WPS Previews: Week 15 Part One

Week 15 of Women’s Professional Soccer action kicks off Wednesday when the Chicago Red Stars host the Washington Freedom. Washington (4-4-4, 16 points) is currently sitting in fourth place. The Red Stars (2-6-5, 11 points) are sitting at the bottom of the table. With just seven points separating the second-place and last-place teams… three playoff spots are still up for grabs.

Chicago Red Stars vs. Washington Freedom, Wednesday 8:30 p.m. ET at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill.

The Red Stars and the Freedom suffered losses last weekend. The Red Stars dropped a 4-0 decision to Los Angeles, while the Freedom fell 1-0 to Boston. Both teams will be looking to get back into the win column with Wednesday’s match.

Chicago is one of the biggest mysteries of any of the WPS teams. The roster is loaded with talent. And the team started off the strongest out of everyone, aside from L.A., with a 2-0-2 record. And then… well the club never quite rebounded. They haven’t won a match since a 4-0 win on April 25th. They did go through a three-game tying spree. But since then, they’ve dropped three more matches. The Red Stars haven't scored in 403 minutes, nor have they won in nine.

Offensively the Red Stars tie Sky Blue FC for the least amount of goals scored with eight. Lindsay Tarpley and Cristiane lead the attack with two goals each. Defensively Chicago also had one of the top defenses for the first part of the season with three shutouts in their first four matches. Since then they’ve tallied just one shutout in 10 games. And in the past three games they’ve almost doubled their goals allowed with seven for a total of 15. Goalkeeper Caroline Jonsson still ranks second in the league in saves (54) and third in shutouts (4). Jonsson is also tied with Nicole Barnhart for the most goals allowed with 15.

The Washington Freedom led the league in scoring for a while. And to date they still have 17 goals – the second most of any WPS team. Lisa DeVanna and Sonia Bompastor both have three goals each. Six other players have tallied goals, including four players who have two each. The offense can be explosive given the right circumstances.

The biggest problem Washington had was their defense. But now the club has a steady goalkeeper in Erin McLeod. Since she’s been tending goal, she has posted a 3-2-2 record and collected the first two shutouts in Freedom history. She’s also allowed one goal per game, compared to 12 that were allowed before her. The 19 goals allowed are the most by any WPS team.

Both Chicago and Washington have the tools to make it to the playoffs. But who will get the job done? With a 20-game season, all games are critical at this point.

Goal.com

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