The Washington Freedom was an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Germantown, Maryland, that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The Freedom was founded in 2001 as a member of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association. Beginning in 2004, the Freedom played its home games at the Maryland SoccerPlex. In 2011, the team relocated to Boca Raton, Florida, and became magicJack.
Amy Elizabeth LePeilbet is a retired American professional soccer defender who played for FC Kansas City in the National Women's Soccer League and was a member of the United States women's national soccer team. She was an Olympic gold medalist at the 2012 London Olympics and a silver medalist at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Christine Margaret Sinclair, OC is a Canadian soccer player and captain of the Canadian national team. She plays professionally for the Portland Thorns FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and previously played for FC Gold Pride and Western New York Flash in the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). A CONCACAF champion, two-time Olympic bronze medalist and 14-time winner of the Canada Soccer Player of the Year award, Sinclair is Canada's all-time leading scorer and currently second-best worldwide in all-time international goals scored (179), behind only Abby Wambach (184).
Stephanie Renee Cox, is a Mexican-American professional soccer coach and a former player. She is currently an assistant coach for Reign FC of the National Women's Soccer League. As a player, she was a defender for the United States women's national soccer team and won an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The Chicago Red Stars is an American professional soccer club based in Chicago, competing in the National Women's Soccer League, who play their home games in SeatGeek Stadium. The team was a founding member of Women's Professional Soccer, and played in the league in 2009 and 2010. After leaving the WPS in December 2010, due to financial issues, the team reorganized and joined the Women's Premier Soccer League for the 2011 season. In 2012, the team competed in Women's Premier Soccer League Elite, the single year this league existed. Since 2013, the team has been competing in National Women's Soccer League.
The Philadelphia Independence was an American professional soccer club that was based in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester, Pennsylvania. The team joined Women's Professional Soccer as an expansion team in 2010 and played its home games at West Chester University's John A. Farrell Stadium. The team played at Widener University's Leslie Quick Stadium in 2011. The Women's Professional Soccer league folded on May 18, 2012, after an earlier announcement that the 2012 season would be suspended.
Lauren Nicole Holiday, is an American retired professional soccer player who played as a midfielder and forward for the United States women's national soccer team from 2007 to 2015. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Holiday played professionally for FC Kansas City in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Boston Breakers in the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). She played collegiate soccer for the UCLA Bruins.
FC Gold Pride was an American professional soccer club based in Santa Clara, California which participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The club replaced the San Jose CyberRays of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association as the top-level women's soccer team in the San Francisco Bay Area. FC Gold Pride moved to its final home of Pioneer Stadium on the campus of CSU East Bay in June 2010 after opening their 2010 home schedule at the Castro Valley High School Athletic Stadium. The club ceased operations in November 2010 after struggling financially and being unable to find new investors.
Sky Blue FC is a professional soccer team based in Piscataway Township, New Jersey, which has participated in the National Women's Soccer League since 2013. From 2009 to 2011, the team played in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS).
Alexandra "Ali" Lowe Riley is an American-born New Zealand association football player who plays for Chelsea in the FA WSL. Riley is a member of the New Zealand women's national football team. She captained the Stanford soccer team to two NCAA semi-finals and one final.
Keelin Winters is an American retired soccer defensive midfielder who last played for the Seattle Reign FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), a team she captained to two consecutive NWSL Shield wins. She previously played for 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam in the Frauen-Bundesliga, Boston Breakers in Women's Professional Soccer, the Seattle Sounders of the American USL W-League, and Western Sydney Wanderers in the Australian W-League With Turbine Potsdam, she competed in three games of the 2012–13 UEFA Women's Champions League helping lift the team to the Round of 16. She played collegiate soccer for the University of Portland and was named West Coast Conference (WCC) Player of the Year in 2010.
Karina Chenelle LeBlanc is a retired U.S.-born Canadian soccer goalkeeper who played for the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women's Soccer League and the Canadian national team.
The Boston Breakers were an American professional soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defunct Women's United Soccer Association, as the Boston area's professional women's soccer team.
Alexandra "Allie" Linsley Long is an American soccer midfielder currently playing for the Seattle Reign FC of the National Women's Soccer League and the United States women's national soccer team. She made her debut for the national team on May 8, 2014 in a friendly against Canada. She has since made 40 total appearances for the team.
MagicJack was an American professional soccer club based in Boca Raton, Florida. The team competed in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) for one season until legal challenges caused the team's owner, Dan Borislow, to be banned from the WPS, which folded in 2012.
Alexandra "Alex" Sahlen is a former American professional soccer player and entrepreneur. She played for the Western New York Flash of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and was also the club's president.
Women's soccer in the United States has developed quite differently from men's soccer. Until the 1970s, organized women's soccer matches in the United States existed only on a limited basis. The United States is now regarded as one of the top countries in the world for women's soccer, and FIFA ranked its national team No. 1 in the world after its championship victory in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league, run by the United States Soccer Federation. At the top of the United States league system, it represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The NWSL was established in 2012 as a successor to Women's Professional Soccer (2007–2012), which was itself the successor to Women's United Soccer Association (2001–2003). The league began play in 2013 with eight teams, four of which were former members of Women's Professional Soccer. With the addition of two expansion teams in Houston and Orlando and the loss of Boston Breakers, it now has nine teams throughout the United States.
The 2009 season is Washington Freedom's first season competing in the Women's Professional Soccer league, the top division of women's soccer in the United States, and seventh competitive season. The team was coached by Jim Gabarra who has led the team since its founding in 2001.
