# 2011 Women's Professional Soccer season

The 2011 Women's Professional Soccer season is the third season for the WPS, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. The season started with the opening match on April 9, with the 2011 WPS Championship scheduled for the weekend of August 27–28.

## Changes from the 2010 Season

* Defending champions FC Gold Pride will not return for the 2011 season.
* Also not returning for the 2011 season are Chicago Red Stars, which were given a month's deadline to find investors after the original announcement of the teams, but failed to achieve so. The Red Stars will spend 2011 regrouping in the WPSL.
* New to the league are the Western New York Flash, who are playing in Rochester, New York.
* Due to a change in ownership, the Washington Freedom were renamed "magicJack", and also moved from the Washington area to Boca Raton in South Florida.

## Competition Format/Schedule

* The regular season will begin on April 9 and end on August 14, with most teams playing few games during the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. The playoffs will be held during the last two weeks of August and end with the WPS Championship presented by Citi on either August 27 or 28.
* Each team will play a total of eighteen games, two at home and two away against every other team minus one home game for one opponent and one away game for a different opponent.
* The playoff format was identical to that of the 2010 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.
Abbreviation and Color Key: Atlanta Beat - ATL • Boston Breakers - BOS • magicJack - mJ Philadelphia Independence - PHI • Sky Blue FC - NJ • Western New York Flash - WNY Win  • Loss  • Tie  • Home :
| Club | 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 |
| Atlanta Beat | BOS | NJ | WNY | WNY | mJ | PHI | NJ | mJ | PHI | mJ | BOS | NJ | BOS | PHI | mJ | PHI | WNY | WNY |
| Atlanta Beat | 1-4 | 1-0 | 2-2 | 3-0 | 2-0 | 1-2 | 3-0 | 4-0 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 0-2 | 2-0 |
| Boston Breakers | ATL | WNY | mJ | NJ | PHI | WNY | PHI | NJ | mJ | NJ | ATL | ATL | WNY | PHI | mJ | WNY | mJ | NJ |
| Boston Breakers | 1-4 | 1-2 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 3-2 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 2-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 4-0 | 2-1 | 0-2 | 2-0 |
| magicJack | BOS | PHI | ATL | WNY | ATL | BOS | ATL | PHI | PHI | NJ | WNY | ATL | NJ | BOS | NJ | BOS | WNY | PHI |
| magicJack | 1-0 | 2-1 | 2-0 | 3-0 | 4-0 | 2-1 | 2-3 | 6-0 | 3-1 | 2-2 | 3-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 4-0 | 3-2 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 2-1 |
| Philadelphia Independence | NJ | mJ | BOS | ATL | BOS | WNY | ATL | WNY | mJ | mJ | NJ | WNY | ATL | NJ | BOS | ATL | NJ | mJ |
| Philadelphia Independence | 2-2 | 2-1 | 2-0 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 6-0 | 3-1 | 4-3 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 2-0 | 0-1 | 1-0 | 2-1 | 2-1 |
| Sky Blue FC | PHI | ATL | BOS | WNY | ATL | BOS | WNY | BOS | ATL | PHI | mJ | WNY | PHI | mJ | WNY | mJ | PHI | BOS |
| Sky Blue FC | 2-2 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 3-1 | 3-0 | 2-1 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 4-3 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 2-0 | 0-2 | 1-4 | 3-2 | 2-1 | 2-0 |
| Western New York Flash | BOS | ATL | ATL | NJ | BOS | mJ | PHI | NJ | PHI | PHI | NJ | mJ | BOS | NJ | BOS | ATL | mJ | ATL |
| Western New York Flash | 1-2 | 2-2 | 3-0 | 3-1 | 3-2 | 3-0 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 2-1 | 0-2 | 3-1 | 2-2 | 1-4 | 2-1 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 2-0 |

## Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Western New York Flash | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 40 | 18 | +22 | 42 | Advance to Championship |
| 2 | Philadelphia Independence | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 31 | 18 | +13 | 36 | Advance to Super Semifinal |
| 3 | magicJack | 18 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 28 | Advance to First round |
| 4 | Boston Breakers | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 19 | 24 | −5 | 19 | Advance to First round |
| 5 | Sky Blue FC | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 24 | 29 | −5 | 19 | |
| 6 | Atlanta Beat | 18 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 7 | 32 | −25 | 7 | |
* ↑ magicJack were deducted a point for various league violations.
* 1 2 BOS: 7 pts; SKY: 4 pt

## Playoffs

| First Round August 17, 2011 | First Round August 17, 2011 | First Round August 17, 2011 | Super Semifinal August 20, 2011 | Super Semifinal August 20, 2011 | Super Semifinal August 20, 2011 | WPS Championship August 27, 2011 | WPS Championship August 27, 2011 | WPS Championship August 27, 2011 |
| | | | | | | 1 | Western New York Flash | 1(5) |
| | | | 2 | Philadelphia Independence | 2 | 2 | Philadelphia Independence | 1(4) |
| 3 | magicJack | 3 | 3 | magicJack | 0 | | | |
| 4 | Boston Breakers | 1 | | | | | | |

## Awards
### Player of the Week

| Week | Player of the Week | Club | Week's Statline |
| Week 1 | Allie Long | Sky Blue FC | NJ 2-2 PHI |
| Week 2 | Allison Lipsher | Atlanta Beat | 11 SVS, SHO |
| Week 3 | Allison Lipsher | Atlanta Beat | 10 SVS |
| Week 4 | Christine Sinclair | Western New York Flash | 2 G, GWG |
| Week 5 | Marta | Western New York Flash | 2 A, 1 G, GWA |
| Week 6 | McCall Zerboni | Western New York Flash | 1 A, 2 G, GWG |
| Week 7 | Caroline Seger | Western New York Flash | 2 G |
| Week 8 | Abby Wambach | magicJack | 3 G, GWG |
| Week 9 | Meghan Klingenberg | Boston Breakers | 1 A, 1 G, GWG |
| Week 10 | Alyssa Naeher | Boston Breakers | 6 SVS, SHO |
| Week 11 | Verónica Boquete | Philadelphia Independence | 3 A, 1 G |
| Week 12 | Casey Nogueira | Sky Blue FC | 1 G, GWG |
| Week 13 | Natasha Kai | Philadelphia Independence | 3 G |
| Week 13 | Natasha Kai | Philadelphia Independence | 1 G |
| Week 14 | Verónica Boquete | Philadelphia Independence | 1 G |
| Week 15 | Christine Sinclair | Western New York Flash | 1 A, 2 G, GWG |
| Week 15 | Christine Sinclair | Western New York Flash | BOS 2-2 WNY |
| Week 16 | Verónica Boquete | Philadelphia Independence | 1 G, GWG |
| Week 16 | Verónica Boquete | Philadelphia Independence | 1 G, GWG |
| Week 17 | Abby Wambach | magicJack | 2 G |
| Week 17 | Abby Wambach | magicJack | 2 G, GWG |
| Week 18 | Lauren Cheney | Boston Breakers | 2 G, GWG |

### Player of the Month

| Month | Player of the Month | Club | Month's Statline |
| May | McCall Zerboni | Western New York Flash | 2 G, 2 A in 5 games; Flash 5-0 in May |
| June | | | |
| July | | | |

### WPS Year End Awards

| Award | Player | Club | Notes |
| Michelle Akers Player of the Year | Verónica Boquete | Philadelphia Independence | Also earned league’s top honor as MVP |
| WPS Defender of the Year | Whitney Engen | Western New York Flash | Started and played the full 90 in all but one game |
| US Coast Guard Goalkeeper of the Year | Ashlyn Harris | Western New York Flash | Led the league in regular season goals per game average (1.00) |
| US Soccer Federation Rookie of the Year | Christen Press | magicJack | First-ever hat trick scored by a rookie on July 30, 2011 |
| WPS Coach of the Year | Paul Riley | Philadelphia Independence | Led his team to a seven-game unbeaten streak and playoff final |
| Citi Sportswoman of the Year | Nikki Krzysik | Philadelphia Independence | Team captain selected by her peers for exemplary leadership |
| PUMA Golden Boot (Top Scorer) | Marta | Western New York Flash | Scored ten goals, earning her third consecutive award |
Source: 2011 WPS Year End Awards

#### 2011 WPS Best XI

| Player | Position | Squad |
| Ashlyn Harris | Goalkeeper | Western New York Flash |
| Whitney Engen * | Defense | Western New York Flash |
| Kia McNeill | Defense | Philadelphia Independence |
| Nikki Krzysik | Defense | Philadelphia Independence |
| Ali Riley | Defense | Western New York Flash |
| Veronica Boquete * | Midfield | Philadelphia Independence |
| Caroline Seger | Midfield | Western New York Flash |
| Jen Buczkowski | Midfield | Philadelphia Independence |
| Christine Sinclair * | Forward | Western New York Flash |
| Marta | Forward | Western New York Flash |
| Abby Wambach | Forward | magicJack |
* – unanimous selection Source: WPS Announces Best XI of 2011

## Statistics
### Scoring

* First Goal of the season: Jordan Angeli for Boston Breakers against Atlanta Beat, 18th minute (April 9)
* Earliest Goal in a match: 14 seconds by Lauren Cheney for Boston Breakers against Sky Blue FC (August 14)
* Widest Winning Margin: 6 goals
** Philadelphia Independence 6-0 magicJack (June 18)
* Most Goals Scored in a Match: 7
** Philadelphia Independence 4-3 Sky Blue FC (July 6)
* Fewest Scoreless Games: 1 - Western New York Flash
* Most Scoreless Games: 13 - Atlanta Beat
* Average Goals per Match: 2.778

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Minutes |
| Abby Wambach | magicJack | Atlanta | 4–0 | May 28, 2011 | 9', 67', 89' |
| Natasha Kai | Philadelphia | Sky Blue | 4–3 | July 6, 2011 | 3', 38', 58' |
| Christen Press | magicJack | Boston | 4–0 | July 30, 2011 | 36', 76', 83' |
* $^4$ Player scored 4 goals
* $^5$ Player scored 5 goals

### Discipline

* First Yellow Card: Katherine Reynolds for Atlanta Beat against Boston Breakers (April 9)
* First Red Card: Allison Whitworth for Atlanta Beat against Boston Breakers (April 9)
* Most Yellow Cards: 4
** Carli Lloyd (Atlanta Beat)

### Streaks

* Longest Winning Streak: 6 games
** Philadelphia Independence Games 8-13
* Longest Unbeaten Streak: 8 games
** Western New York Flash Games 1-8
** Western New York Flash Games 11-18
* Longest Winless Streak: 16 games
** Atlanta Beat Games 3-18
* Longest Losing Streak: 5 games
** Atlanta Beat Games 4-8
* Longest Shutouts:
** Individual: 325 minutes by Valerie Henderson for Philadelphia Independence
** Team:: 392 minutes for Philadelphia Independence
* Longest Drought: 757 minutes for Atlanta Beat

### Home Team Record

(Regular season only)
* 30 wins, 14 losses, 10 ties - 1.852 PPG
* 92 goals for, 58 against - +34 GD