Freedom and Red Stars Notch Four Goal Wins
Women’s Professional Soccer Roundup
After a frustrating start to the season with no goals to show for numerous shots on target, Freedom’s Abby Wambach got her name on the scoresheet in dramatic fashion. Latching onto a Cat Whitehall free kick early in the first half, Wambach headed in the first of what turned into a goal fest when Freedom visited FC Gold Pride Sunday.
Gold Pride overcame a 3-1 deficit late in the second half, with striker Christine Sinclair tying the game 3-3 in the 83rd minute; but deep in stoppage time, Wambach once again connected with a Whitehall free kick to see Freedom out 4-3 winners.
Hamm Helps Wambach
Wambach revealed after the match that she had sought advice from legendary striker Mia Hamm. “It’s weird what you do when you’re not scoring goals,” said Wambach, a former teammate of Hamm’s for both Freedom (in WUSA) and the US national team.
“You over think it, you go out early and shoot a thousand goals in the week before a game and I did everything that I possibly could to prepare myself and ironically this past week all I had to do was call Mia... I think that whenever you are in a slump or you are playing below your potential you have to reach out to the people that you trust and she is one of those people for me.”
Chicago Red Stars Attack
On Saturday, Chicago Red Stars saw their attacking efforts pay off with a spectacular 4-0 win over Boston Breakers. The win sent Red Stars to second in the league behind LA Sol, leapfrogging opponents Boston.
Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Karen Carney and Brittany Klein all hit the back of the net in a match where everything gelled for Chicago after last week’s disappointing 0-0 draw against Sky Blue FC. Says coach Emma Hayes: “All week the press has asked me about our wonderful goal scorers and where have they been; they came and played tonight. I thought they turned it on not just with some quality moments but I’m talking about world class finishes.”
LA Sol Goalless Draw
Away to St Louis Athletica, Los Angeles Sol failed to find the back of the net without their star striker and the league's top goal scorer, Marta, who was away on international duty with Brazil. Sol still, however, remained unbeaten atop the league with another impressive clean sheet from goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc. Both LeBlanc and Athletica keeper Hope Solo saved penalties in a tense, hard-fought match that ultimately yielded a 0-0 draw.
Next weekend, LA Sol will travel to Boston Breakers; FC Gold Pride host Sky Blue FC; and St Louis Athletica's visit to Washington Freedom will be featured on Fox Soccer Channel.
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