Freedom Insider

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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According to WPS Communications guru Rob Penner, free agent lists should be announced on the league transaction page around lunch Pacific Time today.

Taking a quick peek at the lists of options and other info teams have let out – the big name to hit the market today has to be USWNT player Carli Lloyd. While speculation is that she will want to play somewhere close to her home (Philly or SBFC probably), you have to imagine fans of every team immediately tried to come up with as many scenarios as possible to land Lloyd. Sorry Freedom fans, Dan Snyder owns that other Washington team.

When I went through the list of options yesterday, the notable name left off was Cat Whitehill. Don’t worry about her though, she will be back.

Those not coming back though (or at least their options were not exercised) are Emily Janss, Parrissa Eyorokon and Kati Jo Spisak. After beginning the season as a starter, Janss seemed to quickly fall out of favor with the coaching staff and after May, saw no action the rest of the season. Along with Lori Lindsey, Janss was one of those players who stuck with the Freedom during its pro hiatus and it almost seems too coincidental now that none of those players are with the team anymore.

Eyorokon not coming back surprises me a little. Starting off the season injured, she never seemed to get quite healthy enough to show off what she was actually capable of but I guess when roster limitations abound, players like Eyorokon get the short end of the stick.

Serving as backup keeper after the Briana Scurry experiment didn’t work out last season, KJ seemed to find a way to win, even if she allowed a few too many goals. I can only imagine one of two things happening here, either KJ is resigned quickly or Jim Gabarra wants to go another direction with his third keeper and he takes one at some point in 2010 draft. With it looking like Bri has a multi-year contract, the team’s hands seem to be tied in terms of what they can really do here.

With it looking like the Freedom will have 5 full roster spots to fill between free agents and the draft, there is sure to be some news coming out of the SoccerPlex over the next couple of months. Of course, don’t surprised if we get caught off guard by something crazy. I mean, did anyone see Amy Rodriguez landing in Philly and Boston landing 2 first round picks?

So with that in mind, let’s let the most exciting time outside of the regular season commence.

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I want to continue the series of reviews I started last week when I went over the impact the 2009 WPS Draft had on the Freedom. This week I want to look at how the rest of the roster was built and the impact those players had on the Freedom’s 2009 season.

Part 1: The 2009 draft

ALLOCATION

The obvious first place to start should be with the first players the Freedom were allocated. Before I get into the individuals, I do find it interesting that if the USWNT player allocation had taken place a year earlier, there is a really good chance Abby Wambach and Cat Whitehill are placed on separate teams. Amazing how much a couple of injuries impacted the process.

Abby Wambach – After getting off to a slow start while still recovering from the broken leg suffered right before the Olympics last year, things finally seemed to click for Abby after she scored her 100th International goal in front of her hometown crowd in Rochester, N.Y. on July 19. Abby continues to be one of the toughest players to deal with when she is on the field and should continue to be the leader of this team for years to come.

Cat Whitehill – Another solid leader with loads of International experience, Cat put her leg strength on display all season, helping the team come up with numerous timely goals. The two that come right to mind are the boot to Abby in stoppage time against FC Gold Pride to give the Freedom their first win and the huge punt on a rainy night to Sonia Bompastor to help the Freedom tie Saint Louis on the night they honored Mia Hamm. No other team boasts a weapon like Cat Whitehill and hopefully the Freedom will continue to find ways to take advantage of that asset.

Ali Krieger – Signing a contract extension in Germany at the same time she was allocated to the Freedom, it seemed like her presence in D.C. was iffy at best all season. Then an interesting thing happened, an injury and a setback cost her most of the German season and she was then loaned to the Freedom to help her get back into game shape. Her arrival coincided with a huge turnaround in the defense and she showed she was truly worth the wait. Unfortunately, she went straight back to Germany after the season and will not be able to return until her contract expires, which should be at the same point next season.

INTERNATIONALS

Homare Sawa – A player Jim Gabarra was familiar with during his WUSA coaching days, I believe Sawa’s offensive impact was neutralized the day Sarah Huffman went down with her ACL injury. Sawa seemed to mesh well with Lori Lindsey in the center of the midfield but Lindsey always seemed to be more of the aggressor while Sawa helped more defensively. If Sawa is to have more of an impact next year, she will need to be allowed to be more offensive minded.

Sonia Bompastor – I know I (and many others) have made this point before but Sonia is the reason this league exists. Were it not for WPS, we Americans may have never seen (and become fans of) French players like Sonia given the fact that France has a hard time qualifying for the only two tournaments average Americans care about – the World Cup and the Olympics. Sonia’s non-stop motor, experience and ability to play all over the field make her an invaluable asset on the level of Abby or Cat and she will be a necessary component of the Freedom next year.

Lisa De Vanna – It took a while to get her 90 minute fit but Lisa’s speed was one of the most dangerous weapons in WPS in 2009 and as she got her timing down, she was able to make defenses pay. With her and Abby up top, the pair complement each other well and give the Freedom a balanced attack.

Louisa Necib – Sonia’s countrywoman never played for the Freedom but the team continues to hold her WPS rights in hopes they can persuade her to come to the U. S. for 2010. With the rave reviews she often gets, she would be a quality addition.

Erin McLeod – A post-draft discovery player, the goalkeeping situation was a mess until she arrived – which took a lot longer than anyone thought. But now with her Visa issues in the past, she is one of the elite keepers in the league, which is a must-have in a league as small as WPS. Coming into 2010 at the beginning of the season should help her challenge for the claim of best keeper in WPS.

Lene Mykjaland – She almost ended up here last year and after only signing a 1-year deal with her Norwegian club, I don’t see how she doesn’t end up in D.C. this season. The young forward would add another dimension to an already deadly attack and would take the pressure off Abby and Lisa. I don’t care if anyone else is added to the roster, Lene should be the team’s top priority.

GENERAL DRAFT

Sarah Huffman – I feel bad for Sarah in that she has been playing all over the world the past couple of years and when she finally gets the opportunity to play professionally in the U.S., she suffers a serious injury during the first week of practice. It was great to see Sarah take the field in the playoffs and after spending the offseason playing in Germany, hopefully the No. 1 overall pick of the general draft will be able to display the talent that made her No. 1.

Becky Sauerbrunn – With some nice maneuvering in the International Draft, Gabarra was able to nab the No. 3 pick in the draft so he could select Becky. Becky and Cat seem to have a great cohesion in the back and should be the rock of the middle of the defense for a while. Along with Sawa, Becky was the only other player on the team to play all 1890 minutes (including playoffs) this season. Hopefully she is due for a national team callup at some point.

Lori Lindsey – After years of sticking it out with the Freedom in WUSA festivals and the W-League, things finally payed off as Lori proved to be one of the key components of this squad and proved to be good enough to finally earn another national team callup. Hopefully this isn’t the end of Lori’s career in Washington as she will be left unprotected for the expansion draft.

Emily Janss – After beginning the season as a starter on defense, Janss found herself riding the bench and getting little playing time by May. Like Lindsey, Janss is another who has been hanging around the D.C. area waiting to help usher the Freedom back into the pro ranks. Unfortunately for the former Terrapin, I think her days in D.C. may be winding down.

FREE AGENT

Kristin DeDycker – Probably the biggest surprise of the year, DeDycker not only had to earn her way on to the team through a tryout but she had to earn her way into playing time after only earning a spot on the developmental roster. DeDycker proved to be that defensive presence in the midfield the team was desperately looking for, but an injury early in the season hindered her the rest of the way. Having played for Atlanta in the WUSA, I can’t help but think there might be a reunion in the works. I am told developmental players are not part of the list for the expansion draft, but they will be up for drafting in January so we will wait and see what happens.

That concludes my look at the 2009 roster of the Freedom. In all it seems to be a solid unit that with one or two key additions, might finally be able to beat the Sol (or Sky Blue in the playoffs). Now I turn the floor over to you – any thoughts on the ‘09 roster or what the team should do to improve? Leave me a comment.

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As is often popular (and no doubt happening on various WPS sites right now) with the season now halfway over for the Freedom, it seems like an appropriate time to recap the first half of the season. Sitting at 3-3-4 with 12 points and in third place, I thought about writing this post a couple of ways but what I setteled on were some of the bests and worsts in various categories. Agree or disagree with what I have said? Let me know in the comments.

Best win: 4-3 over FC Gold Pride on April 26. The Freedom had been outscored 6-2 in 3 previous games and were 0-2-1. Abby Wambach had returned from her injury, playing all 90 in all 3 games. The team was without Sonia Bompastor (called up to the French national team) and was still awaiting the arrival of Erin McLeod. Well, Abby got on the board twice, the game proved to be one of (if not) the best WPS games on Fox Soccer and it was the first WPS win for the Freedom. Abby’s header in the 90th minute for the win has to be one of the most exciting moments this season.

Worst loss: 3-1 against Los Angeles on June 7. On a 3-0-2 run, in second place in the WPS standings and finally back at full strength, the Freedom were outplayed once again by the Sol. The defense couldn’t slow down the Sol attack after tying the game up at 1-1 in the second half and the game showed that WPS really does appear to be LA versus the rest of the pack. Washington has been outscored by the Sol 5-0 in 2 games now and only has 1 more regular season shot at Marta and company.

MVP: Sonia Bompastor. I have said this here before but I will echo it now – Bompastor is the epitome of what this league means to women’s soccer. A relative unknown to Americans, Sonia is quickly becoming one of the league’s shining stars and a crowd favorite in Washington. Regardless of how much further WPS needs to go in terms of becoming a pro league on par with other league’s throughout the world, 1 objective has been accomplished. Sonia’s energy and versatility on the pitch have been invaluable to the Freedom. She leads the team with 4 assists, is tied for the lead with 3 goals and her move to the defense last week helped the team record its only shut out of the season. Simply put she is extraordinary.

Not ready for prime time: I hate to pick on anyone here but that comes with the territory of sports. Emily Janss’ fall from grace has been a bit of a puzzler to me. With all of her experience with previous incarnations of the Freedom and with the WUSA, it seems Janss and her versatility were a natural fit for the club. She started on defense in the first three games but has only seen the field twice since in limited action.

Looking ahead: 3 things to look forward to for the 2nd half of the season.

1. Give or take an international player, Jim Gabarra finally has the roster he wants on the pitch. Now we need to see how everything comes together. Erin McLeod has seemlessly fit herself into the lineup and Ali Krieger is off to a good start. Let’s see if these pieces are the ones that make the Freedom competitive with every other team in WPS, including the Sol.
2. Despite her 2 goal performance against FC Gold Pride, Abby Wambach has basically been held in check by the opposing defenses in WPS. Early on it was obvious that she was still rebuilding her stamina and the strength in her injured leg. After missing two games because of a suspension and national team call up, Abby is back and healthy, now all that is left for her to get in a rhythm. If she can find a rhythm soon, expect Washington to be a team to beat in the playoffs.
3. Apparently my last post touched a nerve with Chicago fans and we really do have a rivalry beginning with the Red Stars. There are two more meetings between the two clubs this season, both on the road. This rivalry is really starting to heat up and with Chicago continuing to struggle (they lost 1-0 Sky Blue FC on Wednesday) these points will be critical to capture, especially when in the midst of a playoff run.

Regardless of what happens, the implications over the next 10 days are big. Should be exciting to watch.

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I have yet to watch the entire match but looking at the new features on womensprosoccer.com, I will be able to later.

For those who want just the highlights, watch them below.

Find more videos like this on Women’s Professional Soccer

This was exactly the type of outing the Freedom needed to avoid. While LA has played a couple more games than any other team in the league, the Sol have also clearly established now they are the team to beat.

Washington squandered its chance to prove it belongs in the conversation of best teams in WPS. Even though LA got off to an early lead, the Sonia Bompastor-Cat Whitehill connection tied things up and put the Freedom in a position to put the pressure on an LA team that was playing its 2nd game in 5 days.

We know the Freedom can score but apparently the defense is still leaky. I don’t think Erin McLeod is the problem, even if she only stopped 1 of 4 LA shots. So what should be done with the defense? While Whitehill may not be the fastest defender on the pitch, her long ball service makes her an extremely valuable asset on the field. I think Becky Sauerbrunn has proven her usefulness on the pitch and Alex Singer has had some great games defensively as well, which leaves us with Jill Gilbeau.

Gilbeau has had some great assists this season but may be more useful as a midfielder as opposed to a defender. She has obviously been told to attack from the flank but it often seems that she is chasing down opposing forwards with little help once an opponent is on the counter attack. Of course maybe the issue there is the style of play and not the player, but maybe the outside backs should stay closer to home instead of pressing so far forward all of the time. Even when she is in a good defensive position, Gilbeau has her rough patches as evidenced by Brittany Bock’s goal yesterday.

Aside from changing the philosophy, I don’t know if there is another player that could be a solution to the Freedom’s defensive problem. Jim Gabarra converted Emily Janss to a defender when she joined the team in the W-League but Janss lost her starting role to Gilbeau and hasn’t seemed to be able to play herself back on the field. The Freedom recently added Sarah Senty to the roster and while she played her first minutes yesterday, do we know what she is capable of? After that we have more hybrid D-M’s that probably play similar to Gilbeau in that they are more offensive than defensive minded. Whatever the solution is, it’s clear that it’s not an obvious one.

Hopefully the Freedom learn from the top team in the league and use yesterday as motivation for Saturday’s match against a struggling Chicago squad at RFK Stadium.

LA Sol write up of the match (the link on the Freedom’s page takes you to the Sol’s recap)

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