04 April 2010
WPS 2010 Preview
By Jeff Kassouf
Women’s Professional Soccer already finds itself close to the beginning of season two after a very busy off-season. The inaugural championship victory of Sky Blue FC over the Los Angeles Sol in late August seems like just yesterday, and the stream of news out of the young league never stopped even without playing a match in seven months.
The frenzy in which the 2009 season ended spilled over immediately into expansion and international drafts for the league’s newest teams, the Philadelphia Independence and Atlanta Beat, and big trades and free agents on the move would soon follow.
Boston traded Amy Rodriguez, the No. 1-overall draft pick in the 2009 WPS Draft, to Philadelphia in late August and soon lost defender Heather Mitts to the City of Brotherly Love as well after the Independence signed her as a free agent.
Boston would add a big-time United States Women’s National Team player of its own in midfielder Leslie Osborne, and fellow U.S. international Carli Lloyd would make the move from Chicago back to her home state of New Jersey to sign with Sky Blue FC.
The Chicago Red Stars were part of one of the biggest trades of the off-season on draft day when they sent U.S. international Lindsay Tarpley to rival Saint Louis Athletica in exchange for goalkeeper Jillian Loyden.
FC Gold Pride made waves when it acquired French midfielder Camille Abily in a trade in early January, but, unfortunately for WPS and SoCal soccer fans, she would not be the only Los Angeles Sol player to find a new team.
WPS officially announced that the Los Angeles Sol would cease operations on Jan. 28, meaning that eight teams march into the 2010 WPS season set to kick off on April 10.
Many teams have completely new looks as they look to work out some of the kinks from the inaugural season and make a run at the 2010 title, and the large amount of big names on the move and influx of international players could lead to a completely different looking balance of power.
Sky Blue FC took a championship team and added Lloyd to the mix in the off-season along with internationals such as Jessica Landström, Laura Kalmari and Daphne Koster, making a legitimate case for the Garden State team to be a top contender to defend its title.
On the other end of the 2009 table was FC Gold Pride, which finished in last place in the inaugural WPS season but looks to be the most improved team on paper. Camille Abilly, Solveig Gulbrandsen and Kelley O’Hara are reason for excitement in the Bay Area, but there is no bigger buzz than Marta’s move up the coast through the Los Angeles Sol dispersal draft.
All six teams that participated in 2009 have put together what they feel are improved squads and the two expansion teams are working hard to be immediate contenders. Here is how things break down entering the 2010 WPS season:
Atlanta Beat
2010 WPS Expansion Team
Key Players: Tobin Heath, Ramona Bachmann, Leigh Ann Robinson, Mami Yamaguchi
In truth, Tobin Heath is the player in Atlanta that everyone is talking about because she is the most high-profile player on the team. Beat Head Coach Gareth O’Sullivan has brought in a lot of international players that have done well in other leagues, such as Mami Yamaguchi, Johanna Rasmussen and Ramona Bachmann. However, much of this talent is unproven in Women’s Professional Soccer, and even several domestic players such as midfielder McCall Zerboni and goalkeeper Allison Whitworth are relatively untested in WPS.
In a league filled with superstars, Atlanta looks to have a team full of role players outside the likes of Heath and a select few. That could play out to the Beat’s advantage as O’Sullivan looks to build team chemistry, with unsung work horses like Angie Kerr, Manya Makoski and Kia McNeill fitting perfectly into such an atmosphere. The world-class women’s soccer specific stadium that the team will be playing in should also create a spectacular home field advantage. It is tough to truthfully say that Atlanta has one of the best rosters in the league with so many players that have not seen the field in WPS yet, but the Beat could put together a decent season if things play out how O’Sullivan and company would like.
Boston Breakers
2009: 7-9-4, 25 pts.; fifth place regular season (missed playoffs)
Key Players: Kelly Smith, Alex Scott, Amy LePeilbet, Stephanie Cox, Kristine Lilly, Leslie Osborne
Talk to Breakers Head Coach Tony DiCicco for one minute about 2009 and he will begin to tell you about the team’s scoring troubles. The Breakers found net just 18 times in 20 games in the inaugural WPS season, and while that is pretty much on par with what was a low-scoring season across the league, it was a lack of goal-scoring production that contributed to Boston missing the playoffs. Kelly Smith led the team with six goals in 2009 and Lilly was able to add three goals and three assists. The addition of Laura Del Rio in early February means that the Breakers should have a solid (though again, unproven) third option up top.
Perhaps the team’s most important pick-up of the off-season was Leslie Osborne, whose ability to hold the ball and control the game in the center of the park will be critical. The loss of Heather Mitts initially looked like a blow to Boston, but the addition of Stephanie Cox (who can play outside back or center back) and Osborne in the holding midfield role should help the Breakers defensively. Consistency will be key for DiCicco and his players in 2010 after a 2009 season of ups and downs, including missing out on the playoffs on the last day of the season with a loss to a struggling Los Angeles Sol team.
Chicago Red Stars
2009: 5-10-5, 20 pts.; sixth place regular season (missed playoffs)
Key Players: Cristiane, Karen Carney, Brittany Klein, Megan Rapinoe, Kate Markgraf, Casey Nogueira
To say the Red Stars struggled in 2009 would be an understatement. At one point, Chicago went on a miserable scoring draught of 451 minutes. Now, the theme in the Windy City seems to center around new beginnings in 2010. U.S. internationals Lindsay Tarpley and Carli Lloyd have departed Chicago after disappointing seasons, and Head Coach Emma Hayes seems ready to prove that she and her team have learned from their mistakes in 2009. Cristiane is one of the best forwards in the league and should receive a good amount of help from Ella Masar and Karen Carney.
The defense should look different for Chicago in 2010 after giving up 25 goals in 2009 (a goal differential of -7). Kate Markgraf is back from her pregnancy and surely ready to prove that she still has what it takes to be a world-class defender. She will be paired with young-gun Whitney Engen, widely considered the best defender in this year’s rookie class. Those two will most likely make up the center back duo, which will play in front of goalkeeper Jillian Loyden, who was acquired in the trade for Tarpley. Many questions from 2009 remain to be answered in Chicago, but there has been some remodeling of the team for 2010.
FC Gold Pride
2009: 4-10-6, 18 pts.; seventh place regular season (missed playoffs)
Key Players: Marta, Camille Abily, Christine Sinclair, Kelley O’Hara, Tiffeny Milbrett, Rachel Buehler
Obviously the big story here is that Marta made her way up to Northern California and will look to raise FC Gold Pride up to greatness both on and off the field. She has been named the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year four straight times now, and her talent (and even more so, her marketability) is unmatched by any other women’s soccer player in the world. At FC Gold Pride, she will not only be able to feed off of the energy of Camille Abily (like in LA), but she will also have Christine Sinclair up top to provide what could be one of the best possible strike partners for Marta. Sinclair’s ability to hold the ball up is the perfect combination for the agile skills of Marta and pure speed and work rate of Kelley O’Hara. Sinclair can also lay the ball back to a midfield that includes Solveig Gulbrandsen, a player FC Gold Pride Head Coach Albertin Montoya is very high on.
Clearly, this is an attack-oriented team. There is absolutely no question that FC Gold Pride will score goals, but the key will come in whether or not the team will be able to keep the ball out of its own net or simply rely on a ‘we will outscore you’ mentality. U.S. Women’s National Team defender Rachel Buehler will be a focal point of the backline. Montoya will need to figure out how to best use Candace Chapman, Carrie Dew and Becky Edwards, who are all capable of playing center back or in a holding midfield role, one that will need to be filled with the loss of Leslie Osborne. This could be the one team in WPS daring enough to play a 3-5-2, 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 formation. Time will tell which of those will best suit FC Gold Pride.
Philadelphia Independence
2010 Expansion Team
Key Players: Karina LeBlanc, Heather Mitts, Caroline Seger, Amy Rodriguez, Lori Lindsey
Philadelphia is considered by many to be one of the weaker teams in WPS on paper, but Head Coach Paul Riley has a vision for this team and a track record of winning at all levels. Swedish midfielder Caroline Seger is a major talking point of the Independence, as her attacking style of play and energetic personality make her somebody that the team can rally around. U.S. international Lori Lindsey will join her in anchoring the midfield. Lindsey continues to build off of a great 2009 WPS season and make strides at the international level, showcased by her great play at the 2010 Algarve Cup. Icelandic midfielder Holmfridur Magnusdottir has a lot of expectations on her, and English international Fara Williams will also be expected to contribute big-time minutes.
With Karina LeBlanc in goal and Heather Mitts, Allison Falk and Sara Larsson helping anchor the defense, Philadelphia should be pretty sound in the back. The main question mark seems to be up top. Amy Rodriguez is the team’s most notable forward, but her struggles in WPS thus far have been well-documented. She will most likely partner with Lianne Sanderson up top, but both have a lot to prove in WPS. Riley wants to play possessing, attacking soccer where even outside backs (mainly Mitts) are critical to the attack, but this line-up looks like one that is going to need to find a way to grind out 1-0 results as well.
Saint Louis Atheltica
2009: 10-6-4, 34 pts.; second place regular season (lost in super semifinal)
Key Players: Hope Solo, Shannon Boxx, Lindsay Tarpley, Eniola Aluko, Aya Miyama, Lori Chalupny
Saint Louis Athletica has quietly become one of the best teams on paper this off-season. Hope Solo returns to keep the ball out of the back of the net and Eniola Aluko will look to build off of her 2009 scoring production of six goals and four assists, both of which led the team. She will finally have significant help up top with Lindsay Tarpley joining Athletica. That duo, alongside the production of midfielders Shannon Boxx and Aya Miyama could produce a stellar attack for a team that found ways to win in 2009 by grabbing 1-0 results.
Solo will have Tina Ellertson, Kendall Fletcher and Elise Weber in front of her, but the question mark surrounding Lori Chalupny and her recovery from a head injury is worrying. Chalupny was a big part of Athletica’s success in 2009, and the captain’s health could be a big variable for this team. Still, with the likes of Solo in net and Boxx, Miyama, Tarpley and Aluko leading the attack, Saint Louis has to be considered one of the early favorites for making a run at the 2010 WPS Championship.
Sky Blue FC
2009: 7-8-5, 26 pts.; fourth place regular season (2009 WPS Champions)
Key Players: Heather O’Reilly, Yael Averbuch, Christie Rampone, Rosana, Anita Asante, Meghan Schnur
In all honesty, Sky Blue FC is loaded with talent. The aforementioned list of key players goes so deep that it excludes players like Natasha Kai, Kacey White, Carli Lloyd and Brittany Taylor, all of whom are in the U.S. Women’s National Team pool. In truth, it is almost hard to fathom just how many superstars have assembled in the Garden State. There are nine players that have been with the U.S or at least gotten looks from Pia Sundhage in the past year, on top of international studs such as Anita Asante and Jessica Landström.
Sky Blue FC’s 2009 playoff run to a title overshadowed an up-and-down season that saw the team part ways with two different coaches before Christie Rampone took the team on her back as player/coach. This year, however, the defending champions are the odds-on favorites to defend their title based on talent alone. If this team, which resembles something of an all-star team, does not at least find its way to the final, some serious questions will have to be asked. The key will be getting all of these players on the pitch at the same time and getting accustomed to Head Coach Pauliina Miettinen. Sundhage should be smart about calling international friendlies during the WPS season, but the CONCACAF 2011 Women’s World Cup schedule still is not out and Asante (knee surgery) and Rampone (pregnancy) will miss the beginning of the 2010 season. Still, great things are expected in New Jersey.
Washington Freedom
2009: 8-7-5, 29 pts.; third place regular season (lost in semifinal)
Key Players: Sonia Bompastor, Abby Wambach, Cat Whitehill, Lisa De Vanna, Erin McLeod
Head Coach Jim Gabarra will feel disappointed with the Washington Freedom’s semifinal loss to Sky Blue FC in 2009 after finishing third in the WPS regular season. The inconsistency that the Freedom showed throughout the season came back to bite the team, though. Washington both scored the most goals in the league and gave up the most goals in WPS (32 for and 32 against, for a goal differential of zero). Erin McLeod was stellar in net at times, but her and a defense in front of her anchored by U.S. defender Cat Whitehill were involved in some barn-burners, including a 4-4 tie against Sky Blue FC on July 15 and a 3-2 loss to last place FC Gold Pride on August 1. The addition of Brittany Bock should help solidify that backline.
Up top, this team is still stellar. The goal scoring machine that is Abby Wambach returns alongside Australian forward Lisa De Vanna, who put together a solid 2009 season with six goals and five assists. Rebecca Moros will help in the attack and stalwarts Homare Sawa and Becky Sauerbrunn, who were the only two Freedom players to see action in every single minute in 2009, will have high expectations. Washington should put together another solid season, but the team is a bit of a dark horse right now. It falls somewhere in between teams expected to do really well and teams expected to struggle. That lack of pressure could be beneficial to the Freedom as 2010 rolls on.
Westford, MA, July 26, 2010 – We don’t know about you, but our football fever has yet to subside. On the heels of the biggest soccer event in the world, sportlifestyle brand PUMA® is excited to announce a new initiative that links women’s soccer with a well-deserving cause: launching this month, PUMA’s Project Pink will strive to raise awareness and funds in support of the fight against breast cancer. In conjunction with their partnership with Women’s Professional Soccer.
Women’s Professional Soccer unveiled a new format to decide the two sides at the 2010 All-Star Game. This year the top domestic and international vote getters, Abby Wambach and Marta, became captains in a new Playground Pick-Em format. Wambach opened the event by selecting U.S. National Team mate Hope Solo to be in goal for her squad, and Marta answered with Sky Blue FC goalkeeper Karen Bardsley (who would be replaced by FC Gold Pride keeper Nicole Barnhart due to injury). After the completion of the event the two teams, Abby XI and Marta XI, were set for the 2010 WPS All-Star Game at KSU Soccer Stadium in Kennesaw, GA. The two star studded teams left it all on the pitch in an exciting high goal scoring game for everyone watching.
