They looked quite impressive when they beat the Freedom in Washington. (Well, Maryland.) They were expecting to have everyone back from the Pan Am Games by the second round of the playoffs, but it didn't happen. That hurt. Nogueira's a menace.
I don't think they ever played the Freedom at full strength - they didn't have Formiga for the match at the Soccerplex, and they didn't have Formiga or Nogueira for the match in New Jersey.
You're right -- they didn't have Formiga in that one. And they still won. Lopsided score, though the teams looked evenly matched. Nogueira-vs.-anybody, though, was an uneven matchup. She's got quite a future.
All good teams had to do without their best players; Vancouver missed a bunch, as did Soccer Plus Connecticut and Long Island Fury.
Has anyone noticed that the Washington Freedom Soccer Club site is down? Their site expired 8/4/07 and it has yet to be renewed.... CRAP!
Which URL are you using? http://www.washingtonfreedom.com/ is fine. EDIT: Ah, it's http://www.washingtonfreedomsoccerclub.com/ that's expired. I hadn't been using that one for a while.
Washington Freedom midfielder/defender Ali Krieger has signed a two-year contract with FFC Frankfurt: Frankfurt add American defenders
I'm not sure how contracts in the W-League work. Was Kreiger under contract? Is this a loan or has she just left?
I would think that a team that doesn't pay its players wouldn't have a whole lot of say over what they do. I'd expect her back when she can go pro in 2009, but it wouldn't surprise me if we didn't see her next year - she's been kind of an on-and-off Freedom player, anyhow.
It's mentioned in this article about a new W-League team in the LA area that former Washington Freedom defender Skylar Little will be the assistant coach.
Freedom central defender (and unsung heroine of the W-League tournament) Ali Krieger is on the USWNT roster for the upcoming Four Nations Tournament in China.