Philadelphia Takes Over First; Sky Blue Moves into Third

Philadelphia Independence 1, Boston Breakers 0

Veronica Boquete's goal in the 83rd minute broke a scoreless tie and sent Philadelphia to a 1-0 victory over the Boston Breakers in Cambridge. The win moves the Independence into first place in WPS.

The goal was Boquete's fourth of the season. Laura del Rio, who had just come in as a late substitution, assisted on Boquete's goal.

Several national team players were getting their first start since returning from Germany. Amy LePeilbet, Rachel Buehler, and Stephanie Cox all saw their first action since the 2011 World Cup concluded. Aya Sameshima of the World Cup champion Japanese team made her first ever start for Boston as a midfielder.

For Philadelphia, Nicole Barnhart and Amy Rodriguez were in the starting lineup. Paul Riley decided to start Barnhart over Val Henderson and it paid off with a shutout for his team.

Philadelphia raises their record to 9-3-3, good for 30 points and a three point cushion over second place Western New York. However, the Independence have just three games remaining, while the Flash have five. Philadelphia will return to action on Sunday, at home against the Atlanta Beat.

Boston falls to 4-6-4 and are now tied for fourth place with magicJack. The Breakers presently have the edge in goal differential if it comes down to a tiebreaker. Next up for the Breakers is a Saturday clash against magicJack in Boca Raton.

Sky Blue FC 2, magicJack 0

Sky Blue took over sole possession of third place with a 2-0 victory over magicJack on Wednesday night. Midfielder Allie Long scored a first half goal to put Sky Blue in the lead and the New Jersey eleven used an own goal by Abby Wambach to seal the victory. It was the first road victory for Sky Blue this season and the first home loss for magicJack.

The first goal was set up by Therese Sjogran corner kick, with Long finishing in the 15th minute. It was Long's third goal of the season, with the first two came via penalty kick.

Sky Blue's second goal was also from a corner kick, this time in the second half. It was Casey Nogueira sending the ball into the penalty area, with Wambach's attempted clearance going into her own net.

MagicJack outshot Sky Blue by an overwhelming 27-6 margin, but the New Jersey team was able to secure the victory. Jen Branam recorded 13 saves in the shutout, her fifth of the season.

As in the night's other contest, a few national team players were seeing their first action since the World Cup. Shannon Boxx made her first start for magicJack since returning from Germany, while Megan Rapinoe was a second half substitution.

Sky Blue improves to 5-5-4 overall. They now have 19 points and are three points clear of both magicJack and the Boston Breakers for third place. They return home to play their last regular season home match on Saturday evening against the Western New York Flash.

MagicJack drops to 5-6-2. They are now winless in their last six outings. With the one point penalty assessed earlier in the season, they have just 16 points and are now tied for the fourth and final playoff spot with the Boston Breakers, a team they will face in a Saturday showdown at Florida Atlantic University.

Late Goal Gives Sky Blue Tie Against WNY

Casey Nogueira scored in the 88th minute of the match, as Sky Blue forced Western New York to a 2-2 draw at Sahlen Stadium on Sunday evening. It was only the second time all season that the Flash had not come away with a victory.

The first quarter of the match saw no goals and few opportunities. Both sides were missing players to national team duty, Whitney Engen and Alex Morgan for WNY and Heather O'Reilly and Tobin Heath for Sky Blue. In addition, Flash defender Candace Chapman was out with an injury.

Western New York struck first in the 39th minute. A Gemma Davison cross found the head of Christine Sinclair and the Canadian striker made no mistake in finishing her fifth goal of the season.

Just five minutes later, it was Sinclair setting up Caroline Seger, who had broken free from her mark and Seger made it 2-0 just before halftime.

Sky Blue nearly drew even in the 60th minute, but Flash goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris was able to make consecutive saves on Nogueira and Therese Sjögran to keep Sky Blue off the scoreboard.

The Flash maintained their lead until the 65th minute, when they were whistled for a hand ball in the box and Sky Blue was awarded a shot from the penalty spot. Sky Blue's Allie Long converted the penalty to put Sky Blue within one.

As in the previous week, it was late game heroics for Sky Blue. Laura Kalmari sent a cross to the middle and Casey Nogueira was able to collect, flick the ball over the head of McCall Zerboni and finish with a volley to tie the match at two. And that is how the match ended.

Sky Blue's record goes to 2-3-2 and they have collected seven points in their last three outings. Western New York, still unbeaten, suffered only the second blemish to their schedule for the season and stand at 6-0-2, still nine points clear of second place magicJack who plays in Boston on Sunday.

Excerpts for this story were taken from WPS press releases.

Sky Blue Shuts Out Beat 3-0

Sky Blue finally got their first win of the season and they did it in convincing fashion by shutting out the Atlanta Beat 3-0. SBFC lifts their record to 1-3-1, while Atlanta falls to 1-5-1. Most of the national team players for both teams were rested in the first half, due to a very heavy schedule during the past week.

Laura Kalmari scored a first half goal off of a Casey Nogueira corner kick. Allie Long converted a penalty after being pulled down in the box to give Sky Blue a 2-0 lead. Heather O'Reilly completed the scoring on a goal assisted by Eni Aluko.

Jen Branam earned the shutout for Sky Blue, who will host the Boston Breakers next Saturday evening. For Atlanta, the road doesn't get any easier as they travel to Boca Raton to face magicJack next Saturday.

WPS Midweek Notes - April 14

Head over Heals

It takes a lot of different skills to play soccer. Speed, agility, endurance, concentration, and sometimes, a little gymnastical skill. Kiki Bosio of FC Gold Pride demonstrated her cartwheeling ability using the flip throw several times in Sunday’s match against Saint Louis Athletica. While it is somewhat of a novelty to fans who don’t see it very often, it can also be an effective offensive weapon. Bosio was able to throw the ball deep into Athletica’s penalty area every time and although Gold Pride was unable to convert any of the throws into goals, it did present some dangerous opportunities.

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Player of the Week

Eniola Aluko of Saint Louis Athletica was named WPS Player of the Week for the weekend of April 10-11. Aluko scored two goals to lead Athletica to a 2-0 win over FC Gold Pride. Aluko had won Player of the Week honors once previously in 2009. Aluko scored a goal in each half of Sunday’s match. It was the first two goal game in her WPS career.

Rookies

Out of the 65 players taken in the January draft, 22 are now full-roster players in the WPS and another 16 made WPS teams as developmental players. Out of those, 17 players made their debut in the opening weekend of WPS. Ten of those players started and there was at least one of the rookies in the starting lineup for each team. FC Gold Pride had three starters from their draft selections back in January.

The 10 starters were Lauren Cheney (Boston), Nikki Marshall (Washington), Carolyn Blank (Saint Louis), Tobin Heath (Atlanta), Whitney Engen (Chicago), Estelle Johnson (Philadelphia), Brittany Taylor (Sky Blue FC), and Kelley O’Hara, Kaley Fountain, and Ali Riley (all FC Gold Pride). Not only did Gold Pride start three of their rookies, 5 of their draft selections saw action in Sunday’s match.

Lauren Cheney was the only 2010 draft choice to score a goal last weekend, but she will have the distinction of being the first player to score a 2010 regular season goal.

Long Waits

Ashley Phillips spent the entire 2009 season on the Boston Breakers roster as a developmental player. She did not play a minute for the entire season. Such is the life of a developmental keeper in WPS. After a year of waiting, Phillips finally got her chance on Saturday and earned the victory in goal for the Breakers in their 2-1 win over the Washington Freedom. Phillips was credited with 7 saves for the match.

Sarah Wagenfuhr started last year as a developmental player for Chicago, but was released after their second game, having not played. On Sunday, she started at outside back for Athletica and played 23 minutes before coming off with an injury.

Lauren Sesselman got into one game for one minute in 2009 for Sky Blue FC. She started and played the full 90 in Atlanta’s opener on Sunday. On the other side of the field Philadelphia’s Lyndsey Patterson had appeared in only one game for 12 minutes for the Los Angeles Sol in 2009. She started and played 57 minutes for the Independence.

Midweek Notes:

Atlanta - Ramona Bachmann did not make the trip to Philadelphia because of illness after scoring a goal and an assist in Atlanta’s final exhibition game in Tulsa…..Allison Whitworth picked up her 2nd career shutout in WPS. Her previous shutout against the Los Angeles Sol in 2009 also ended in a scoreless tie…..The number one overall pick in the 2010 draft, Tobin Heath, played 89 minutes in Sunday’s game.

Boston – Last season, Kelly Smith scored a goal in each of the first 4 games in which she appeared for the Breakers and she started 2010 out in the same fashion with a goal against the Freedom…..The Breakers became only the 2nd team in WPS history to start a developmental keeper in goal with Ashley Phillips on Saturday. Washington had started Kati Jo Spisak three times in 2009…..Lauren Cheney scored her first career WPS goal just 6 minutes into Saturday’s contest.

Chicago – Cristiane was credited with taking 9 shots in the Red Stars loss to Sky Blue, a total which easily leads the league…..In the continuation of a disturbing trend, Chicago has now been shut out 12 times in 21 matches over two seasons…..Kate Markgraf played the full 90 minutes after missing the 2009 season on maternity leave.

FC Gold Pride – Five of Gold Pride’s draft selections saw action on Sunday. Kelley O’Hara, Kaley Fountain, and Ali Riley started, while Becky Edwards and Kiki Bosio subbed in…..Kandace Wilson came off the bench, seeing her first regular season action since she was injured in a May 24th match against Los Angeles in 2009…..Four of Gold Pride’s 5 international players were not with the team in 2009. Camille Abily and Marta were with Los Angeles, Candace Chapman was with Boston, and Solveig Gulbrandsen did not play in WPS last season.

Philadelphia – Karina LeBlanc earned her 13th career shutout on Sunday against Atlanta…..Philadelphia had the largest attendance of the WPS opening weekend with 6,028…..Amy Rodriguez was credited with 6 shots for the Independence against Atlanta, more than in any of her appearances for the Breakers last season.

Saint Louis – Eniola Aluko became the 3rd Athletica player to score two goals in one game. The other two were Daniela and Christie Welsh…..Shannon Boxx became the first Athletica player to record two assists in one game…..Carolyn Blank was the lowest draft choice to start for a WPS team last weekend. Blank was Athletica’s 5th round selection, the 46th overall pick in the draft.

Sky Blue FC – Heather O’Reilly, who tied for SBFC’s lead in assists last season with 3, picked up her first assist on Sunday…..Karen Bardsley picked up the 2nd shutout of her career. Her first came against FC Gold Pride on August 5, 2009, when she was a last second replacement for an injured Jen Branam…..Sky Blue has now shutout the Chicago Red Stars all 5 times they have played them. They have a 4-0-1 record against the Red Stars with a 5-0 goal differential.

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Washington Freedom – Allie Long was the only non-national team player to score a goal this past weekend…..While Abby Wambach is primarily known for her goal scoring ability, she now has 6 career WPS assists, which ties her for 1st place in that category…..The Freedom have now given up multiple goals in 11 of their 22 matches in 2009-10 including the playoff game.

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Opening Week Trivia: Of the 6 returning WPS teams, only two started the same goalkeeper as they did in last year's opener. Name the goalkeepers and the teams. (Answer in the weekend preview later this week).

WPS Weekend Wrap Up

A number of universities are well represented in WPS, including UNC, Notre Dame, Portland, UCLA, Stanford, and Santa Clara. One university that has been developing a number of WPS players as of late is Florida State. Sunday's game between Saint Louis and FC Gold Pride included 3 ex-FSU stars and a former FSU assistant coach. Shown here (from left) India Trotter of Athletica, Assistant Coach Paul Rogers (Athletica's goalkeeper coach), Becky Edwards of FC Gold Pride, and Sarah Wagenfuhr of Athletica. All three players played in the match.

Athletica defender/midfielder Elaine wasn't able to play in Sunday's game because there was a delay in getting her international clearance. But that didn't stop the Brazilian National Team player from participating in another way. She joined Laclede's Army, a supporters group for Saint Louis Athletica, in their cheering section. She got into the spirit of the match by spray painting her hair green, sitting in with the group's drummers and doing her part in supporting her team from the stands. She is hoping to join her teammates on the field soon.

Boston 2, Washington 1-The Breakers got goals from Lauren Cheney and Kelly Smith to defeat the Freedom. Ashley Phillips got the victory in goal in her first WPS action. Allie Long scored the Freedom's loan goal.

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Saint Louis 2, FC Gold Pride 0-Eniola Aluko scored both goals as the Athletica won their home opener. Shannon Boxx had an excellent match, assisting on both goals. The Marta-led Gold Pride were unable to get their offense untracked. Hope Solo earned the shutout in goal.

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Sky Blue FC 1, Chicago 0-The defending champions won their home opener. Natasha Kai scored early on an assist from Heather O'Reilly and SBFC was able to hold on for the win. Karen Bardsley earned the shutout in goal. Jill Loyden gave up just the one goal in her first start for the Red Stars.

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Philadelphia 0, Atlanta 0-The Independence drew over 6000 fans for their home opener which ended in a scoreless tie. Karina LeBlanc (Philadelphia) and Allison Whitworth (Atlanta) earned shutouts. Several key players were missing from the match including Allison Falk (red card in '09 championship game) and Heather Mitts (injury) for Philly and Ramona Bachmann (illness) and Monica Ocampo (illness) for Atlanta.

Cheney Notches First Goal in Breakers' 2-1 Victory

The Boston Breakers defeated the Washington Freedom by a 2-1 margin in the WPS season opener. And for Lauren Cheney, it's been quite a 6 month run. First, she helps lead UCLA into the NCAA semifinals, then she joins the USWNT and scores 5 goals in the first 3 months of the year. Now, she can add a WPS goal to her resume. It took just 6 minutes for Cheney to earn her first WPS goal as she gave the Boston Breakers an early 1-0 lead.

Kelly Smith doubled the lead with a goal at the 20 minute mark. Boston took a 2-0 lead into halftime. Allie Long of the Freedom made it close, scoring in the 87th minute, but Washington was unable to come up with an equalizer and Boston took the opening game 2-1. Developmental keeper, Ashley Phillips, saw her first action in goal for the Breakers and earned the victory.

Two cautions were handed out in the match, one to Fabiana just before the break and one in the 2nd half to Sonia Bompastor.

WPS Midweek Match & Notes-July 29th

Boston Breakers at Washington Freedom

There is only one match scheduled for Wednesday, but it's one that will affect the playoff hopes of all four teams fighting for the last three playoff berths. The 3rd place Boston Breakers travel to Washington to meet the 4th place Freedom in an all important WPS contest. As it stands, Saint Louis is in 2nd place with 27 points, followed by Boston with 25, and Washington and Sky Blue with 23 each. Everybody has three games left with the exception of Sky Blue, which has only two games remaining. There are a couple more matches between contenders coming up. On Saturday, the Breakers will visit Saint Louis to take on Athletica. On the final weekend of the season, Washington will host Sky Blue FC.

The Breakers head into this match having posted 3 consecutive shutouts, all with Allison Lipsher in goal. They are 2-0-1 in those three games. On defense for Boston, it appears that Sue Weber will miss the remainder of the season due to a knee injury. That means that either Nancy Goffi or Candace Chapman will start at one of the center back spots along side of Amy LePeilbet, with Alex Scott and Heather Mitts handling the outside of the defense.

In the midfield, Angela Hucles and Kristine Lilly will be two of the starters. The big question is the status of Kelly Smith's gimpy knee. She's listed as "questionable", but with so much on the line for this match, you can bet she'll be playing if she's able. Maggie Tomecka, a starter at midfield in the Breakers' last game, is listed as "questionable" as well. As for attackers, Kelly Schmedes, Jennifer Nobis, and Fabiana were Tony DiCicco's choices last time out. However, Christine Latham is another option. First round draft pick Amy Rodriguez appears to have fallen out of favor. She subbed in during the 2nd half of Saturday's match against Sky Blue, only to be replaced after seeing only 15 minutes of action.

Washington also comes into this game with a 2-0-1 record over their last 3 matches. On Sunday, they managed a 3-2 come from behind victory over Chicago. Allie Long was the hero in that match, scoring the game winner in the 89th minute. Abby Wambach, who scored two goals against the Red Stars, will start at one forward spot, along with Lisa DeVanna. Both Wambach and DeVanna have 5 goals for the season. Rebecca Moros or Long will probably start as either a third forward or as an attacking midfielder.

Homare Sawa and Lori Lindsey have been steady and will be starting in their normal midfield capacities and Sonia Bompastor, who can play several positions, will likely be the other midfielder. On defense, the Freedom have Cat Whitehill and Becky Sauerbrunn at center backs. Neither Sauerbrunn nor Sawa has missed a minute of action all season. The outside starters will probably be Alex Singer and Ali Krieger if she's healthy, or possibly Jill Gilbeau. Erin McLeod, who has three shutouts to her credit, will be in goal for the Freedom.

Obviously, one of the keys to this match will be if, and how far, Kelly Smith can go. If she's able to play, Washington will be forced to spend a lot of defensive resources to keep her in check. The Breakers will be trying to extend an impressive streak of 323 minutes without giving up a goal, but they will have to do so against the powerful Freedom offense, with Wambach, DeVanna, and Bompastor. The Freedom can move up to 3rd place with a victory. The Breakers could finish the evening anywhere from 2nd to 4th place depending on the outcome. Considering what's at stake for these two teams, this could be one of the best matches of the year.

Midweek Notes

Washington's 3-2 victory over Chicago was the league's second ever come from behind victory. The Red Stars led 1-0 early in that contest. The first come from behind win also involved these two teams, but it was the Red Stars doing the honors to defeat the Freedom 2-1 back on July 1.

Several countries are represented among the top 9 goal scorers in the league. Only two Americans have cracked the list, Abby Wambach and Natasha Kai. Likewise, there are two Brazilians, Marta and Cristiane, and two Brits, Kelly Smith and Eniola Aluko. The other three players are Camille Abily (France), Christine Sinclair (Canada), and Lisa DeVanna (Australia). Sonia Bompastor of France and Aya Miyama of Japan are tied for the lead in assists with 6 each.

Allie Long, who scored her 2nd goal of the season against Chicago over the weekend, is the youngest player to have scored a goal in the WPS. She was 21 years, 256 days when she scored her first goal against FC Gold Pride. Long edges out Karen Carney, who was 21 years, 267 days when she scored that same weekend against Boston. The only other player to have scored a goal before she turned 22 is Elise Weber of Athletica, who turned 22 on Sunday.

Luke Thompson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Daniela participated in a 60 minute intersquad scrimmage yesterday. Daniela suffered severe knee and leg injuries in the May 3rd match at Washington. The talented Brazilian midfielder scored two goals in that match before being injured.

Boston Breakers-Goalkeeper Allison Lipsher has 5 shutouts in just 8 starts...The Breakers' last 6 goals have been scored by six different players-Kelly Schmedes, Angela Hucles, Jennifer Nobis, Christine Latham, Kristine Lilly, and Amy Rodriguez...The only team that has scored on the Breakers in their last 7 matches has been Sky Blue FC.

Chicago Red Stars-The Red Stars were officially eliminated from playoff contention with their loss to Washington on Sunday...Karen Carney and Megan Rapinoe both scored for the first time since April in that contest against the Freedom...Heather Garriock, who has seen action in just 4 matches due to injury, earned her first assist of the season against the Freedom.

FC Gold Pride-In spite of a solid effort against Athletica, Bay Area was eliminated from the playoff race over the weekend...Christine Sinclair scored the game tying goal against Saint Louis with Tina DiMartino earning her first assist of the season...Brandi Chastain, who just turned 41, started her second consecutive game for Gold Pride.

Los Angeles Sol-Marta (9 goals) and Camille Abily (8 goals) are probably the only two players in the league with a legitimate shot at scoring 10 goals for the season...The Sol have been shut out in their last two matches...Newly signed Sharolta Nonen started and played the full 90 minutes in the Sol's last match against FC Gold Pride.

Saint Louis Athletica-While Eniola Aluko has dominated scoring for Athletica, five different players have scored in their last 6 contests-Aluko, Amanda Cinalli, Elise Weber, Lori Chalupny, and Niki Cross...Kendall Fletcher now has 3 assists on the season, second only to Aluko who has 4...Athletica has been outscored 8-2 in the final 15 minutes of matches plus stoppage (a big thank you to my friend Austin for that statistic).

Sky Blue FC-Anita Asante picked up her 4th yellow card against Boston and will be suspended for SBFC's next match against FC Gold Pride on August 5th...Sky Blue has picked up 20 of their 23 total points against Boston and Chicago, earning only 3 ties against the rest of the league...Jen Branam picked up her 6th shutout of the season against the Breakers on Saturday.

Washington Freedom-The Freedom have scored 26 goals this season, more than any other team in the league...Abby Wambach joined Marta as being the only WPS players to have scored 2 goals in a game twice this season...Washington has only scored one goal total in their last three home games.

WPS Draft Revisited-Washington Freedom

For the fifth installment on the WPS Draft, we'll take a look at the Washington Freedom.

Who They Drafted
1st round (#7)-Allie Long, North Carolina; 2nd round (#8)-Alex Singer, Virginia; 4th round (#22)-Jill Gilbeau, Texas; 4th round (#23)-Parrissa Eyorokon, Purdue; 5th round (#35)-Briana Scurry, Massachusetts; 6th round (#36)-Rebecca Moros, Duke; 7th round (#49)-Sarah Senty, Virginia; 8th round (#50)-Kati Jo Spisak, Texas A & M; 9th round (#63)-Claire Zimmeck, William & Mary; 10th round (#64)-Christen Karniski, Illinois

Strategy
Well, let's see now. Alex Singer, Rebecca Moros, Sarah Senty, Kati Jo Spisak...all Washington Freedom 2007-08. Jill Gilbeau and Christen Karniski...both Washington Freedom 2008. Do we detect a pattern here? Yes, Jim Gabarra is definitely loyal to his former W-League players. Most of the draftees were young with five of them playing college soccer in 2008. The Freedom also seemed partial to ACC players, choosing four. They were one of the two teams to choose two goalkeepers in the draft, which turned out to be a good idea, given McLeod's visa problems. The Freedom also made a minor trade.

Trade
Washington traded their 3rd round pick (#21) to Saint Louis for Joanna Lohman and Athletica's 4th round pick (#23). The trade ended up being Elise Weber for Lohman and Parrissa Eyorokon. Eyorokon started the season injured and Lohman has seen minimal action, while Weber is now starting for Saint Louis. Lohman has strong ties to the Washington area, so it almost seemed like a trade of convenience for both teams.

Current WPS Status
For the Washington Freedom, 9 of their 10 draft picks are still on the roster, with the 10th, Claire Zimmeck making the squad and playing, but recently being waived.

Full time starters (3)-Long, Singer, Gilbeau.
Part time starters & other full roster players (5)-Eyorokon, Scurry, Moros, Senty, Spisak.
Developmental (1)-Karniski.
Released (1)-Zimmeck.

Note that Gilbeau will likely be a sub for the rest of the season, now that Ali Krieger has joined the team. Moros has been starting more lately. Scurry and Spisak shared the starting position in goal before the arrival of McLeod. Technically, Spisak is a developmental player, but she has either been the starter or the backup for most of the season.

What They've Done (through 11 games)
Long-11 G, 11 GS, 844 Min, 1 goal, 2 points, 23 shots, 8 SOG
Singer-10 G, 9 GS, 793 Min, 1 shot, 1 SOG
Gilbeau-11 G, 6 GS, 661 Min, 2 assists, 2 points, 4 shots, 2 SOG
Eyorokon-2 G, 21 Min
Moros-10 G, 5 GS, 560 Min, 2 goals, 4 points, 11 shots, 6 SOG
Senty-1 G, 26 Min
Zimmeck-4 G, 1 GS, 63 Min
Karniski has not played.

Scurry-3 G, 3 GS, 270 Min, 11 saves, 2.00 GA
Spisak-2 G, 2 GS, 180 Min, 9 saves, 3.00 GA

Total Offensive Output-49 G, 32 GS, 2968 Min, 3 goals, 2 assists, 8 points, 39 shots, 17 SOG.
Total Goalkeeper Output-5 G, 5 GS, 450 Min, 20 saves, 2.40 GA.

G=Games; GS=Games Started; Min=Minutes; SOG=Shots on Goal; GA=Goals Against Average.

The Players

Allie Long-The former UNC star was probably the closest thing to a surprise pick in the 1st round and even she wasn't much of a surprise. I had her going early in the 2nd round. Long has started every game for the Washington Freedom, playing both as an attacking midfielder and a forward. Early in the season, it didn't seem to me that she had a high work rate or that she was particularly aggressive, perhaps because she seems to run effortlessly. However, in recent games, she's been far more active and I thought she played one of her best matches against Athletica last weekend. Her lone goal of the season came against FC Gold Pride, but she has taken 23 shots which is among the highest shot totals of anyone in the draft. She has good height and with a little aggressiveness and experience, could become a good target forward. If she continues to improve and works hard, she can become a versatile attacking player.

Alex Singer-20 seconds into the opening game, Singer had the ball at her feet, with Marta on her back. About two seconds later, she was frantically racing after Marta after being dispossessed. Welcome to the WPS, Alex Singer. Actually, Singer recovered on that play and went on to play a fairly decent game. Later in the season, she has taken a couple of knocks, a hard elbow to the head courtesy of Christine Latham and a collision with Ally Wagner that left her with a concussion. Overall, Singer has played a solid outside back, playing the first game on the right side, but she has spent most of the time on the left. She has excellent speed, although she did get beat by Alex Scott in a game against Boston. Her ball skills are good. Comparing her to fellow Freedom draft pick, Jill Gilbeau, I would say that Singer is better defensively, while Gilbeau is better going forward. Singer is a steady performer, a good pick and would have started every game so far if it had not been for the injury.

Jill Gilbeau-Gilbeau was drafted early in the 4th round, shortly after her former Longhorn teammate, Stephanie Logterman. Gilbeau has started just over half of the Freedom's games, playing outside right back for the most part, although she actually subbed in as a forward recently. As a defender, she is very good going forward on overlapping runs and she has hit several nice, accurate serves from the right wing. She has a couple of assists for the season. Defensively, she has played pretty well, but had a tough game against Gold Pride, getting beat by runs to the back post twice in that game. Gilbeau is certainly a nice weapon to have on the back line and if she continues to improve her defense, she could be a very good player in this league.

Parrissa Eyorokon-She missed several games early on with an injury and has seen just 21 minutes of action so far. At Purdue, Eyorokon was a terrific offensive player, scoring 27 career goals for the Boilermakers and being named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year in 2007.

Briana Scurry-When the Freedom made this pick, I thought it was a smart choice. However, Scurry did not get off to a good start for Washington and hasn't started since early in the season. In her case, it was probably a combination of bad luck (the Allison Falk goal in the opener) and below par play. She is certainly not the keeper she was 10 years ago. Her leg strength is not very good and her kicks rarely make it near the midfield line. In Scurry's defense, she had not seen a lot of action leading up to camp. I still think she could make a good backup keeper, but her days as a starter may be over.

Rebecca Moros-If there is one player who symbolizes the Freedom, it would be Moros. She is an overachiever, who works hard all the time. Moros isn't going to beat you with her one-on-one skills, but she's darn sure going to make you work your butt off to beat her. It was that work ethic that led to her scoring the winning goal in the Freedom's 1-0 victory over Saint Louis, blocking a clearing effort, collecting the ball, and putting it over the keeper's head. She can play both midfield and forward. Moros distributes well and is a very accurate passer. She will chase defenders ceaselessly, attempting to force them into a mistake. She has two goals for the year. This was a great 6th round pick by the Freedom.

Sarah Senty-Senty recently joined the team after finishing up her studies at the University of Virginia. She has played in just one game to this point.

Kati Jo Spisak-Spisak is the tallest player in the league at 6-2. She started two games for the Freedom, winning one and tying one, but she has a lackluster goals against of 3.00. This was certainly not all her fault, however. She moves well side to side, but will occasionally give up a rebound that she probably shouldn't. Her height is a definite advantage on balls in the air.

Claire Zimmeck-She started the season opener against the Sol, but got very few touches in that game and saw only 20 more minutes of action in 3 matches after that. She was recently waived by Washington. The former William & Mary captain scored 57 goals in her college career.

Christen Karniski-The former University of Illinois defender made the Freedom as a developmental player and has yet to see any action.

Summary
Any time all ten of your draft picks have made the squad at one time or another, you've had a pretty good draft. Long, Singer, and Gilbeau were solid picks and have contributed quite well to the Freedom. Moros was a gem in the 6th round. Scurry and Spisak haven't quite panned out as well as the Freedom would have hoped, but McLeod was probably going to be their number one keeper anyhow and either of those two could make a decent backup. It's really too early to know about their other picks since we haven't seen much of them, Eyorokon because of injury, Senty because of school, and Karniski being developmental. Zimmeck was cut, but she wasn't a bad pick and she accomplished more than most of the other 9th round picks.

This was a pretty good draft and could be a very good one, if the players at the top continue to improve and the later round selections get some playing time. They are the only team in the league that all ten are either still on the roster or contributed to the team at some point. There are good points and bad points to being so single minded with respect to drafting so many players from the W-League version of the Freedom. But there is certainly something to be said for bringing in players that you are confident of their work ethic and that already know the system. Over the next couple of years, we'll find out if this was just a good draft or even better.