WPS Midweek Notes - April 28

Lindsey Wins Player of the Week
Lori Lindsey was named WPS player of the week on the strength of her 3 assists against the Washington Freedom. Philadelphia defeated Washington 3-1 for their first victory ever. The 3 assists in a game by Lindsey is a WPS record. Lindsey has assisted on all 4 Independence goals this season and has helped lead her team to a competitive 1-0-2 record, good for 3rd place in the league. She is also a leading candidate for the WPS Player of the Month award.

Using Their Heads and Whatever Else Works
There were a lot of key goals scored so far this season on headers. This past weekend, Allison Falk gave her team a 2-1 lead, heading in a free kick serve from Lindsey. The previous week, Falk had tied Boston 1-1 on a similar play. Carrie Dew got a late winner against Atlanta with her header in the 90th minute after coming close several times earlier in the match. Meanwhile in Saint Louis, Carolyn Blank scored the game-tying goal in what she described as "part chest, part shoulder, part upper body." Defensive players do seem to be scoring more goals this season, mostly coming on set pieces via the header.

Around the League
Atlanta Beat - Goalkeeper Allison Whitworth has already faced 29 shots on goal, 10 more than Hope Solo, who is 2nd in that category.....Angie Kerr earned her first WPS point with an assist on Monica Ocampo's goal against Gold Pride.....The Beat will play their 4th consecutive road game this week against Philadelphia. They open their new stadium on May 9 against Sky Blue FC.

Boston Breakers - Kasey Moore became the first Breakers’ defender to score a goal since Alex Scott scored on May 17, 2009 against Washington.....Kristine Lilly picked up her 2nd assist of the season on Moore's goal.....3 of Boston’s 4 goals have come on set pieces, two on corner kicks and one on a free kick. Meanwhile, 2 of their opponent’s 3 goals have come on set pieces.

Chicago Red Stars - Jill Loyden has not given up more than one goal in any of her 6 career starts.....The Red Stars have outshot all 3 opponents, but only have one goal and one point to show for it.....The Red Stars travel to Boston this week, having not scored a goal in their last 7 road games. Their last road goal was scored by Cristiane in a 1-1 tie on June 7, 2009.

FC Gold Pride - Carrie Dew’s game winning goal started with a flip throw by Kiki Bosio. Ali Riley sent Bosio's throw back to Dew for the assist.....Gold Pride's two top draft selections, Riley and Kelley O'Hara have played every minute of the first 3 matches.....Gold Pride is now undefeated in their last 5 home games dating back to 2009, with a 3-0-2 record over that time.

Philadelphia Independence - Val Henderson earned her 2nd career goalkeeping victory in as many starts. She shut out Gold Pride in her only 2009 appearance.....Lianne Sanderson became the 3rd English National team player to score already this year. She joins Eni Aluko and Kelly Smith, who have two goals apiece.....Allison Falk now has three career goals, all by headers and all on set pieces.

Saint Louis Athletica - Carolyn Blank, the 46th overall pick in this year’s draft, became the lowest draft choice ever to score a goal in WPS.....Tina Ellertson picked up her first career assist and has now started 23 consecutive games for Athletica.....Sunday’s match marked the first time that Saint Louis had come from behind to tie a match.

Sky Blue FC - Karen Bardsley has two shutouts this season which currently leads WPS in that category.....Tasha Kai already has two game winning goals this season. Last year, she was credited with none, although her July 12th goal against Boston put her SBFC side ahead for good.....Sky Blue has now shut out Chicago 6 consecutive times.

Washington Freedom - In spite of Sunday’s loss, Abby Wambach recorded an assist for the 4th consecutive match.....When Meagan McCray entered the game against Philadelphia, she became the 5th different goalkeeper that the Freedom has used over two seasons.....Including last year's playoff match, Becky Sauerbrunn has now played 2160 consecutive minutes for the Freedom and she has yet to be miss a minute on the field.

Trivia Question - How many current Saint Louis Athletica players, including developmental and injured reserve players, have at least one cap for a senior National Team (any country)?