One area I think most All-Star games miss is that there is not enough excitement built in to the event. The NFL game, while in Hawaii, is a dud. MLB ties home-field advantage for the World Series to the outcome and I think it has gotten to the point that few people care. The NBA does a lot of fun and flashy things, including the skills challenge the night before, and because the players want to be involved, it works. I think WPS is trying to do something more fan-friendly with this format and depending on how the game ends, it could work well.

And just in case you haven’t seen them yet, here are the rosters:

Abby XI (green/home; Abby Wambach – Captain, Paul Riley – Head Coach)
Starters
#1 – Hope Solo, GK, Atlanta Beat
#3 – Amy LePeilbet, D, Boston Breakers
#6 – Lori Lindsey, M, Philadelphia Independence
#7 – Shannon Boxx, M, FC Gold Pride
#8 – Tina Ellertson, D, Atlanta Beat
#9 – Eniola Aluko, F, Atlanta Beat
#10 – Heather O’Reilly, M, Sky Blue FC
#11 – Lauren Cheney, F, Boston Breakers
#17 – Lori Chalupny, M, Atlanta Beat
#20 – Abby Wambach, F, Washington Freedom
#84 – Cat Whitehill, D, Washington Freedom

Reserves
#4 – Angie Kerr, M, Atlanta Beat
#14 – Karen Carney, M, Chicago Red Stars
#19 – Kelley O’Hara, F, FC Gold Pride
#21 – Laura Kalmari, M, Sky Blue FC
#66 – Tasha Kai, F, Sky Blue FC
#85 – Jillian Loyden, GK, Chicago Red Stars
Kate Markgraf, D, Chicago Red Stars (injured/not rostered)

Marta XI (white/away; Marta – Captain, Albertin Montoya – Head Coach)
Starters
#1 – Karen Bardsley, GK, Sky Blue FC
#3 – Allison Falk, D, Philadelphia Independence
#4 – Rachel Buehler, D, FC Gold Pride
#7 – Kelly Smith, M, Boston Breakers
#8 – Sonia Bompastor, M, Washington Freedom
#9 – Ramona Bachmann, F, Atlanta Beat
#10 – Marta, F, FC Gold Pride
#12 – Christine Sinclair, F, FC Gold Pride
#13 – Kristine Lilly, M, Boston Breakers
#14 – Brittany Taylor, D, Sky Blue FC
#24 – Aya Miyama, M, Atlanta Beat

Reserves
#5 – Christie Rampone, D, Sky Blue FC
#11 – Becky Sauerbrunn, D, Washington Freedom
#17 – Amy Rodriguez, F, Philadelphia Independence
#18 – Erin McLeod, GK, Washington Freedom
#22 – Alex Scott, D, Boston Breakers
#78 – Cristiane, F, Chicago Red Stars
Caroline Seger, M, Philadelphia Independence (injured/not rostered)

USWNT Call-ups

Congratulations are in order for Sarah Huffman and Allie Long, both of whom earned call-ups to the USWNT for the two friendlies against Sweden in July. It is nice to see some new faces getting an opportunity to prove themselves and hopefully things will go well for Huffman and Long. The only question I have is where is Becky Sauerbrunn? The WPS Ironwoman gets snubbed again. Maybe its time for an online campaign or something…

Klein’s blog

New Freedom player Brittany Klein is actually pretty internet savvy and has her own website, that includes a blog. Her latest post is about joining the Freedom and is worth a read. She also has a live chat feature on her blog so if you feel like chatting with her, head on over and say hi.

More Harris features

Apparently people still can’t get over Saint Louis Athletica folding midseason and talking with former players of the franchise makes for interesting feature stories local networks are using to promote the league. I guess that’s both good and bad. Anyway, in DC we only have Ashlyn Harris to chat with so here is another story on her journey of late.

Whitehill on the World Cup

Cat continues her blog on Soccer365.com and her latest post is on how watching the World Cup is helping her improve her game. Got to love the dedication and hopefully this new knowledge will translate into on-the-field results soon.

Remembering Vanole

For fans of the WUSA Freedom, this article that appeared last week on former Freedom assistant David Vanole is a must-read. Tom Friend does a great job of painting Vanole’s life and showing his role in helping soccer gain more recognition in the U.S.

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Again, in this situation picking up a point is a good result but it sure would’ve been better to have the Freedom end the weekend in 1st.

Allie Long had a great goal in the first half and I’m still trying to figure out how she was able to get the shot off since it looked like she had at least three FCGP players closing in on her. Marta’s rebound was a great looking goal as well.

Hopefully the Freedom can keep this streak going as the newly resurgent Chicago Red Stars come to town. Chicago seemed to be the Freedom’s main nemesis last year so we can only imagine how this thing will turn out. Should be fun.

LINKS

A couple of articles to pass along:

• Hall of Freedom Inductee Nominations (WashingtonFreedom.com) – The team is taking nominations from fans in terms of who should be inducted next. For some reason I sense a Jen Grubb campaign coming…
• Freedom Newbies: “Soccer Nerd” Lene Mykjåland (Bleacher Report) – Kat Galsim has a great piece on Norwegian Lene Mykjaland, although I don’t know if nerd is the right word. Don’t believe me? I don’t think a nerd would be able to pull off tricks like these.

• Independence’s Lohman went to great lengths to improve (Philadelphia Inquirer) – A brief article talking about how Jo Lohman’s lack of PT with the Freedom last year drove her to improve her game for this year.
• Talk of World Cup runneth over at Freedom clinic (Frederick News Post) – This link came via Mark Washo’s Twitter this morning but is worth highlighting. Great to see that the World Cup is getting U.S. fans jazzed for soccer like it normally does every four years.

As always, if you find an article worth mentioning, let us know in the comments below.

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Aside from making outspoken UNC alum and Freedom D Cat Whitehill happy, this move actually makes a lot of sense. Primary backup Briana Scurry has been out injured since she started the April 25 loss to Philadelphia and won’t be able to return until June 5, so adding the 19th overall pick in the 2010 draft to push current backup GK Meagan McCray seems like a good idea.

To make room for Harris on the roster the team waived Maryland alum GK Mary Casey and placed forward Lisa De Vanna on 30-day IR.

WELCOME STARCITYFAN

Any fan of the Freedom is probably familiar with StarCityFan and so it is with great excitement that I announce that he will be contributing here to Freedom Insider. I don’t think I’ve met anyone, save Jim Gabarra and Clyde Watson, who knows more about the team than he does so I am excited that he will be helping me out. In fact, his first post is a preview of Saturday’s match against first place FC Gold Pride and will be up later today so make sure you stop by and visit again later.

LINKS

I know, twice in one week, but here are some articles worth checking out before the next time the Freedom take the pitch.

• Injuries, new schedule offer challenges for Washington Freedom (Potomac Soccer Wire) – Finding homes for the suddenly unemployed stars of WPS wasn’t the only challenge the league faced as a result of Athletica folding. Joe Dougherty has a nice breakdown of how the newly revised WPS schedule now affects the Freedom.
• Women’s pro soccer: Hard-working McCray looking for opportunity with Washington Freedom (Marin Independent Journal) – Speaking of backup GKs, here is a great feature on Meagan McCray. If she isn’t one of your favorite Freedom players yet, just check her out on Twitter and get back to me in a week.
• Goal.com’s WPS Player Of The Week: Abby Wambach, Washington Freedom (Goal.com) – Abby’s having a record-breaking season and May only ended on Monday.
• Our Game Magazine: A Player-Produced Publication On Women’s Soccer (Goal.com) – If you haven’t checked out the newest publication devoted to women’s soccer, check it out. This piece is Goal.com’s write up of the mag, which released its first issue this week. It is run and written by a bunch of Breakers players but we won’t hold that against them…yet;)
• On television, highlights of women’s sports are running low (Washington Post) – Columnist Sally Jenkins has a great piece talking about the lack of women’s sports highlights on the evening news and SportsCenter. Of course, WPS fans already knew this but it’s nice to see someone actually calling TV media out.
• W-League Team of the Week (USLSoccer.com) – The Freedom Futures are represented again this week, and this time F Omolyn Davis nabs Player of the Week honors. Congrats to Davis.

One last thing – if you haven’t voted for WPS All-Stars yet, today’s your last chance to do so. Erin McLeod has had a remarkable season so far but is in danger of not making the game. So at the very least go vote for Erin.

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This will be a combo post – reaction to Sunday’s win and links to everything else going on.

First, it’s great to be in sole possession of second place after Sunday’s 2-1 win over Philly. And it’s even better to think the Freedom are quickly becoming a powerhouse in the league. It does seem the team followed this same pattern last year – struggling out of the gate before heating up, moving up the standings and then cooling off – but it also seems like it is happening a lot faster this year.

Instead of rehashing everything that other writers have said, I will just make three quick points:

• Sarah Huffman is one tough player and she is appearing more and more to be that link the team was missing last year.
• Erin McLeod has to the be the most underrated GK in WPS. Aside from the misplayed ball that squirted in late for a goal, McLeod had a stellar performance once again and really should have earned her third consecutive shutout.
• The camo uni’s were pretty sweet and they definitely need to make another appearance this season.

Now bring on FC Gold Pride and hopefully first place.

LINKS

Here are some articles worth checking out – both Freedom and WPS style.

WPS Monday Kick-Around: Off contract compensation a talking point amidst Athletica debacle (The Equalizer) – A different take on what may have happened in the demise of Athletica. Jeff is one of the top WPS beat reporters and this is truly another great find by him.

Beat agrees to terms with Solo, Ellertson, and Aluko (Atlanta Beat web site) – You knew this was coming given the free agent status of all Saint Louis players, and the first three to sign decided to stick together. If this doesn’t solve Atlanta’s problems I don’t know what will.

Abby Wambach now third-highest scorer, named athlete of the week (USA Today) – Playing on national team duty the week before, last week was honor Abby Wambach week. Regardless of the fact that it wasn’t for her play with the Freedom, it’s nice to see Abby get the ink.

Player Profile: Abby Wambach (All White Kit) – Jenna at AWK also caught the Freedom bug this past week and out together more than one piece on the team.

Casey Signs With WPS’s Washington Freedom (UMTerps.com) – Mary Casey has gone from the Sol to the Freedom to unemployed back to the Freedom with the injury to Briana Scurry.

W-LEAGUE LINKS

W-League Team of the Week (USLSoccer.com) – Freedom Futures players D Molly King and M Furtuna Velaj were named to the W-League’s Team of the Week for their performances in the win over the New Jersey Rangers.

Wildcats, Freedom Futures Play to 3-3 Draw (USLSoccer.com) – Freedom Futures salvage a tie with New Jersey Wildcats on an Omolyn Davis goal in the 60th minute.

That covers what I had. As always, if you have anything to add post it in the comments section. Finally, I want to add content more frequently to the blog but because I don’t have the time to add what I’d like, I wanted to see if there was anyone out there who would like to contribute to Freedom Insider by way of writing the previews and providing more timely recaps. If interested, use the contact page to send me an e-mail with your contact information.

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So, after multiple lengthy debates with myself (no, I’m not crazy for talking to myself … am I?) I have decided to continue the process. I have really struggled with the fact that I know most of my readers have probably already seen and read most of these articles however, if we want to keep WPS going – and we know there are still plenty of struggles given the recent mess in Saint Louis (Women’s Soccer Weekly has a quick recap of the situation), then we need to make sure we support the coverage the league is getting so the media continues to cover WPS more.

So without any further ramblings – here are some stories I found interesting. (Note: Since the match with Canada has happened, I will only include a recap or two – no previews. Sorry.)

De Vanna’s Asian Cup Despair (Australian FourFourTwo) – Basically the worst thing that could have happened did as Lisa De Vanna broke her leg while away on national team duty. No word yet on when she will be back on the pitch.

Fans get a show as Washington Freedom, Canada tie 3-3 (Potomac Soccer Wire) – Erin McLeod played for the Freedom her teammates on the national team were able to erase a two goal deficit to earn a tie [Edited to correct misstated fact]. At least there were more than 2,200 fans in attendance on a day when the weather was questionable.

Canadian Women’s National Team Update (All White Kit) – For fans of Canada, or for those wanting to get a perspective on the friendly from the Canadian point of view. Very well done.

MY WASHINGTON: Washington Freedom player heads to D.C.’s top outdoor spots (DC Examiner) – Christie Welsh shares her favorite things about Washington D.C.

W-LEAGUE LINKS – The Freedom Futures kicked off the season Saturday with a 3-0 win over the New Jersey Rangers.

Freedom Futures, New Name, Familiar Faces (Washingtonfreedom.com) – The Freedom Futures brought back some familiar faces…

Freedom Futures Reach Into College Ranks (USLSoccer.com) – And they reached into the college ranks to form this year’s squad. It’s worked in the past so why not again?

And finally, for all you fans of collectibles out there, Upper Deck has released its 2010 MLS Card Set and which includes cards featuring WPS players. According to Upper Deck’s site there are multiple player cards included in the 175-card set plus there is a special 10-card WPS All Stars subset. The special subset features the Freedom’s Abby Wambach and Sonia Bompastor.

I know that doesn’t begin to cover all the great stuff being written out there about the Freedom, but it’s a start. If you have a link to a story that needs to be checked out, leave it in the comments section.

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So, with only a few hours remaining before this entire exercise becomes antiquated, let’s look at some keys to success for the Freedom in 2010.

Let’s start at the obvious – this team had firepower but it also had a lot of defensive holes in 2009. The Freedom led WPS in goals scored and goals allowed and had a goal differential of 0. A lot of the damage came early on when the Freedom struggled to score and went through multiple GKs before Erin McLeod finally joined the team. The defense had a strong central presence with Cat Whitehill and Becky Sauerbrunn but was slow on the outside and consistency seemed to elude the team all season.

So who were the two biggest free agent acquisitions this offseason? Forwards Lene Mykjaland and Christie Welsh, who only add to the formidable firepower provided by Abby Wambach, Lisa De Vanna and Rebecca Moros. And while those moves were definitely adding to the strength of the squad, the Freedom also addressed the defensive side of the ball.

Thanks to the disbanding of the LA Sol, the Freedom acquired a strong defensive presence in Brittany Bock and addressed the lack of speed on the back line by drafting defender Nikki Marshall in the first round of the 2010 draft. Those additions should take pressure off of Whitehill and Sauerbrunn and allow Jill Gilbeau, Alex Singer and fourth round pick Kristi Eveland to provide much needed depth.

Ok, enough from me. But that’s not all I have for this post. I believe in being informed and in looking at multiple resources when trying to get a handle on a topic so with that in mind, here are some other team previews I have found to be very insightful. And as always, if you have any that I missed, leave a link in the comments, send me an e-mail or send me a tweet and I will check them out.

Probably the biggest loss this offseason was that of M Lori Lindsey (Philadelphia), but from the reports out of training camp indicate Homare Sawa is ready to take a step forward. The international vet was the subject of much fan consternation last year as many felt she was miscast by Jim Gabarra as a defensive midfielder. However, what often gets lost is the fact that Sawa’s versatility and experience forced her into that role when Sarah Huffman went down before the season with an ACL injury. With Lindsey gone and Huffman back, hopefully Sawa will slide forward and provide yet another option to the team’s deadly attack.

Of course a 2010 preview can’t be written without mentioning M Sonia Bompastor, who seems to be the spark plug that makes this team go (we all know what happened when she missed the first round of the playoffs last year due to national team duty). So it seems logical to conclude that as Sonia goes, so will the Freedom. That both excites me and scares me. Hopefully when she misses time this year someone else will be able to step up in her absence.

Unlike a lot of teams this year, the Freedom returns most of its 2009 roster and is hoping that once again continuity will be the key success. That strategy fell flat early on in 2009 as the team struggled out of the gate but it eventually paid off in a playoff appearance. Gabarra is obviously sticking to his guns once again and obviously fans hope the team once again reaches the playoffs.

Despite the addition of two teams, the rosters of the other seven squads all appear to be as stacked as Washington’s so strategy and execution will play an important role in determining which teams extend their seasons. Given that fact, I like the Freedom’s chances, especially with the experienced bench players the team now has. What a difference a year makes.

• Previewing 2010: Freedom bolster defense (womensprosoccer.com)
• Washington Freedom 2010 – Are They Defensive Enough? (Women’s Soccer Weekly)
• 2010 Season Preview: Washington Freedom (The Equalizer)
• Previewing the 2010 Washington Freedom (All White Kit)
• Full health means Freedom to roam (Gazette Newspapers)
• Abby Wambach on WPS, year two (Penalty Kicks)

Only a few hours to go – do you have your fantasy teams locked in and have you joined the Freedom Insider WPS league? Time’s running out so get to it.

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Marshall anxious for professional career to begin (Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.) – Feature on top draft pick Nikki Marshall and how she is dealing with the pressure of turning pro.

Win at Torero Stadium is a bonus for Wambach (San Diego Union-Tribune) – Abby Wambach returned to the scene of her broken leg and was happy to be walking away from the game this time.

Also, not a specific story link but I wanted to make sure everyone knew about a new blog dedicated to everything women’s soccer has launched – All White Kit. Check it out.

Ok, that’s it for me right now. As always, use this thread to talk about whatever and if you have any links we should check out, please share.

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2010 24-Player Preseason Roster

1. Marisa Abegg

2. Brittany Bock

3. Sonia Bompastor

4. Kristi Eveland

5. Jill Gilbeau

6. Beverly Goebel

7. Sarah Huffman

8. Jaimel Johnson

9. Madison Keller

10. Allie Long

11. Nikki Marshall

12. Meagan McCray

13. Erin McLeod

14. Caitlin Miskel

15. Rebecca Moros

16. Mara Osher

17. Becky Sauerbrunn

18. Homare Sawa

19. Briana Scurry

20. Alex Singer

21. Lisa DeVanna

22. Abby Wambach

23. Christie Welsh

24. Cat Whitehill

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Also, I want to apologize for the state of the Roster Tracker but the Sol disbanding really screwed things up. I am trying to find a way to display all of the rosters, along with the way each player was acquired by its current team without making it look like a fourth grader took a highlighter to my spreadsheet, highlighting everything but the conjunctions like “and” and “but.”

Ok, here’s the roster (from the Freedom’s site, most of which we already knew):

2010 28-Player Preseason Roster

(Players with numbers listed after their name are in attendance at the Florida Preseason Camp)

1. Marisa Abegg – 27

2. Brittany Bock – 5

3. Sonia Bompastor – 8

4. Mary Casey

5. Kristi Eveland – 23

6. Jill Gilbeau – 3

7. Beverly Goebel – 6

8. Sarah Huffman – 14

9. Christen Karniski

10. Madison Keller – 26

11. Allie Long – 9

12. Nikki Marshall – 17

13. Meagan McCray – 0

14. Erin McLeod – 18

15. Caitlin Miskel – 12

16. Rebeca Moros – 19

17. Mara Osher – 24

18. Lauren Robertson

19. Becky Sauerbrunn – 22

20. Homare Sawa

21. Briana Scurry – 1

22. Alex Singer – 21

23. Brittany Tegeler

24. Lisa De Vanna – 11

25. Abby Wambach – 20

26. Christie Welsh – 13

27. Cat Whitehill – 4

28. Jaimel Johnson – 2

I can’t say I’m terribly surprised by any of the names on the list and it’s good to see that some of our homegrown players such as Christen Karniski, Brittany Tegeler and Madison Keller are getting another chance to stick with the team. Karniski and Keller were both developmental players last year while Tegeler was among the final roster cuts from preseason last year.

Looking at some of the other rosters I can’t helped but feel that the Freedom failed to improve as much as every other team this offseason. The unexpected addition of Bock certainly offsets what was a quiet offseason for the Freedom but with teams FC Gold Pride adding Marta and Camille Abily, Saint Louis adding Aya Miyama, Shannon Boxx and Lindsey Tarpley and the Independence acquiring Karina LeBlanc, Heather Mitts, Lori Lindsey and Amy Rodriguez, I can’t help but think how much tougher the league will be this year and I am already questioning if this roster will be strong enough to hang with these revamped squads.

New faces popping up on the roster this preseason include Marisa Abegg (drafted by FC Gold Pride in 2009) and goalkeepers Mary Casey (former GK for Maryland who was drafted by LA one week before the team disbanded), Meagan McCray (another FC Gold Pride castoff) and Jamiel Johnson (formerly of the Breakers and Red Stars). I have no idea what the team needs so many goalkeepers for in camp but I bet at least one of this group makes the team as the developmental keeper unless 5th round pick Lauren Robertson can outplay them all.

Names that are noticeably absent? Freedom Futures GM Joanna Lohman (in camp with Philly, don’t know what that’s about), goalkeeper KJ Spisak (in camp in her hometown of St. Louis) and midfielder Kristin DeDycker.

One final roster note of interest for former WUSA Washington Freedom fans – midfielder Jen Grubb is in camp with Sky Blue FC.

To keep up with the Freedom while the players are away, make sure you are checking out the team’s official blog. Here is a quick recap of Day 1. And for those of you looking for WPS Fantasy Soccer, apparently that is on the way as well.

Now that you’ve heard what I think about the preseason roster, tell me your thoughts. Is there anyone your surprised to see isn’t back? Do you have any concerns about having six goalkeepers in camp? Let me know in the comments section below.

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