Women S Professional Soccer

PRINCETON - The Independence missed out on a Women's Professional Soccer championship in 2011 by the narrowest margin possible - a penalty shootout loss in the title game. It turns out that was as close as the franchise will ever come. WPS announced Friday that it has fully shut down, dashing any lingering hopes held by fans of a rebound for the league after the London Olympics. The news came by way of an e-mail news release and a post on the league's Facebook page.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - When Women's Professional Soccer was granted sanctioning for 2012 by the U.S. Soccer Federation last month, it seemed like the league had escaped the worst storm of another tumultuous offseason. But as WPS convenes for its annual draft Friday, the league might not be on safe ground. On Monday, a Florida judge ruled that controversial former magicJack SC owner Dan Borislow was denied due process when the league terminated his Boca Raton, Fla.-based franchise after the 2011 season.

It didn't take Nicole Barnhart long to make an impact with her newest soccer team. Playing in goal for the Independence in Sunday's opening, 2-2 Women's Professional Soccer draw with host Sky Blue of New Jersey, Barnhart made a diving save to her right in the 70th minute on a blast by Casey Nogueira that appeared ready to increase the home team's lead to 3-1. Instead it stayed at 2-1, and the Independence escaped with a draw on Christina DiMartino's...

Two weeks after the United States women's soccer team lost a heartbreaker to Japan in the World Cup final last July, midfielder Carli Lloyd was making her way to Leslie C. Quick Jr. Stadium at Widener University in Chester. Her Atlanta Beat team was facing the Independence in a Women's Professional Soccer game, and Lloyd was one of the national team members being honored in a pregame ceremony. Because of a league rule regarding yellow-card accumulations over consecutive games, Lloyd had to watch the game from the press box, and as she and a few friends maneuvered through the enthusiastic and sold-out crowd, nobody stopped to talk to her. Later the same day, a waiter ran to get a soccer ball from the trunk of his car, gushing to the Rutgers alum what her autograph would mean to his daughter.

Third in a series of previews for the Women's World Cup. Coming off a stellar performance in helping the U.S. Olympic women's soccer team win the goal medal in 2008, Amy Rodriguez suddenly saw her confidence and goal-scoring ability wane as she began her professional career. Selected No. 1 overall in the Women's Professional Soccer draft in 2009 by the Boston Breakers, Rodriguez, by her own admission, had a miserable debut season. She was traded shortly after the season to the Independence.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Another chance at Women's Professional Soccer glory, that's all the Independence wanted. They got their chance. They ended up with more disappointment. Behind the marksmanship of their World Cup shooters and with one big save from goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris, the Western New York Flash defeated the Independence on penalty kicks, 5-4, after battling to a 1-1 tie in the WPS championship game on Saturday. The game required 90 minutes of regulation play, 30 minutes of overtime and then the minimum five rounds of penalty kicks to determine a winner.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Independence coach Paul Riley got the two players he wanted most Friday in the Women's Professional Soccer draft. Then he went and got a few more. In all, the Independence selected six players during the four-round process, more than any other team in the league. The Independence's marquee selection was their first-rounder and fifth pick overall, Wisconsin-Milwaukee forward Sarah Hagen. The three-time Horizon League player of the year scored 93 goals in her four-year career, including 26 as a senior.

The Independence still have a chance at second place and a first-round bye in the Women's Professional Soccer playoffs, but they are going to need some help. After losing three consecutive games for the first time this season, the Independence enter Saturday's 8:30 p.m. regular-season finale at California's FC Gold Pride in third place with a 10-9-4 record for 34 points. FC Gold Pride, 8-0-4 in their last 12 matches, clinched the regular-season title of the seven-team league and earned a bye into the Sept.

Women's Professional Soccer announced Monday that it has suspended the 2012 season due to "legal issues" and an "ongoing dispute" with a former owner. WPS was formed in 2009 following the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The Independence, owned by David Halstead and coached by Paul Riley, last season lost in the WPS championship game for the second straight year. "This is what responsible business enterprises do, and it's what the WPS and Philadelphia Independence are going to do," Halstead said in a statement.

As expected, Tobin Heath, a midfielder who helped win three national titles in four years at North Carolina, was picked first by expansion Atlanta Beat in the 2010 Women's Professional Soccer draft held yesterday at the Convention Center. Heath, from Basking Ridge, N.J., was on the U.S. National Team that won the Olympic gold medal in 2008. The Boston Breakers then selected forward Lauren Cheney from UCLA with the second overall pick that they obtained from the Independence for national team forward Amy Rodriguez.

PRINCETON - The Independence missed out on a Women's Professional Soccer championship in 2011 by the narrowest margin possible - a penalty shootout loss in the title game. It turns out that was as close as the franchise will ever come. WPS announced Friday that it has fully shut down, dashing any lingering hopes held by fans of a rebound for the league after the London Olympics. The news came by way of an e-mail news release and a post on the league's Facebook page.

Two weeks after the United States women's soccer team lost a heartbreaker to Japan in the World Cup final last July, midfielder Carli Lloyd was making her way to Leslie C. Quick Jr. Stadium at Widener University in Chester. Her Atlanta Beat team was facing the Independence in a Women's Professional Soccer game, and Lloyd was one of the national team members being honored in a pregame ceremony. Because of a league rule regarding yellow-card accumulations over consecutive games, Lloyd had to watch the game from the press box, and as she and a few friends maneuvered through the enthusiastic and sold-out crowd, nobody stopped to talk to her. Later the same day, a waiter ran to get a soccer ball from the trunk of his car, gushing to the Rutgers alum what her autograph would mean to his daughter.

Women's Professional Soccer announced Monday that it has suspended the 2012 season due to "legal issues" and an "ongoing dispute" with a former owner. WPS was formed in 2009 following the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The Independence, owned by David Halstead and coached by Paul Riley, last season lost in the WPS championship game for the second straight year. "This is what responsible business enterprises do, and it's what the WPS and Philadelphia Independence are going to do," Halstead said in a statement.

Like most student-athletes who have played their final collegiate game, La Salle's Melissa Sanger and Jess Hopton had assumed their competitive soccer-playing days were behind them. Their coach, Paul Royal, had other ideas. Besides leading the Explorers to a 15-2-3 record, the semifinals of the Atlantic Ten tournament, and a berth in the NCAA tournament in 2011, Royal also serves as an assistant coach for the Independence. Royal persuaded Sanger and Hopton to come to the first of three combines the Women's Professional Soccer club was holding at their United Sports training facility in Downingtown.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Independence coach Paul Riley got the two players he wanted most Friday in the Women's Professional Soccer draft. Then he went and got a few more. In all, the Independence selected six players during the four-round process, more than any other team in the league. The Independence's marquee selection was their first-rounder and fifth pick overall, Wisconsin-Milwaukee forward Sarah Hagen. The three-time Horizon League player of the year scored 93 goals in her four-year career, including 26 as a senior.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - When Women's Professional Soccer was granted sanctioning for 2012 by the U.S. Soccer Federation last month, it seemed like the league had escaped the worst storm of another tumultuous offseason. But as WPS convenes for its annual draft Friday, the league might not be on safe ground. On Monday, a Florida judge ruled that controversial former magicJack SC owner Dan Borislow was denied due process when the league terminated his Boca Raton, Fla.-based franchise after the 2011 season.

Coach Paul Riley said Thursday that the Independence would give high priority to finding another forward when Women's Professional Soccer holds its draft in Kansas City next Friday. "Another forward from the first or second round is at the top of our agenda," said Riley, who has coached the Independence to the WPS final in their first two seasons. "We're also interested in another goalkeeper and another midfielder. " Riley made the team's draft plans known at a news conference one day after the team announced that it had re-signed forward Natasha Kai, a fan favorite.

SUSTAINIBLE. Viable. Progressive expansion. All things the U.S. Soccer Federation was promised in a restructured business and marketing plan set forth by Women's Professional Soccer. These provisions resulted in the five-team league's being granted another year of top-flight status after weeklong discussions in Chicago. Last night, U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said the federation is satisfied with the business plan and hopes it will help expand the 3-year-old outfit into different markets over the next few years.

THE POWERS that be within the U.S. Soccer Federation have not decided to pull the plug just yet on Women's Professional Soccer. That could mean a positive step in what has been an otherwise stressful week. The WPS, the premier outfit for women's soccer in America, is in danger of losing its Division I professional status or even folding after its annual report showed the league has dwindled from six teams to five. That number is well below the minimum of eight to be granted what the USSF calls Division I status.

FOR THE SECOND time since the turn of the century, women's professional soccer in America is in danger of becoming obsolete. Women's Professional Soccer, currently the top league in the United States, has fallen to just five bona fide franchises. As a result, the U.S. Soccer Federation, America's governing body for club soccer, was in deliberation with WPS commissioner Jennifer O'Sullivan from its offices in Chicago yesterday, deciding whether it's best to just pull the plug. Before the start of the 2011 season, the USSF granted WPS a 1-year waiver to increase its club count to eight teams, the minimum for a USSF-sanctioned entity to be granted what's referred to as Division I (top-tier)