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Goal.com's Women's Professional Soccer Power Rankings: Week 2
Goal.com shakes out the trends in WPS for the second matchday.
Apr 20, 2010 1:59:00 AM
By Giovanni Albanese Jr.
1. St. Louis Athletica - You can‘t argue with results: a week one win at home over FC Gold Pride and earning a point on the road against a Red Stars club that outplayed them for nearly the entire match. Athletica is a poised squad that will be tough to beat in 2010. (1)
2. Boston Breakers - Which team is the "real" Boston Breakers - the team which won impressively on the road against the Washington Freedom, or the club which couldn't finish against the Philadelphia Independence at home, settling for a tie? Sunday‘s match at Athletica will be a good indicator what to expect for the rest of 2010. (2)
3. FC Gold Pride - Coach Albertin Montoya couldn't have put it any better: "I think we got our preseason game out of the way last weekend." That game: a 2-0 loss to St. Louis in the season opener, the Pride's first contest against a WPS team in 2010. FC Gold Pride offense looked good in a 3-1 win over Sky Blue FC and, according to striker Christine Sinclair, the Pride "hasn't gelled yet." (8)
4. Washington Freedom - Abby Wambach is on track, factoring in all three Freedom goals in its 3-1 win over Atlanta. Thus, the Freedom is on track. (7)
5. Sky Blue FC - Perhaps Sky Blue FC is suffering from a championship hangover. Sky Blue was outplayed by the Red Stars in its season-opening win, and the Pride ran them out of the stadium last weekend. Next up, a rematch with the Red Stars at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. (3)
6. Chicago Red Stars - Emma Hayes' club has been the dominant team in both its matches -- 1-0 loss to Sky Blue FC; 1-1 tie to St. Louis -- but have only managed to notch a single point. Chicago will have a second chance at knocking off Sky Blue, this time at home, on Sunday night. (6)
7. Philadelphia Independence - Philly has been solid on defense, but has lacked the offensive creativity to get wins. They have put together two consecutive ties -- 0-0 vs. Atlanta; 1-1 at Boston -- and could be a serious threat if the offense puts it together. (5)
8. Atlanta Beat - Atlanta's defense is putting way too much pressure on its keeper Allison Whitworth, allowing 24 shots on goal in two games -- 0-0 at Philadelphia; 3-1 at Washington. Luckily for them, Whitworth is playing out of her mind, otherwise the Beat would be the only 0-2 team in WPS. (4)
Giovanni Albanese Jr. contributes WPS content for Goal.com. He also covers FC Gold Pride for Tri-City Voice in Fremont, Calif. Contact him with any questions at GAlbaneseJr@gmail.com or on Twitter @BASportsBlogger.
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2. Boston Breakers - Which team is the "real" Boston Breakers - the team which won impressively on the road against the Washington Freedom, or the club which couldn't finish against the Philadelphia Independence at home, settling for a tie? Sunday‘s match at Athletica will be a good indicator what to expect for the rest of 2010. (2)
3. FC Gold Pride - Coach Albertin Montoya couldn't have put it any better: "I think we got our preseason game out of the way last weekend." That game: a 2-0 loss to St. Louis in the season opener, the Pride's first contest against a WPS team in 2010. FC Gold Pride offense looked good in a 3-1 win over Sky Blue FC and, according to striker Christine Sinclair, the Pride "hasn't gelled yet." (8)
4. Washington Freedom - Abby Wambach is on track, factoring in all three Freedom goals in its 3-1 win over Atlanta. Thus, the Freedom is on track. (7)
5. Sky Blue FC - Perhaps Sky Blue FC is suffering from a championship hangover. Sky Blue was outplayed by the Red Stars in its season-opening win, and the Pride ran them out of the stadium last weekend. Next up, a rematch with the Red Stars at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. (3)
6. Chicago Red Stars - Emma Hayes' club has been the dominant team in both its matches -- 1-0 loss to Sky Blue FC; 1-1 tie to St. Louis -- but have only managed to notch a single point. Chicago will have a second chance at knocking off Sky Blue, this time at home, on Sunday night. (6)
7. Philadelphia Independence - Philly has been solid on defense, but has lacked the offensive creativity to get wins. They have put together two consecutive ties -- 0-0 vs. Atlanta; 1-1 at Boston -- and could be a serious threat if the offense puts it together. (5)
8. Atlanta Beat - Atlanta's defense is putting way too much pressure on its keeper Allison Whitworth, allowing 24 shots on goal in two games -- 0-0 at Philadelphia; 3-1 at Washington. Luckily for them, Whitworth is playing out of her mind, otherwise the Beat would be the only 0-2 team in WPS. (4)
Giovanni Albanese Jr. contributes WPS content for Goal.com. He also covers FC Gold Pride for Tri-City Voice in Fremont, Calif. Contact him with any questions at GAlbaneseJr@gmail.com or on Twitter @BASportsBlogger.
Become a fan of Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page for all the latest news and insight into everything related to the beautiful game
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