The Philadelphia Independence pounded Sky Blue FC in a 4-1 win Saturday in West Chester, Penn behind beautifully creative play from midfielder Caroline Seger, who had three assists on the evening.

Joanna Lohman opened the scoring in just the 7th minute when she headed a cross from Seger into the back of the net to put Philadelphia up 1-0 early.  Just one minute later, Seger threaded a perfect through ball between Sky Blue FC center back Daphne Koster and Christie Rampone to play Amy Rodriguez in behind the defense.  Rodriguez calmly took a touch and hammered the ball over the head of goalkeeper Kristin Luckenbill to double the home side's advantage.

Things got worse for the visitors in the 21st minute when Holmfridur Magnusdottir made an advanced run down the left flank, chopped the ball past Sky Blue FC defender Brittany Taylor and slotted it past Luckenbill.

Sky Blue FC entered the half dejected and down 3-0 and Philadelphia continued to press forward in the second half in search of more.  In the 52nd minute, Seger obtained her third assist on a perfect through ball over the top to Rodriguez, who finished past Luckenbill to make it 4-0 on the evening.  The two goals give Rodriguez nine on the season, good for second in WPS.

Brittany Taylor pushed forward from her right back spot into more of an attacking role late in the match and she gutted the center of Philadelphia's defense in the 80th minute to get one back for the visitors, but it was little consolation for Sky Blue FC, which would fall 4-1 on the road.

"I think we had a lot of punch tonight," Philadelphia Head Coach Paul Riley said.  "We challenged Seger during the week.  We felt Seger was key to the second half of our season, because I think A-Rod, Lori Lindsey and Falk have been carrying us to this point.  As a team we challenged Seger this time in this week and it's time that she started pulling her weight a little bit and I think she was the best player on the field today.  She was industrious; she was good on the ball; her passes were spot on."

Sky Blue FC (5-7-3, 18 pts.) still maintains its spot in third place after FC Gold Pride topped the Washington Freedom 4-1 Saturday.  Meanwhile, Philadelphia (7-5-3, 24 pts.) extends the gap between itself and New Jersey, although the Independence did not make up any ground on league-leading FC Gold Pride, which Riley admits has all but won the league already.

Week 15 in Women's Professional Soccer threatens to only make the table even more congested and confusing, but thankfully questions will be answered in the W-League, the WPSL and the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

League-leading FC Gold Pride visits the Maryland SoccerPlex Saturday when it takes on the Washington Freedom at 7 p.m. Eastern.  With a record of 11-3-1 (34 pts.), FC Gold Pride is starting to run away with the league.  Washington is winless in its last seven but still in fourth place.  A win could put the Freedom just one point out of second place, but it will be tough to contain Marta, whose 11 goals this season already set a WPS record for goals in a season.

"It's always a hard game, especially playing away from home,"  Marta said.  "But we are looking forward to the stretch from first place to second place or at least keep the points stretched a little bit and capitalize on the momentum we have right now."

Several festivities are taking place for the Freedom this weekend, including Friday's charity match that mixed Freedom alumni with Montgomery County Police to raise money for the Margaux Brown Memorial Fund, a charity to honor Sharon Brown and her one-year-old daughter Margaux. Sharon and baby Margaux were killed in a safari accident when a mother elephant protecting her calf charged them without warning this past January in Kenya.  Still, Freedom forward Abby Wambach has her eyes on Saturday's pivotal match.

"Obviously having Marta and Gold Pride come here is the most important thing about this weekend personally, but having played for the Freedom in the former WUSA years, it's going to be exciting to have some of my old teammates back on campus here and it will be fun to talk with them, probably meet a lot of their children," Wambach said.  "I don't know, it's just going to be an exciting weekend and for us, we just want to do the best that we can to close the gap between the Gold Pride and the rest of the league.  They obviously have the most points by far and I know the rest of the teams in the league are trying to catch them, so hopefully we can get a result that we can be proud of and give the fans something to cheer about.  And hopefully people come to watch.  Not to often do you get Mia, Marta and myself on the same field."

At halftime, Washington will induct a new member into the Hall of Freedom to join Mia Hamm, Steffi Jones, Siri Mullinix, and David Vanole.  Jen Grubb, owners Maureen and John Hendricks, Carrie Moore, Skylar Little and Lindsay Stoecker are all candidates for induction.  Hamm is looking forward to the entire weekend.

"I think for me, the Freedom has been a big part in my career and a big part in my life and any chance to come back to the area and be a part of that franchise is very special for me and I'm so thrilled to watch two of the best players in the world compete against each other," Hamm said.  "They are two players that continuously push their technical edge.  Every time they step on the field they want to help their team win in every possible way and as a fan of the game I appreciate that and I am excited for everyone who will be lucky enough to get in the stadium to watch it."

Meanwhile, Sky Blue FC takes on the Philadelphia Independence Saturday in a battle of No. 2 versus No. 3 in West Chester, Penn.  This will be the first game in charge for new Sky Blue FC Head Coach Rick Stainton.  Previously the goalkeeper coach, Stainton took over for Pauliina Miettinen, who was fired Monday.  Thus far, Sky Blue FC players have responded well to Stainton's new authority.

"Actually, it's gone fairly well.  We've got a plan ahead of us and we are tryi ... More

Week 15 in Women's Professional Soccer threatens to only make the table even more congested and confusing, but thankfully questions will be answered in the W-League, the WPSL and the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

League-leading FC Gold Pride visits the Maryland SoccerPlex Saturday when it takes on the Washington Freedom at 7 p.m. Eastern.  With a record of 11-3-1 (34 pts.), FC Gold Pride is starting to run away with the league.  Washington is winless in its last seven but still in fourth place.  A win could put the Freedom just one point out of second place, but it will be tough to contain Marta, whose 11 goals this season already set a WPS record for goals in a season.

"It's always a hard game, especially playing away from home,"  Marta said.  "But we are looking forward to the stretch from first place to second place or at least keep the points stretched a little bit and capitalize on the momentum we have right now."

Several festivities are taking place for the Freedom this weekend, including Friday's charity match that mixed Freedom alumni with Montgomery County Police to raise money for the Margaux Brown Memorial Fund, a charity to honor Sharon Brown and her one-year-old daughter Margaux. Sharon and baby Margaux were killed in a safari accident when a mother elephant protecting her calf charged them without warning this past January in Kenya.  Still, Freedom forward Abby Wambach has her eyes on Saturday's pivotal match.

"Obviously having Marta and Gold Pride come here is the most important thing about this weekend personally, but having played for the Freedom in the former WUSA years, it's going to be exciting to have some of my old teammates back on campus here and it will be fun to talk with them, probably meet a lot of their children," Wambach said.  "I don't know, it's just going to be an exciting weekend and for us, we just want to do the best that we can to close the gap between the Gold Pride and the rest of the league.  They obviously have the most points by far and I know the rest of the teams in the league are trying to catch them, so hopefully we can get a result that we can be proud of and give the fans something to cheer about.  And hopefully people come to watch.  Not to often do you get Mia, Marta and myself on the same field."

At halftime, Washington will induct a new member into the Hall of Freedom to join Mia Hamm, Steffi Jones, Siri Mullinix, and David Vanole.  Jen Grubb, owners Maureen and John Hendricks, Carrie Moore, Skylar Little and Lindsay Stoecker are all candidates for induction.  Hamm is looking forward to the entire weekend.

"I think for me, the Freedom has been a big part in my career and a big part in my life and any chance to come back to the area and be a part of that franchise is very special for me and I'm so thrilled to watch two of the best players in the world compete against each other," Hamm said.  "They are two players that continuously push their technical edge.  Every time they step on the field they want to help their team win in every possible way and as a fan of the game I appreciate that and I am excited for everyone who will be lucky enough to get in the stadium to watch it."

Meanwhile, Sky Blue FC takes on the Philadelphia Independence Saturday in a battle of No. 2 versus No. 3 in West Chester, Penn.  This will be the first game in charge for new Sky Blue FC Head Coach Rick Stainton.  Previously the goalkeeper coach, Stainton took over for Pauliina Miettinen, who was fired Monday.  Thus far, Sky Blue FC players have responded well to Stainton's new authority.

"Actually, it's gone fairly well.  We've got a plan ahead of us and we are tryi ... More

FC Gold Pride extended its commanding lead atop the Women's Professional Soccer table to 13 pts. Wednesday with a 2-1 win over the Boston Breakers at Harvard Stadium.

Jordan Angeli opened a 10 minute spurt of offensive explosion in the game when she scored off an Alex Scott feed in the 30th minute.  The goal gives Angeli a tally in three-straight games, but Wednesday's score comes in a match that snaps Boston's three-game winning streak.

FC Gold Pride forward Christine Sinclair answered quickly when she scored her eighth goal of the season in the 35th minute when she finished a cross from Ali Riley.  Marta then scored her league-leading 11th goal of the season in first half stoppage time when she curled a beautiful shot past Boston goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher for the game-winner.

"This team has a lot of fight, they're big, they work hard, and we created some chances," Breakers Head Coach Tony DiCicco said.  "Barnhart had a good save and it hit the post on another one.  Again we give to the goal and you can’t do that against the best team in the league and that’s why they’re the best team in the league.  They've got obviously one of the best players in the world and they’re good in a lot of positions.  I was proud of the way the team played and we are still in the hunt here but this was a game that I think we really could have gotten a result from.  I felt confident going in and I’m disappointed that we didn’t win."

Boston (4-6-4, 16 pts.) next travels to Toyota Park Sunday to take on the Chicago Red Stars, while FC Gold Pride (11-3-1, 34 pts.) faces off with the Washington Freedom Saturday at the Maryland SoccerPlex.

The Atlanta Beat is officially amidst the club's first-ever winning streak after defeating the Chicago Red Stars 1-0 Wednesday at the Kennessaw State University Soccer Stadium.

Eniola Aluko scored her second goal in as many games in the 56th minute to propel Atlanta to a 1-0 victory.  Aluko's fifth minute goal Sunday against Sky Blue FC was also a game-winner and Atlanta has now won two-straight games for the first time in its short history.  Two of the Beat's three wins this year are against Chicago.

Chicago did not even put a shot on goal until the 31st minute, but did manage to out-shoot Atlanta 11-6 on the evening.

"We actually were good for the first 30 minutes, but after that we didn't play that well," Red Stars Head Coach Omid Namazi said.  "We didn't really create a whole lot tonight.  It was very disappointing."

The goal was Aluko's sixth of the season and suddenly puts Atlanta (3-7-4, 13 pts.) back into the thick of the WPS Playoff race.

“I’m a striker, so I’m there to score,” Aluko said.  “It just gives me confidence to keep scoring.  It always feels good for a striker to contribute to a win, and that’s what I did today.”

Chicago (4-6-5, 17 pts.) nexts hosts the Boston Breakers Sunday at 4 p.m. Eastern, while Atlanta next plays host to the Washington Freedom Wednesday, July 28 at 7:30 p.m Eastern.

Pauliina Miettinen has been dismissed as head coach of Sky Blue FC along with assistant coach Anne Parnila.  Assistant coach Rick Stainton, previously the team's goalkeeper coach, will takeover the helm as head coach.

"We respect Pauliina a great deal and appreciate the effort she put forth for our organization," Sky Blue FC General Manager Gerry Marrone said. "Her hard work and passion for the team and the game were never in question.  Sometimes, a situation simply does not work out.  That is part of the learning process involved when it comes to professional sports.  We have to be resilient, as well as continue to adapt and grow."

Stainton becomes the fifth coach of Sky Blue FC in less than two full seasons in Women's Professional Soccer, joining Miettinen, Ian Sawyers, Kelly Lindsey and player/coach Christie Rampone, who led the team on its magical championship run in 2009.

Stainton's previous coaching experience includes head coach of the women's team at Caldwell (NJ) College and as assistant at Rider (NJ) University.  He was also the goalkeeper coach for the W-League's New Jersey Wildcats in 2009.  His first game in charge will be Saturday when Sky Blue FC (5-6-3, 18 pts.) takes on the Philadelphia Independence (6-5-3, 21 pts.) in West Chester, Penn.

"This is an opportunity that I truly look forward to embracing," Stainton said.  "I am extremely humbled and appreciative of the trust that the organization is showing in me to complete the task at hand.  In talking with the team, they have shown a sincere confidence in the direction in which we are going and our ability to be successful.  Together, I know we can achieve great things going forward, both on and off the field."
 

The Boston Breakers defeated the Washington Freedom 2-1 Sunday at Harvard Stadium to win their third-straight game and send Washington home now winless in its last seven.

It took some time for the two teams to feel each other out as the first 15 minutes of the match were marred by giveaways and sloppy play, but Washington was not complaining.  The Freedom got on the board in just the third minute when Sarah Huffman went on a 50-yard run and burnt Breakers left back Stephanie Cox.  Huffman than sent a low cross to Nikki Marshall - who found herself playing forward in the absence of Abby Wambach - and Marshall tapped the ball into the net to give Washington a 1-0 lead.

Marshall almost doubled the Freedom's lead in the 17th minute when Sonia Bompastor played a ball over the top, but Marshall's shot was kick-saved by Breakers goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.

Boston would equalize in the 23rd minute when Kelly Smith faked out Freedom midfielder Beverly Goebel nicely and played a ball wide left to Liz Bogus, who took a touch and fired the ball between the legs of Freedom goalkeeper Erin McLeod.  The goal was Bogus' second in as many games and came against the run of play.

Bompastor attempted to chip Naeher from the corner of the 18-yard box in first half stoppage time, but Naeher tipped the ball over the crossbar and preserved the 1-1 score entering halftime.

The second half produced much more rhythm for both teams as they pushed for a winner, and Boston would break through in the 74th minute off a spectacularly taken corner kick.  Second half substitute Kristine Lilly served a ball to the back post, where Ifeoma Dieke headed it toward goal and Lindsay Tarpley flicked it on to Jordan Angeli, who volleyed the ball into the back of the net.  The goal was Angeli's third of the season and second in two games and would end up being the winner for the Breakers.

"I knew that it was coming toward the middle of the goal and I just kind of put myself in there and it dropped in front of me and luckily Tarp got her head on it and it came right to me and I got to put it in the back of the net," Angeli said.

The win was the third-straight for Boston.  Shockingly, Washington is now winless in its last seven matches and has not won since a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Independence May 30.  Boston (4-5-4, 16 pts.) has made the middle of the table even more crowded, while the once second-place Freedom (4-5-5, 17 pts.) continue to skid.

"It's kind of been the way we have gone the last six or seven games," Freedom Head Coach Jim Gabarra said.  "We have kind of, at times, been good enough to win games  and we've had some spells where we have given up what I would call soft goals and the results were taken away from us.  It's definitely a bad patch we are going through, but I think we were set back the last couple of games where we gave up goals and I think we are fighting to get that belief back we need to win games."

Next up for the Breakers is a critical match Wednesday at home against FC Gold Pride and the Freedom plays next when it hosts FC Gold Pride Saturday on the Bay Area's second game of its East Coast road trip.

After a poor second half in Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Sweden in Omaha, Neb. the United States Women's National Team was out to prove something against the Swedes Saturday night at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn. and could not be stopped by anything - not even Mother Nature.  Abby Wambach struck twice and Megan Rapinoe added another to give the U.S. a 3-0 win.

Just 6:02 into the match, players were taken off the field for a rain storm that included lightning, but after a 31 minute delay, the U.S. settled into the game nicely through some impressive combination play.  Direct, over-the-top play also worked for the United States as the back line and midfielders continued to look for forward Amy Rodriguez over the top.

In the 15th minute, Lori Lindsey played perfect lofted ball to Rodriguez, who out-muscled Swedish defender Malin Levenstad to fire a shot from just 12-yards out.  However, Swedish goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl came out to make a huge point-blank.  

The breakthrough would come for the United States in the 33rd when Rapinoe found net for the first time in 2010.  Meghan Schnur played a nice ball to Shannon Boxx on the corner of the 18-yard box and Boxx fired a low shot that Lindahl saved, but Rapinoe pounced on the rebound to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead.

As halftime approached Sweden looked as though it would contain the U.S. to just a goal, but Wambach had other ideas.  Lori Lindsey delivered a perfect corner kick to the head of Wambach, who out-jumped Swedish defender Linda Sembrant to slam the ball into the back of the net in the 45th minute.  The goal deflated Sweden and the U.S. entered the half up 2-0 on the visitors.

Unlike Tuesday in Omaha, the U.S. was able to put together a full 90 minutes of solid play Saturday and came out strong in the second half despite making four substitutions (three at halftime).  Sweden's most dangerous chance of the half came in the 66th minute when Josefine Oqvist - a player that gave Schnur trouble all night - served a great ball to the back post and found second half substitute Kosovare Asllani.  Asllani's shot went just over the bar, though, and U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo would preserve the clean sheet.

Wambach scored in the 72nd minute on another header to give the U.S. a 3-0 advantage and seal the fate of the match.  Rachel Buehler, who had just shifted to left back, served a great ball into Wambach and the 5-foot-11-inch forward headed the ball into the side netting for a spectacular goal.

Kristine Lilly, playing in her home state for the first time since July 14, 2007, entered the match for Rapinoe at halftime to the delight of the crowd of 5,887 and had some dangerous moments, including a great header in the 76th minute off a cross from Wambach that was saved by Lindahl.  She would not score, however, and 3-0 is how it would end.

"We scored three goals and we didn't concede any goals, so I think overall the performance was very good," U.S. Head Coach Pia Sundhage said.  "Sweden is a good team but I think we controlled the team pretty much from the very beginning."

The match offered signs of improvement for the United States in a much more convincing performance than the 1-1 draw between the two teams Tuesday.

"Well, we did a similar thing both first halfs," Sundhage said.  "We had Megan Rapinoe and we tried two new outside backs and I have to say regardless of who played I think we did a pretty good job and it's pretty good attacking and defending."
 

Boston Breakers midfielder Leslie Osborne is in the middle of one impressive comeback season.  2010 in general is a comeback from a rough 2009 season with FC Gold Pride, but Osborne also just returned to the Breakers line-up after missing all of June with a leg infection.  In many ways, Osborne has been the key ingredient to the recent turnaround in Boston's season and will continue to be as the Breakers push for a playoff spot.

In this one-on-one interview, Osborne talks about coming back from the injury and keeping the team positive, how her experience in Boston has differed from 2009 with FC Gold Pride, and her U.S. Women's National Team aspirations:

Jeff Kassouf: So you are coming back from injury now.  Can you talk a little bit about the infected leg?

Leslie Osborne: Yeah I actually had an infection in my leg and I practiced that whole week and that day and later that night I couldn’t walk and by the time I got a diagnosis it was about five or six days later and I had a pretty bad infection in my leg.  I’m still not sure exactly how it got there but, yeah, I had to have surgery because it was found so late.  And I was out for a month just trying to let this thing close up and make sure the infection was out of my leg.

JK: That happened on the road game at Sky Blue FC (May 29), right?

LO: Yeah I played in that game and I got kicked and that’s where the infection kind of happened.  I think I had a contusion and it turned into an infection, so I played in that game, I felt great and that week’s Thursday (July 3) is when it started.  So it was really odd.

JK: And you are feeling alright now?  Do you really feel 100 percent yet?

LO: Yeah, well you know I have only been training now for about two and a half weeks so for about a week and a half I was really sore and just my whole body and fitness level had declined because I was out for a month.  But, I think last weekend it was huge.  I got to play 90 minutes, but this game (July 11 against Atlanta) I really felt like myself and I just have to be careful with the wound because it is not healed all the way.  So, I think my body and my fitness level and everything is good.  I think I am close to 100 percent.  Probably the middle of this week I’ll be feeling back to normal.

JK: So are you playing with it wrapped and protected?

LO: Yeah, I have a lot of bandage and protection going on right now because if it re-opens I have to obviously have it stitched back up and sit back out, so I am being very careful with it – as much as I can.  If I get kicked, then that’s one thing but I am just trying to protect it as much as I can.

JK: Where is the infection?  Is it lower or upper leg?

LO: It’s in the middle of my shin, so if you take your tibia – literally I had surgery on my tibia bone.  So, it’s a pretty hard spot for it to heal all the way just because every time I walk, every time I sweat and it gets wet.  So, if you saw my leg it’s really not a pretty sight.  It’s definitely not pretty and it’s probably going to be like this for the next three months that I play soccer here.

JK: Did you find it easy to get back into the flow of things after being out for a while?

LO: It was great.  I mean, I think me sitting out for a month, it was hard.  I felt so helpless.  Me being co-captain of t ... More

Shek Borkowski has resigned from his position as head coach of Russian women's champion Zvezda-2005, citing irreconcilable differences with Zvezda President Genadiy Shilov.

The 47-year-old Borkowski made the move to Russia last summer following the end of the USL W-League season, where he had coached FC Indiana.  There, Borkowski won four trophies in the WPSL and the W-League and decided to make the jump to Russia to further heighten his career.

However, differences in opinion between him and management resulted in Borkowski turning in his resignation Wednesday night.  Nadia Baranova, Natalia Zinchenko, Natalia Barbashina, Elena Suslova, Lena Mosebo, Iffy Chiejine, Busi and most recently, Valentina Savchenkova were all injured and Borkowski has been forced to play with an injury-ridden squad.  In addition, Borkowski felt like his authority was undermined by the appointment of Natalia Zinchenko as assistant coach.

“We have played our matches with one or no substitutes, that is not acceptable," Borkowski said.  "I was recruited to produce good results, but I can say that I have not been given good working conditions. Consequently, I have decided to move on.”

Zvezda-2005 released this short statement on the situation:

"The club has reluctantly accepted Shek Borkowski’s resignation. It has been agreed that neither party will make any further statement."

Borkowski was also recently linked to the Chinese Women's National Team job.  China failed to qualify for the 2011 Women's World Cup.
 

The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is in full-swing in Germany and The Equalizer is your place to get daily recaps of all the most important happenings in the tournament.

The United States looks to defend its U-20 World Cup crown while North Korea is back for another run at the title.  Hosts Germany will have something to say about either of those teams winning the title on their home soil.  Here is all of the news and analysis from the tournament, which will be constantly updated throughout the tournament:

Day One Wrap-Up

Day Two Wrap-Up

Everything is status quo at the top and bottom of this week's edition of The Equalizer's Women's Professional Soccer Power Rankings, but the middle of the table has shifted as teams begin to put together streaks.  The Chicago Red Stars are on a four-game winning streak and have jumped up the rankings, while the Washington Freedom is now winless in its last six games.  Here are how things shake out entering week 14 in WPS:

1) FC Gold Pride (Last Week: 1) - FC Gold Pride (9-3-1, 28 pts.) extended its lead at the top of the table with a 3-2 win Sunday over the Washington Freedom.  The Bay Area is clearly still the top team in the league and a dominating first half Sunday against Washington showed that.  However, the Freedom were able to get two late goals even without Head Coach Jim Gabarra on the sidelines and cut an impressive 3-0 FC Gold Pride lead into a 3-2 game.  That is how things would end, but FC Gold Pride would make things tougher than they needed to be.

2) Philadelphia Independence (2) - Philadelphia (6-4-3, 21 pts.) last played on July 4 in a surprising 2-1 loss to the Boston Breakers.  The Independence still sit in second place and cannot be faulted for an idle weekend, but Saturday's road trip to take on FC Gold Pride will be a massive indication of where this team stands.  The only problem is, Philadelphia will have to search for a win without Caroline Seger and Sara Larsson, who are with Swedish National Team, and Lori Lindsey, Amy Rodriguez and Heather Mitts, who are with the U.S. National Team.

3) Chicago Red Stars (4) - Don't look now, but Chicago (4-5-5, 17 pts.) is suddenly on a four-game unbeaten streak that includes wins over the Boston Breakers and Sky Blue FC and draws against the Atlanta Beat and Washington Freedom.  Forward Ella Masar is starting to find her form and the defense, anchored by goalkeeper Jillian Loyden's 0.85 goals against average.  The Red Stars do not play this weekend.

4) Sky Blue FC (3) - What is going on in New Jersey?  Nobody really seems to know.  Sky Blue FC (5-5-3, 18 pts.) went into the All-Star break riding the good feelings of a 2-0 win over league-leading FC Gold Pride, but followed that up last week with a 0-0 draw at home with the Freedom and a 2-0 loss to the Chicago Red Stars on the road.  Sky Blue FC better find a way to defeat the lowly Atlanta Beat Sunday at Yurcak Field, or there could be legitimate claims to problems in New Jersey.  Kristin Luckenbill is still in net for Sky Blue FC, which serves as a microcosm for the team's inconsistency.

5) Boston Breakers (6) - Leslie Osborne returns from a month-long injury hiatus and Boston (3-5-4, 13 pts.) adds Foxwoods as a jersey sponsor and all of a sudden the Breakers are on a two-game winning streak.  Boston may have turned things around, but Sunday's home match against the Freedom will tell how true that is.

6) Washington Freedom (5) - It may be ambitious to place Boston in front of the Freedom (4-4-5, 17 pts.), but Washington is now winless in its last six and has not won a game since May 30 in a 2-1 win over Philadelphia.  Washington is plagued by inconsistency and a good 45 minutes is always coupled with a questionable 45 minutes.  The Freedom must put together a solid game.

7) Atlanta Beat (7) - There is not much to say about Atlanta (1-7-4, 7 pts.) other than the fact that things really going poorly.  A lack of players is not longer an excuse as Hope Solo, Lori Chalupny, Eniola Aluko, Aya Miyama, Carolyn Blank and Tina Ellertson have had over a month to come together with their new team.  For whatever reason, nothing has changed in Atlanta.
 < ... More

The United States Women's National Team tied Sweden 1-1 Tuesday in front of 6,493 fans in Omaha, Neb.

Amy Rodriguez scored in the 44th minute to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead just minutes before halftime when she finished a great through ball from Abby Wambach, but Swedish forward Linda Forsberg scored in the 57th minute to equalize for the visitors.  That goal was the first given up at home by the U.S. in a remarkable 884 minutes.

The United States struggled throughout the evening and Sweden controlled much of the midfield battle, particularly in the second half.

The Americans did have chances in the first half with Megan Rapinoe creating trouble for the Swedish defense on the left flank.  She served in several dangerous crosses and produced some half-chances of her own, including a shot that went wide of the near post in the 15th minute.

In the 17th minute, Shannon Boxx provided a great through ball to Wambach, but her shot was nicely saved by Swedish goalkeeper Sofia Lundgren.  Despite several chances, the only breakthrough for the Americans would be Rodriguez's goal.

Sweden controlled much of the second half as the U.S. struggled to find flank play or any real midfield presence and Caroline Seger was unlucky not to put Sweden ahead in the 73rd minute when she worked a great one-two with Linnea Liljegard.

However, neither team could find a winner and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

“It was a great crowd to begin with," U.S. Head Coach PiaSundhage said.  "We scored a great goal and I thought in our first half we did well.  Then we made some changes that were decided before the game and I think it wasn’t as good in the second half.  We lost a little bit and we decided to go 4-3-3 and we lost too much in the midfield and that’s how they created chances.  We had a chance to score to make it 2-0, and they scored to make it 1-1. It’s good to have another game coming up, and we can try again.”

Marta's brace Sunday at Cal State East Bay powered FC Gold Pride 3-2 over the Washington Freedom in a game that was not as close as the final score suggests.

Washington was unfortunate to go down early in the 13th minute when Marta finished a penalty kick that was called on a questionable foul.  Freedom defender Beverly Goebel went to tackle FC Gold Pride forward Christine Sinclair in the box and when Sinclair fell over Goebel's body, referee Bryan Roslund pointed to the spot.  Marta stepped up and finished past Freedom goalkeeper Erin McLeod to give FC Gold Pride a 1-0 lead.

As FC Gold Pride dominated the match, the Freedom's frustration built up.  Head Coach Jim Gabarra was ejected from the match in the 26th minute after he kicked the sign boards in the technical area.  With no assistant coach on the road trip, back-up goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris had to take over responsibilities for substitutions.  Despite out-possessing Washington considerably in the first half, FC Gold Pride took only a 1-0 lead into halftime.

But Marta would strike for her second in the 65th minute, this time in style.  Christine Sinclair sent a cross into the Brazilian forward and she calmly brought the ball down, touched it around McLeod and finished to double the home side's lead.  Just six minutes later, Norwegian midfielder Solveig Gulbrandsen finished a great header off a Camille Abily cross to make it 3-0.  Gulbrandsen was playing in her second-to-last game with FC Gold Pride after mutually agreeing with the team to terminate her contract after the July 17 match against the Philadelphia Independence.  After that she will return to Norwegian club Stabaek IF, her former team.

FC Gold Pride Head Coach Albertin Montoya gave Rosie Tantillo and Kaley Fountain their first action of the year when they checked into the game in the 78th and 79th minutes, respectively, in what seemed to be an acknowledgement that the game was over, but the Freedom did not take kindly to the seeming slight on the team.  Brittany Bock found space in the 79th minute and sent a cross into Lene Mykjaland, who finished a header to get one back for the visitors.

As the Freedom pushed forward so too did the experiment to play Nikki Marshall up top and she continued to look sharp as a forward.  In the second minute of stoppage time, Marshall beat FC Gold Pride goalkeeper Brittany Cameron to make the game 3-2 and give the home team a scare, but it would not be enough for the Freedom.  Washington (4-4-5, 17 pts.) is now winless in its last six games and just 1-5-2 in its last eight games.

Washington was without midfielders Sarah Huffman and Allie Long and forward Abby Wambach, while FC Gold Pride was without goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart, defender Rachel Buehler and forward Kelly O'Hara.  All of those players are with the U.S. Women's National Team preparing for this week's matches against Sweden.  FC Gold Pride (9-3-1, 28 pts.) extended its lead at the top of the table with the win.  The idle Philadelphia Independence (6-4-3, 21 pts.) now sit seven points back of the league-leaders.

BOXSCORE

FC Gold Pride (9-3-1) vs. Washington Freedom (4-4-5)
Sunday, July 11, 2010 — Pioneer Stadium
FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY: