# 2010 Women's Professional Soccer season

The 2010 Women's Professional Soccer season was the second season for the WPS, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. Regular season champion FC Gold Pride won the WPS Championship on September 26 with a 4–0 victory over the Philadelphia Independence.

## Changes from the 2009 season

* Two franchises, based in Philadelphia, and Atlanta, joined the league.
* A potential Dallas franchise is pending upon finding a site at which to play, and WPS is constantly considering other expansion possibilities as well, such as Seattle.
* The Los Angeles Sol did not return, as that franchise was terminated January 28, 2010 after Anschutz Entertainment Group returned their franchise rights and a buyer was not found.
* The number of games in the regular season increased from 20 to 24.
* On May 27, financial problems caused the Saint Louis Athletica to fold. Players became free agents on June 1.

## Competition format and schedule

* The regular season began on April 10 and ended on September 12 with a bye week on May 22 (the date the USWNT hosted Germany's WNT in a friendly); the playoffs began on September 19 and ended on September 26.
* Each team played a total of 24 games, evenly divided between home and away games. Under the following format, each team played three other teams four times each, two at home and two away, and the remaining four teams three times each, two at home and one away or one at home and two away.
* The playoff format was identical to that of the 2009 season. 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, with the winner traveling to face the second-placed regular season finisher in the Super Semifinal midweek. The Super Semifinal winner then traveled to face the first-placed regular season finisher in the WPS Championship.
* Games played against the Saint Louis Athletica before they folded still counted toward a team's point total.
Abbreviation and Color Key: Atlanta Beat - ATL • Boston Breakers - BOS • Chicago Red Stars - CHI • FC Gold Pride - BAY Philadelphia Independence - PHI • Saint Louis Athletica - STL • Sky Blue FC - NJ • Washington Freedom - WSH Win  • Loss  • Tie  • Home :
| Club | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match |
| Club | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| Atlanta Beat | PHI | WSH | BAY | PHI | NJ | WSH | CHI | CHI | PHI | BAY | CHI | BOS | NJ | CHI | WSH | BAY | BOS | BOS | PHI | BOS | BAY | BOS | NJ | WSH |
| Atlanta Beat | 0-0 | 3-1 | 2-1 | 1-0 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 2-2 | 0-4 | 1-1 | 3-1 | 0-1 | 1-0 | 3-2 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 1-2 | 3-1 | 2-3 | 1-6 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Boston Breakers | WSH | PHI | STL | CHI | WSH | BAY | NJ | NJ | BAY | CHI | PHI | ATL | WSH | BAY | CHI | WAS | ATL | PHI | NJ | ATL | PHI | ATL | BAY | NJ |
| Boston Breakers | 1-2 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-0 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 3-1 | 2-1 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 3-1 | 2-0 | 2-2 | 4-0 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 2-0 | 0-0 |
| Chicago Red Stars | NJ | STL | NJ | BOS | BAY | PHI | BAY | ATL | WSH | ATL | BOS | WSH | ATL | NJ | ATL | BOS | PHI | NJ | BAY | PHI | WAS | BAY | PHI | WAS |
| Chicago Red Stars | 1-0 | 1-1 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 2-0 | 0-1 | 1-0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 1-0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2-0 | 1-0 | 1-3 | 3-0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 2-0 | 2-3 | 2-0 | 2-1 |
| FC Gold Pride | STL | NJ | ATL | NJ | CHI | BOS | CHI | WSH | PHI | BOS | NJ | ATL | WAS | PHI | BOS | WSH | ATL | CHI | WSH | CHI | ATL | NJ | BOS | PHI |
| FC Gold Pride | 2-0 | 3-1 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 2-0 | 1-2 | 1-0 | 1-1 | 1-3 | 1-0 | 0-2 | 0-4 | 3-2 | 2-0 | 1-2 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 1-6 | 1-1 | 2-0 | 4-1 |
| Philadelphia Independence | ATL | BOS | WSH | ATL | STL | CHI | WSH | NJ | BAY | NJ | ATL | WSH | BOS | BAY | NJ | CHI | WSH | BOS | CHI | ATL | NJ | BOS | CHI | BAY |
| Philadelphia Independence | 0-0 | 1-1 | 3-1 | 1-0 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 2-1 | 2-1 | 1-3 | 1-4 | 2-2 | 3-2 | 1-2 | 2-0 | 4-1 | 3-0 | 2-0 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 3-2 | 1-0 | 1-2 | 2-0 | 4-1 |
| Saint Louis Athletica | BAY | CHI | BOS | WSH | PHI | NJ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Saint Louis Athletica | 2-0 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 3-1 | 2-1 | 2-2 | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| Sky Blue FC | CHI | BAY | CHI | BAY | ATL | STL | BOS | PHI | BOS | PHI | BAY | WSH | CHI | ATL | PHI | CHI | ATL | WAS | BOS | PHI | WSH | BAY | ATL | BOS |
| Sky Blue FC | 1-0 | 3-1 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 1-2 | 1-4 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 0-1 | 4-1 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 4-0 | 1-0 | 2-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Washington Freedom | BOS | ATL | PHI | STL | BOS | ATL | PHI | BAY | CHI | PHI | CHI | NJ | BAY | BOS | BAY | ATL | BOS | PHI | NJ | BAY | CHI | NJ | CHI | ATL |
| Washington Freedom | 1-2 | 3-1 | 3-1 | 3-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2-1 | 1-1 | 2-2 | 3-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3-2 | 2-1 | 1-4 | 3-2 | 3-1 | 2-0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 2-1 | 2-1 | 1-0 |
2010 schedule

## Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | FC Gold Pride | 24 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 46 | 19 | +27 | 53 | Advance to Championship |
| 2 | Boston Breakers | 24 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 36 | 28 | +8 | 36 | Advance to Super Semifinal |
| 3 | Philadelphia Independence | 24 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 37 | 36 | +1 | 34 | Advance to First Round |
| 4 | Washington Freedom | 24 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 31 | Advance to First Round |
| 5 | Sky Blue FC | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 20 | 31 | −11 | 28 | |
| 6 | Chicago Red Stars | 24 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 21 | 27 | −6 | 27 | |
| 7 | Atlanta Beat | 24 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 20 | 40 | −20 | 21 | |
| 8 | Saint Louis Athletica | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 9 | Team withdrawn |

## Attendance
### Average home attendances

Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.
| Team | GP | Attendance | Average |
| Boston Breakers | 12 | 53,878 | 4,490 |
| Chicago Red Stars | 12 | 48,296 | 4,025 |
| Washington Freedom | 12 | 45,904 | 3,825 |
| Atlanta Beat | 12 | 44,284 | 3,690 |
| Sky Blue FC | 11 | 36,521 | 3,320 |
| FC Gold Pride | 12 | 36,675 | 3,056 |
| Saint Louis Athletica | 4 | 12,109 | 3,027 |
| Philadelphia Independence | 12 | 35,605 | 2,967 |
| Total | 87 | 313,272 | 3,601 |

## Playoffs

| First Round | First Round | First Round | Super Semifinal | Super Semifinal | Super Semifinal | WPS Championship | WPS Championship | WPS Championship |
| | | | | | | 1 | FC Gold Pride | 4 |
| | | | 2 | Boston Breakers | 1 | 3 | Philadelphia Independence | 0 |
| 3 | Philadelphia Independence | 1 | 3 | Philadelphia Independence | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Washington Freedom | 0 | | | | | | |

### WPS Championship

| FC Gold Pride | Philadelphia Independence |
FC Gold Pride: :
| GK | 1 | Nicole Barnhart |
| FW | 9 | Kandace Wilson |
| DF | 5 | Candace Chapman | 80' |
| DF | 4 | Rachel Buehler (c) |
| DF | 3 | Ali Riley |
| MF | 77 | Shannon Boxx | 75' |
| MF | 20 | Camille Abily | 66' |
| DF | 14 | Becky Edwards |
| FW | 15 | Tiffeny Milbrett |
| FW | 12 | Christine Sinclair |
| FW | 10 | Marta (MVP) |
| Substitutions: |||
| MF | 13 | Kristen Graczyk | | 80' |
| FW | 7 | Kelley O'Hara | | 66' |
| FW | 11 | Kiki Bosio | | 75' |
| Manager: |||
| Albertin Montoya |||
Philadelphia Independence: :
| GK | 1 | Val Henderson |
| DF | 15 | Nikki Krzysik |
| DF | 3 | Allison Falk |
| DF | 24 | Estelle Johnson |
| MF | 26 | Holmfridur Magnusdottir |
| MF | 6 | Lori Lindsey (c) | 58' |
| MF | 4 | Jen Buczkowski |
| MF | 9 | Caroline Seger | 76' |
| MF | 25 | Tina DiMartino |
| FW | 8 | Amy Rodriguez |
| FW | 10 | Lianne Sanderson | 64' |
| Substitutes: |||
| FW | 19 | Danesha Adams | | 58' |
| DF | 2 | Heather Mitts | | 64' |
| MF | 16 | Lyndsey Patterson | | 76' |
| Manager: |||
| Paul Riley ||||
| Match officials Assistant referees: Marlene Duffy Veronica Perez Fourth official: Kari Seitz | Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Seven named substitutes. Maximum of three substitutions. |

## Leaders
### Scoring

Leading Goalscorers :
| Rank | Player | Club | G | Min |
| 1 | Marta | FC Gold Pride | 19 | 2160 |
| 2 | Abby Wambach | Washington Freedom | 13 | 1979 |
| 3 | Amy Rodriguez | Philadelphia Independence | 12 | 2001 |
| 4 | Kelly Smith | Boston Breakers | 11 | 1711 |
| 5 | Christine Sinclair | FC Gold Pride | 10 | 2054 |
| 6 | Eniola Aluko | Saint Louis Athletica/Atlanta Beat | 9 | 1608 |
| 7 | Ella Masar | Chicago Red Stars | 8 | 1146 |
| 8 | Jordan Angeli | Boston Breakers | 7 | 1457 |
| 9 | Tiffeny Milbrett | FC Gold Pride | 6 | 1237 |
| 9 | Kelley O'Hara | FC Gold Pride | 6 | 1445 |
Assist Leaders :
| Rank | Player | Club | A | Min |
| 1 | Christine Sinclair | FC Gold Pride | 9 | 2054 |
| 2 | Lori Lindsey | Philadelphia Independence | 8 | 1948 |
| 2 | Abby Wambach | Washington Freedom | 8 | 1979 |
| 4 | Camille Abily | FC Gold Pride | 6 | 1103 |
| 4 | Amy Rodriguez | Philadelphia Independence | 6 | 2001 |
| 6 | Caroline Seger | Philadelphia Independence | 5 | 1515 |
| 6 | Shannon Boxx | Saint Louis Athletica/FC Gold Pride | 5 | 1705 |
| 6 | Kelly Smith | Boston Breakers | 5 | 1711 |
| 6 | Sonia Bompastor | Washington Freedom | 5 | 1877 |
| 6 | Heather O'Reilly | Sky Blue FC | 5 | 1980 |
| 6 | Marta | FC Gold Pride | 5 | 2160 |

### Fouls

Fouls Committed :
| Rank | Player | Club | FC | Min |
| 1 | Formiga | Chicago Red Stars | 42 | 1887 |
| 2 | Jen Buczkowski | Philadelphia Independence | 35 | 1808 |
| 3 | Megan Rapinoe | Chicago Red Stars | 34 | 1477 |
| 4 | Hólmfríður Magnúsdóttir | Philadelphia Independence | 31 | 1593 |
| 5 | Caroline Seger | Philadelphia Independence | 30 | 1515 |
| 6 | Katie Chapman | Chicago Red Stars | 29 | 1874 |
| 7 | Abby Wambach | Washington Freedom | 27 | 1979 |
| 8 | Shannon Boxx | Saint Louis Athletica/FC Gold Pride | 25 | 1705 |
| 8 | Sonia Bompastor | Washington Freedom | 25 | 1877 |
| 10 | Kelly Smith | Boston Breakers | 24 | 1711 |
Fouls Suffered :
| Rank | Player | Club | FS | Min |
| 1 | Sonia Bompastor | Washington Freedom | 44 | 1877 |
| 2 | Kelly Smith | Boston Breakers | 43 | 1711 |
| 3 | Lori Chalupny | Saint Louis Athletica/Atlanta Beat | 38 | 1737 |
| 4 | Abby Wambach | Washington Freedom | 37 | 1979 |
| 5 | Formiga | Chicago Red Stars | 31 | 1887 |
| 6 | Aya Miyama | Saint Louis Athletica/Atlanta Beat | 23 | 1952 |
| 7 | Leslie Osborne | Boston Breakers | 22 | 1440 |
| 7 | Karen Carney | Chicago Red Stars | 22 | 1449 |
| 9 | Allie Long | Washington Freedom | 21 | 1847 |
| 9 | Cristiane | Chicago Red Stars | 21 | 1886 |

### Goalkeeping

Minimum 60 minutes played per game average
| Rank | Goalkeeper | Club | GP | MINS | SOG | SVS | GA | GAA | W-L-T | SHO |
| 1 | Nicole Barnhart | FC Gold Pride | 18 | 1880 | 92 | 73 | 16 | 0.77 | 13-3-5 | 8 |
| 2 | Jillian Loyden | Chicago Red Stars | 23 | 2070 | 99 | 72 | 27 | 1.17 | 6-11-6 | 6 |
| 3 | Hope Solo | Saint Louis Athletica/Atlanta Beat | 22 | 1980 | 139 | 104 | 36 | 1.64 | 6-8-8 | 6 |

## Awards
### Player of the Week

| Week | Player of the Week | Club | Week's Statline |
| 1 | Eniola Aluko | Saint Louis Athletica | 2 G (40', 62') GWG |
| 2 | Abby Wambach | Washington Freedom | 1 G (44'), 2 A (51', 90') GWA |
| 3 | Lori Lindsey | Philadelphia Independence | 3 A (55', 58', 68') GWA |
| 4 | Sonia Bompastor | Washington Freedom | 1 G (20'), 1 A (47') |
| 5 | Karen Bardsley | Sky Blue FC | 13 SVS, SHO |
| 6 | Marta | FC Gold Pride | 2 G (16', 38'), GWG |
| 7 | Kosovare Asllani | Chicago Red Stars | 1 G (56'), GWG |
| 8 | Amy Rodriguez | Philadelphia Independence | 1 A (3') 1 G (29'), GWG |
| 9 | Marta | FC Gold Pride | 1 A (42') 2 G (55', 90'), GWG |
| 10 | Danesha Adams | Philadelphia Independence | 1 G (5') 1 A (18'), GWA |
| 11 | Amy Rodriguez | Philadelphia Independence | 2 G (62', 72') |
| 12 | Marta | FC Gold Pride | 1 A (1') 2 G (30', 86'), GWA |
| 13 | Ella Masar | Chicago Red Stars | 1 G (42'); 3rd in 3 matches |
| 14 | Christine Sinclair | FC Gold Pride | 2 G (45', 80'), GWG |
| 15 | Caroline Seger | Philadelphia Independence | 3 A (7', 8', 52'), GWA |
| 16 | Hope Solo | Atlanta Beat | 5 SVS + 6 SVS, SHO over 2 matches |
| 17 | Kelly Smith | Boston Breakers | 2 G (1', 62') vs. ATL, 1 G (52'), 1 A (25') vs. PHI |
| 18 | Amy Rodriguez | Philadelphia Independence | 1 G (53') vs. CHI, 2 A (60', 81') and GWA vs. ATL |
| 19 | Eniola Aluko | Atlanta Beat | 1 G (73'), GWG |
| 20 | Abby Wambach | Washington Freedom | 2 G (79' PK, 84'), GWG |
| 21 | Veronica Boquete | Chicago Red Stars | 1 G (4'), GWG vs. PHI, 2 A (50', 90+'), GWA vs. WAS |
| 22 | Kelley O'Hara | FC Gold Pride | 2 G (40', 50'), 1 A (41'), GWA |

### Player of the Month

| Month | Player of the Month | Club | Month's Statline |
| April | Lori Lindsey | Philadelphia Independence | 4 A in 3 games; Independence 1-0-2 in April |
| May | Karen Bardsley | Sky Blue FC | 31 saves and 2 SO in 4 games; Sky Blue 1-1-2 in May |
| June | Amy Rodriguez | Philadelphia Independence | 5 G, 2 A in 5 games; Independence 3-1-1 in June |
| July | Jordan Angeli | Boston Breakers | 4 G, 1 A in 6 games; Breakers 5-1-0 in July |
| August | Kelly Smith | Boston Breakers | 4 G, 1 A in 5 games; Breakers 3-1-1 in August |

### End-of-year awards

WPS announced its end-of-year awards on September 16.
| Award | Winner | Club |
| Michelle Akers Player of the Year | Marta | FC Gold Pride |
| MedImmune Defender of the Year | Amy LePeilbet | Boston Breakers |
| Coast Guard Goalkeeper of the Year | Nicole Barnhart | FC Gold Pride |
| Rookie of the Year | Ali Riley | FC Gold Pride |
| Coach of the Year | Paul Riley | Philadelphia Independence |
| Citi Sportswoman of the Year | Natalie Spilger | Chicago Red Stars |
| PUMA Golden Boot | Marta | FC Gold Pride |

## Statistics
### Scoring

* First Goal of the Season: Lauren Cheney for Boston Breakers against Washington Freedom, 7th minute (April 10)
* Earliest Goal in a Match: 2nd minute
** Lori Lindsey for Philadelphia Independence against Sky Blue FC (June 6)
* Latest Goal in a Match: 90th minute
** Christie Welsh for Washington Freedom against Atlanta Beat (April 18)
* Widest Winning Margin: 5 Goals
** Atlanta Beat 1-6 FC Gold Pride (August 28)
* Most Goals Scored in a Match: 7 Goals
** Atlanta Beat 1-6 FC Gold Pride (August 28)
* First Hat-Trick:
* Fastest Hat-Trick:
* First Own Goal: Allison Falk of Philadelphia Independence for Saint Louis Athletica (8 May)
* Average Goals per Match: 2.45

### Discipline

* First Yellow Card: Fabiana for Boston Breakers against Washington Freedom, 44th minute (April 10)
* First Red Card: Jen Buczkowski for Philadelphia Independence against Boston Breakers, 86th minute (April 18)
* Most Yellow Cards in a Match: 3
** Boston Breakers 1-1 Philadelphia Independence - 3 for Philadelphia (Caroline Seger, 2x Jen Buczkowski) (April 18)
* Most Red Cards in a Match:

## Related competitions
### All-Star Game

WPS All-Star 2010 took place on June 30, a midseason date as opposed to the previous year's postseason All-Star game. It was played at the new Kennesaw State University Soccer Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia, home to the Atlanta Beat;. The United States Coast Guard once again presented the game, which aired on Fox Soccer Channel again as well.
The all-star selection process was the same as in the previous year, although twice as many players were selected. The top US vote-getter, Abby Wambach, and the top international vote-getter, Marta, then chose between the remaining 20 voted-on players to create their teams, with the 14 at-large selections being distributed by the league. Marta's XI defeated Abby's XI 5–2.