WPS Weekly - Week 6
Published on May 18, 2011 under Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) News Release
The depth of the WPS rosters was highlighted in Week 6 as many of the WPS' brightest stars were called away for National Team duty.
With names like Marta, Christine Sinclair, Alex Scott and Kelly Smith away, both the Western New York Flash and Boston Breakers were forced to adjust their lineups to fill the holes left behind by players called away on National Team duty. The Flash hosted the Breakers in the team's second consecutive Friday Night match at Sahlen's Stadium, edging out the visitors 3-2 on a strong showing from McCall Zerboni. The Flash opened the scoring in the 10th minute of play when Zerboni chipped a ball to Brittany Bock, who powered the ball into the goal on a fierce header, to take an early lead. The Flash struck again in the 25th minute, this time Zerboni (assisted by Kim Brandao) putting away the goal herself. The Breakers did not shy away as they cut the Flash lead in half in the 38th minute of play when Liz Bogus scored her first goal of 2011, a header scored off a corner kick served by Nikki Washington. After the half, Zerboni and the Flash would take the second two-goal lead of the game in the 69th minute when Gemma Davison crossed a ball to Zerboni's head at the far post, and Zerboni finished it with her head. The Breakers were issued a PK in the 80th minute when Katie Schoepfer got tripped up in the box by two Flash Defenders. Keelin Winters stepped up to take the PK for the Breakers and finished the opportunity, bringing her team within a goal of the Flash. Time would expire before any more goals could be scored and the match would end 3-2 in favor of Western New York Flash. With the win, the Flash remain undefeated.
The WPS Sunday game of the week featured the Atlanta Beat and Philadelphia Independence at KSU Soccer Stadium in Kennesaw, GA. As expected with National team call-ups, both teams saw new faces in their starting XI's. The atmosphere in Kennesaw was electric as 6,125 fans came to see Sunday's match. The match took a dramatic turn when Philadelphia's Kia McNeill was issued a red card and ejected from the game for committing a foul just outside her team's 18 yard box. The Independence was forced to play short for the remainder of the match. The Beat capitalized on their advantage as captain Lori Chalupny lifted her team with a goal in stoppage time just before the end of the first half (45+). The Independence came back with a vengeance after halftime, not allowing the Beat to exploit their one player advantage on the field. Only five minutes into the half, Estelle Johnson would score for the visiting side, evening the match at 1 apiece. The Independence would continue to press the Beat and would take the lead in the 73rd minute when Joanna Lohman connected with Laura del Rio who placed a close range opportunity into the back of the net. Despite a promising first half for the Beat, the Independence played hard and walked away with the win.
Sky Blue FC and magicJack had scheduled byes in Week 6.
2011 WPS Regular Season Standings
W L T P GF GA +/-
Flash 4 0 1 13 13 6 7
magicJack 3 0 0 8* 5 1 4
Independence 2 1 1 7 7 5 2
Breakers 2 4 0 6 8 9 -1
Atlanta Beat 1 4 1 4 5 13 -8
Sky Blue FC 0 3 1 1 3 7 -4
*One point deducted for repeated non-compliance with league standards in Week 5
Friday
Western New York Flash 3, Boston Breakers 2
Sunday
Beat 1, Philadelphia Independence 2
ZERBONI STEPS UP, CLAIMS WPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Veteran midfielder McCall Zerboni got the call with Western New York's biggest stars away on international duty, and she responded with a superb performance in the Flash's victory over the Boston Breakers to claim Women's Professional Soccer's Player of the Week award for Week 6.
Zerboni scored two goals, including the 69th-minute winner, and assisted Brittany Bock's opener to lead the Flash to a 3-2 victory Friday over the visiting Breakers. She's the third successive Western New York player to win the weekly honor, following star forwards Christine Sinclair and Marta.
Brazil's Marta, Canada's Sinclair and rookie forward Alex Morgan, the top pick in January's WPS draft, were missing up top for the Flash (4-0-1), who extended their lead over magicJack in the WPS standings to five points.
The goals were the first two in WPS for Zerboni, a UCLA product who played for the Los Angeles Sol in 2009 and Atlanta Beat in 2010.
The WPS Player of Week is selected by a panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters.
Week 1: Allie Long (Sky Blue FC)
Week 2: Alli Lipsher (Atlanta Beat)
Week 3: Alli Lipsher (Atlanta Beat)
Week 4: Christine Sinclair (Western New York Flash)
Week 5: Marta (Western New York Flash)
Week 6: McCall Zerboni (Western New York Flash)
Disciplinary Decisions -
Kia McNeill (Independence) was suspended for one game, after being issued a red card in Sunday's match against the Atlanta Beat. McNeill will serve her suspension on Saturday, May 21 when the Beat play Sky Blue FC.
As an escalated penalty for continuing non-compliance with league standards in Week 5, magicJack has lost one (1) point in the 2011 WPS Standings and the team's right to its third round draft pick in the 2012 WPS Draft.
US WOMEN TO FACE JAPAN TONIGHT IN SECOND OF TWO-GAME SERIES IN PREPARATION FOR WOMEN'S WORLD CUP
The US Women took on Japan on Saturday evening at Crew Stadium in Columbus, OH in the first of a two-game series scheduled in preparation for the upcoming Women's World Cup. The US dominated the match, which yielded a 2-0 result in favor of Pia Sundhage's team on goals from Abby Wambach (magicJack) and Amy Rodriguez (Independence).
To the disappointment of the team and fans, Lindsay Tarpley, a two-time Olympic veteran, was sidelined from her second World Cup bid when she suffered an ACL tear with just 15 minutes left in the match.
Japan and the US will face off again tonight, this time at Wake Med Park in Cary, NC, in the US' penultimate friendly before departing for Germany. Fans can watch the match live on ESPN 2 at 7 PM ET.
WPS WEEK 6 PREVIEW
SATURDAY, MAY 21
Sky Blue FC vs. Atlanta Beat (7 pm ET)
Yurcak Field | Piscataway, NJ
In the first meeting between these teams in 2011 on April 16, the Beat defeated Sky Blue FC 1-0. The Beat have not won a game since defeating Sky Blue in this match.
Sky Blue FC is still seeking the team's first win of the season.
Sunday, May 22
Boston Breakers vs. Philadelphia Independence (4 pm ET)
Harvard Stadium | Cambridge, MA
The Boston Breakers will celebrate the illustrious career of US Soccer icon Kristine Lilly by retiring her No. 13 jersey in a special half time ceremony.
The Breakers will try to put a stop to the team's two-game losing skid against the Independence who are building on a two-game winning streak.
The last time these two teams met, Philadelphia had the upper hand winning 2-0 over the visiting Breakers at Widener Stadium.
Philadelphia will play without defender Kia McNeill who was ejected from last Sunday's match against the Beat and will serve a one-game suspension handed down by the WPS Disciplinary Committee.
Western New York Flash vs. magicJack (7:00 pm ET)
Sahlen's Stadium | Rochester, NY | Fox Soccer Channel
Sunday's game will mark is the first-ever meeting between these two teams
Both teams enter the match undefeated.
Both teams will be at full strength with all of their players returning from natonal team duty for the game on Sunday.
After having their match postponed in Philadelphia, Sunday's match will mark the first road game for magicJack.
magicJack will be without Lindsay Tarpley who suffered a season-ending injury (ACL) in the US Women's National Team friendly against Japan last Saturday.
Fans can watch the match live on Fox Soccer Channel or via the webcast on womensprosoccer.com. Sunday's match will mark the national TV debut of the South Florida based magicJack.
Women's Professional Soccer Stories from May 18, 2011
- WPS Weekly - Week 6 - WPS
- Midweek Report - Atlanta Beat - Atlanta Beat
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.
