WPS Week 9 Breakdown

Sinclair celebrates her goal in FC Gold Pride's big 3-1 win over 3rd place Philadelphia Independence, in a playful "Knock-Out Punch" style. Her goal, scored just before half time, was the first of the match.



Hello all, sorry if things have been a tad slow around here. Between obligations before summer, and also World Cup, its been hard to find time to write about our beloved Women's league here in the U.S.A.

Week 9 for WPS has come and gone. There are a few good match ups to talk about here.

First match up to discuss is Washington vs. Chicago Red Stars. I didn't watch any webcasts or match trackers on this one, as I was very very busy this weekend especially. It seems like it was a good game though. I'm very surprised at the result, which was a 2-2 tie. I figured with the way things were going, that Washington would take the 3 points, but as we've seen before, Chicago can definitely surprise and pull some tricks. Chicago, as I've said before, isn't a bad team when it comes to possession...its just the scoring that needs some work. Well, looks like they turned that around this time, as they scored a pair of goals. Washington actually took the lead, with Wambach and Sawa putting them on the board in the first half. Chicago would put themselves back into the game with a Cristiane goal before half time. It stayed the same, until Cristiane scored her second of the match only minutes before the end of the 2nd half, to get the Red Stars the tie.

With this result, we can see that Chicago may be starting to pick things up. Cristiane scored 2 goals in her first multi-goal campaign of the season, and may keep rolling on this good form. The Brazilian strikers have awakened, as Marta is on fire right now, and Cristiane might be following. Chicago may be the surprise here; if they change things around permanently and start scoring and winning games like they did this weekend, they can start moving up in the standings. As I said earlier in the season, don't count Chicago out. As for Washington, a tie gives them a point, which will keep them up in the standings, but it won't move them anywhere. They can't get complacent against any team in this league, and in regards to a game, can't get complacent after going up by 2 in a match. At any given moment, a team can turn around and equalize. The offense did their job, but their defense allowed Chicago to come back. They need to start cleaning up on their silly mistakes.



The next match to go over is Sky Blue FC vs. Boston Breakers. The Breakers continue to have bad luck against Sky Blue, as they have yet to win a match against Sky Blue FC in the Eastern Derby. The Boston Breakers took the lead early on, as Angeli put them on the board, but the lead was to be destroyed early in the 2nd half, as Kai comes back into the groove after injury, and scores her first after returning, making the score 1-1. As it looked like the game would end in a tie, a penalty was called off a foul in the box, committed by Boston. Rosana would win the game for Sky Blue FC in the 90th minute as she converted from the spot, getting them 3 points.

This game went as expected, if looking from a historical perspective. Sky Blue wins once again against Eastern rivals Boston Breakers. Sky Blue was able to score in the match with the help of returning star striker Kai, and also from Rosana who converted from the spot. Boston on the other hand continues to do poorly. Another loss for Boston as they have fizzled out from the beginning of the season to now. Scoring seems to be quite the problem for Boston. They may have notched a goal in this game, but things just seem to be lacking up front for them. Boston is seriously starting to fall behind. They need to pick it up, the competition is too tough in the league for them to be squeaking by with ties, or even allowing themselves to lose games completely. They need to pick their form back up, and that starts with getting that final element up top. The offense needs to do its job, or they will be stuck with scoring problems like last season.



And for the last match of the weekend, 1st place FC Gold Pride vs. Philadelphia Independence. FCGP won 3-1, shocking Philly who have been on quite the roll this season. This game was a little erratic in the first half, as neither team could find rhythm. There were plenty of turn overs for both, and the plays were inaccurate at times. There were a few chances for each team, but none would be converted until Sinclair scored right before half time. Lindsey made a mistake in midfield leading to the interception in her half by Marta. Marta ran down the field and played a perfect ball to Sinclair who received it in the box, coolly slotting it past LeBlanc and into the far right to give FCGP the lead. The 2nd half would begin, and it looked much more lively, as more chances were created and possession was a little neater. FCGP would score again, as Marta would gather a ball and run into the box. She would run towards the endline, keep possession under pressure, run towards goal, and would shoot it in between LeBlanc's legs to come up with FCGP's 2-0 lead. Philly would get some good looks and would convert, as DiMartino would score off a cross late in the second half, making Philly hopeful for a late equalizer. FCGP would put those hopes to rest, as Marta would silence Philly in the 90th, as Sinclair slotted a perfect through pass to the speedy Marta, who ran onto the ball and was 1 v 1 with LeBlanc. She faked out LeBlanc by cutting left, but got a little tripped up as LeBlanc went out to grab the ball. Nonetheless, Marta kept her composure, stayed on her feet, and controlled the ball, as she put it right into an open net, closing the game at the final score; 3-1.

As far as the match ups go, this was a pretty big win. FCGP are further proving their superiority in the league, by beating close competitors Philly. And, it was by means of a very convincing win. FCGP's offense continues to thrive, as Sinclair and Marta both put chances away. FCGP's defense also held steady, confining Philly to only scoring one goal in the match. FCGP are looking very very dangerous, and are on quite a roll right now. They deserve to be atop the standings. As for Philly, this loss was somewhat of a shock. It seemed like it would be a very close game, since both teams have had great campaigns so far, and since both have looked threatening. Philly is going to need to build off this loss and improve on where they went wrong. More chances could have been finished by them, and their defense gave a little too much room for FCGP's offense. Also, the midfield gave up too many turn-overs...one of them leading to Sinclair's goal. FCGP is on fire and has no stand out weaknesses. Philly needs to improve and build off this game.


That's all for this week's analysis and review. See you all next time!

Denise