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Washington Freedom announce signings of twelve returning players

24 Mar, 2008

The Washington Freedom announced today that twelve players would be returning to the team from the 2007 W-League Championship team roster. WUSA veterans Kele Golebiowski, Emily Janss, Lori Lindsey, Christie Welsh and Casey Zimny lead the list which also includes first year Freedom players Ali Andrzejewski, Sarah Huffman, Rebecca Moros, Kati Jo Spisak as well as Tiffany McCarty, Kerry Philbin and Chante Sandiford who have moved up through the Freedom’s youth teams. 

Kele Golebiowski, who was a member of the Freedom’s WUSA championship team in 2003 returns in 2008 She played in all 14 games in 2007, registering 2 goals and 3 assists.  Golebiowski has been a member of the Australian National Team since she made her full international debut at the age of 14, representing her country in the 1999 and 2003 FIFA World Cups.  She has also represented Australia at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

Janss, who joined the Freedom in 2004 and was a member of the WUSA’s New York Power from 2001-2003, returns for another season.  Janss, who spent the first part of the 2007 season playing with Danish team Fortuna Hjorring played in 9 matches for the Freedom logging 1 assist.  The University of Maryland graduate was selected to the 50th Anniversary All-ACC Second Team in 2002, and was selected as second team All-ACC in 1997 and 1998.  Janss was a high school Parade All-American in 1995 and was a member of the Youth National Team in 1993. 

Lindsey, a former San Diego Spirit member joined the Freedom in a trade in 2003 and helped the Freedom win the 2003 WUSA Championship.  In 2007, Lindsay finished in third place on the W-League assist leader’s board for the Freedom.  Lindsey has been in the US Women's National Team training pool, made her first appearance for the US Women's National Team in July 2005 in Iceland and was in residency with the team leading up to the 2004 Olympics.  Lindsey was the University of Virginia's first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, winning the award two consecutive years and joining former Freedom player Mia Hamm as the only other player to achieve that distinction.

Welsh, who scored the game-winning goal in the 2007 W-League Final, had 9 goals in 8 games in 2007 while also leading the W-League in shots with 57 returns to the Freedom in 2008.  She had 7 goals and 15 points for the US Women’s National Team in 2005 and led the team in both categories.  In the 2005 Algarve Cup, Welsh scored five goals, including the game-winner in the championship against Germany to help the US win the tournament.  She has scored 18 goals in 27 games so far for the US.  Welsh played at Penn State University from 1999-2002 where she scored 82 goals, 52 assists, 216 points and 27 game-winning goals over her four seasons as a Nittany Lion.  She was the first player in women’s soccer history to earn NSCAA All-America honors for four-consecutive years and the 14th player in NCAA history to record 200 career points.  In 2001, she was won the Herman Trophy and M.A.C. Player of the Year award.

Zimny, who was named UCONN's defensive player of the year in her senior year, returns for a 7th year with the Freedom. In 2007, Zimny logged a league-leading 1260 minutes in 14 games helping the Freedom to the W-League Championship.  She was the second pick in the 2002 WUSA draft, where she played 15 games in her rookie season and 14 games in 2003. She also played in both post-season games in 2003, helping the club win the WUSA championship. 

Andrzejewski, a Maryland native and Loyola College graduate rejoins the team for 2008.  Andrzejewski finished as the second top goal scorer with 13 goals as well as finishing as the second top points leader with 31 in 14 games.  She finished second behind Christie Welsh in total shots with 56.  While at Loyola, Andrzejewski was a two-time Conference Player of the Year and broke all the scoring and points records in her two years as a Greyhound.  She played at the University of Maryland in her first two seasons and was named to the All-ACC Freshman team and was the top scorer as a freshman in 2002.  A McDonough High School graduate, she was a two time All-American and two time Maryland State Player of the Year. 

Huffman, who played her college soccer at the University of Virginia, was one of the top players in the school’s history. A former member of the U21 Women’s National Team, 2008 has seen Huffman being called into the full Women’s National Team Camp after a successful season with the Freedom in 2007.  She was a two time NSCAA All-American, a two time Soccer America MVP and a three time first team All-ACC selection.  In 2004 she was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. She was Co-MVP of the ACC Tournament as the Cavaliers won their first conference championship in school history.  Huffman ended her career with 28 assists, second most in school history, while also tallying 12 career goals. 

Moros, the Duke University graduate, returns to the Freedom roster after a tremendous first season with the team.  Moros finished the 2007 season with 7 goals and 1 assist in 13 games for 15 points.  Moros was named to the All-ACC second team as a sophomore and All-ACC team as a junior.  She participated with the US U-21 National Team in the spring and summer of 2006.  Moros is tied for seventh place on Duke’s career charts for assists.

Spisak, the former US U-21 National Team member from 2004-2006 re-signs to play in goal with the Freedom.  She played in all 14 games in 2007 for the Freedom.  The 6’2” tall goalkeeper was a Big 12 All-Tournament team selection in 2004 and 2005, First-Team All Big 12 in 2003 and 2005, the 2004 Big 12 Tourney Defensive MVP and 2004 and 2005 Soccer Buzz Third-Team All-Central Region.  2003 saw Spisak earning NSCAA All-American honors.  Starting every game of her college career, she has 17 shutouts at Texas A&M, a school record.

McCarty, a 2007 member of the Freedom U-20 team and was called up to see action with the W-League team last year, has re-signed with the Freedom. McCarty was a striker for the Washington Freedom, who captured the W-League Championship in 2007. She scored a goal in the championship match against the Atlanta Silver Backs. McCarty played for the U-16, U-17 and U-18 national teams and was the leading goal scorer for the U-16 team in 2006 and the U-17 team in 2007. The Laurel, Md., native has also played club soccer with the Freestate Shooters since 2004. McCarty attends St. Johns College High School where she stands as the all-time leading scorer in goals (191) and assists (74). Her 191 goals broke the Washington Metro area (including Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia) scoring record. She is a three-time NSCAA High School All-American and a two-time NSCAA Youth All-American. McCarty was named Gatorade Player of the Year in the District of Columbia in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Philbin, another player who has worked her way up through the youth ranks with the Freedom will rejoin the W-League team in 2008.  The George Washington University junior played in 5 matches in 2007 for the Freedom.  Philbin was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team and All-Rookie Team in 2005.  As a sophomore she was named as a tri-captain and started all 19 matches for the Colonials.  Philbin was named as a member of the Washington Post First Team All-Metro during her senior year at Bishop Denis O’Connell High School, which saw the team ranked #1 in the nation by the NSCAA. 

Sandiford, the 2006 USL Super-20 North American Finals Champion and MVP with the Freedom has signed with the Freedom’s W-League team for 2008.  The Owings Mills, MD native and current freshman at Villanova University played with both the Freedom U-20’s in 2007 helping to lead the team to a second consecutive trip to the North American Finals as well as the Freedom W-League team, playing in one game.  In 2007, she spent time with the U-17 US Women’s National Team.  Sandiford played club soccer with the Bethesda Rapids helping to lead them to three consecutive State Cup Championships. 

Head coach Jim Gabarra is thrilled to have this group of players on his roster again. "We are excited that these players have decided to return for the 2008 W-League season. We had a very gratifying 2007 and are thankful to these players for their commitment, hard work and loyalty to the Freedom organization.  Our goal is to put the best team on the field in defense of our W-League Championship and believe that this core of players will give us a great chance of having another successful season."

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