(only had a little space in the print edition so a long bonus story here…)
One minute, it was a nice little comeback for the Washington Freedom that might or might not have still fallen short.
The next, it was a classic match in the young history of WPS. The Freedom salvaged a 3-3 draw with St. Louis Athletica thanks to three header goals from their two shortest players on the field in the final 11 minutes of regulation on a rainy night at Maryland SoccerPlex. But the result was overshadowed by an unfortunate tackle that looked likely to have ended Athletica’s best player’s season.
On the ensuing kickoff after Abby Wambach fed Lisa DeVanna for a far post header to cut the St. Louis lead to 3-2 in the 79th minute, Wambach charged into Brazilian midfielder Daniela, who had scored twice already in the match but saw her night come to an end as she was taken off the field on a stretcher with a serious right knee injury.
According to game operations staff at Maryland SoccerPlex, Daniela lost consciousness at one point in the locker room due to the pain, leading to the appearance of a defibrillator, even though it apparently was not used. Daniela eventually was taken away from the facility in an ambulance for precautionary reasons.
“I think at the end of the day,” said Wambach, who is coming off a broken leg herself. “I’m real sorry that Daniela went down. I never want to be on that end of a collision. I never want to see a player go down, and I sure hope she’s alright, considering especially what I’ve been going through the last nine months.”
Wambach also explained what happened on the play: “She took a long touch so I charged, and slid into it, slipped a little bit, and she came in late, I came in late. I definitely think I deserved a yellow card, but I don’t think it was maliciously. I wasn’t intending to try to take her out. I was going for the ball. That’s not my game.”
St. Louis goalkeeper Hope Solo, however, was less than impressed.
“My thought on it was that there was no excuse for it,” said Solo. “I know Abby means well, and I know she has a good heart, and that she’d never want to see a player go down. But in the emotions of a game, it was right after the kickoff after they scored, and it was too many emotions, and she went into two-footed. Those are the breaks we’ve been getting this season.”
While Athletica (0-1-3) remained winless, 5-foot-4 French left wing Sonia Bompastor was the hero for the Freedom (1-2-2), scoring her first two goals in WPS. She nodded in Washington’s first goal in the 29th minute off a cross by Jill Gilbeau to tie the game, 1-1, and equaled that effort with the tie-clinching goal in the 90th minute.
It came when Washington’s Cat Whitehill boomed a free kick down the middle. Backpedaling Athletic defenders were unable to clear the ball, instead popping it behind them, and Bompastor said through her agent as interpreter that she said where it was going to fall, and the goal meant celebrations all around for the season-high crowd of 5,149.
“It was unfortunate,” said Solo. “I didn’t expect it. I didn’t expect the ball to get cleared. I was off my line, and it went right over my head.”
Both of Daniela’s goals came in the first half. The first came just seven minutes in – ending Athletica’s 277-minute scoreless streak to open the season – and then she had a wonder-strike from 25 yards in the 41st minute with three Freedom defenders in her grill to make it 2-1. St. Louis padded the lead in the 69th minute on a goal by English forward Eniola Aluko.
But Wambach shifted into an unusual role of provider in the 79th minute, crossing the ball to 5-2 DeVanna, who beat Solo with a header at the far post and cut the margin to 3-2. But the celebration was short-lived after Wambach’s foul, for which she was given a yellow card — hardly solace for St. Louis.
“[Daniela] was our best player tonight so obviously that hurts to lose somebody of her caliber, especially somebody who has her experience late in the game,” said Athletica defender Lori Chalupny. “It definitely hurt us.”
