Tuesday, July 29, 2008

 W-League Championship Media Kit [+]                   W-League Playoff Bracket [+]

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA – When the defending champion Washington Freedom and expansion Pali Blues square off in the W-League Semifinals Thursday night, the match-up will not mirror the history of the respective clubs as the Blue bring plenty of experience to the pitch. Two W-League championship coaches and a pair of former championship teammates will go toe-to-toe.

The Freedom are the arguable headliners of the W-League Championship tournament as the defending W-League champions and off-shoot of the last WUSA Champions in 2003. The Freedom returned to official league play last season and dominated in their first season back with a record of 11-0-1 during the season and a fantastic four-game run to the title that saw them outscore their opposition 13-3.

The Freedom capped it off the championship run with a 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Silverbacks, who they also defeated this past Saturday in the Eastern Conference Final, with goals from Rebecca Moros, Christie Welsh and Tiffany McCarty. All three are back looking for a repeat.

Welsh will be out to claim her third W-League title, having also previously won a league championship with the New Jersey Wildcats in 2005, providing the assist on the opening goal of a 3-0 victory over the Ottawa Fury.

Standing in her way will be former Wildcats teammate Kendall Fletcher, who is the anchor of the Blues back line. With former Wildcats head coach Charlie Naimo as the first head coach of the expansion club, Fletcher was one of several W-League stars from across the continent to find her way to the California coast, forming an immediate power in a conference long dominated by Vancouver and Seattle.

Another one of those stars is former Canadian international Sasha Andrews. She too will be looking for a third championship, having won two as a member of the Vancouver Whitecaps. Her first came in 2004 against her current coach as the Caps downed the Wildcats in penalties 4-2 after a scoreless draw.

Not to be left out, Lori Lindsey will be aiming to win her third championship with Washington on Saturday, having also played for the Freedom when they captured the 2003 WUSA Founder’s Cup. In addition to finishing third on the team in points behind Christie Welsh and former Richmond Kicker Destiny striker Jenn Parsons, the midfielder saw the most action of any player on the squad.

While Pali only gave up four goals on the year courtesy, in part, of Fletcher en route to a perfect record 12-0-0 campaign, it was not quite an easy task with the likes of Vancouver, who boasted numerous Canadian youth internationals, and the Seattle Sounders, who fought them to narrow 1-0 decisions.

While Fletcher patrolled the back line, occasionally assisting on offense for three goals and two assists, it was US youth international Danesha Adams and Australian international Collette McCallum leading the attack. Adams posted six goals and three assists in 11 games while McCallum, who was one of the three finalists for the Asian Football Confederation’s Player of the Year honor earlier this year, tallied five goals and two assists in eight games.

Washington meanwhile, had what appears on paper to have been the more difficult path to the W-League Semifinals, especially given they wore the bulls-eye of defending champion all season long. The Freedom rebounded from an early season 1-0 loss to the much-improved Boston Renegades, who finished third, to go unbeaten through the remaining 11 games, but two were draws and four others were one-goal decisions.

The Freedom have a former Australian international star of their own in Kele Golebiowski that plays a pivotal role with the team and will have plenty of fans at the championship. The standout midfielder is in her fifth year in the league after previously having played for tournament host Hampton Roads. The 2001 W-1 Rookie of the Year, will be making her return to Virginia Beach for the first time since last playing for the Piranhas in 2005. Golebiowski played in 13 games this season for the Freedom with a goal and assist and was a member of the 2003 WUSA Championship side with the Lindsey, making them the lone two players still with the Freedom from that squad.

At the W-League Championship tournament this week, the regular season champion Pali Blues will face the defending champion Washington Freedom and the Seattle Sounders will take on the FC Indiana Lionesses in the semifinals Thursday, July 31. The winners will meet Saturday, August 2 in the championship, which will air on Fox Soccer Channel at 11:00 pm ET.