One playoff spot has been determined after week 17 of Women’s Professional Soccer. That spot, of course, belongs to FC Gold Pride, who has been at the top of the table all season long. They currently stand in first place ahead of Philadelphia with an 11 point lead. But it’s okay because head coach of the Independence, Paul Riley, has said his goal is to take 2nd place at the end of the season to have home field advantage in the playoffs. However, the Independence dropped a few points this last week, and the Boston Breakers gained a few, so the playoff race is only getting tighter and tighter as the season nears the end.

In mid week action, the Washington Freedom defeated the Philly “Cheesesteaks” by a score of 2-0. In the 17th minute, Nikki Krzysik of the Independence took down Lene Mykjaland inside the penalty area, and a penalty kick was awarded to the Freedom. Abby Wambach’s kick was saved by Val Henderson to keep the game at zero’s. After a long rain delay in the 32nd minute, the match resumed and in the 39th minute, Abby Wambach headed a long Cat Whitehill cross past Val Henderson’s hands to take the lead. Just two minutes later, the same play happened. Whitehill took a free kick and sent it long for Wambach to finish once again with a classic combination in women’s soccer.

On Wednesday night, the Boston Breakers also had a game of their own with the Atlanta Beat visiting. Kelly Smith had another multi-goal game to take the Beat down with her two goals. The first goal of the night came just 40 seconds into the match when Lauren Cheney played a long ball to Lindsay Tarpley, who crossed the ball to Smith for a finish past Hope Solo. It wasn’t until the 62nd minute the Smith sealed the victory after shooting a loose ball in the box to the lower right corner of the goal.

The weekend action kicked off with the Atlanta Beat taking on Sky Blue FC, who came away with 3 points. Laura Kalmari sent Sky Blue into the locker room with a 1-0 lead at halftime after scoring in the 44th minute off a corner kick deflection. Eniola Aluko scored the equalizer in the 62nd minute, but Tina Ellertson scored an own goal about 10 minutes later. The game ended 2-1 in favor of Sky Blue who got their first win under Rick Stainton.

FC Gold Pride hosted the Chicago Red Stars on Saturday, and the two played to a 0-0 score. The Pride could have secured home field advantage if they had won, but instead, they’re just in the playoffs for sure. Christine Sinclair scored the only goal of the match, but it was called back after a foul on the Red Stars was seen in the box. Both teams walked away with a single point.

The week ended with a draw between the Breakers and the Independence on Sunday. Lauren Cheney got the Breakers on the board first with one of her classics “turn and shoot” plays off a Kelly Smith pass in the 24th minute. Four minutes later, Frida Magnusdottir got the Cheesesteaks into the game after shooting a free kick into the back of the net. Just a couple minutes later, she scored again bending a shot from the left side of the field to the inside of the far post to make it 2-1. Kelly Smith ripped a shot from 25 yards out in the 52nd minute to tie the game. It was an action packed game with Philly having the better chances, and more of, but the score ended 2-2.

Next week:

• Washington Freedom @ Sky Blue FC: Wednesday, 7 pm ET
• Philadelphia @ Chicago Red Stars: Wednesday, 8:30 pm ET
• Washington Freedom @ FC Gold Pride: Saturday, 10 pm ET
• Atlanta Beat @ Philadelphia Independence: Sunday, 6 pm ET
• Sly Blue FC @ Boston Breakers: Sunday, LIVE on FSC, 6 pm ET

~Alondra Hernandez

View Original Post at prettytough.com

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• Soccer, Sports, WPS