Abby Wambach has taken this ride before. And she thinks this time, there's more than a reasonable chance women's pro soccer will succeed in the U.S...

For one month the Washington Freedom had played its best soccer, coming together as a team just in time to put together a streak that not only booked it a trip to the playoffs but also a home game...

Natasha Kai and Francielle tallied second-half goals to lead Sky Blue FC to a 2-1 win over the Washington Freedom...

At one point late in the second half, Sky Blue FC put together 22 straight passes as their traveling fans helped urge them on to a 2-1 victory of the Freedom in the first round of the inaugural WPS Playoffs...

It was the 84th minute, and Lisa De Vanna was running like she had just stepped on the pitch. That was not the case, of course. The Washington Freedom forward started the match on Saturday at the Maryland SoccerPlex against Sky Blue FC of New Jersey, and played every minute as if they were her last...

A half dozen or so young girls wearing eager expressions and matching travel team jerseys leaned over a railing at the Maryland SoccerPlex Saturday night and shouted Ali Krieger's name...

Kathryn L. Knapp and Christa Mann debate the first WPS playoff game between the Washington Freedom and Sky Blue FC...

Before women's soccer was an Olympic sport, eventual two-time gold medalist and eventual one-time World Cup champion goalie Briana Scurry created a self-written note that read, "I have a dream, Atlanta '96."...

The Washington Freedom women's soccer team stamped its place in history when it won the Women's United Soccer Association Founder's cup in 2003, the last of three seasons for the first U.S. professional women's soccer league. Now it's looking for déjà vu...

In a down-to-the-wire finish to the 2009 WPS regular season, the Washington Freedom and New Jersey-based Sky Blue FC earned the final two playoff berths in Women's Professional Soccer in Week 20...

The Washington Freedom clinched a playoff berth on the final weekend of the Women's Professional Soccer regular season when it beat Sky Blue FC, 3-1, Saturday at the Maryland SoccerPlex...

The resurgence of the Washington Freedom has gone hand-in-hand with that of its biggest star, forward Abby Wambach, in the final weeks of the regular season...

The inaugural Women's Professional Soccer regular season has come to a close. Four teams head into post-season action, which begins Aug. 15, when the Washington Freedom hosts Sky Blue FC at 4 p.m. ET...

Abby Wambach led the Washington Freedom to a 3-1 win over Sky Blue FC with two goals and an assist.The Freedom move into third place, while Sky Blue awaits the Boston Breakers result on Sunday...

U.S. national team striker Abby Wambach scored her seventh and eighth goals of the season and added an assist when the Washington Freedom defeated Sky Blue FC, 3-1, in the final game of the Women's Professional Soccer season for both teams before 4,573 Saturday night in Germantown, Md...

Only four members from the United States national team program were selected among the First XI for the first Women’s Professional Soccer All-Star Game. The 11 players were selected from equal parts voting by fans, the news media, league coaches and players...

FC Gold Pride snaps own losing and Washington's winning streak with 3-2 win over Freedom...

FC Gold Pride and Washington Freedom have met three times in the inaugural year of Women’s Professional Soccer, twice at their home field – Buck Shaw Stadium at Santa Clara University...

Week 19 of Women's Professional Soccer wrapped up without too many changes in the standings...

The Washington Freedom failed to clinch a spot in the Women's Professional Soccer playoffs, falling, 3-2, to FC Gold Pride on Saturday at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif...

The way it was neatly laid out -- the opportunity to score her 100th international goal in front of a hometown crowd in Rochester, N.Y. -- Abby Wambach knew it was going to be special before it happened...

As our inaugural season draws to an end, I realize that it has taken me over four months to get to know my Freedom teammates...

A 3-2 loss to the Washington Freedom officially eliminated the Red Stars (4-9-5, 17 points) from the first Women's Professional Soccer playoffs...

Allie Long's goal in the 89th minute helped the Washington Freedom (6-6-5) stay very much in the WPS playoff race with a 3-2 victory at Chicago, eliminating the Red Stars from contention...

Abby Wambach and Allie Long combined for three goals to lead the Washington Freedom to a 3-2 win over the Chicago Red Stars...

Last night we went to a happy hour at Bethesda’s Tommy Joes, hosted by DC Scores and love.futbol, with players from the Washington Freedom showcasing their fancy footwork...

While the Los Angeles Sol continue their first-place march to the best regular-season record in Women's Professional Soccer, the No. 2 spot has rotated seemingly every week...

We're down to the last three weeks of the regular season and the race for 2nd through 4th places have tightened considerably. Most of the contending teams have four games left, except Saint Louis which has five. Let's look at the playoff chances for each team...

Cat has played an incredible 111 games for the USA, scoring 11 times as a defender, and that, sports fans, is a lot of goals. She's a 2004 Olympic gold medalist, won the NCAA title at North Carolina, and had her jersey retired in Chapel Hill...

In professional sports, heroes come in all shapes and sizes. There are stars and superstars, there are unsung heroes, and then there are men and women like Nicci Wright...

In a league full of established names -- from Freedom teammate Abby Wambach to Boston Breakers' English midfielder Kelly Smith to the Los Angeles Sol's Brazilian superstar Marta, considered to be the world's top player -- Bompastor has emerged from the relative unknown to become one of the league's most exciting attacking players...

The St. Louis Athletica hit a speed bump in their race toward the Women’s Professional Soccer playoffs, courtesy of the Washington Freedom...

United States Women’s National Team forward Abby Wambach is still sitting on 99 career international goals. On Sunday, July 19, she will have the opportunity to score her one hundredth goal in her hometown, Rochester, NY...

The Washington Freedom and Sky Blue FC couldn't have asked for more goals, well maybe one more. Either way, both clubs showed they’re still in the hunt for the playoffs...

In the highest-scoring match in WPS history, Cat Whitehill converted a rebound in stoppage time to lift the Washington Freedom to a 4-4 tie with Sky Blue FC in New Jersey...

After a five-game unbeaten streak spanning from the end of April through May, the Freedom has fallen into a tailspin, losing four of six in the past two months, including three straight one-goal losses...

One point out of second place in the Northeast Division, the Freedom W-League team faces their toughest task of the season at the Maryland SoccerPlex on Thursday as they take on the only team to beat them this season – the division leading and currently unbeaten Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues...

With roughly a month remaining in the Women’s Professional Soccer regular season, former Texas A&M soccer players Kati Jo Spisak and Ashlee Pistorius are making significant contributions to their teams...

From a small school in Uganda to an after-school program in inner-city Chicago, a program initiative by the US Soccer Foundation has sent new and used soccer equipment to underprivileged children all over the globe...

Breaking the heart of our nation’s capital on a 4th of July weekend was not very patriotic, but it is exactly what Marta did with a goal in the 91st minute versus the Washington Freedom Sunday afternoon...

It looked as if the Washington Freedom would hold No. 1 Los Angeles to a scoreless draw. That was at the 90-minute mark. One minute into stoppage time, WPS leading scorer Marta netted the lone goal of the match...

The Los Angeles Sol rallied in the closing moments to break a scoreless tie and defeat the Washington Freedom, 1-0, at the Maryland SoccerPlex in front of 5,143 fans on Sunday night...

The Chicago Red Stars host the Washington Freedom Wednesday night to kick off Week 15 action. The 20-game season is getting down to the end now with six teams fighting for three remaining playoff spots...

The focus of “Kick Around” switches to Women’s Professional Soccer this week, with the mid-season MVP the topic...

Ten years ago, we were in the midst of a cultural phenomenon, and no sporting event has compelled Americans so extensively this past decade as that 1999 Women's World Cup soccer tournament...

WPS Week 14 ended with the Los Angeles Sol further extending its lead in the WPS Standings to 16 points...

The U.S. Women's World Cup victory 10 years ago signaled a shift for women's sports....

The Boston Breakers and Washington Freedom swapped standings Wednesday night...

Three clean sheets in Women's Professional Soccer over the weekend, with the Washington Freedom and the Boston Breakers picking up road wins.

St. Louis has less-than-happy memories of the last match with Washington....

In front of 5,049 at RFK Stadium, Washington played to an uncharacteristic 0-0 tie...

Women's Professional Soccer is growing every week, and the league is being noticed on the international level.

Two first half goals for the Washington Freedom led the team to a 2-1 win...

The Boston Breakers (3-2-2) and Washington Freedom (1-2-3) played...

Washington Freedom defender and U.S. National Team member...