Chances aplenty, goals infrequent for Freedom

By Joe Dougherty, Potomac Soccer Wire Staff Writer 

If the game of soccer rewarded goal-scoring opportunities, the Washington Freedom would have cruised to an easy victory Saturday night over the Chicago Red Stars at the Maryland SoccerPlex.

But it’s goals that matter, and despite creating a half-dozen or more quality goal-scoring chances, the Freedom could muster just a 1-1 tie in its opening home match of the inaugural Women’s Professional Soccer season.

Chicago’s Lindsay Tarpley scored the first WPS goal at the Maryland SoccerPlex in the 29th minute on an assist from Marian Dalmy to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. But Washington tied the match when defender Becky Sauerbrunn drove a header into the far corner off of a Sonia Bompastor cross in the 54th minute.

The score fails to reflect Washington’s dominance in terms of possession and scoring opportunities. Forward Lisa De Vanna nearly finished a near-post header in the fifth minute, Abby Wambach just missed near post on a Bompastor cross in the 17th minute, Sauerbrunn sent a 20-yard blast over the crossbar in the 26th minute, and De Vanna’s shot from 12 yards was saved well by Chicago goalkeeper Caroline Jonsson.

And that was just the first half.

“I think we deserved a better fate,” said Freedom Coach Jim Gabarra, back for another stint with the Washington Franchise after guiding the club during the few years of the WUSA. “You’re not going to get that many chances in a game like that again.”

Wambach, the U.S. National Team star who is returning from a broken leg suffered just before last year’s Olympic Games, took the brunt of the responsibility for the lack of finishing. Perhaps her best chance in the second half came on an impressive diving header from a Bompastor cross that was saved by a diving Jonnson.

“I’m a little disappointed in myself that I couldn’t earn the win for my team,” she said. “I should have put one of those goals away.”

Things looked particularly promising in the 63rd minute, when Chicago captain Frida Ostberg picked up her second yellow card of the match and was ejected. Down a player, Chicago slipped into a defensive shell, using second-half substitute and Brazilian star Cristiane as the lone front runner as the Red Stars worked to leave with a draw.

Gabarra said he looked to take advantage of the opportunity, encouraging his outside backs to get forward more and look to serve early crosses into Chicago’s penalty area. De Vanna and Bompastor were particularly successful getting behind Chicago’s outside defenders, but the finishing wasn’t there.

“They found the seams between us a bit, basically because we’re still sorting things out [on defense],” said Chicago forward Carli Lloyd, another U.S. National Team veteran. “

While not happy with the lack of scoring, Gabarra said he saw significant improvement in the number of scoring chances created compared to last week’s 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Sol in Los Angeles. He was particularly pleased with the crosses served in by Washington’s flank players, adding that during practice this past week, the crossing wasn’t sharp.

“The finishing will come,” promised Freedom midfielder Allie Long, the former North Carolina standout and the team’s first overall draft pick in 2009. “We just need to keep doing what we’ve been working on at practice. It will come.”

Washington (0-1-1) will next host the Boston Breakers at the SoccerPlex on Saturday, April 18 at 7 pm.

Freedom Notes

Bompastor, a national team veteran for France, gave Chicago fits all night on the left flank. The quick, high-paced winger served in a number of good crosses after tormenting defender Marian Dalmy in one-vs-one situations. “I think Sonia is going to be one of the best [wing] players in this league,” Wambach said…

Goalkeeper Brianna Scurry must still be scratching her head at the first-half Chicago goal. What seemed to be a relatively harmless deep ball at the corner of the Washington penalty area turned tragic when Tarpley turned quickly and rifled a shot past Scurry – who was tight at the near post – that settled just inside the far post…

Center midfielder Homare Sawa, Washington’s first pick (sixth overall) in the WPS international draft, showed why she was twice named Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year. Her technical skill, clever flicks and field vision were the highlights of Washington’s midfield attack. She also had a contingent of some 50 Asian-American fans on hand to watch her performance, along with a camera crew from a Japanese television network...

Parrissa Eyorokon (foot injury), Christen Karniski (calf injury) were out because of injuries. Sarah Huffman (knee injury) is out for the season...

The match featured four University of Virginia players, three of which play for Washington: Lindsey, Sauerbrunn and defender Alex Singer (plus Huffman). Chicago featured defender Nikki Krzysik...

WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci on the Freedom’s opening home match of the inaugural WPS season: “Today is an historic day for soccer and women’s sports in the D.C. Capital region. The Washington Freedom is playing their home opener in Women’s Professional Soccer and has officially joined the professional sports landscape in a terrific soccer market. WPS has laid a foundation that will support a successful, entertaining and sustainable league and we look forward to seeing the Freedom feature world class soccer throughout the season in the national capital region – an area with a great soccer tradition and following."

-- Match Report --

Scoring:
CHI, Lindsay Tarpley, 2 (Marian Dalmy, 2) 29th.
WSH, Becky Sauerbrunn, 1 (Sonia Bompastor, 1) 54th

Shots:
CHI 8
WSH 26

Shots on Goal:
CHI 3
WSH 14

Saves:
Caroline Jonsson (CHI) 13
Briana Scurry (WSH) 2

Corners:
CHI 1
WSH 8

Fouls:
CHI 11
WSH 8

Discipline:

Frida Ostberg (CHI) caution 54th
Frida Ostberg (CHI) 2nd caution 63rd
Frida Ostberg (CHI) ejection 63rd

Lineups:
CHI: Jonsson, Dalmy, Dieke, Krzysik, Ostberg (ejected, 63), Lloyd, Klein, Carney, Rapinoe (Cristiane, 58),Tarpley (Spilger, 82), Masar (Igwe, 65).

WSH: Scurry, Janss (Gilbeau, 58), Whitehill, Sauerbrunn, Singer, Lindsey (Moros, 68), Sawa, Long, Bompastor, Wambach, De Vanna (Zimmeck, 84).
 

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About the author
Joe Dougherty is a long-time player, coach and soccer columnist in Northern Virginia. He played his rec and travel soccer with Braddock Road Youth Club, where he also coached and served as tournament director. Joe also coached with McLean Soccer Club, Great Falls Soccer Club and VISTA. He currently coaches the VSA Heat U13 girls team. Joe has written frequently about soccer in The Connections Newspapers and Journal Newspapers, and is excited to be a member of the Potomac Soccer Wire team. He lives in Haymarket with his wife and three kids, two of which play travel soccer with VSA. The third is a budding gymnast aiming to follow in Paul Hamm’s footsteps. Joe has a USSF “C” license and holds the NSCAA National Diploma. Joe can be reached at joedoc@potomacsoccerwire.com