Philadelphia Advances To The Super Semifinal As They End The Washington Freedom's Playoff Campaign With A 120th Minute Heart-Breaking Shocker

Just when the game looked like it was inevitably headed for penalty kicks, A-Rod put one away for Philadelphia about 20 seconds before Extra Time was over. Her goal in the 120th minute ended the Freedom's Playoff Run in the 2010 Season. This is the 2nd consecutive year where Washington has been knocked out of playoffs in the First Round. Philadelphia will now face the Boston Breakers in the WPS Super Semifinal, on September 23rd.



Yesterday was a happy day for Philadelphia fans, but an extremely sad one for the Freedom fans. Since I'm a Freedom fan, I did not experience the joy or ecstasy of having my team edge out the other in the dying seconds of the match. Rather, I experienced the complete shock, disbelief, and sinking disappointment that hit me after I witnessed A-Rod's 120th minute goal. What took place yesterday was an excellent soccer match, one where you could practically see the aura of importance. However, the way the game ended was not really expected, not for me at least. (Even though I'm a Freedom fan, I'll try to keep this post as un-biased as possible...)


The game was hard-fought by both sides, and it was a very back-and-forth match, with both teams taking attacking chances, and both having to go back on defense. For regulation, it was a tale of 2 halves; Washington dominated in the 1st half, but Philly dominated the 2nd. It was your typical WPS game; entertaining, plenty of action, good chances on goal, and also some excellent saves. However, it would be the first time in WPS Playoff history where a match would end scoreless in regulation, and would go into Extra Time. I was super excited. Extra Time? That made it even more suspenseful, and made victory even sweeter for whoever came out on top. But, after the first period of Extra Time had continued the same as regulation, I had already predicted the match would go to penalties, so I readied myself for the suspense and excitement of witnessing a penalty shoot-out. However, what happened in the 2nd period of Extra Time caught me by complete surprise. As the game neared the 118th minute, I figured penalties were inevitable. Even though the Freedom's defense was looking shaky, unorganized, and tired, I figured they would pull through and last until penalties. Even the Freedom's midfield and offense was having trouble keeping possession, whereas Philly looked more organized on attacking efforts. I figured they would all just fight it out, and that we'd be watching an intense penalty shoot-out in about 2 minutes. I was confident that the Freedom would hold on. I mean, come on, they had Ashlyn Harris, who had done a superb job in goal all day! She kept the Freedom in that game for sure. Without her, it would have been over sooner. But, you can't keep everything out of the net. Also, I had completely forgotten about how last-minute thrillers are a recurring event in WPS. As the 119th minute and 38th second hit, A-Rod would bury the ball into the Freedom's net, past an outstretched Harris. A cruel time to score if you think about it; only 20 seconds left to play, leaving the Freedom with no chances or hopes of equalizing. That moment ended the game right there. A-Rod's 120th minute goal would be sending her and her team to Soldier's Field Stadium to take on the Boston Breakers in the Super Semifinal, that was for sure. It was even more certain than the seeming-inevitability of penalties. Now there were no doubts. The game was over. There was going to be no such thing as penalties, and there would be no such thing as a Super Semifinal for the Washington Freedom. The Freedom and its fans had gone from experiencing the joy of a last-minute thriller when Wambach scored the game-winner in the 88th minute against the Atlanta Beat to reach playoffs, to suddenly experiencing the other side of the coin; the shock and devastating finality of losing at the death, when A-Rod scored in the 120th to end the Freedom's playoff campaign for good. In my opinion, that was probably the worst way to have your playoff campaign ended. Most people say penalties are the worst way to lose, and in normal circumstances, it is. But, when you are literally 20 seconds away from penalty kicks, and you've fought a scoreless draw for 119 minutes out of a possible 120 of a match, with penalties being practically a guarantee, and you concede the winning goal with less than a minute to play? Now that's devastating. All in all, Philadelphia played the better game. The Freedom played better offensively in the first half, but after that, even though it was a back-and-forth match, the Independence had the edge, and out-shot the Freedom 24-6. A goal was bound to go in sometime. I just didn't think it would happen in the last minute of the damn game. Fighting scoreless the whole game just to lose 20 seconds before penalties? Man, that sucks.


So, that's the story of the First Round. The Freedom players will return to D.C., will probably clear out until next season, and those of whom were called up to the USWNT training camp (which started today) will head over.


Next up in the WPS playoffs is the Super Semifinal! Its going to be the Boston Breakers vs. the Philadelphia Independence. You won't want to miss it! Whether you're a fan of the teams in the match, or not, its sure to be a feast of awesome WPS soccer. Be sure to catch it on September 23rd, on FSC, starting at 8pm.


See you again soon (probably Wednesday, if I write a prediction post on the WPS Super Semifinal, which I'm intending to do. If not, enjoy the Super Semifinal! I know I will! I want to see some revenge...I kid, but only a little).


Good luck to both teams in the Super Semifinal, and thanks to the Washington Freedom who treated us fans to an amazing season!


Until then,

Denise