The Washington Freedom defeated the Chicago Red Stars 2-0 tonight in what was really an unofficial playoff game. A win for Chicago would have vaulted them into the all-important fourth spot while three points for the Freedom would assure the team’s safety in said fourth spot.

It’s a fairly predictable result for those who have been following WPS recently. Or for those who have been following the Chicago Red Stars you know, ever. WPS’ resident Jekyll and Hyde team lived up to its dubious billing tonight. The team had what appeared to be a strong first half. The team held up possession, Ella Masar was getting in behind the defenders, Casey Nogueira had some speculative chances and the oft-overlooked ROY candidate Whitney Engen was keeping Abby Wambach frustrated.

The Red Stars appeared to be doing well, particularly with a pretty gutted squad. Both Katie Chapman and Karen Carney were off preparing for England’s WWC qualifier while Kate Markgraf and Julianne Stitch were sidelined due to injury (Sitch permanently). This made way for the debut of brand new signee and former Los Angeles Sol defender Christie Shaner.

It wasn’t all first half roses for the Red Stars, however, as forward Jessica McDonald went down with a torn patellar tendon which has already been determined to be season-ending.

And it would get so much worse for the Red Stars. In the 49′ Abby Wambach (the Freedom’s captain) struck a low shot that beat Jillian Loyden. It’s Wambach’s 10th goal of the season, which ties her with Kelly Smith for third most in 2010. Then five minutes later, Cat Whitehill (also the Freedom’s captain) won redemption for the awful mess she made last week as she headed in a cross from Sarah Huffman by way of the wood work.

Chicago’s lapse of concentration proved fatal. If one thing is absolutely certain about this team it’s that they simply can’t fight their way out of a corner. The Freedom would go on to own possession in the rest of the match and walk out owning possession of fourth place.

Ashlyn Harris had another fine night in the net, but opposing goalkeepers seem to always have career performances against the Chicago Red Stars. The team was beaten fair and square tonight. Perhaps the Red Stars were again unlucky. Losing a player (particularly a forward in a team that’s so parched for goals) is tough and consistently failing to take advantage of offensive opportunities is also tough. But at this juncture of the season, it isn’t mere luck that separates the best from the rest anymore. Perhaps Washington simply want it more. Perhaps it’s the team’s many veterans that give them the edge. Or maybe it’s just down to Washington’s mental toughness and resilience – a characteristic Chicago has once again failed to show.

Whatever it is, the Washington Freedom have proven that they really, really don’t belong in the same batch of teams below them. That will come in handy as they will try to drive that point home against those very teams over the next three weeks or so.

Meanwhile, the Red Stars will meet FC Gold Pride, Philadelphia and the Freedom to round out their regular season. They’ll need to take all six points against FCGP and Philadelphia if they have any visions of entering the re-match with the Freedom as equals again.

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