A Look Back At Week 6 In The WPS
May 18, 2010 - Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) News Release
Week 6 in Review
WPS Week 6 turned out record-setting performances as FC Gold Pride became the first team in WPS history to notch five consecutive victories. Behind two goals from four-time FIFA World Player of the Year, Marta, the Pride pulled out a 2-1 win over the Boston Breakers, while adding three more points for a league leading 15 - four points clear of Philadelphia. Meanwhile, with a 2-0 loss to the Washington Freedom, the Atlanta Beat set the exact opposite WPS record, as the Beat became the first team in WPS history to drop five consecutive matches. The Freedoms' Abby Wambach notched her seventh assist on the season, breaking last year's WPS single-season record of six only one fourth of the way into the 2010 campaign.
In only the second ever Friday night match since the league's inception, FC Gold Pride (5-1-0) beat the Boston Breakers (1-2-3), 2-1, at Harvard Stadium in front of 5,283 fans. It proved to be an eventful first half, as all three goals came in the first 38 minutes of the match. Goals by the Prides' Marta and the Breakers' Kelly Smith left the game deadlocked at 1-1, but Marta found the back of the net once again in the 38th minute for the eventual game-winner. It was Marta's third goal of the 2010 season.
The only match on Saturday saw the Philadelphia Independence (3-2-1) top the Chicago Red Stars (1-4-1), 1-0, in front of 5,645 fans at Toyota Park. The Independence added another three points, bringing its total to 11, enough to jump into sole possession of the number two spot in the league standings. The game-winner came in just the sixth minute, as Joanna Lohman cleanly finished an Amy Rodriguez cross into the lower right corner. It was Lohman's first WPS career goal.
Sunday's action featured a 2-2 draw between Sky Blue FC (3-2-1) and Saint Louis Athletica (2-1-3). The Athletica jumped out to an early lead as Shannon Boxx comfortably placed a penalty kick passed Karen Bardsley in the ninth minute. Laura Kalmari eventually reclaimed the lead for Sky Blue FC with two goals in the span of just five minutes. The first of which came in the 58th minute with an assist from WPS rookie Kiersten Dallstream and was followed by another goal in the 62nd minute, in which veteran Heather O'Reilly dished out the assist. In the 86th minute, Boxx set up an Eniola Aluko goal that would leave the game tied at two goals apiece and Sky Blue FC (10 pts) just one point ahead of the Athletica (9 pts) in league standings. It was the first-ever 2-2 tie in the history of WPS action - an incredible span of 98 games (74 in 2009 and 24 games in 2010). In Sunday's television game, Abby Wambach led the Washington Freedom (3-2-1) to a 2-0 victory over the Atlanta Beat (0-5-1) with her seventh assist and second goal of the season.
Friday's Games
FC Gold Pride 2, Boston 1
Saturday's Games
Philadelphia 1, Chicago 0
Sunday's Games
St. Louis 2, Sky Blue FC 2
Washington 2, Atlanta 0
FC Gold Pride's Marta is WPS's Week 6 Player of the Week
Brazilian forward Marta is Women's Professional Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 6 after scoring twice as FC Gold Pride claimed its fifth successive victory, beating the Boston Breakers, 2-1, Friday night at Harvard Stadium.
The four-time FIFA World Player of the Year won the award twice last season, in Weeks 2 and 14, en route to WPS's MVP honor and scoring title while leading the Los Angeles Sol to the WPS Championship. She's the second FC Gold Pride player to receive Player of the Week; Canadian forward Christine Sinclair won in Week 8 last year.
Marta twice beat Boston goalkeeper Ashley Phillips one-on-one, finishing Tiffeny Milbrett's through ball in the 15th-minute and getting behind the backline to score from Solveig Gulbrandsen's pass over the top in the 37th. She has three goals this season and a league-best 13 in her WPS career.
The WPS Player of Week is selected by a panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters.
Week 1: Eniola Aluko (Saint Louis Athletica)
Week 2: Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom)
Week 3: Lori Lindsey (Philadelphia Independence)
Week 4: Sonia Bompastor (Washington Freedom)
Week 5: Karen Bardsley (Sky Blue FC)
Week 6: Marta (FC Gold Pride)
Teams Warm-up in PUMA's Africa Unity Kits to Celebrate 2010 FIFA World Cupâ¢
At each WPS match this past weekend, all of the players took the field in PUMA's Africa Unity Jacket. Created in celebration of the upcoming World Cup in South Africa, these warm-up jackets were the same ones worn by PUMA-sponsored African National Teams including Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Algeria. Inspired by the blue of the African sky and the brown of its rich soil, they're a symbol of unity: despite the fact that these African teams will play for their individual countries, they are all united in their love and support for the continent of Africa.
By wearing the Africa Unity Jacket, the athletes of WPS are demonstrating their support for the continent and their excitement around the build-up to next month's World Cup kickoff. Some also wore PUMA Lacelets, featuring African-inspired graphics by artist Kehinde Wiley.
Atlanta Beat
FC Gold Pride
Boston Breakers
2010 Season By-the-Numbers
With one fourth of the regular season in the books, here's a look at some interesting stats so far this WPS season.
-Halftime Success... Teams leading at halftime are 12-0-1 with a 92% winning rate.
-Home Sweet Home... Three teams are undefeated at home (FC Gold Pride, Philadelphia and St. Louis) with FC Gold Pride the only team that is a perfect 3-0-0 at home.
-Stingy Defense... Average goals per game is up slightly from 2.14 in 2009 to 2.17 in 2010
-Second Half Surprise... 31% of goals (16 total) have come in the 46-60th minute of play, by far the most active third of either half in the game in terms of goals scored
-It Ain't Over 'Til The... 77% of games in 2010 have been decided by one goal or less up from 72% in 2009. No games have been decided by more than 2 goals this season.
-X Marks the Spot... Players have a 33% success rate in penalty kicks this season (1 of 3) down from 64% in 2010.
-Practice Makes Perfect... WPS teams have scored an impressive 11 goals on set plays so far this season including 3 goals each by the Boston Breakers and Philadelphia Independence.
All-Time Team Records per Game (Top 3)
During the Atlanta Beat's stadium opener on May 9 in Kennesaw, GA, two single-game WPS records were set by the Beat with Atlanta recording the most corners in one game (15) and the most shots on goal in a game (15) by a WPS team. The following all-time stats are through May 16 and will be updated after each week's action and posted on the media information section of the league website.
WPS Week 7 Preview
Women's Professional Soccer enters its bye week this week for an international window with national team games on several continents including USA vs. Germany on May 22 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Women's Professional Soccer Stories from May 18, 2010
- Marta Named WPS Player Of The Week - FC Gold Pride
- A Look Back At Week 6 In The WPS - WPS
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
