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Full name | Philadelphia Independence | ||
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Founded | 2009 | ||
Dissolved | 2012 | ||
Stadium | Leslie Quick Stadium Chester, Pennsylvania | ||
Capacity | 4,500 | ||
Owner | Team Dynamics, LLC | ||
Head Coach | Paul Riley | ||
League | Women's Professional Soccer | ||
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.
Women's Professional Soccer formally announced the Philadelphia market as its eighth franchise on March 17, 2009. [1] Two months later, the Independence formally unveiled its name and colors at the Franklin Institute in Center City. The "Independence" name referred to the Declaration of Independence, adopted at Independence Hall on July 4, 1776. The official motto was "We the People", referring to the Preamble to the United States Constitution. [2] The Independence succeeded the former Philadelphia Charge of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association.
In the inaugural season, the Independence finished the regular season as the league's three seed, then won two playoff games in overtime to advance to the WPS Championship. The Independence defeated Washington Freedom at home in the Quarterfinal, then won at Boston in the WPS Super Semifinal. In the championship, the Independence were defeated by FC Gold Pride.
In the 2011 season, the Independence finished the regular season as the league's two seed, then won the WPS Super Semifinal 2-0 over the magicJack to advance to the WPS Championship. Goals were scored by Tasha Kai 46' and Amy Rodriguez 81'. The Independence faced the Western New York Flash for the WPS Championship where they lost by penalty shootout 1(5) - 1(4).
The Independence's colors were steel grey, alluding to the city’s industrial history; pearl blue, derived from the civic flag of Philadelphia and further symbolizing the city’s blue-collar heritage; and blazing yellow, representing the Swedish immigrants who first came to the city in 1638. [3] The Independence unveiled its brand on July 4, 2009, to commemorate American Independence Day. The primary logo's contour was a stylized keystone, an architectural shape that referred to Pennsylvania's official nickname, "The Keystone State." This nickname alluded to the commonwealth's economic, social, and political relevance in the original Thirteen Colonies. An eighteenth-century war flag, featuring the team's name and motto, is superimposed across the shield. [4]
For the 2010 season, the club played at West Chester University's John A. Farrell Stadium. For 2011, it played its home games at Widener University's Leslie Quick Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Independence elected to utilize PPL Park to host playoff games in 2011. [5] [6] The Independence practiced and held preseason games at their training home, United Sports, in West Bradford Township, Pennsylvania.
Season | Stadium | Location | Capacity | Notes |
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2010 | John A. Farrell Stadium | West Chester, Pennsylvania | 7,500 [7] | Regular season home |
United Sports | West Bradford Township, Pennsylvania | 1,200 [8] | Preseason scrimmages | |
2011 | Leslie Quick Stadium | Chester, Pennsylvania | 4,000 [9] | Regular season home |
PPL Park | 18,500 [10] | Playoff home | ||
United Sports | West Bradford Township, Pennsylvania | 1,200 [8] | Preseason scrimmages |
Grassroots support was instrumental in bringing top-tier women's professional soccer back to the Philadelphia area. The Philadelphia Independence masterfully cultivated relationships with Philadelphia-area girls' travel soccer teams, offering workshops all over the region with Independence players at reasonable costs, sending emails about games, inviting teams to have a formal relationship with the Independence, having local girls' teams on the field for the teams' introductions at every game, and having all players on the field for an extensive post-game autograph and conversation time after every game. The formal grassroots support group for the Independence was nicknamed "The Cheesesteaks".
For men's soccer, this backing came in the form of a supporters' association known as the Sons of Ben, named for Founding Father and Philadelphia icon Benjamin Franklin, founded in January 2007. The Sons of Ben petitioned the men's Major League Soccer league to expand to the Philadelphia market until the official expansion announcement of the men's team, later named the Philadelphia Union, was made in January 2008.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Position | Name | Nationality |
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Head coach | Paul Riley | ![]() |
Assistant coach | Steven Fraser | ![]() |
Assistant coach | Paul Royal | ![]() |
Assistant coach | Skip Thorp | ![]() |
Paul Riley, Steven Fraser and Skip Thorp were selected as coaches for the 2010 WPS All-Star game held in Atlanta. [12]
Paul Riley was voted the WPS Coach of the Year in 2010 for his team's third place regular season performance as an expansion franchise and subsequent playoff berth. [13]
Year | League | Regular season | P | W | D | L | Pts | Playoffs | Top scorer | Avg. attendance |
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2010 | WPS | 3rd Place | 24 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 34 | Runners-up | ![]() | 3,050 |
2011 | WPS | 2nd Place | 24 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 35 | Runners-up | ![]() | 2,774 |
The Philadelphia Independence was owned and operated by David and Linda Halstead.[ citation needed ] The Halsteads purchased the franchise from WPS in March 2009 and orchestrated the team's success in both 2010 and 2011 seasons (they never won a championship, but were runners-up both years). Their first coach was Paul Riley. After the league folded in 2012, the name stopped being used.
On January 30, 2012, Women's Professional Soccer announced suspension of the 2012 season, citing several internal organization struggles as the primary cause. Some of these included an ongoing legal battle with an ex-franchise owner and the lack of resources invested into the league. [14] [15]
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.
The Philadelphia Liberty FC is a North American professional soccer team that is based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States.
Nicole Renee Barnhart is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previously played for FC Gold Pride and Philadelphia Independence in Women's Professional Soccer, and for the United States national team where she was a two-time Olympic gold medalist. She competed in qualifying matches for 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, 2011 Four Nations Tournament and 2011 Algarve Cup.
Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 season, with continued plans for future expansion. The WPS was the highest level in the United States soccer pyramid for the women's game.
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Alexandra Lowe Riley is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Angel City of the American National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Born in the United States, she represents the New Zealand national team. She captains both her club and national teams. As a collegiate athlete, she captained the Stanford soccer team to two NCAA semi-finals and one final.
The 2010 Women's Professional Soccer season was the second season for the WPS, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. Regular season champion FC Gold Pride won the WPS Championship on September 26 with a 4–0 victory over the Philadelphia Independence.
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Alexandra Linsley Long is an American soccer player who plays as a midfielder. She played for Portland Thorns FC, Seattle Reign FC, and NJ/NY Gotham FC in the National Women's Soccer League, and represented the United States national team. She made her debut for the national team on May 8, 2014, in a friendly against Canada. She has since made 45 total appearances for the team.
John A. Farrell Stadium is an American stadium that is located in West Chester, Pennsylvania. It is primarily used by the West Chester University of Pennsylvania's football and track and field teams.
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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.
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Paul Riley is an English former football player and coach.
The 2011 Philadelphia Independence season was the team's second and final season in the Women's Professional Soccer league, and its final season as a team.
The 2010 Philadelphia Independence season was the team's inaugural season of competition in the Women's Professional Soccer league.
Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 season, with continued plans for future expansion. The WPS was the highest level in the United States soccer pyramid for the women's game.
The 2010 Atlanta Beat season was the club's inaugural season in Women's Professional Soccer, joining the Philadelphia Independence as expansion teams in the league's second season, and was their first season in the top division of women's soccer in the American soccer pyramid. Including the WUSA franchise, this was the club's fifth year of existence.
Media related to Philadelphia Independence at Wikimedia Commons