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The Weekly: Monday, April 11

The Weekly www.womens.soccerly.com

It’s Monday, April 11 and the first weekend of WPS action is officially in the books.  Check out the video above for The Equalizer’s recap of all of this weekend’s action.  Each and every Monday we will bring you the weekly recap and we will be doing so from various locations.  Next week, expect some footage from Harvard Stadium.  Each week, the video will be accompanied by relevant links and information below.  Check that out after the jump:

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The Boston Breakers started the season off well, defeating the Atlanta beat 4-1 in Kennesaw, Ga. on Saturday night.  Jordan Angeli, Keelin Winters, Kelley O’Hara and Kasey Moore all scored for Boston.  Carli Lloyd, a second half substitute, finished a PK for Atlanta’s lone tally.  Cat Whitehill also got some time in goal – again.

Angeli was seen on crutches following Saturday’s game and Whitehill said she still has something to prove to the critics.

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Sky Blue FC played jumped out to a 2-0 lead at halftime on the Philadelphia Independence through a goal from Laura Kalmari and a wonder strike from Casey Nogueira.  But Amy Rodriguez’s introduction into the game at halftime shifted momentum and the U.S. striker found net in the 57th minute, although there was a strong suspicion of offside.  Regardless, Rodriguez was deemed onside and Christina DiMartino’s stoppage time equalizer ensured a 2-2 draw.

Allie Long is The Equalizer’s Player of the Week for Week 1 action.  Her ability to keep possession for Sky Blue FC dictated play throughout the match and allowed the home side to control the game.  If this were hockey, she would get a second assist for Kalmari’s goal for delivering a great ball to Brittany Taylor to start the play.

Lianne Sanderson gets a close second place vote for Player of the Week.  Go back and have a second look at the game and you’ll realize that, like Long for Sky Blue FC, Sanderson holds the game and dictates play for Philadelphia, just from a much higher position up the field.  She also delivers the ball to Tasha Kai that leads to the Rodriguez goal.

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On a side note, here are the Philadelphia jerseys that everyone is hating on.  As I said in the video above, I actually kind of like them and the shock of brightness that they bring.

The FA WSL has officially launched.  There is a lot of excitement in England and why shouldn’t there be?  If England’s 2-1 win over the United States Women’s National Team on April 2 is any indication, good times are to come for that country’s program.

An unlikely source reveals that Mazda will again be the shirt sponsor for the Western New York Flash.  The sponsorship is even more involved this year as it cross-promotes the WPS team and Team Sahlen racing.

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There is some excitement in Pakistan over the first-ever FIFA ranking of the country’s women’s team.

In Maryland, Michael Jorden has been named the head coach of D.C. United Women.  Check back later in the week for more information on that team.  In other USL W-League news, Sydney Leroux is returning to the Vancouver Whitecaps for the 2011 season.  She enters her senior year at UCLA in the fall and is realistically about a year away from breaking into the U.S. Women’s National Team after a solid youth international career.

Seattle will also host the 2011 W-League Championship, which could serve as a test run for the city’s viability as a WPS expansion candidate.  Starfire looks like a perfect WPS complex, from afar anyway.  With the final four in Souther California last year, don’t expect Eastern Conference teams to be happy about this.  Budgets are tight in the W-League and a cross-country flights are make or break for teams

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Pia Sundhage also named her roster for the upcoming training camp in West Palm Beach, Fla. from April 18-May 6. Here are the 29 players:

GOALKEEPERS (4): Nicole Barnhart (Philadelphia Independence), Ashlyn Harris (Western New York Flash), Jill Loyden (magicJack), Hope Solo (magicJack)
DEFENDERS (8): Rachel Buehler (Boston Breakers), Stephanie Cox (Boston Breakers), Whitney Engen (Western New York Flash), Ali Krieger (out of contract), Amy LePeilbet (Boston Breakers), Heather Mitts (Atlanta Beat), Christie Rampone (magicJack), Becky Sauerbrunn (magicJack)
MIDFIELDERS (12): Yael Averbuch (Western New York Flash), Shannon Boxx (magicJack), Tobin Heath (Sky Blue FC), Meghan Klingenberg (magicJack), Lori Lindsey (Philadelphia Independence), Carli Lloyd (Atlanta Beat), Kristie Mewis (Boston College), Christine Nairn (Penn State), Kelley O’Hara (Boston Breakers), Heather O’Reilly (Sky Blue FC), Megan Rapinoe (Philadelphia Independence), Lindsay Tarpley (magicJack)
FORWARDS (5): Lauren Cheney (Boston Breakers), Sydney Leroux (UCLA), Alex Morgan (Western New York Flash), Amy Rodriguez (Philadelphia Independence), Abby Wambach (magicJack)

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