For the better part of 10 years, the Washington Freedom organization was a class act.
From its time in WUSA (2001-03) where they claimed a championship in the league’s final season; in the W-League (2006-08), claiming a championship in 2007, runners up in ‘09; or throughout their first two seasons in Women’s Professional Soccer, which they are the only team to make the postseason both years, the Freedom were consistently dedicated to excellence. Heck, even in the two years - 2004-05 - when the Freedom didn’t play in a league, they maintained the franchise, playing in a number of exhibitions against top-flight collegiate programs and W-League clubs.
But after the 2010 WPS season, things changed drastically for the Freedom. Seemingly overnight, the franchise that touts arguably the best women’s soccer player this millennium, Abby Wambach, has gone from class act to laughing stock. Out was Mark Washo as the general manager of the club; longtime coach -- the only one Freedom had known -- Jim Gabarra resigned from his post; and the ownership group struggled with finances and was forced to sell the club.
Dan Borislow stepped in and bought the Freedom. Borislow, owner of the phone service magicJack, took the Freedom out of their Maryland location and moved them to Boca Raton, Fla., and changed the franchise’s name to, you guessed it: magicJack.
Under Borislow, the Freedom, sorry, magicJack, have slipped into near-anonymity. While in South Florida, they play at Florida Atlantic University Soccer Field, which holds a couple thousand people. WPS mandates a minimum of 5,000-seat capacity stadiums. Strike one.
Also at FAU Soccer Field, Borislow has neglected to put up the boards that you typically see standing a few yards off the touch lines, another WPS violation. Strike two.
Borislow doesn’t have a front-office staff and, a mere three weeks into the season, he canned coach Mike Lyons. He has been walking on thin ice for some time. Already, WPS has deducted a point from magicJack’s total. At 5-5-1, magicJack has 15 points and sits in fourth. They should be with 16 points and in third.
Borislow was not done with his actions. On Friday, the magicJack owner stated that Wambach would finish the regular season as the club’s player-coach - just another decision on behalf of Borislow to solidify magicJack’s dip into “circus act”.
In their Wednesday night loss to Western New York Flash, 3-1, magicJack was overmatched, although they were without the majority of their regulars. Despite not yet officially having the role, Wambach appeared to be the most animated person on the magicJack bench.
Wambach’s first test as the magicJack coach is against the bottom feeders of WPS, the Atlanta Beat (1-10-3, 6 pts). Although still exhausted from the exhilarating run during the World Cup, the United States’ internationals on magicJack -- Wambach, Shannon Boxx, Hope Solo, Megan Rapinoe, Christie Rampone - and the Beat - Carli Lloyd and Heather Mitts - could see action.
“Having Carli and Heather back is big for us,” said Atlanta coach James Galanis. They’ll need them. In 14 games, the Beat have tallied a league-low seven goals, and let up a league-high 27. It’ll be a sellout crowd at KSU Soccer Stadium, according to the Beat’s Twitter handle @ATLBeat. Kickoff is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.
Also kicking off on Saturday at 7 p.m. are the first-place Philadelphia Independence (8-2-3, 27 pts) and fifth-place Sky Blue FC (3-5-4, 13 pts) at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, N.J. In two previous matches, these clubs have put on an offensive show -- a 2-2 draw on April 10 in Jersey and a 4-3 Philly home win on July 6. Tasha Kai had her coming out party in the 4-3 win, netting three goals, two of which pulled the Independence even at the time. Kai is now tied for the league lead in goals with eight (Christine Sinclair, WNY).
With Kai playing great on the front line, she’ll now have a sidekick in Amy Rodriguez to help take some of the burden off her. Rodriguez, along with fellow U.S. internationals Nicole Barnhart (GK) and Lori Lindsey (M) return to the field for coach Paul Riley’s first-place club.
“They bring a lot of energy, experience and spirit to our group and I’m excited for them to push us towards a playoff spot,” said Riley.
WPS’ inaugural season champion Sky Blue will also see the return of its star player, and one of the U.S. women’s best, Heather O’Reilly. Now coached by Gabarra, Sky Blue will need the East Brunswick, NJ, native O’Reilly to pick up the slack, as they sit on the outside-looking-in of the playoff picture.
Capping off the weekend of WPS play is the Western New York Flash (8-2-2, 26 pts) - that is, the fully-loaded Flash, now with its full complement of players, including Marta, Sinclair, Candace Chapman, Ali Riley and crew - and the Boston Breakers (4-5-3, 15 pts).
The Breakers are coached by former U.S. women’s national team coach Tony DiCicco. He’ll see all eight world cup players return to action on Sunday. That list includes their entire backline, England’s Alex Scott and the United States’ Amy LePeilbet, Stephanie Cox and Rachel Buehler, the latter of which, got tangled up with Marta in the World Cup quarters, getting a red card in the process. Also rejoining the club are World Cup breakout player Lauren Cheney, midfielder Kelley O’Hara, England’s star midfielder Kelly Smith and member of the Japanese championship team, Aya Sameshima. DiCicco isn’t sure if all the players are going to start, but they are all likely to see time.
Western New York is tied for the league lead in goals with 26 (Philadelphia) and tied for the lead in goals against with 13 (Philadelphia and Boston). It’s no surprise why the Flash are vying for WPS’ regular season championship and Boston is fighting for a playoff spot.
“It is very important to get a result,” said DiCicco. “We will have to be good in defense against the Flash, and will need to take our chances well.”
Kickoff is Sunday 6pm ET at Harvard Stadium in Allston, Massachusetts, and can be seen on FOX Soccer TV.
