With only three games left in their season, this FFR is going to focus solely on the Freedom’s W-League side.
One point out of second first place in the Northeast Division, the Freedom face their toughest task of the season at the Maryland SoccerPlex on Thursday as they take on the only team to beat them this season – the division leading and currently unbeaten Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues.
Having lost to Hudson Valley 4-2 back on May 31, a win Thursday would be a huge step in locking up the division. The Freedom would still need to win their last two games (which luckily are both at home as well) to keep the slim lead they would get from a win Thursday but that is a lot more direct than hoping someone else beats Hudson Valley if the Freedom lose.
The winner of this matchup almost guarantees themselves the regular season W-League championship (again, provided they win out) and an automatic spot in the championship tournament.
What’s most amazing about this run the Freedom are making this year is the fact that this team was essentially picked clean. While a lot of players from last year’s team returned to college after the season, a lot of them were seniors and found themselves drafted by WPS teams back in January. Freedom W-League stalwarts such as Sarah Huffman, Alex Singer, Lori Lindsey, Emily Janss, Becky Sauerbrunn, etc. are all with the WPS Freedom now and others like Ella Masar and Nikki Krzysik are with other WPS teams.
The one thing Washington did have going for it though is the fact that the WPS franchise decided to maintain its connection to the W-League. Most WPS teams do have some connection with a local W-League team but none of them has the WPS coach directly coaching the W-League players like the Freedom have with Jim Gabarra. Gabarra is instilling the same system with both teams, which should help his W-League players make the jump to WPS. Of course, there is no way to protect those players as of yet so they are fair game to all WPS teams right now, but don’t be surprised if some sort of feeder system is put in place to protect this development for any team that heads down this road (it looks like Philly is doing something similar in the WPSL).
The other thing that seems to have benefited the Freedom is keeping players in the area once they have had a taste of the big club. After being released from the WPS roster in May, Jayme Leigh Cargnoni decided to play for the W-League side and has logged 134 minutes in 3 games played this season. Other players like Brittany Tegeler, Katie Watson, Kimmy Germain and actually participated in Washington’s WPS preseason camp but failed to make the final roster. Their contributions have been vital as Tegeler is second on the team in both goals, assists and points (8, 5 and 21, respectively) while Watson has played in all 11 of the team’s matches and Germain has played in 10.
Obviously, these are only a couple of the ladies making this team successful, but it is an important part.
With the recent struggles the WPS team has gone through (more on that in the preview of tomorrow’s game), it’s nice to see that at least one of the team’s wearing the Freedom badge is trying to build on the club’s championship tradition. And if you are looking for something to do on Thursday at 7 p.m., go cheer help them out by cheering them on as they try to do so.
Who knows, maybe next year a few of these names might be gracing a few WPS rosters.
Congrats to Sandiford, Osher
I know this is a little late but congrats to GK Chante Sandiford, who was named Player of the Week for Week 10 of the 2009 W-League season. Congrats also go to defender Mara Osher, who was also named to the Week 10 W-League Team of the Week.
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