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Knapp Notes: A Look Back At The First Month of WPS
The month of April featured 13 Women's Professional Soccer matches. Let's take a look at some highlights of the first month of the WPS inaugural season.
May 1, 2009 1:19:08 AM
The month of April is gone, which means the first month in Women’s Professional Soccer history is complete. The season technically started March 29th. But we’re just going to roll March into April. Therefore… April consisted of 72,000+ fans in the stands, 30 goals, 13 games, eight clean sheets, eight stadiums, seven teams, two undefeated teams, two winless teams, one red card, one scoreless team and one dominant team.
There’s no doubt that the first month was a special one. Did it meet the league’s expectations? Probably. They hoped to average about 6,000 fans per game. They ended with around 5,500 for the first month. Attendance-wise, it’s a hit.
Performance-wise, who can complain? The women have done it all. Going into last weekend, the biggest win was by a two-goal margin. Something special happened, with three teams unleashing eleven goals in a 24-hour span. The offense is live and well. And with any league, it just took a while for the teams to mesh. Defensively, eight clean sheets in 13 games is quite impressive. And the play has been fair. It’s been solid, but fair with only one card shown in 13 games. And a bunch of yellows, but within reason.
The word is out. The games have been played in eight different stadiums. Saint Louis has played in two stadiums. The other six teams have played in one stadium. The locations may change later in the season, depending on a number of factors. But right now, fans know where it is that their teams call home.
The schedule is easy to follow. In any given week, there will be three games with one club sitting out. The bye week allows clubs a chance to play locally or just regroup on their own. Either way, it’s easy to schedule around.
Statistics-wise – Los Angeles is leading the pack. The Sol is sitting in first place with a 3-0-1 record, and has outscored opponents five to zero. They are the dominant force in the league. The Chicago Red Stars are sitting in second place 2-0-2 and also have yet to lose. They’ve allowed just one goal, with three clean sheets. Sky Blue FC (0-1-2) and Saint Louis Athletica (0-2-1) are both still searching for their first win. Athletica is also looking for its first goal. The Boston Breakers (2-2-0), FC Gold Pride (1-2-1) and Washington Freedom (1-2-1) are in the middle of the pack.
So now what? Heading into the second full month of play, all seven teams will have their work cut out for them. Fifteen games will again give fans a chance to come out and cheer on their teams. But with the summer just around the corner… can they keep packing the stands? And can the teams keep the play just as strong? There’s only one way to find out – wait and see.
Kathryn L. Knapp, Goal.com
For more on Women’s Professional Soccer, go to Goal.com’s Women’ Soccer page.
There’s no doubt that the first month was a special one. Did it meet the league’s expectations? Probably. They hoped to average about 6,000 fans per game. They ended with around 5,500 for the first month. Attendance-wise, it’s a hit.
Performance-wise, who can complain? The women have done it all. Going into last weekend, the biggest win was by a two-goal margin. Something special happened, with three teams unleashing eleven goals in a 24-hour span. The offense is live and well. And with any league, it just took a while for the teams to mesh. Defensively, eight clean sheets in 13 games is quite impressive. And the play has been fair. It’s been solid, but fair with only one card shown in 13 games. And a bunch of yellows, but within reason.
The word is out. The games have been played in eight different stadiums. Saint Louis has played in two stadiums. The other six teams have played in one stadium. The locations may change later in the season, depending on a number of factors. But right now, fans know where it is that their teams call home.
The schedule is easy to follow. In any given week, there will be three games with one club sitting out. The bye week allows clubs a chance to play locally or just regroup on their own. Either way, it’s easy to schedule around.
Statistics-wise – Los Angeles is leading the pack. The Sol is sitting in first place with a 3-0-1 record, and has outscored opponents five to zero. They are the dominant force in the league. The Chicago Red Stars are sitting in second place 2-0-2 and also have yet to lose. They’ve allowed just one goal, with three clean sheets. Sky Blue FC (0-1-2) and Saint Louis Athletica (0-2-1) are both still searching for their first win. Athletica is also looking for its first goal. The Boston Breakers (2-2-0), FC Gold Pride (1-2-1) and Washington Freedom (1-2-1) are in the middle of the pack.
So now what? Heading into the second full month of play, all seven teams will have their work cut out for them. Fifteen games will again give fans a chance to come out and cheer on their teams. But with the summer just around the corner… can they keep packing the stands? And can the teams keep the play just as strong? There’s only one way to find out – wait and see.
Kathryn L. Knapp, Goal.com
For more on Women’s Professional Soccer, go to Goal.com’s Women’ Soccer page.
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