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Women's Professional Soccer Recap: Week 7
Goal.com goes across the country to take a look at all the WPS action for the week.
May 31, 2010 3:01:00 AM
FC Gold Pride 0 @ Chicago Red Stars 1
Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Illinois
By Carissa Ulmet: Playing in its first game since the dismissal of coach Emma Hayes, the Chicago Red Stars, under the guidance of General Manager Marcia McDermott, were able to get its first home win of the season, a 1-0 victory over the WPS-leading FC Gold Pride on Saturday night at Toyota Park.
Gold Pride’s loss was its first since opening day, a 2-0 shutout handed to them by the recently folded St. Louis Athletica.
“I thought it was an even game for the most part,” said Gold Pride coach Albertin Montoya. “Both teams had some quality chances, and (Chicago) put their chance away in the second half.”
After a scoreless half, the Red Stars came out of the locker room determined to get on the scoreboard. In the 55th minute (10 minutes into the second half) defender Marian Dalmy drove a cross through Gold Pride’s defenders to the feet of forward Kosovare Asllani, who tapped the ball past keeper Nicole Barnhart for 1-0 lead that would not be lost.
Asllani, who was also voted player of the game by the crowd, reflected on the game.
“I’m so proud of the team and how we worked with each other.” Asllani said, “It wasn’t just my goal, it was the team’s goal … We have, in my opinion, the greatest team in the league and I feel that we are supposed to be in the top and we started tonight.”
FC Gold Pride’s forward Marta attempted four shots this game, including a goal-saving block by Dalmy, and another being a run-in with Red Stars’ goalie Jillian Loyden, to no avail.
“It was a difficult week, obviously it was not an easy decision to change coaches but once we made it, we needed to move forward,” said McDermott. “I spent the week training the team starting on Monday and we put a lot of effort toward organization because obviously we are brand new together so that was the first thing we could do.”
McDermott addressed the questions rising about the Red Stars next new head coach.
”Right now we’re actively in the pursuit of building a list of the next Red Star’s coach,” McDermott said. “I want to get the right person so it will take what it takes.”
From a players’ standpoint, Asllani is sure that the team’s confidence is high and, whoever comes in to take control of the coaching duties will have a solid team.
“We’ll get confidence after this game,” said Asllani. “And we can beat every team in this league.”
Philadelphia Independence 1 @ Washington Freedom 2
Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, Maryland
By Ramin Majd: Philadelphia Independence, led by US internationals Amy Rodriguez and Lori Lindsey, traveled to the Maryland SoccerPlex to take on star striker Abby Wambach and the Washington Freedom.
The Freedom were able to wrest second place from the Independence, 2-1, in a game that saw Rodriguez’s WPS scoring difficulties continue and an ugly red card ejection near fulltime.
"It is a tough place to come. They have a lot of experience. I'm disappointed with the result,” said Independence coach Paul Riley. “We had better possession in the second half, compared with the first, but we couldn't put the chances away.”
In a sequence that will likely be plaguing Rodriguez for days, in the 13th minute Lori Lindsey had a clean run through the central midfield and linked up with A-Rod in the area. Though no one was anywhere near her, the snakebitten forward let loose a howler that flew right, not even finding the goalmouth.
The momentum promptly shifted the Freedom’s way, with Washington breaking through in the 24th minute. Rebecca Moros and Christie Welsh performed a give and go down the right side, as the Independence suffered a complete defensive breakdown. Moros beat Philly keeper Val Henderson to the far post to put Washington up 1-0.
"When the defense shifted, it opened up just the right way for me, so I was pretty lucky. I ended up with a pretty good shooting angle in the middle and was able to serve it in," said Moros. "Welshie's pass was so perfect. She just kind of sent me into a gap. I played a ball into her, and her touch was absolutely flawless."
Nine minutes later the Freedom added to their tally, as Sonia Bompastor drew a foul from Sara Larsson in the area. Wambach took the penalty and converted to the right post, sending Henderson the wrong way, giving them a 2-0 which they took into the half.
The Independence had several chances in the early part of the second half, but were not able to capitalize.
Seger intercepted a Washington pass in the 52nd minute and connected with Magnusdottir on the left, but the ball was poked away before the Icelandic international could get off a shot.
The play resulted in a corner kick. Lindsey was able to send her corner to a good spot, but Allison Falk’s header sailed over the crossbar.
The game got chippy as bubbling tension boiled over in the 86th minute. Seger drew a straight red card—and a stern rebuke from Wambach—for shoving her hand into the face of Freedom midfielder Sarah Huffman.
"Obviously I hit her in the face because she was pulling my pants and I wanted to get her off me,” said Seger. “I felt my hand connect so I knew I did hit her there."
Philadelphia got their goal in the 90th minute, by which time the game was in the bag and Washington seemed disinterested. A Magnusdottir cross was sloppily handled by McLeod, who dropped the ball inches in front of the right side of her net. Philadelphia’s Lianne Sanderson tapped it in for the easy finish.
"I don't think we played our best game, but we got the result,” said Freedom coach Jim Gabarra. “We could have made it easier on ourselves.”
Boston Breakers 0 @ Sky Blue FC 0
Yurcak Field, Piscataway, New Jersey
By Giovanni Albanese Jr: It was a game full of energy in one of the up-and-coming rivalries of the WPS, and both teams scratched and clawed for an edge, but it resulted with both Boston and Sky Blue FC coming away with a point in a scoreless draw.
Sky Blue FC keeper Karen Bardsley kept up her stellar play, earning her fourth clean sheet of the year, recording five saves on the 23 Breaker shots. Not to be outdone, Boston keeper Ashley Phillips also picked up the clean sheet, only need to make one save in the process.
"I think it's mental right now,” said Breakers coach Tony DiCicco of his club’s inability to put the ball in the net. “I think the players are trying to take the extra touch to get their shot off. In the penalty area, most goals are scored on one touch."
Boston has scored five goals through seven games thus far, and just one goal in its last four.
“It is hard not to be frustrated, we played very well,” said DiCicco. “We were the dominant team in the game. We are playing good soccer, but we have to score goals because soccer is about scoring goals. We should be getting the delivery in and doing better with the quality of our finishing.”
A lot of their struggles may have been caused by the ability of Bardsley to take over a game in the nets.
"She's the backbone of this team," said Sky Blue FC coach Pauliina Miettinen of Bardsley. "Even when we have something dangerous going on, I'm not too concerned because I have so much confidence in her. She's definitely someone we know we can rely on, and I have no doubt that she will be there to make the saves."
Meanwhile, key cogs to the Sky Blue FC roster -- Tasha Kai, Meghan Schnur and Christie Rampone -- returned to the team. Schnur logged 90 minutes in her return; Kai got 45 minutes of action (came on for Kiersten Dallstream at halftime); and Rampone did not see the field, but is still getting into fitness.
Kai, traditionally a striker with a nose for the goal, was the facilitator out of the midfield on Saturday night. In the 47th minute, Kai worked her way through the Boston defense before setting up Heather O’Reilly. Phillips was up to the task, making a diving save on O’Reilly’s shot.
"I was out there trying to put my team up and do whatever I could to help," Kai said. "Whatever my role is, I'm going to do it - the team comes before me. Even if I only play 10 minutes, I'm going to come in and play the best 10 minutes I can possibly give."
Kai and O’Reilly hooked up on a couple more occasions without any results over the next several minutes. After that point, Boston went on to dominate the half, out-shooting Sky Blue FC 12-4 for the half.
Both clubs will have another go at each other to try and figure out the others’ keeper with a June 13 rematch.
Tampa Bay Hellenic 1 @ Atlanta Beat 1
KSU Soccer Stadium, Kennesaw, Georgia
By Giovanni Albanese Jr.: Atlanta was scheduled to battle St. Louis Athletica on Saturday night. With St. Louis’ unfortunate situation, folding its operations on Thursday, Atlanta rescheduled to play against the W-League’s Tampa Bay Hellenic.
Atlanta out-shot its opponent 30-1, but could only muster a single goal, a Rebecca Nolin 89th-minute game tier, the first Beat goal at KSU Stadium, in a 1-1 draw. Tampa Bay’s Rachel Yepez netted the Hellenic goal in the 67th minute, breaking the scoreless affair.
Nolin, a KSU alum, was proud she became the first Beat player to score at the new digs.
“This is a dream come true to score at home,” said Nolin, a hometown player since playing collegiately at Kennesaw State University. “This really shouldn’t have been our the first goal at this facility. But, like I said, this is a dream come true.”
Atlanta returns back to WPS play with its first road game in a month, the game of the week on Fox Soccer Channel on Sunday, June 6, at the Chicago Red Stars. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. ET.
Looking ahead
Washington Freedom takes its show to the West Coast on Saturday night with a chance at first place, if they can beat FC Gold Pride. Kickoff at Castro Valley Athletic Stadium is 10 p.m. ET. On Sunday night, Sky Blue FC heads to John A. Farrell Stadium in West Chester, Pennsylvania, to take on the Philadelphia Independence, and Atlanta takes on the Chicago Red Stars at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois. Both games kickoff at 6 p.m. ET.
Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Illinois
By Carissa Ulmet: Playing in its first game since the dismissal of coach Emma Hayes, the Chicago Red Stars, under the guidance of General Manager Marcia McDermott, were able to get its first home win of the season, a 1-0 victory over the WPS-leading FC Gold Pride on Saturday night at Toyota Park.
Gold Pride’s loss was its first since opening day, a 2-0 shutout handed to them by the recently folded St. Louis Athletica.
“I thought it was an even game for the most part,” said Gold Pride coach Albertin Montoya. “Both teams had some quality chances, and (Chicago) put their chance away in the second half.”
After a scoreless half, the Red Stars came out of the locker room determined to get on the scoreboard. In the 55th minute (10 minutes into the second half) defender Marian Dalmy drove a cross through Gold Pride’s defenders to the feet of forward Kosovare Asllani, who tapped the ball past keeper Nicole Barnhart for 1-0 lead that would not be lost.
Asllani, who was also voted player of the game by the crowd, reflected on the game.
“I’m so proud of the team and how we worked with each other.” Asllani said, “It wasn’t just my goal, it was the team’s goal … We have, in my opinion, the greatest team in the league and I feel that we are supposed to be in the top and we started tonight.”
FC Gold Pride’s forward Marta attempted four shots this game, including a goal-saving block by Dalmy, and another being a run-in with Red Stars’ goalie Jillian Loyden, to no avail.
“It was a difficult week, obviously it was not an easy decision to change coaches but once we made it, we needed to move forward,” said McDermott. “I spent the week training the team starting on Monday and we put a lot of effort toward organization because obviously we are brand new together so that was the first thing we could do.”
McDermott addressed the questions rising about the Red Stars next new head coach.
”Right now we’re actively in the pursuit of building a list of the next Red Star’s coach,” McDermott said. “I want to get the right person so it will take what it takes.”
From a players’ standpoint, Asllani is sure that the team’s confidence is high and, whoever comes in to take control of the coaching duties will have a solid team.
“We’ll get confidence after this game,” said Asllani. “And we can beat every team in this league.”
Philadelphia Independence 1 @ Washington Freedom 2
Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, Maryland
By Ramin Majd: Philadelphia Independence, led by US internationals Amy Rodriguez and Lori Lindsey, traveled to the Maryland SoccerPlex to take on star striker Abby Wambach and the Washington Freedom.
The Freedom were able to wrest second place from the Independence, 2-1, in a game that saw Rodriguez’s WPS scoring difficulties continue and an ugly red card ejection near fulltime.
"It is a tough place to come. They have a lot of experience. I'm disappointed with the result,” said Independence coach Paul Riley. “We had better possession in the second half, compared with the first, but we couldn't put the chances away.”
In a sequence that will likely be plaguing Rodriguez for days, in the 13th minute Lori Lindsey had a clean run through the central midfield and linked up with A-Rod in the area. Though no one was anywhere near her, the snakebitten forward let loose a howler that flew right, not even finding the goalmouth.
The momentum promptly shifted the Freedom’s way, with Washington breaking through in the 24th minute. Rebecca Moros and Christie Welsh performed a give and go down the right side, as the Independence suffered a complete defensive breakdown. Moros beat Philly keeper Val Henderson to the far post to put Washington up 1-0.
"When the defense shifted, it opened up just the right way for me, so I was pretty lucky. I ended up with a pretty good shooting angle in the middle and was able to serve it in," said Moros. "Welshie's pass was so perfect. She just kind of sent me into a gap. I played a ball into her, and her touch was absolutely flawless."
Nine minutes later the Freedom added to their tally, as Sonia Bompastor drew a foul from Sara Larsson in the area. Wambach took the penalty and converted to the right post, sending Henderson the wrong way, giving them a 2-0 which they took into the half.
The Independence had several chances in the early part of the second half, but were not able to capitalize.
Seger intercepted a Washington pass in the 52nd minute and connected with Magnusdottir on the left, but the ball was poked away before the Icelandic international could get off a shot.
The play resulted in a corner kick. Lindsey was able to send her corner to a good spot, but Allison Falk’s header sailed over the crossbar.
The game got chippy as bubbling tension boiled over in the 86th minute. Seger drew a straight red card—and a stern rebuke from Wambach—for shoving her hand into the face of Freedom midfielder Sarah Huffman.
"Obviously I hit her in the face because she was pulling my pants and I wanted to get her off me,” said Seger. “I felt my hand connect so I knew I did hit her there."
Philadelphia got their goal in the 90th minute, by which time the game was in the bag and Washington seemed disinterested. A Magnusdottir cross was sloppily handled by McLeod, who dropped the ball inches in front of the right side of her net. Philadelphia’s Lianne Sanderson tapped it in for the easy finish.
"I don't think we played our best game, but we got the result,” said Freedom coach Jim Gabarra. “We could have made it easier on ourselves.”
Boston Breakers 0 @ Sky Blue FC 0
Yurcak Field, Piscataway, New Jersey
By Giovanni Albanese Jr: It was a game full of energy in one of the up-and-coming rivalries of the WPS, and both teams scratched and clawed for an edge, but it resulted with both Boston and Sky Blue FC coming away with a point in a scoreless draw.
Sky Blue FC keeper Karen Bardsley kept up her stellar play, earning her fourth clean sheet of the year, recording five saves on the 23 Breaker shots. Not to be outdone, Boston keeper Ashley Phillips also picked up the clean sheet, only need to make one save in the process.
"I think it's mental right now,” said Breakers coach Tony DiCicco of his club’s inability to put the ball in the net. “I think the players are trying to take the extra touch to get their shot off. In the penalty area, most goals are scored on one touch."
Boston has scored five goals through seven games thus far, and just one goal in its last four.
“It is hard not to be frustrated, we played very well,” said DiCicco. “We were the dominant team in the game. We are playing good soccer, but we have to score goals because soccer is about scoring goals. We should be getting the delivery in and doing better with the quality of our finishing.”
A lot of their struggles may have been caused by the ability of Bardsley to take over a game in the nets.
"She's the backbone of this team," said Sky Blue FC coach Pauliina Miettinen of Bardsley. "Even when we have something dangerous going on, I'm not too concerned because I have so much confidence in her. She's definitely someone we know we can rely on, and I have no doubt that she will be there to make the saves."
Meanwhile, key cogs to the Sky Blue FC roster -- Tasha Kai, Meghan Schnur and Christie Rampone -- returned to the team. Schnur logged 90 minutes in her return; Kai got 45 minutes of action (came on for Kiersten Dallstream at halftime); and Rampone did not see the field, but is still getting into fitness.
Kai, traditionally a striker with a nose for the goal, was the facilitator out of the midfield on Saturday night. In the 47th minute, Kai worked her way through the Boston defense before setting up Heather O’Reilly. Phillips was up to the task, making a diving save on O’Reilly’s shot.
"I was out there trying to put my team up and do whatever I could to help," Kai said. "Whatever my role is, I'm going to do it - the team comes before me. Even if I only play 10 minutes, I'm going to come in and play the best 10 minutes I can possibly give."
Kai and O’Reilly hooked up on a couple more occasions without any results over the next several minutes. After that point, Boston went on to dominate the half, out-shooting Sky Blue FC 12-4 for the half.
Both clubs will have another go at each other to try and figure out the others’ keeper with a June 13 rematch.
Tampa Bay Hellenic 1 @ Atlanta Beat 1
KSU Soccer Stadium, Kennesaw, Georgia
By Giovanni Albanese Jr.: Atlanta was scheduled to battle St. Louis Athletica on Saturday night. With St. Louis’ unfortunate situation, folding its operations on Thursday, Atlanta rescheduled to play against the W-League’s Tampa Bay Hellenic.
Atlanta out-shot its opponent 30-1, but could only muster a single goal, a Rebecca Nolin 89th-minute game tier, the first Beat goal at KSU Stadium, in a 1-1 draw. Tampa Bay’s Rachel Yepez netted the Hellenic goal in the 67th minute, breaking the scoreless affair.
Nolin, a KSU alum, was proud she became the first Beat player to score at the new digs.
“This is a dream come true to score at home,” said Nolin, a hometown player since playing collegiately at Kennesaw State University. “This really shouldn’t have been our the first goal at this facility. But, like I said, this is a dream come true.”
Atlanta returns back to WPS play with its first road game in a month, the game of the week on Fox Soccer Channel on Sunday, June 6, at the Chicago Red Stars. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. ET.
Looking ahead
Washington Freedom takes its show to the West Coast on Saturday night with a chance at first place, if they can beat FC Gold Pride. Kickoff at Castro Valley Athletic Stadium is 10 p.m. ET. On Sunday night, Sky Blue FC heads to John A. Farrell Stadium in West Chester, Pennsylvania, to take on the Philadelphia Independence, and Atlanta takes on the Chicago Red Stars at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois. Both games kickoff at 6 p.m. ET.
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