# 2009 Women's Professional Soccer season

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 | 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 |
| Boston Breakers | BAY | STL | WSH | CHI | LA | LA | WSH | NJ | STL | BAY | CHI | WSH | NJ | NJ | CHI | BAY | NJ | WSH | STL | LA |
| Boston Breakers | 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 |
| Chicago Red Stars | 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 |
| FC Gold Pride | 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 |
| Los Angeles Sol | 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 |
| Saint Louis Athletica | 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 |
| Sky Blue FC | 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 |
| Washington Freedom | 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 | Advance to First Round |
| 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 | First Round | First Round | Super Semifinal | Super Semifinal | Super Semifinal | WPS Final | WPS Final | 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

Leading Goalscorers :
| Rank | Player | Club | G | Min |
| 1 | Marta | Los Angeles Sol | 9 | 1440 |
| 2 | Camille Abily | Los Angeles Sol | 8 | 1314 |
| 3 | Cristiane | Chicago Red Stars | 6 | 920 |
| 4 | Abby Wambach | Washington Freedom | 6 | 977 |
| 4 | Christine Sinclair | FC Gold Pride | 6 | 1052 |
| 4 | Eniola Aluko | Saint Louis Athletica | 6 | 1123 |
| 7 | Lisa De Vanna | Washington Freedom | 5 | 629 |
| 7 | Natasha Kai | Sky Blue FC | 5 | 954 |
| 7 | Kelly Smith | Boston Breakers | 5 | 974 |
| 10 | Sonia Bompastor | Washington Freedom | 4 | 793 |
| 10 | Tiffany Milbrett | FC Gold Pride | 4 | |
| 10 | Lindsay Tarpley | Chicago Red Stars | 4 | |
Assist Leaders :
| Rank | Player | Club | A | Min |
| 1 | Sonia Bompastor | Washington Freedom | 6 | 1170 |
| 1 | Aya Miyama | Los Angeles Sol | 6 | 1620 |
| 3 | Eniola Aluko | Saint Louis Athletica | 4 | 1123 |
| 3 | Lisa De Vanna | Washington Freedom | 4 | 767 |
| 5 | Keeley Dowling | Sky Blue FC | 3 | 529 |
| 5 | Kendall Fletcher | Saint Louis Athletica | 3 | 695 |
| 5 | Marta | Los Angeles Sol | 3 | 1440 |
| 5 | Megan Rapinoe | Chicago Red Stars | 3 | 1096 |
| 5 | Lindsay Tarpley | Chicago Red Stars | 3 | 1117 |
| 5 | Aly Wagner | Los Angeles Sol | 3 | 695 |
| 5 | Abby Wambach | Washington Freedom | 3 | 977 |
| 5 | Tiffany Weimer | FC Gold Pride | 3 | 644 |
Most Shots :
| Rank | Player | Club | Shts | Min |
| 1 | Abby Wambach | Washington Freedom | 64 | 977 |
| 2 | Christine Sinclair | FC Gold Pride | 52 | 1052 |
| 3 | Marta | Los Angeles Sol | 51 | 1440 |
| 4 | Eniola Aluko | Saint Louis Athletica | 49 | 1123 |
| 5 | Megan Rapinoe | Chicago Red Stars | 45 | 1096 |
| 5 | Kristine Lilly | Boston Breakers | 45 | 1260 |
| 7 | Natasha Kai | Sky Blue FC | 42 | 974 |
| 7 | Aya Miyama | Los Angeles Sol | 42 | 1620 |
| 9 | Cristiane | Chicago Red Stars | 41 | 920 |
| 9 | Lisa De Vanna | Washington Freedom | 41 | 920 |
| 9 | Kelly Smith | Boston Breakers | 41 | 974 |
| 9 | Lindsay Tarpley | Chicago Red Stars | 41 | |
Most Crosses :
| Rank | Player | Club | Crs | Min |
| 1 | Karen Carney | Chicago Red Stars | 51 | 1201 |
| 2 | Marta | Los Angeles Sol | 36 | 1440 |
| 3 | Megan Rapinoe | Chicago Red Stars | 34 | 1096 |
| 4 | Aya Miyama | Los Angeles Sol | 33 | 1530 |
| 5 | Sonia Bompastor | Washington Freedom | 30 | 1170 |
| 6 | Kristine Lilly | Boston Breakers | 25 | 1260 |
| 7 | Eniola Aluko | Saint Louis Athletica | 24 | 1123 |
| 8 | Amy Rodriguez | Boston Breakers | 21 | 920 |
| 8 | Heather O'Reilly | Sky Blue FC | 21 | 1170 |
| 8 | Heather Mitts | Boston Breakers | 21 | 1203 |

### Fouls

Fouls Committed :
| Rank | Player | Club | FC | Min |
| 1 | Megan Rapinoe | Chicago Red Stars | 35 | 1096 |
| 2 | Carli Lloyd | Chicago Red Stars | 33 | 953 |
| 3 | Kelly Smith | Boston Breakers | 30 | 974 |
| 3 | Abby Wambach | Washington Freedom | 30 | 977 |
| 3 | Shannon Boxx | Los Angeles Sol | 30 | 1440 |
| 6 | Formiga | FC Gold Pride | 27 | 1093 |
| 6 | Sonia Bompastor | Washington Freedom | 27 | 1170 |
| 8 | Rosana | Sky Blue FC | 23 | |
| 9 | Brittany Klein | Chicago Red Stars | 22 | 1228 |
| 9 | Marta | Los Angeles Sol | 22 | 1440 |
Fouls Suffered :
| Rank | Player | Club | FS | Min |
| 1 | Lori Chalupny | Saint Louis Athletica | 44 | 1170 |
| 2 | Kelly Smith | Boston Breakers | 43 | 974 |
| 3 | Abby Wambach | Washington Freedom | 38 | 977 |
| 3 | Sonia Bompastor | Washington Freedom | 38 | 1170 |
| 5 | Kristine Lilly | Boston Breakers | 32 | 1260 |
| 6 | Brittany Klein | Chicago Red Stars | 26 | 1228 |
| 6 | Marta | Los Angeles Sol | 26 | 1440 |
| 6 | Aya Miyama | Los Angeles Sol | 26 | 1530 |
| 9 | Formiga | FC Gold Pride | 25 | 1093 |
| 10 | Tina DiMartino | FC Gold Pride | 20 | |
| 10 | Leslie Osborne | FC Gold Pride | 20 | 1217 |

### Goalkeeping

270+ MINS only
| Rank | Goalkeeper | Club | GP | MINS | SOG | SVS | GA | GAA | W-L-T | SHO |
| 1 | Jillian Loyden | Saint Louis Athletica | 3 | 270 | 18 | 16 | 1 | 0.33 | 2–1–0 | 2 |
| 2 | Karina LeBlanc | Los Angeles Sol | 18 | 1620 | 87 | 73 | 9 | 0.50 | 10–3–5 | 12 |
| 3 | Ali Lipsher | Boston Breakers | 11 | 928 | 46 | 37 | 6 | 0.58 | 4–4–2 | 5 |
| 4 | Hope Solo | Saint Louis Athletica | 15 | 1350 | 86 | 71 | 13 | 0.87 | 7–5–3 | 7 |
| 5 | Jenni Branam | Sky Blue FC | 16 | 1395 | 82 | 62 | 15 | 0.97 | 6–6–3 | 6 |
| 6 | Caroline Jönsson | Chicago Red Stars | 19 | 1710 | 109 | 87 | 23 | 1.21 | 5–9–5 | 4 |
| 7 | Alison Whitworth | FC Gold Pride | 4 | 360 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 1.25 | 1–2–1 | 1 |
| 8 | Kristin Luckenbill | Boston Breakers | 9 | 782 | 41 | 24 | 12 | 1.38 | 3–4–2 | 2 |
| 9 | Nicole Barnhart | FC Gold Pride | 12 | 1260 | 83 | 61 | 20 | 1.43 | 3–7–4 | 2 |
| 10 | Erin McLeod | Washington Freedom | 13 | 1170 | 69 | 46 | 19 | 1.46 | 5–5–3 | 3 |
| 11 | Briana Scurry | Washington Freedom | 3 | 270 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 2.00 | 0–2–1 | 0 |

## Awards
### Player of the Week

| Week | Player of the Week | Club | Week's Statline |
| Week 1 | Aya Miyama | Los Angeles Sol | 1 A (6') GWA |
| Week 2 | Marta | Los Angeles Sol | 2 G (42', 45') GWG |
| Week 3 | Kelly Smith | Boston Breakers | 1 G (53') GWG, 1 A (87') |
| Week 4 | Aly Wagner | Los Angeles Sol | 1 A (47') GWA |
| Week 5 | Abby Wambach | Washington Freedom | 2 G (18', 90') GWG, 1 A (51') |
| Week 6 | Sonia Bompastor | Washington Freedom | 2 G (29', 90') |
| Week 7 | Lori Chalupny | Saint Louis Athletica | 1 G (16') GWG |
| Week 8 | Christine Sinclair | FC Gold Pride | 1 G (30') GWG |
| Week 9 | Jillian Loyden | Saint Louis Athletica | 6 SVS, SHO |
| Week 10 | Shannon Boxx | Los Angeles Sol | 1 G (50') |
| Week 11 | Camille Abily | Los Angeles Sol | 1 G (90'), 2 G (14', 60') |
| Week 12 | Eniola Aluko | Saint Louis Athletica | 1 G (43') GWG |
| Week 13 | Erin McLeod | Washington Freedom | 7 SVS, SHO |
| Week 14 | Marta | Los Angeles Sol | 1 G (73') GWG, 2 G (62', 92') |
| Week 15 | Lindsay Tarpley | Chicago Red Stars | 1 A (48'), 1 G (61') GWG |
| Week 16 | Cristiane | Chicago Red Stars | 3 G (31', 46+', 65') GWG |
| Week 17 | Natasha Kai | Sky Blue FC | 2 G (5', 86'); 6 shots |
| Week 18 | Abby Wambach | Washington Freedom | 2 G (35', 56') |
| Week 19 | Lindsay Tarpley | Chicago Red Stars | 1 A (24'), 1 G (47') GWG |
| Week 20 | Abby Wambach | Washington Freedom | 1 A (58'), 2 G (20', 49') |

### Player of the Month

| Month | Player of the Month | Club | Month's Statline |
| April | Kelly Smith | Boston Breakers | 3 G, 1 A in 3 games; Breakers 2–2–0 in April |
| May | Sonia Bompastor | Washington Freedom | 2 G, 3 A in 4 games; Freedom 2–0–2 in May |
| June | Camille Abily | Los Angeles Sol | 5 G in 6 games; Sol 4–0–2 in June |
| July | Abby Wambach | Washington Freedom | 4 G, 1 A in 5 games; Freedom 3–2–1 in July |

## 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.