2009 Women's Professional Soccer season
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The 2009 Women's Professional Soccer season served as the inaugural season for WPS, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. The regular season began on March 29 and ended on August 9, with the postseason being held between August 15 and 21.
Competition format
- The season began on March 29 and ended on August 9.
- Each team played a total of 20 games evenly divided between home and away games. Each team played every other team three times, either twice at home and once away or once at home and twice away, for a total of 18 games. The remaining two games were played against two other teams, one at home and one away.
- The four teams with the most points from the regular season qualified for the playoffs. The third- and fourth-placed regular season finishers played each other in the single-match First Round. The winner of the First Round then faced the second-placed regular season finisher in the Super Semifinal, and the winner faced the first-placed regular season finisher in the WPS Final.
Results table
| Abbreviation and Color Key: Boston Breakers – BOS • Chicago Red Stars – CHI • FC Gold Pride – BAY • Los Angeles Sol – LA Saint Louis Athletica – STL • Sky Blue FC – NJ • Washington Freedom – WSH Win • Loss • Tie • Home | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Match | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | |
| Boston Breakers | BAY | STL | WSH | CHI | LA | LA | WSH | NJ | STL | BAY | CHI | WSH | NJ | NJ | CHI | BAY | NJ | WSH | STL | LA |
| 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | |
| Chicago Red Stars | STL | WSH | NJ | BOS | NJ | BAY | STL | LA | BAY | WSH | NJ | BOS | LA | WSH | BAY | BOS | NJ | WSH | LA | STL |
| 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–0 | |
| FC Gold Pride | BOS | NJ | LA | WSH | NJ | STL | CHI | LA | WSH | CHI | BOS | LA | STL | CHI | BOS | LA | STL | WSH | NJ | STL |
| 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | |
| Los Angeles Sol | WSH | NJ | BAY | STL | BOS | BOS | NJ | BAY | STL | CHI | WSH | NJ | BAY | STL | CHI | WSH | STL | BAY | CHI | BOS |
| 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | |
| Saint Louis Athletica | CHI | BOS | LA | WSH | BAY | CHI | LA | NJ | BOS | WSH | LA | NJ | BAY | LA | WSH | NJ | BAY | BOS | CHI | BAY |
| 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | |
| Sky Blue FC | LA | BAY | CHI | BAY | CHI | LA | WSH | BOS | STL | LA | CHI | STL | BOS | BOS | WSH | CHI | STL | BOS | BAY | WSH |
| 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | |
| Washington Freedom | LA | CHI | BOS | BAY | STL | BOS | NJ | BAY | LA | CHI | STL | BOS | CHI | LA | NJ | STL | CHI | BOS | BAY | NJ |
| 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–4 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 |
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles Sol | 20 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 27 | 10 | +17 | 41 | Advance to Championship |
| 2 | Saint Louis Athletica | 20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 19 | 15 | +4 | 34 | Advance to Super Semifinal |
| 3 | Washington Freedom | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 29 | Advance to First Round |
| 4 | Sky Blue FC | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 19 | 20 | −1 | 26 | |
| 5 | Boston Breakers | 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 18 | 20 | −2 | 25 | |
| 6 | Chicago Red Stars | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 18 | 25 | −7 | 20 | |
| 7 | FC Gold Pride | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 17 | 28 | −11 | 18 |
Attendance
Average home attendances
Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.
| Team | GP | Attendance | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Sol | 10 | 62,980 | 6,298 |
| Washington Freedom | 10 | 57,466 | 5,747 |
| Chicago Red Stars | 10 | 49,276 | 4,928 |
| Boston Breakers | 10 | 46,651 | 4,665 |
| Saint Louis Athletica | 10 | 38,326 | 3,833 |
| FC Gold Pride | 10 | 36,666 | 3,667 |
| Sky Blue FC | 10 | 36,513 | 3,651 |
| Total | 70 | 327,878 | 4,684 |
Playoffs
| First Round | Super Semifinal | WPS Final | |||||||||||
| 1 | Los Angeles Sol | 0 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Saint Louis Athletica | 0 | 4 | Sky Blue FC | 1 | ||||||||
| 3 | Washington Freedom | 1 | 4 | Sky Blue FC | 1 | ||||||||
| 4 | Sky Blue FC | 2 | |||||||||||
Leaders
Last updated: August 4, 2009
Offense
Fouls
Goalkeeping
270+ MINS only
| Rank | Goalkeeper | Club | GP | MINS | SOG | SVS | GA | GAA | W-L-T | SHO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States Jillian Loyden | Saint Louis Athletica | 3 | 270 | 18 | 16 | 1 | 0.33 | 2–1–0 | 2 |
| 2 | Canada Karina LeBlanc | Los Angeles Sol | 18 | 1620 | 87 | 73 | 9 | 0.50 | 10–3–5 | 12 |
| 3 | United States Ali Lipsher | Boston Breakers | 11 | 928 | 46 | 37 | 6 | 0.58 | 4–4–2 | 5 |
| 4 | United States Hope Solo | Saint Louis Athletica | 15 | 1350 | 86 | 71 | 13 | 0.87 | 7–5–3 | 7 |
| 5 | United States Jenni Branam | Sky Blue FC | 16 | 1395 | 82 | 62 | 15 | 0.97 | 6–6–3 | 6 |
| 6 | Sweden Caroline Jönsson | Chicago Red Stars | 19 | 1710 | 109 | 87 | 23 | 1.21 | 5–9–5 | 4 |
| 7 | United States Alison Whitworth | FC Gold Pride | 4 | 360 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 1.25 | 1–2–1 | 1 |
| 8 | United States Kristin Luckenbill | Boston Breakers | 9 | 782 | 41 | 24 | 12 | 1.38 | 3–4–2 | 2 |
| 9 | United States Nicole Barnhart | FC Gold Pride | 12 | 1260 | 83 | 61 | 20 | 1.43 | 3–7–4 | 2 |
| 10 | Canada Erin McLeod | Washington Freedom | 13 | 1170 | 69 | 46 | 19 | 1.46 | 5–5–3 | 3 |
| 11 | United States Briana Scurry | Washington Freedom | 3 | 270 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 2.00 | 0–2–1 | 0 |
Awards
Player of the Week
Player of the Month
| Month | Player of the Month | Club | Month's Statline |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | England Kelly Smith | Boston Breakers | |
| May | France Sonia Bompastor | Washington Freedom | |
| June | France Camille Abily | Los Angeles Sol | |
| July | United States Abby Wambach | Washington Freedom |
Statistics
Scoring
- First Goal of the Season: Allison Falk for Los Angeles Sol against Washington Freedom, 6th minute (March 29)
- Earliest Goal in a Match: 2 minutes Kelly Smith for Boston Breakers against Los Angeles Sol (2 May) Eniola Aluko for Saint Louis Athletica against Sky Blue FC (June 28)
- Latest Goal in a Match: 93+ minutes Jennifer Nobis for Boston Breakers against Sky Blue FC (July 12)
- Widest Winning Margin: 4 goals Chicago Red Stars 4–0 Boston Breakers (April 25) Los Angeles Sol 4–0 Chicago Red Stars (June 27)
- Most Goals Scored in a Match: 8 Sky Blue FC 4–4 Washington Freedom (April 26)
- First Hat-Trick: Cristiane for Chicago Red Stars against FC Gold Pride (July 12))
- Fastest Hat-Trick: 35 minutes Cristiane for Chicago Red Stars against FC Gold Pride: 31' 46+' 65' (July 12)
- First Own Goal: Ifeoma Dieke of Chicago Red Stars for Saint Louis Athletica (23 May)
- Average Goals per match: 2.086
Discipline
- First Yellow Card: Nikki Krzysik for Chicago Red Stars against Saint Louis Athletica, 90th minute (April 4)
- First Red Card: Frida Östberg for Chicago Red Stars against Washington Freedom, 63rd minute (April 11)
- Most Yellow Cards: 4 Chioma Igwe (Chicago Red Stars) Kia McNeill (Saint Louis Athletica)
- Most Yellow Cards in a Match: 4 Boston Breakers 2–0 Saint Louis Athletica – 3 for Boston (Kasey Moore, Alex Scott, & Stacy Bishop) and 1 for St. Louis (Melissa Tancredi) (April 11) Saint Louis Athletica 0–0 Los Angeles Sol – 2 for St. Louis (Kia McNeill & Daniela) and 2 for Los Angeles (Aya Miyama & Shannon Boxx) (April 25) Los Angeles Sol 0–0 Boston Breakers – 2 for Los Angeles (Shannon Boxx & Camille Abily) and 2 for Boston (Angela Hucles & Nancy Augustyniak) Washington Freedom 0–0 Chicago Red Stars – 2 for Washington (Abby Wambach & Sonia Bompastor) and 2 for Chicago (Brittany Klein & Megan Rapinoe) (June 13) Chicago Red Stars 3–1 FC Gold Pride – 3 for Chicago (Lindsay Tarpley, Karen Carney, & Carli Lloyd) and 1 for Bay Area (Formiga) (July 12)
Streaks
- Longest Winning Streak: 4 Games Los Angeles Sol Games 13–16
- Longest Unbeaten Streak: 11 games Los Angeles Sol Games 6–16
- Longest Winless Streak: 10 games FC Gold Pride Games 8–17
- Longest Losing Streak: 4 Games FC Gold Pride Games 12–15
- Longest Shutout: 361 minutes by Karina LeBlanc for Los Angeles Sol
- Longest Drought: 451 minutes for Chicago Red Stars
Other Firsts
- First player to score twice in a match: Marta for Los Angeles Sol against Sky Blue FC (April 5)
- First come-from-behind victory: Chicago Red Stars 2–1 Washington Freedom (July 1)
- First team to lose to all opponents: Chicago Red Stars with loss to Washington Freedom on July 26 The only other team to accomplish this was FC Gold Pride with loss to Sky Blue FC on August 5
- First team to beat all opponents: Los Angeles Sol with win against Boston Breakers on August 9 The only other team to accomplish this was Sky Blue FC with win against Los Angeles Sol on August 22
- First goalkeeper assist: Hope Solo (to Christie Welsh) for Saint Louis Athletica against FC Gold Pride on August 9
Home Team Record
(Regular season only)
- 33 wins, 20 losses, 17 ties – 1.657 PPG
- 87 goals for, 59 goals against – +28 GD
Related Competitions
All-Star Game
WPS All-Star 2009 was played on August 30 at Soccer Park in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton, Missouri, with the WPS All-Stars defeating Swedish powerhouse Umeå IK of Damallsvenskan 4–2. The match was televised in the US on Fox Soccer Channel.