Freedom Insider

In case you missed it last week, WPS released the full schedule for 2010. And while there are a couple of times still being sorted out (the last two weeks are flex games for Fox Soccer Channel, allowing them to pick the best matchups those weeks) it is pretty safe to say the last big piece of the 2010 puzzle has finally been placed.

I don’t want to make too much of the actual games themselves because the big games will be determined as the season progresses, but I did want to share a couple of things that stand out on the Freedom’s schedule.

• This had been revealed previously but for the second season in a row, the Freedom will be in the opening match. However, this time around they will only play one day before everyone else as opposed to playing a week before everyone else and then having a bye.
• It looks like another doubleheader with D.C. United is in the works on May 1, the only dates both clubs are in town. Currently the place and time are TBD.
• The Freedom will have five FSC appearances and this year they are a little more spread out. Last year FSC showed most of the team’s early matches (which was bad because the team got off to a pretty bad start)  and after a July 5 match against Los Angeles, didn’t see show the Freedom again until the playoffs.
• The All-Star game has been moved to June 30, an odd time considering most teams will have played 3-4 days before and get back to work 3-4 days after.
• The July 4 game against Sky Blue FC will be a tough sell, even with the defending champs. Hopefully the team gets some fireworks lined up for the families it hopes to attract to that game.
• Once again the team gets a rough schedule towards the end of the season with the Freedom playing three road games in 11 days. Add in that the second game of the trip is out to California and the team could be pretty wiped by the time the third game finishes in St. Louis.
• The Freedom will get plenty of looks at the expansion franchises as they play the Beat and Independence four times each and every other WPS team three times. In most sports that would be a good thing but looking at the way Atlanta and Philly are built, they may not be your typical expansion clubs.

This schedule should make for an entertaining 2010 and hopefully it will end in a longer playoff run than 2009.

Finally, one day after announcing the signing of Christie Welsh, the club announced 2010 first round pick Nikki Marshall has signed. Only a couple of spots remain on the 2010 roster.

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A couple of items worth checking out as we head into the weekend.

Potomac Soccer Wire is hearing forward Christie Welsh will be signing with the Freedom before the 2010 season gets underway. I believe someone around here suggested that a while back. The Freedom seem to be pretty stocked at forward but given Welsh’s history with the club, this move should not be a surprise.

More pieces are starting to fall into place as preseason camp gets closer. Today it was announced in a Florida newspaper that the Freedom will spend part of March training at the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Spring Training complex, Dodgertown, in Viero Beach, Fla. The team will be there from March 8-13, playing an exhibition against the Chicago Red Stars on the 12th. Dodgertown will be close to where other WPS teams will be training and of course the weather will be a nice draw.

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I realize that the only thing that has been going on around here lately has been posts full of links but until the Freedom decide to let us know who will fill the open roster spots, the links are really all we have. So here we go:

• Q&A with Washington Freedom Head Coach Jim Gabarra – updates us on what the coach has been doing in the offseason.
• Nairn flourishes for PSU – not only is this a feature updating us on Freedom W-League player Christine Nairn’s first college season, it has quotes from former Freedom and PSU player Christie Welsh. I am still waiting for the announcement that Welsh has signed with the Freedom.
• Casey brings the intensity – a feature on Maryland Terrapins senior goalkeeper Mary Casey. I included this link because apparently Casey was recruited by Maryland on the recommendation on Freedom free agent (and Maryland alum) Emily Janss. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Janss wind up with her alma mater as a coach if she fails to catch on somewhere else.
• Abby Wambach and Cat Whitehill called up to WNT December training camp – no big shocker here but it’s nice to see that our WNT stalwarts continue to perform at a top level.

As always, if something happens I will post my reaction to it … but something needs to happen first.

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Given recent comments and Twitter posts by President and GM Mark Washo, we know the Freedom seems close to announcing a free agent signing. However, I wonder if that train has now derailed given word out of Boston that the Breakers have signed USWNT player Leslie Osborne.

Word from The Equalizer, which seems to be breaking all of the big women’s soccer news lately, is that Osborne turned down a deal from the Freedom. If that truly is the case, I wonder how much that affects the Freedom’s plans. On one hand, the team has plenty of midfielders and could really use another forward or defender. On the other hand, Osborne was one of the best players still available on the market and is a solid addition for any team.

With the big domestic names now all locked up, what is the Freedom’s next move. Will the team relinquish its hold on one of its international players to add a top free agent? Will the team make a smaller signing like Christie Welsh and focus more on the draft? Will the team just sit back and wait until January before deciding to do anything?

One thing’s for sure, this is a big signing for Boston and I wonder if the Breakers increased their pursuit of Osborne in reaction to Angela Hucles retiring. As it is, we will just have to imagine what it would have been like to have Osborne in D.C.

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WPS opened its version of free agency on Wednesday and while there appears to be plenty of impact names on the open market, everything has been pretty quiet since the opening of the market.

Granted, it took the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL years before their offseasons became just as important as the regular season but you would think with the number of well-known stars out there, something would have happened by now.

For those of you who haven’t checked out the list, some of the big names on the market include Han Duan, Cristiane, Formiga, Daniela, Carli Lloyd, Leslie Osborne, Aly Wagner and Heather Mitts. Apparently Chicago is hoping to bring back Cristiane, but other than that, things have been pretty quiet.

The makeup of the current roster suggests there are about five full roster spots open at this point and I would hope the team would choose to fill those spots between free agency and the draft, and not necessarily through tryouts (although Kristin DeDycker was a great tryout pickup last year).

Given that, I would imagine the team hopes to fill one of those roster spots with either Lene Mykjaland or Louisa Necib, given that the team retained both of their rights again this season. Given the fact that Mykjaland almost came over last year and that Becky Sauerbrunn is playing with her Norwegian club right now, I would say it is more likely we see her.

So with four spots left, the topic becomes who should the Freedom go out and get? Should they go after one of the big USWNT names out on the market? Or should they make a couple of small moves to improve the depth of the squad? One other name I noticed was on the market is Christie Welsh, a former Freedom W-League player. Could there be a reunion with her in the near future?

If I am Jim Gabarra, I bring back Welsh, consider giving DeDycker a full roster spot and potentially look for a defender either in free agency or in the first round of the draft. With the addition of Mykjaland that could be going a little attacker heavy but with Ali Krieger hopefully coming back midseason, maybe the Freedom defense can hold out long enough for the cavalry to arrive.

The potential is there for a big move to be made, but as I look around the league I fear things are shaping up for the Freedom to have the quietest offseason of the league. Regardless, it will be fun to sit back and watch things unfold.

So now I open the floor up to you – who do you think the Freedom should sign this offseason? Vote in the poll or leave a comment.

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