WPS Week 12 Breakdown

Lilly watches as her 84th minute strike rolls into the back of the net, completing Boston's come-from-behind win against 2nd place powerhouses Philly. This win was Boston's first since their season opener, in which they defeated the Washington Freedom, 2-1.



Hold onto your hats everyone, because its time to talk about WPS week 12, and there is a ton of business to attend to. There is quite a lot to discuss, and as always there are quite a few surprises. In the midst of World Cup, its been hard to diligently keep up on the World of WPS, since it has unfortunately taken somewhat of a backseat. However, I'll always stay in touch with what's going on, no matter what other things are happening. Here is the WPS Week 12 breakdown, only about a day late.

Our first game to talk about here involves first place FC Gold Pride, who, you guessed it, have moved up even further in the standings. The match-up was FCGP vs. Atlanta, and the result was the most convincing win we've seen so far this season. FCGP completely crushed the Beat, 4-0, with a goal from Sinclair (hers being the fastest goal in WPS history, scored in the 31st second of play), a brace from Marta, and a goal by rookie Kelley O'Hara.


I figured that FCGP would win this one. They're quite strong right now, and there is no denying it. The Beat are still developing, and although they have been doing much better recently, I didn't think they would be anywhere near ready to come up and win against a team like FCGP. The Pride are continuing to do well, as their players are constantly delivering, and the team as a whole is on form. Atlanta might be able to get wins against some of the other troubled teams in the league, but to squeak out a win against FCGP? I think not. FCGP trampled them and showed exactly how good of a team they really are. If FCGP continue the way they're going, they will without a doubt clinch a play-off berth. An interesting match-up to see will be this Sunday's game of Washington Freedom vs. FCGP. The last time these 2 met, they tied. Will one edge out the win over the other? As 2 of the best teams in this league, both boasting prolific offenses, go head to head, an interesting match is sure to be the result. As for Atlanta, its apparent that they still need plenty of work. Even some of the best teams in the league have major difficulties against FCGP, so a win was almost out of the question for ATL. FCGP pretty much put Atlanta in their place and ripped them to bits. Atlanta is improving, but they aren't going to pull out any wins over the top contenders...yet. They'll have their chance at 3 points as they rematch against Chicago on Wednesday, a team who has struggled, yet shown signs of strength throughout this season.






The next fixture to discuss, yielded a result that I was rather surprised to see. It was the match of Washington Freedom vs. Chicago Red Stars. Considering Chicago's inconsistency and further lack of scoring, and Washington's strong presence as of late (save for one or two mishaps...such as giving away the win to Philly last week), I figured Washington, who boasts a rather prolific offense, would have this one down. However, I was wrong. Both teams played to a scoreless draw.

As in most scoreless draws, there were many chances on goal, its just that none of them were finished off. Chicago had more shots on goal during the game, and Goal Keeper Erin McLeod came up with quite the big saves to keep Washington in it. It seems like Washington hasn't been having a good last few games. Last week they lost to Philly after giving up the lead and then the win, and this week they've had a scoreless draw against Chicago. When speaking of Washington, you don't usually think of a scoreless game as a likely result, especially since they have one of the best offenses in the league. Washington is having a small slump I think, but they'll have the chance to come out and gain some confidence against Sky Blue FC during midweek, and then on the weekend, as they play first place FCGP. Washington needs to go back to scoring and winning, and I don't think they'll have a problem with doing so. Chicago has been showing some signs of life. They held Washington to a scoreless match (not an easy feat considering their offensive prowess), and have come up with some shining moments during the season. Chicago out-shot Washington in this match as well. But to be quite frank, their finishing is just horrible. They cannot score for anything. They need to turn it around, the mid-way mark of the season has already passed, and Chicago needs to start improving and winning now, or it'll be too little too late, as was the case with them last season. Scoring seems to be the major issue, as it has been all season up to this point. The dreadful finishing has got to go. Chicago has the chance to start turning it around (for real) on Wednesday against Atlanta, who just came off of an embarrassing spanking. Chicago gave the Beat their first ever win of the season, and has the chance to get revenge in midweek. Overall, Washington needs to wake up, and Chicago needs to start finishing, as they usually play well, yet can't seem to put the ball in the net.


One of the biggest surprises this week came from our last match-up to discuss. Boston upset Philly in a 2-1 come-from-behind win. It was Boston's first ever win since their season opener against the Washington Freedom, and it came surprisingly against powerhouses Philly.

It was the 2nd come from behind win so far this season. Philly took the lead early on, with A-Rod scoring the first of the match, and the 7th of her season. But, Boston would fight back in the 2nd half, with Cheney scoring her first goal since the season opener. Lilly would notch her first goal of the season, in the 84th minute of the game, winning the match for Boston. I would have expected Philly to have taken the win, since Boston haven't been doing well (especially considering the fact that they haven't won a game since their season opener), and also taking into consideration how well Philly has been doing all season long. But once again, surprises are plentiful in the WPS, and Boston came out of nowhere, to not only win, but to do so in a come-from-behind fashion, which is not very common in the league's history. Boston with this win has probably gained confidence, as Lilly has scored her first, Cheney has ended her scoring drought for now, and also because the team has gotten their 2nd win, which was way overdue. This might help them in future matches, to know that they have the ability to come out and win. For Philly this loss isn't a huge deal, since they remain safely in 2nd place. However, just like Washington got complacent against Philly last week after going ahead, Philly got complacent with Boston after taking the lead. Complacency is never good. Two wins were given up in the past 2 game weeks. This means that teams have gotta fight until that last whistle. It isn't necessary to let games slip from your hands.


That's all for this week. See you next time when we review Week 13.


Denise