Though they dropped their third straight match last night, the Independence’s strong start to the year is going to be enough to see them into the postseason thanks to Sky Blue FC’s 1-1 tie with first place FC Gold Pride.

The Chicago Red Stars, already eliminated from playoff contention, came into last night’s match determined to defend their home turf. Veronica Boquete knocked in a Casey Nogueira free kick in the fourth minute to put the home team on top, and Philadelphia’s offense couldn’t respond. Even with the lead, Chicago pressed forward and locked the Independence in their own half for much of the first forty-five.

Philadelphia responded by inserting Joanna Lohman for Sara Larsson at the half. No tactics or substitutions could stop the Red Stars from doubling their lead in the 54th when Marian Dalmy’s brilliant run from the back caught Karen Carney’s eye. The midfielder’s well-timed pass was matched by a beautiful finish as Dalmy placed her shot over Val Henderson from well outside the box. The goal took any remaining wind from the Independence’s sails.

Philadelphia inserted Lianne Sanderson and Danesha Adams as the second half progressed, but neither was able to provide the spark the team has lacked in recent weeks. Although Philly took twelve shots, only four were on net. This coupled with three offsides suggests a lack of concentration that the team will need to address before the playoffs.

There is no questioning the talent of this Independence team. In their inaugural season they have delivered not only excitement and passion, but strong, attacking soccer.

If you are tired of watching the Union’s fullbacks remained pinned in their defensive half, tune in on September 11th at 8:30pm on Fox Soccer Channel. The Independence will face a tough final test against Marta and FC Gold Pride. While Gold Pride have a firm hold on first place, the Independence could leapfrog Boston and take over the number two spot with a win.

Philadelphia was on the front foot to start the game and were rightly rewarded for their efforts.  Amy Rodriguez dummied a ball from Lori Lyndsay on the top of the box, where it ran to Lohman.  Lohman’s one touch pass put Rodriguez in on goal, where she slammed a right footed shot off the far post.  The rebound landed in the path of Lohman who half volleyed in from close range.  But the lead would last less than 20 minutes, as Stephanie Cox curled a Kristine Lilly corner kick into the top corner of the Independence net.  The Boston come back was complete when Kelly Smith stroked home a coolly hit penalty after Lauren Cheney was pulled down in the box.  The penalty for Smith was really her only sniff at the Independence goal all night, as Jen Buczkowski kept the Boston star at bay for most of the match, never missing an opportunity to knock her down.  Philadelphia had chances to level the match again, and a goal from Caroline Seger was waved off for offsides on 74 minutes.

The win for Boston puts them within 2 points of the Independence for the crucial 2nd place position and a home game in the playoffs.  Boston still has 3 games remaining while Philly only has 2.  Wednesday’s game against already eliminated Chicago is now an important one for Philly, as they finish up the regular season travelling to first place FC Gold Pride, another team they haven’t beaten all season.  It seems like the Independence just can’t find the final few points to guarantee themselves that 2nd spot, after throwing away points for the 2nd week in a row.

Fox Soccer Channel proved they are equally inept at broadcasting women’s soccer as they are at showing the men’s game.  Numerous times, replays were shown while live play was happening.  I suppose it’s a good thing that they don’t discriminate.

Bench before the match.

The starting eleven.

Coin toss.

Lori Lindsey takes a corner kick.

Estelle Johnson passes it forward.

Two Breakers chase Tina DiMartino down.

Independence huddle before the second half.

When players go down.

A “you drew the foul but I don’t want to see that again” warning.

Fans waiting for an equalizer that never comes.

Such plans are for now delayed thanks to a one-touch volley from Sky Blue’s Yael Averbuch in the 60th minute. The lone goal, along with an strong performance from Jenni Branam between the posts, turned out to be all that the hosts needed.

The Independence had two chances early in the first half, with Estelle Johnson’s effort going just wide and Allison Falk’s one-time strike hitting the side of the net.

Any momentum that resulted from these chances was halted in the 16th minute when lightning caused a 112 minute delay in play.

When play resumed, the slick pitch made things difficult for both teams and the first half ended with few offensive opportunities.

Sky Blue, who needed a win to keep their play-off hopes alive, came out swinging in the second half. Still. it seemed that Philadelphia might be the first on the board with two chances ten minutes into the half that involved Tina DiMartino. A shot from Danesha Adams that resulted from a DiMartino pass was blocked by a defender. Seconds later, a pass to DiMartino saw her free on the left but her shot was saved by Branam.

Soon after, the home team’s own efforts were rewarded when Heather O’Reilly collected a loose ball in the right corner of the box and chipped a cross to Averbuch, who launched a missile in to the upper left corner.

“I kind of tried to hang out on the left flank a little because Kacey [White] and Rosana had sucked a lot of players across,” Averbuch said after the game. “Then Heather was able to send the ball over the top of the defense, and I said ‘You know what? I’m going to go for it.’ It’s one of those you hit, and it either goes upper corner or into the stands. Luckily, I was able to connect with it well.”

The Independence brought Lyndsey Patterson and Lianne Sanderson into the game to create some offensive spark but Branam proved to be equal to any threats, including a shot from DiMartino in the 80th minute, and the match ended 1–0 in favor of the home team.

“We proved to ourselves tonight that we can capitalize on teams regardless of who they are,” said Sky Blue Head Coach Rick Stainton. “Philadelphia is a very good team in this league, and we had yet to have any success against them until tonight. To be able to correct our mistakes and accomplish that at this point in the season should be a nice building block for us as we fight for a playoff berth.”

Independence General Manager Louise Waxler said after the loss, “We’re disappointed that we weren’t able to capture a win on the road tonight. We are still looking to secure a playoff berth, and we have full confidence that the Independence has what it takes to move forward and earn a spot in the postseason race for the title.”

That confidence will be tested on August 29 when Philadelphia hosts Boston Breakers. Thanks to a 3–2 loss to Atlanta Beat at home on Sunday, Boston remains five points behind the Independence in third place, although they have played one fewer game. The match will be Philadelphia’s last home game of the season. Following that they will finish the regular season with two road games, the first on September 1 against Chicago Red Stars and the last against first place FC Gold Pride on September 11.

Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Independence.

By the end of the game, the Independence looked like the championship contender they are.

“A team has never come back from 2-0 deficit in this league,” Independence head coach Paul Riley said,  “and we have done it twice. But the pressure’s back on us. Boston won tonight.”

With their 3–2 come-from-behind win over Atlanta, the Independence have maintained their five point lead over third place Boston Breakers, who defeated Sky Blue FC 4–0 the same day.

Last place Atlanta took the lead quickly when Johanna Rasmussen scored in the fourth minute. Lori Chalupny finished her breakaway with a toe-poked goal past Karina LeBlanc to make it 2–0 in the 18th minute.

The Beat continued to enjoy the run of play until Philadelphia created two dangerous chances in the 36th minute. Lori Lindsey headed a Heather Mitts cross off the crossbar. Seconds later, Caroline Seger found an open Tina DiMartino and only a big save from Hope Solo kept her blast from the right from going in.

Five minutes later, nothing could stop DiMartino who, after a Lianne Sanderson free kick hit the wall, collected the deflection and fired a shot into goal.

“I think getting the goal before halftime was vital,” said Riley. “It gave us some spark going into the second half…the girls knew they were still in it. Plus, it was a brilliant goal from Tina.”

DiMartino shined again when she left-footed the equalizer off of a pass from Amy Rodriguez in the 60th minute.

Subbed into the match soon after DiMartino’s goal, Danesha Adams—who signed a full contract with the Independence last week— immediately began to create problems for Atlanta’s defense. An Adams shot over the crossbar in the 78th minute was quickly followed by an Adams corner kick that was headed just wide by a diving Johanna Lohman, who had entered the game just minutes before.

The hardworking Lohman had been given a break from starting the game. Coming on in the 74th minute, Lohman said after the game, “I felt a lot better . . . and just tried to give our team a spark.”

The wisdom of entering Lohman into the game became apparent in the 81st minute when she scored the game winner off of a backpass from Rodriguez.

“Lohman and Adams brought a great energy to the field tonight off the bench” said Riley.

Adams, whose pass to Rodriguez led to the game winner, was singled out for praise by Riley. “Adams is a tremendous striker and I think she’s very underrated. I think you’ll see a lot of her in the upcoming weeks and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a couple of goals before the end of the season, as well.”

“We were off to a great start and we should have built on it,” Atlanta Beat coach Gareth O’Sullivan said. “We were disappointed in the goal at the end of the half.”

DiMartino, the scorer of that first half goal, said, “We are playing well. We all are in the box. We all want to score. There were two great passes by A-Rod. It was a team effort, and I am excited for the playoffs.”

Danny Califf, Kyle Nakazawa and Sebastien Le Toux from the Philadelphia Union were on hand for the game and received Independence jerseys during the pre-game introductions.

The Independence will take their 10–6–4 record on the road to face Sky Blue FC on Sunday, August 22. They return home on Sunday, August 29, to face Boston Breakers in what is sure to be a vital game.

Only nine minutes later, Ella Masar headed a bending cross from Casey Noguiera past Independence keeper Karina LeBlanc to bring Chicago level.

Fifteen minutes after coming on in the 63rd minute, Lianne Sanderson converted a free kick from 20 yards out to give the lead back to Philadelphia. The free kick had been awarded following a foul on Rodriguez that earned Chicago defender Natalie Spilger a yellow card.

“We’re not a very good team when we go down a goal, based on records,” Red Stars coach Omid Namazi said. “We’re very good when we go up.”

The win puts the Independence solidly in second place in the league, five points ahead of Boston Breakers with five games remaining before the playoffs.

The first half of this very physical encounter featured a great deal of play in the middle of the field between two evenly matched sides. Two Chicago players were forced to leave the match with injuries, defender Kate Markgraf with an apparent concussion and Julianne Sitch with a possible torn anterior cruciate ligament.

The first scoring opportunity came in the 11th minute when Megan Rapinoe’s shot forced a LeBlanc save.

Rapinoe worked hard to contain Independence defender Holmfridur Magnusdottir, who had scored both Independence goals in Sunday’s match against third place Boston Breakers. Still Magnusdottir was able to get forward in the 36th minute to blast a shot that forced a save from the Chicago keeper.

Ten minutes after Chicago equalized in the second half, a Nogueira free kick from 25 yards out nearly gave Chicago the lead. LeBlanc’s athletic save lead to a corner kick that threateningly skipped through the Independence defense, but LeBlanc was able to smother the ball.

Sanderson’s goal was not without controversy as Namazi felt she had not been called for offside prior to the foul on Rodriguez.

“We fought, we came back and had the momentum going,” the Red Stars coach Omid said, “then one obviously bad call (a missed call on Sanderson) changed the momentum of the game.” He added, “I don’t want to use that as as excuse. We have to be better than that and take the initiative and score the first goal.”

Independence General Manager Louise Waxler said after the match, “As we near the end of the season, every game is crucial in the race for the playoffs…Getting three points on the road against a tough Chicago team was huge for Philadelphia, and we’ve put ourselves in a good position heading into the weekend. We’re very happy with tonight’s result.”

The Independence will play their fourth match in two weeks on Sunday, August 15, when they host Atlanta Breakers at John A Farrell Stadium in West Chester. Kickoff is at 6pm.

Boston, who are 6–1–1 in their last eight games, scored first when, in the 25th minute, former Philadelphia Charge player Kelly Smith carried the ball up the left flank and passed to Lauren Cheney at the top of the box. Cheyney turned her defender and netted a curling shot past Independence keeper Karina LeBlanc.

Holmfridur Magnusdottir, who had missed the mid-week loss to Washington due to a red card suspension, equalized four minutes later with a terrific free kick from 25 yards out that deflected off of the wall and into goal.

Two minutes later Magnusdottir made it 2–1. Receiving a pass form Caroline Seger, her shot from distance struck the right post, deflected off of the Boston keeper and into goal.

Independence coach Paul Riley said after the game, “Frida [Magnusdottir] was fantastic and was dangerous coming out of the back. We missed that on Wednesday when she wasn’t in the game, and it proved crucial tonight.”

Philadelphia largely dominated the run of play for the rest of the half. But in the second half Boston began to control the action and in the 51st minute Smith added a goal to her assist with a low, left-footed shot. It was Smith’s tenth goal of the season.

Amy Rodriguez was again marked closely throughout the match by Boston’s defense, though her speed remained evident. In the last minute of play, a through ball from Lianne Sanderson was a touch too heavy for Rodriguez to catch up to. Moments later, Sanderson nearly caught up to a similar ball from Caroline Seger but Boston’s keeper was equal to the threat.

LeBlanc had a good game between the posts. She stopped two dangerous shots in the 57th minute and another in the 75th to keep the scoreline level. “You have to give Boston credit,” LeBlanc said. “They are fighters, and it is why they are on this streak.”

Boston Head Coach Tony DiCicco said, “I think we had the better of the chances in the second half. It’s a shame we didn’t get the game-winner, but we fought back from going a goal down and I’m proud of the performance tonight.”

Riley said of the Independence, “Overall I was pleased with our performance.”

Philadelphia travel to Chicago to face the fourth place Red Stars on Wednesday. The Independence are unbeaten against Chicago this season, with a win at home and a win away.

Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Independence

The next moment you’re not.

After scoring seven goals at home in two games while only conceding one, the Philadelphia Independence lost to the last-place Washington Freedom on Wednesday night 2–0. The Independence have only two road wins on the season with three losses and two draws.

Play was underway for 31 minutes until thunderstorms caused a 45 minute delay. Before that, Independence goalkeeper Val Henderson was called upon to make several clutch saves, including stopping a penalty kick by US international star Abby Wambach.

Eight minutes after the resumption of play, Wambach’s header from a Sonja Bompastor corner kick made it 1–0.

Two minutes later, Wambach made it 2–0, this time with a flick-on header from a long free kick from Cat Whitehill taken just inside the half-way line.

The Independence made some second half substitutions that added momentum to their attack but they could not finish their chances.

Coming on in the 53rd minute, Tina Dimartino beat her defender to send a pass to Joanna Lohman, whose shot went over the bar. Lindsey Patterson nearly put the Independence on the board in the 90th minute with a header that that also went over the bar.

The best chance for the Independence came in the 78th minute. A strong series of passes found an unmarked Amy Rodriguez, who was otherwise strongly covered throughout the match. Shooting from the left side of the 18 yard box, Rodriguez sent the ball over the crossbar.

Washington’s victory ended their ten game winless streak.

The Independence next face Boston Breakers at home on Sunday, August 8 at 8pm. Boston is currently in third place and just two points behind the Independence with their 2–0 win over Atlanta Beat on Wednesday. When the two teams last met on July 4 in West Chester, Philadelphia lost 2–1.

Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Independence

On Wednesday night she scored two goals and an assist in the Independence’s 3–0 win over Chicago Red Stars. Rodriguez scored two goals against Sky Blue FC on Saturday, both of which were assisted by Caroline Seger. She returned the favor against Chicago by assisting Seger’s goal in the 53rd minute.

Rodriguez has scored in six consecutive matches. Her eleven goals on the season put her just two goals behind league leader Marta.

Independence coach Paul Riley said, “She is brilliant right now, and everybody knows she is hot and her efficiency right now is unbelievable.”

Rodriguez scored her first goal in the 12th minute when Lori Lindsey intercepted a bad clearance. She delivered the ball to Rodriguez who was charging into open space on the left. Rodriguez took a touch and blasted a shot that deflected off of a defender into goal.

Rodriguez scored again the the 26th minute when she ran on to a long clearance from Nikki Krzysik to chip the Chicago keeper from 25 yards out.

“It’s been the same story lately,” Rodriguez said, “but I’ll take it as long as we keep winning.”

“It was a perfect pass from A-rod,” Seger said after the game. “She had two passes from me last week, so I think she felt like she owed me one.”

Val Henderson earned the shutout for the Independence, her second of the season.

Riley said, “I think we played great football tonight. It wasn’t a pretty win, but it was a good win for us. These three points put us in good stead moving forward.”

“I told my team at the end of the game, sometimes you just have to take your hat off and tip it to the better team,” said  Chicago Red Stars coach Omid Namazi. ” We lost to the better team tonight, they deserved it.”

The Independence next face Washington Freedom away on August 4.

Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Independence.

The Independence made things even hotter for the visitors with a 4–1 win.

Philadelphia wasted no time and had their first scoring opportunity from a Lianne Sanderson header in the second minute of play.

Sky Blue countered in the 6th minute with a shot from Kasey White from distance that banged off of the crossbar. The Independence immediately counterattacked. Caroline Seger streaked up the flank to cross the ball behind the Sky Blue defence to the head of Joanna Lohman who made no mistake. 1–0 Independence.

Seconds later Amy Rodriguez raced to a beautiful through ball from Seger to make it 2–0.

Soon after Lohman nearly had a second goal with a shot in the box that was just outside the post but forced the keeper to make a diving save.

In the 21st minute Holmfridur Magnusdottir made a great run up the left flank after picking the ball up around the midfield line. She cut inside her defender and delivered a low blast from inside the box to make it 3–0.

The Independence backline effective deployed the offside trap to stop Sky Blue from running on to goal. The visitors had their best chance of the first half in the 31st minute when cross from Kierstin Dallstream found an unmarked Patrizia Panico who headed wide.

Sky Blue pressed at the start of the second half and Independence keeper Val Henderson was forced to make a strong effort to save a shot from Kasey White in the 48th minute.

Three minutes later, another great pass from Seger found the speedy Rodriguez, who took a touch and then left-footed the ball past Sky Blue keeper Kristin Luckenbill only three minutes later to make it 4–0. Rodriguez now has nine goals for the season.

Soon after, Liane Sanderson had a chance to get a fifth Independence goal on a breakaway in the 62nd minute but Luckenbill made a fine save.

Sky Blue finally got on the board in the 81st minute when Brittany Taylor made a 30 yard run and chipped Henderson for the goal. Moments later Taylor nearly struck again but Henderson’s kick save was equal to the shot.

Coach Paul Riley said, “Before the game we really challenged players like Magnusdottir and Seger to step up to the plate, and they did. They were big contributors tonight. We looked at our past lineups and we realized that every time we have Jen Buczkowski at holding center midfield, we win. Her sitting in that spot allows Lohman and Seger to get forward, and we need them involved offensively.”

Seger entered the match with no goals and only one assist. Speaking of her three assists after the game she said, “It feels awesome. We’ve played twelve games and I finally feel like I am getting a hold on this league and playing well. I am so happy right now, it feels great to play soccer when it is easy.”

This was Sky Blue keeper Luckenbill’s last game for the club. The Connestoga High School grad, who is leaving for graduate school, said after the match, “It’s sad to have this end…Overall, it’s been a fantastic journey.”

The win puts the Independence solidly in second place in the league table. The team next hosts Chicago Red Stars on Wednesday night. Kickoff is at 7pm.