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Played
September 1, 2010 8:00 PM EDT
Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL
September 1, 2010 8:00 PM EDT
Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL
Chicago Red Stars Wind Down Season Playing Spoiler Against Philadelphia Independence
Philadelphia Independence set to take on Chicago Red Stars in a match that has playoff implications for only one team.
By Grace Weitz
After being officially eliminated from playoff contention, the Chicago Red Stars (5-11-6, 21 points) can still make things hard for the Philadelphia Independence (10-8-4, 34 points), who are currently alive in the postseason hunt.
With a 2-1 Washington Freedom win over Sky Blue FC on Saturday, the Red Stars saw their chances for playoff competition disappear.
Although the Wednesday night game at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. will have no effect on the Red Stars' season the Independence still have a chance to mold their playoff fate. With a second place berth in the WPS standings and a slim two point lead over the third place Boston Breakers (9-7-5, 32 points), Philadelphia needs a draw or victory over the Red Stars, or a Sky Blue FC loss/draw against FC Gold Pride on Wednesday to gain a coveted playoff spot.
In order to garner the win, the Independence need to continue to stoke the fires of their high-powered offense. Behind the touted foot of Amy Rodriguez, who ranks second in WPS with 12 goals and fourth in the league with six assists, the Independence have rocketed themselves to second in the league in goals per game (1.64).
Despite Philadelphia head coach Paul Riley's tenacious offense, that has six goals and a 3-0-0 record against Chicago this year, Philadelphia isn't taking any chances.
"Chicago's out so they've got nothing to lose" said Independence coach Paul Riley." We need to approach every game now like it's the cup final."
Red Stars' goalkeeper, Jillian Loyden, agrees that Philadelphia will not be facing an easy game. The Red Stars plan to come out hard against the Independence and treat this game like any other.
"We have two games left and two games to prove ourselves as a great team because I truly believe that this team is great and…we're going to go out fighting," said Loyden.
Loyden, who has been staunch between the pipes for the Red Stars, ranks second lowest in goals allowed average (1.24) and is tied for second in WPS with five shutouts. While Chicago's back four has been solid this year, boasting second place in goals allowed average (1.18), Loyden says the focus needs to shift to the offense if the Red Stars are to come out on top in their second-to-last game.
"Overall the defense has been awesome in front of me," said Loyden. "They work so hard and work well together that they've made my job pretty easy, but I think [for this game] we're going to focus more on scoring goals because that's been our weak point all year."
Goals will be very important for Chicago as Philadelphia has allowed the Red Stars to score only once in their three meetings.
While Red Stars head coach Omid Namazi agrees with Loyden, he says that the Red Stars will also use this next game to prepare for the future.
"I'm expecting some of our best performances in these last two games, said Red Stars coach Omid Namazi. "Training has been very sharp, very crisp. We understand the fact that we obviously failed as far as getting into the playoffs. Long-term changes don't happen over night. It's a process and we're looking to build our team for next year."
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET.
For more on Women's Professional Soccer, visit Goal.com's WPS page and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
With a 2-1 Washington Freedom win over Sky Blue FC on Saturday, the Red Stars saw their chances for playoff competition disappear.
Although the Wednesday night game at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. will have no effect on the Red Stars' season the Independence still have a chance to mold their playoff fate. With a second place berth in the WPS standings and a slim two point lead over the third place Boston Breakers (9-7-5, 32 points), Philadelphia needs a draw or victory over the Red Stars, or a Sky Blue FC loss/draw against FC Gold Pride on Wednesday to gain a coveted playoff spot.
In order to garner the win, the Independence need to continue to stoke the fires of their high-powered offense. Behind the touted foot of Amy Rodriguez, who ranks second in WPS with 12 goals and fourth in the league with six assists, the Independence have rocketed themselves to second in the league in goals per game (1.64).
Despite Philadelphia head coach Paul Riley's tenacious offense, that has six goals and a 3-0-0 record against Chicago this year, Philadelphia isn't taking any chances.
"Chicago's out so they've got nothing to lose" said Independence coach Paul Riley." We need to approach every game now like it's the cup final."
Red Stars' goalkeeper, Jillian Loyden, agrees that Philadelphia will not be facing an easy game. The Red Stars plan to come out hard against the Independence and treat this game like any other.
"We have two games left and two games to prove ourselves as a great team because I truly believe that this team is great and…we're going to go out fighting," said Loyden.
Loyden, who has been staunch between the pipes for the Red Stars, ranks second lowest in goals allowed average (1.24) and is tied for second in WPS with five shutouts. While Chicago's back four has been solid this year, boasting second place in goals allowed average (1.18), Loyden says the focus needs to shift to the offense if the Red Stars are to come out on top in their second-to-last game.
"Overall the defense has been awesome in front of me," said Loyden. "They work so hard and work well together that they've made my job pretty easy, but I think [for this game] we're going to focus more on scoring goals because that's been our weak point all year."
Goals will be very important for Chicago as Philadelphia has allowed the Red Stars to score only once in their three meetings.
While Red Stars head coach Omid Namazi agrees with Loyden, he says that the Red Stars will also use this next game to prepare for the future.
"I'm expecting some of our best performances in these last two games, said Red Stars coach Omid Namazi. "Training has been very sharp, very crisp. We understand the fact that we obviously failed as far as getting into the playoffs. Long-term changes don't happen over night. It's a process and we're looking to build our team for next year."
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET.
For more on Women's Professional Soccer, visit Goal.com's WPS page and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
Field Report
| Womens Pro Soccer - WPS (WPS) | Sep 1, 2010 | Red Stars 2 - Independence 0 |
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| Womens Pro Soccer - WPS (WPS) | Aug 11, 2010 | Red Stars 1 - Independence 2 |
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| Womens Pro Soccer - WPS (WPS) | Jul 28, 2010 | Independence 3 - Red Stars 0 |
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| Womens Pro Soccer - WPS (WPS) | May 15, 2010 | Red Stars 0 - Independence 1 |
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Red Stars
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| Sep 5, 2010 | Red Stars 2 - Freedom 1 | WPS |
| Sep 1, 2010 | Red Stars 2 - Independence 0 | WPS |
| Aug 22, 2010 | Red Stars 2 - FC Gold Pride 3 | WPS |
| Aug 19, 2010 | Freedom 2 - Red Stars 0 | WPS |
| Aug 11, 2010 | Red Stars 1 - Independence 2 | WPS |
Independence
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| Sep 25, 2010 | FC Gold Pride 4 - Independence 0 | WPS |
| Sep 23, 2010 | Boston Breakers 1 - Independence 2 | WPS |
| Sep 19, 2010 | Independence 1 - Freedom 0 | WPS |
| Sep 10, 2010 | FC Gold Pride 4 - Independence 1 | WPS |
| Sep 1, 2010 | Red Stars 2 - Independence 0 | WPS |
Match News