1 and lost twice to them, the last lost being at Toyota park last month where Chicago made WPS history coming from behind to win.

Chicago are coming of a defeat by Sky Blue FC in their previous match which kept them in 6th place in the WPS standings. A win would keep them in contention for a playoff spot.
Carli Lloyd, Lindsey Tarpley,Megan Rapinoe and Karen Carney all return from their national teams.

The Freedom, on the other hand played a hard-fought battle with Saint Louis Athletica and came away with the win and the shutout, their third of the season.Abby Wambach, Cat Whitehill and Erin McLeod will slot back into the starting 11.

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Saint Louis Athletica v FC Gold Pride Sun July 26th 6pm ET Live FSC and Webcast

Saint Louis Athletica and FC Gold Pride both enter Sunday’s match at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo. on the brink. All eyes will be on them and so will the Fox Soccer camera's.

A must win for different reasons for the two teams.

For second-place Saint Louis, a victory combined with a Sky Blue FC loss or tie in its match Saturday versus the Boston Breakers will secure a post-season berth for the Athletica.
For last-place FC Gold Pride, who enters the match with a nine-game winless streak, a loss will officially eliminate them from the playoff hunt.

With four games left each, the Pride is in dire straits needing to earn three points in every remaining match to have a shot at the post-season, while the Athletica is looking to earn maximum points to secure a second-place finish and a bye into the WPS Super Semifinal.

Hope Solo and Melissa Tancredi return for Athletica. Defender Niki Cross will continue her stance up top to compliment striker Eniola Aluko.
Gold Pride will welcome back defender Rachel Buehler and more importantly forward Christie Sinclair.

Will the Athletica clinch a playoff berth? With FC Gold Pride be eliminated from the post-season chase? Exciting stuff!