The 2009 season is Washington Freedom's first season competing in the Women's Professional Soccer league, the top division of women's soccer in the United States, and seventh competitive season. The team was coached by Jim Gabarra who has led the team since its founding in 2001.[1]
2009 season | |
---|---|
General manager | Chris Hummer |
Head coach | Jim Gabarra |
Stadium | Maryland SoccerPlex |
WSP | 3rd |
Top goalscorer | Abby Wambach (6) |
Review
editIn January 2008, Washington was selected as one of the seven cities to launch Women’s Professional Soccer in spring 2009. The WPS would be the next iteration of a women’s professional league since the WUSA folded in 2003.[2]
The Washington Freedom had been competing in the W-League since 2006, would begin the Washington franchise to field a WSP team.[clarification needed] Still led by head coach Jim Gabarra, the coaching staff stayed intact transitioning to the new league. The initial player allocation aimed to keep players in preferred locations and best marketing potential, with the Freedom getting Abby Wambach, Cat Whitehill, and Ali Krieger (on loan from FFC Frankfurt).[3][4][5]
The Freedom played in the league’s inaugural match on March 29, 2009, against Los Angeles Sol before a crowd of 14,382.[6] They lost the match, 2–0, and struggled for the first three weeks. The Freedom picked up their first win of the WPS era back in California, beating FC Gold Pride, 3–4, thanks to a 90th-minute goal from Abby Wambach.[7]
The season continued to be an up and down one with a strong run through June (going undefeated through 8 matches) followed by three consecutive losses. Winning four of their last five, the Freedom finished their first WPS regular season in 3rd place, earning their first playoff appearance.
The first round playoff match was a rematch of the last week of the season, where the Freedom defeated Sky Blue FC at home 3–1.[8] Sky Blue would get revenge winning 2–1 at the Maryland SoccerPlex, thanks to an 85th-minute goal from Francielle.[9]
Club
editRoster
editThe first-team roster of Washington Freedom.[10]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Team management
edit- 2009 coaching staff[10]
Position | Name | Nationality |
---|---|---|
Head coach | Jim Gabarra | American |
Assistant coach | Clyde Watson | Guyanese |
Goalkeeper coach | Nicci Wright | Canadian |
Competition
editRegular season
editMarch 29 1 | Los Angeles Sol | 2–0 | Washington Freedom | Carson, California |
15:30 EDT (UTC-04) | Falk 6' Abily 87' |
Box Score | Stadium: StubHub Center |
April 11 2 | Washington Freedom | 1–1 | Chicago Red Stars | Germantown, Maryland |
15:30 EDT (UTC-04) | Sauerbrunn 54' | Box Score | Tarpley 29' Östberg 54' 63' |
Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex |
April 18 3 | Washington Freedom | 1–3 | Boston Breakers | Germantown, Maryland |
15:30 EDT (UTC-04) | Lindsey 60' | Box Score | Smith 56' 70' Latham 76' Hucles 81' |
Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex |
April 26 4 | FC Gold Pride | 3–4 | Washington Freedom | Hayward, California |
15:30 EDT (UTC-04) | Milbrett 30' Weimer 75' Sinclair 83' |
Box Score | Wambach 18', 90' Lindsey 51' Long 70' |
Stadium: Pioneer Stadium |
May 3 5 | Washington Freedom | 3–3 | Saint Louis Athletica | Germantown, Maryland |
15:30 EDT (UTC-04) | Bompastor 30', 90' De Vanna 79' Wambach 81' |
Box Score | Daniela 7', 41' McNeill 39' Aluko 69' Weber 90' |
Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex |
May 17 6 | Boston Breakers | 1–1 | Washington Freedom | Boston, Massachusetts |
15:30 EDT (UTC-04) | Weber 15' Scott 49' Latham 52' |
Box Score | Gilbeau 18' Moros 33' Singer 74' |
Stadium: Harvard Stadium |
May 23 7 | Washington Freedom | 2–1 | Sky Blue FC | Washington, DC |
15:30 EDT (UTC-04) | Whitehill 35' De Vanna 39' DeDycker 77' |
Box Score | Dowling 48' Rosana 65' Asante 84' Keselica 89' |
Stadium: RFK Stadium[11] |
May 31 8 | Washington Freedom | 3–1 | FC Gold Pride | Germantown, Maryland |
15:30 EDT (UTC-04) | Graczyk 16' (o.g.) De Vanna 22' Whitehill 32' |
Box Score | Forminga 45' Sinclair 57' Dew 83' 83' |
Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex |
June 7 9 | Los Angeles Sol | 3–1 | Washington Freedom | Carson, California |
15:30 EDT (UTC-04) | Abily 14', 60' (pen.) Bock 66' Boxx 71' |
Box Score | Lohman 8' Bompastor 58' |
Stadium: Home Depot Center |
June 13 10 | Washington Freedom | 0–0 | Chicago Red Stars | Washington, DC |
15:30 EDT (UTC-04) | Wambach 82' Bompastor 84' |
Box Score | Klein 37' Rapinoe 45' Carney 60' |
Stadium: RFK Stadium[12] |
June 20 11 | Saint Louis Athletica | 0–1 | Washington Freedom | Fenton, Missouri |
15:30 EDT (UTC-04) | Addis 23' Cinalli 35' |
Box Score | Moros 83' | Stadium: Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park |
June 24 12 | Boston Breakers | 1–0 | Washington Freedom | Boston, Massachusetts |
15:30 EDT (UTC-04) | Latham 38' Tomecka 71' |
Box Score | Moros 68' | Stadium: Harvard Stadium |
July 1 13 | Chicago Red Stars | 2–1 | Washington Freedom | Bridgeview, Illinois |
15:30 EDT (UTC-04) | Spilger 36' Cristiane 48' Tarpley 61' |
Box Score | Wambach 34' | Stadium: Toyota Park |
July 5 14 | Washington Freedom | 0–1 | Los Angeles Sol | Germantown, Maryland |
15:30 EDT (UTC-04) | Box Score | Larkin 37' Boxx 88' Marta 90' |
Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex |
July 15 15 | Sky Blue FC | 4–4 | Washington Freedom | Piscataway Township, New Jersey |
15:30 EDT (UTC-04) | Kai 6', 86' Dowling 45' White 27', 46' |
Box Score | Bompastor 4' De Vanna 47', 54' Cat Whitehill 90' |
Stadium: Yurcak Field |
July 18 16 | Washington Freedom | 1–0 | Saint Louis Athletica | Washington, DC |
15:30 EDT (UTC-04) | Sawa 74' | Box Score | Larsson 68' | Stadium: [[RFK Stadium[13]]] |
July 26 17 | Chicago Red Stars | 2–3 | Washington Freedom | Bridgeview, Illinois |
16:00 EDT (UTC-04) | Rapinoe 15' 32' Carney 69' |
Box Score | Wambach 35', 56' Long 89' Bompastor 90' |
Stadium: Toyota Park |
July 29 18 | Washington Freedom | 1–0 | Boston Breakers | Germantown, Maryland |
20:00 EDT (UTC-04) | Wambach 73' Whitehill 64' |
Box Score | Scott 6' Mitts 37' |
Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex |
August 1 19 | FC Gold Pride | 3–2 | Washington Freedom | Hayward, California |
15:30 EDT (UTC-04) | Yokers 9' Milbrett 83' Dew 61' Adriane 83' |
Box Score | Sawa 17', 38' | Stadium: Pioneer Stadium |
August 8 20 | Washington Freedom | 3–1 | Sky Blue FC | Germantown, Maryland |
19:00 EDT (UTC-04) | Wambach 19', 48' De Vanna 57' |
Box Score | Rosana 53' | Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex |
Regular-season standings
editPos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Los Angeles Sol | 20 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 27 | 10 | +17 | 41 | Advance to Championship |
2 | Saint Louis Athletica | 20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 19 | 15 | +4 | 34 | Advance to Super Semifinal |
3 | Washington Freedom | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 29 | Advance to First Round |
4 | Sky Blue FC | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 19 | 20 | −1 | 26 | |
5 | Boston Breakers | 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 18 | 20 | −2 | 25 |
WPS playoffs
editThe Freedom finished 3rd in the table earning a place in the WPS Playoffs in a First Round match up versus 4th place Sky Blue FC. Despite having defeated Sky Blue on the final day of the regular season, the Freedom dropped the First Round match at home after conceding a late goal to Francielle.
August 15, 2009 First Round | Washington Freedom | 1–2 | Sky Blue FC | Germantown, Maryland |
4:00 pm EDT | De Vanna 79' | Report | Kai 56' Francielle 85' |
Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex Attendance: 4,217 Referee: Daniel Fitzgerald |
Statistics
edit- As of January 6, 2019[14]
No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | WPS | Playoffs | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
Defenders: | |||||||||
2 | DF | USA | Sarah Senty | 8 | 0 | 5+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
4 | DF | USA | Cat Whitehill | 20 | 3 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
11 | DF | USA | Emily Janss | 5 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
21 | DF | USA | Alex Singer | 17 | 0 | 13+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
22 | DF | USA | Becky Sauerbrunn | 21 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
24 | DF | USA | Christen Karniski | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
27 | DF | USA | Ali Krieger | 11 | 0 | 9+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Midfielders: | |||||||||
3 | MF | USA | Jill Gilbeau | 20 | 0 | 12+7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
5 | MF | USA | Joanna Lohman | 7 | 0 | 2+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
6 | MF | USA | Lori Lindsey | 20 | 2 | 18+1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
7 | MF | USA | Parrissa Eyorokon | 4 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
8 | MF | FRA | Sonia Bompastor | 19 | 4 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
9 | MF | USA | Allie Long | 19 | 2 | 11+7 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 |
10 | MF | JPN | Homare Sawa | 21 | 3 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
14 | MF | USA | Sarah Huffman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
15 | MF | USA | Kristin DeDycker | 7 | 0 | 3+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
19 | MF | USA | Rebecca Moros | 20 | 2 | 13+6 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
26 | MF | USA | Madison Keller | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Forwards: | |||||||||
17 | FW | AUS | Lisa De Vanna | 21 | 7 | 16+4 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
20 | FW | USA | Abby Wambach | 18 | 8 | 16+1 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
25 | FW | USA | Clair Zimmeck | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goalkeepers
editNo. | Nat | Player | Women's Professional Soccer | ||||||||
GP | GS | MIN | W | L | D | GA | GAA | CS | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Briana Scurry | 3 | 3 | 270 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1.97 | 0 | |
18 | Erin McLeod | 14 | 14 | 1260 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 20 | 1.41 | 3 | |
23 | Nicci Wright | 1 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | |
61 | Kati Jo Spisak | 3 | 3 | 244 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2.18 | 1 |
Honors and awards
editPlayer of the Week
editWeek | Player of the Week | Week's Statline |
---|---|---|
Week 5 | Abby Wambach | 2 G (18', 90') GWG, 1 A (51') |
Week 6 | Sonia Bompastor | 2 G (29', 90') |
Week 13 | Erin McLeod | 7 SVS, SHO |
Week 18 | Abby Wambach | 2 G (35', 56') |
Week 20[permanent dead link ] | Abby Wambach | 1 A (58'), 2 G (20', 49') |
Player of the Month
editMonth | Player of the Month | Month's Statline |
---|---|---|
May | Sonia Bompastor | 2 G, 3 A in 4 games; Freedom 2–0–2 in May |
July | Abby Wambach | 4 G, 1 A in 5 games; Freedom 3–2–1 in July |
Transfers
editAs part of the inaugural season, each of the league’s seven teams went through several mechanisms for player acquisitions to fill out their rosters. These included:
- WPS Player Allocation – allocation of existing US national team players across the league
- International Draft – draft of international players across the league
- General Draft – draft of existing professional players not active with their respective national teams
- Draft – inaugural college draft
In
editOut
editReferences
edit- ^ Drew Crossley (November 25, 2018). "2001-2010 Washington Freedom". Fun While It Lasted. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ "Hamm's imprint made on new women's soccer league". USA TODAY. January 18, 2008. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- ^ Steve Goff (September 16, 2008). "WPS Allocation List". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- ^ "Ali Kreiger | Biography". alikrieger.com. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- ^ "US soccer players allocated to women's pro league". prettytough.com. September 16, 2008. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- ^ Drew Crossley (November 25, 2018). "2001-2010 Washington Freedom". funwhileitlasted.net. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- ^ Paul Tenorio (June 1, 2009). "Freedom Extends Unbeaten Streak to Five Games". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- ^ "WPS Weekly August 11, 2009: It's What's Happening In The WPS". Bleacher Report. August 13, 2009. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- ^ "WCounterattack Special: WPS Playoffs". goal.com. August 19, 2009. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- ^ a b "Washington Freedom Media Guide". Washington Freedom. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ "The Washington Freedom's Jill Gilbeau and Sky Blue FC's Collette". April 22, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
- ^ "Chicago's Caroline Jonsson . The Washington Freedom and the Chicago". July 17, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
- ^ Timmermann, B Tom (July 19, 2009). "Late goal hurts Athletica Freedom 1, Athletica 0 • Washington wins it in 74th minute. SOCCER". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
- ^ "2009 Washington Freedom Stats". Stats Crew. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ^ a b c Beau Dure (September 16, 2008). "Wambach goes full circle as women's league stocks rosters". USA TODAY. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
- ^ "Ali Krieger | Biography". alikrieger.com. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Brazilian stars selected in women's draft". USA TODAY. September 24, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
- ^ a b c d "WPS General Draft Results". Women's Professional Soccer. October 6, 2008. Archived from the original on October 9, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "2009 WPS Draft Results". Women's Professional Soccer. January 16, 2009. Archived from the original on February 5, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
- ^ "Keller Signs With Washington Freedom". East Carolina University Pirates. March 26, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
- ^ "Goalkeeper McLeod signs with Freedom". Women's Soccer Show. April 16, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
- ^ "Kristin DeDycker | Player Profile". Archived from the original on April 22, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2019.