Following WPS Week 3, three teams remain unbeaten in WPS this season including the Boston Breakers, Saint Louis Athletica and expansion Philadelphia Independence. But as a result of victories by FC Gold Pride and Sky Blue FC, both have leapfrogged the undefeated trio and into first place in the WPS standings, creating a log jam of five teams at the top all within one point of each other. FC Gold Pride were 2-1 victors over the Atlanta Beat Saturday courtesy of a late-game score by Carrie Dew. Sky Blue FC notched their second 1-0 win over the Chicago Red Stars this season thanks to a second half goal by Tasha Kai and the Philadelphia Independence earned their team's first-ever WPS victory with a 3-1 defeat of the Washington Freedom paced by a record-setting three assists from midfielder Lori Lindsey, who played for Washington in 2009. In the only draw of the weekend, St. Louis and Boston played to a 1-1 tie in wet and soggy conditions during a weekend with tornado warnings in the St. Louis area. Boston got on the board midway through the first half on a long-range strike by Kasey Moore off of a corner but that was matched six minutes later on a header from Athletica rookie Carolyn Blank. League Leaders Goals Eniola Aluko (St. Louis Athletica) 2 Allison Falk (Philadelphia Independence) 2 Tasha Kai (Sky Blue FC) 2 Christine Sinclair (FC Gold Pride) 2 Kelly Smith (Boston Breakers) 2 Assists Lori Lindsey (Philadelphia Independence) 4 Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom) 4 Shannon Boxx (St. Louis Athletica) 2 Kristine Lilly (Boston Breakers) 2 Kelley O'Hara (FC Gold Pride) 2 Saves Allison Whitworth (Atlanta Beat) 22 Hope Solo (St. Louis Athletica) 17 Karen Bardsley (Sky Blue FC) 15 Ashley Phillips (Boston Breakers) 14 2 tied with 11 Lindsey is WPS's Week 3 Player of the Week Midfielder Lori Lindsey is Women's Professional Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 3 after setting up all three goals as the expansion Philadelphia Independence claimed its first victory Sunday, beating the visiting Washington Freedom, 3-1. It is the most assists in one game ever in WPS with several players having previously recorded 2 assists. Lindsey, who played last season for the Freedom, is the primary orchestrator of the attack for the Independence, which is off to a 1-0-2 start and is one of three unbeaten teams in WPS. Lindsey notched her second, third and fourth assists of the season Sunday, assisting on Amy Rodriguez first goal of the season with a long ball over the top, sending a free kick into the box for Allison Falk to head home in the 57th minute, and then cutting the ball back on a defender and providing a cross for Lianne Sanderson to finish in the 67th. Philadelphia overcame a 1-0 deficit with three goals in 14 minutes. Philadelphia took Lindsey, a former University of Virginia All-American who played for the Freedom and the San Diego Spirit in the Women's United Soccer Association, with the No. 2 selection in last September's WPS Expansion Draft. The central midfielder revitalized her U.S. national team career with an outstanding 2009 WPS campaign. The WPS Player of Week is selected by a panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters. 2010 WPS Player of the Week Winners Week 1: Eniola Aluko (Saint Louis Athletica) Week 2: Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom) Week 3: Lori Lindsey (Philadelphia Independence) WPS April Player of the Month Vote Begins Voting for the WPS Player of the Month for April begins this week online for fans and via ballot for teams and media. The vote is weighted 33% media, 33% fans and 33% teams. The results will be announced on the league site at womensprosoccer.com on April 30. Nominees are selected from the WPS Player of the Week voting supplied by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) who cover WPS. Write-ins are also counted on the ballots and online from fan voting. This week's nominees include Eniola Aluko, Kelly Smith and Tasha Kai, each of whom scored two goals, Abby Wambach and Lori Lindsey, who both recorded four assists, and Hope Solo, who helped St. Louis Athletica to an undefeated start to the season. Fans can vote on the WPS FanCorner: fancorner.womensprosoccer.com/ WPS April Player of the Month Nominees (from WPS Player of the Week votes) 1.) Eniola Aluko (Saint Louis Athletica) Week 1 2.) Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom) Week 2 3.) Lori Lindsey (Philadelphia Independence) Week 3 4.) Kelly Smith (Boston Breakers) At-Large 5.) Hope Solo (Saint Louis Athletica) At-Large 6.) Tasha Kai (Sky Blue FC) At-Large League Approves Changes to Injured Reserve Policy to "30-day Injured Reserve List" At April's WPS Board meeting, the league owners approved changes to the WPS Injured Reserve Policy from the previous 60-day Injured Reserve List. Now, an injured reserve list called "30-day Injured Reserve" is available for players who experience a major injury. Once placed on the list, a player may not play in a league game for a minimum of 30 days. After the initial 30 days, up to a maximum number of days until June 30 (the day before player contracts are guaranteed), the player may remain on the IR or be activated, if the team chooses to do so. For a player on the IR as of the last day before semi-guaranteed player contracts become guaranteed, the team must either activate the player or declare her to be a season-ending injury. During the time the player is on the IR, the player's salary continues to count against the in-season total team salary compensation. If the team elects to replace the player while she is on the IR, they may do so, and the salary of the replacement player does not count against the cap. The 60-day Injured Reserve policy is no longer in place. However, the season-ending injury policy remains unaltered: rostered players who are listed with season-ending injuries will not have their salaries count towards total team compensation and can be replaced by replacement players. Cookbook featuring WPS Stars Hits Online Book Stores in April "Food Guide for Soccer: Tips & Recipes from the Pros" by Gloria Averbuch and Nancy Clark, MS RD, is a new book about soccer nutrition that hit stores in April. The easy-to-read book offers practical tips, debunks nutrition myths, and is a simple "how to" resource for soccer players, their coaches and parents. The book features nearly 50 recipes from the players of Women's Professional Soccer, including Olympic gold medalists. The handy "how to" food guide addresses the nutrition questions and concerns of soccer athletes of all ages and abilities to help them reach their goals with energy to spare. Soccer athletes are hungry for good nutrition information: - What should I eat before a game? - What about sports drinks? - How much protein should I eat? Food Guide for Soccer: Tips & Recipes from the Pros will answer those questions-and more. Recipes from players and WPS teams include selections such as Abby Wambach's Date Bars, Kristine Lilly's Chicken with Mushrooms & Roasted Potatoes and Marta's Signature Lasagna. Teams also have their own recipes like Sky Blueberry FC French Toast "It's fun to see what Tasha Kai eats in Hawaii and what Marta eats from Brazil," says Averbuch. "If someone is a professional athlete and is eating this, then you know it's good for you, too." Gloria Averbuch is an award-winning author of 12 previous books on sports, soccer, health and fitness. Averbuch is the Director of Public Relations/Marketing for Sky Blue FC, one of the seven founding franchises of Women's Professional Soccer. Nancy Clark MS RD, a trusted and internationally respected sports nutritionist, is a Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, with a private practice at Healthworks in Chestnut Hill, MA. She is nutrition consultant for the Boston Breakers of Women's Professional Soccer. Book Release - April 2010 For excerpts, recipes or promotional copies, contact: Ginger Bock Cardinal Publishers Group gbock@cardinalpub.com (317) 352-8200 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (317) 352-8200 end_of_the_skype_highlighting Lindsey Sets Record with Three Assists Upon video review, Philadelphia midfielder Lori Lindsey was credited with an assist in the 54th minute on a goal by Amy Rodriguez, giving Lindsey a total of three assists thereby setting a WPS record for assists in one game. Prior to that, several WPS players had recorded 2 assists in one game in 2009, as well as Kelley O'Hara (FC Gold Pride) and Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom) early this season. Holmfridur Magnusdottir will have her assist taken away as a result of this official change. WPS Week 4 Preview A historic weekend in WPS with all four games kicking-off at the same time along the eastern seaboard with a special Saturday evening match on Fox Soccer Channel featuring Sky Blue FC vs. FC Gold Pride in a WPS-MLS television doubleheader with back-to-back live games on Fox Soccer Channel starting at 6pm ET/3pm PT. Saturday, May 1 Sky Blue FC vs. FC Gold Pride (6pm ET - FSC) Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ * The top two teams in WPS face off in the FSC national television game for the second week in a row as Sky Blue FC and FC Gold Pride, both with six points on the season, clash at Yurcak Field. * The winner moves into sole possession of first place in the WPS table following the first month of play. * The two teams last faced off in week 2 when Sky Blue FC traveled to the Bay Area and were soundly beaten 3-1 on two goals by Christine Sinclair and a well-placed strike by Marta late in the game. * Look for Sky Blue FC to make some defensive adjustments as they gave up three goals in that game but have pitched shutouts in two other games - both against Chicago. * Following Sunday's win against Atlanta, FC Gold Pride are the first team with a two-game winning streak in WPS this season. * Sky Blue FC will be without central midfielder Carli Lloyd, who broke her ankle and was placed on 30-day Injured Reserve. Boston Breakers vs. Chicago Red Stars (6pm ET) Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA * Boston is one of three undefeated in WPS along with Philadelphia and St. Louis. * Chicago has scored just one goal in 3 games this season. In 2009, Chicago went five games and 457 minutes without scoring in late April and May. * Boston won the season series last year 2-1, but the loss included an early season 4-0 drubbing to Chicago at Toyota Park, tied for the record as the most lopsided game in WPS history. * Chicago has outshot opponents 51-27 in the first three games this season while going 0-1-2. Philadelphia Independence vs. Atlanta Beat (6pm ET) John A. Farrell Stadium, West Chester, PA * A rematch of Week 1 when the two expansion teams faced off in front of over 6,000 fans at West Chester University ending in a 0-0 tie. * Since then, team have gone in opposite directions with Philadelphia notching a win and a tie to remain undefeated while Atlanta sits at 0-2-1 following two losses. * This is the last of four games on the road for Atlanta before they open at home on national television on May 9 in their brand new stadium at Kennesaw, GA. * Ramona Bachmann has looked dangerous in two games for Atlanta but on Saturday she might not have the great playmaking of Tobin Heath, who sprained her ankle and left the game on Sunday. * Defender Allison Falk has two goals, tied with four forwards for the league lead. Washington Freedom vs. St. Louis Athletica (6pm ET) Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, MD * The Freedom matched up well against the Athletica in 2009 going 2-0-1 against them. In fact, in the months of May-August last year, Athletica only lost to two WPS teams in regular season play: Los Angeles Sol and Washington Freedom. * The Athletica have scored four goals in the first three games after not scoring once in their first three games one year ago, while the Freedom have given up six goals on defense this season tops in the league after leading that category a year ago among WPS teams. * Look for Athletica's defense to try and smother Abby Wambach with man coverage like they have against every top striker so far this season including Christine Sinclair, Cristiane and Lauren Cheney.
