Okay, here I'm looking at every goal the Freedom scored this season and who was responsible for it, not only in the official scoring but in extra ways as well. At the end, I'm going to give extra credit for uncredited assists (when I think a player contributed significantly to a goal without being officially credited), quality assists (when I think an assisting player deserves as least as much credit as the goal-scorer), and a goal bonus for our Goal of the Year candidates. Read and be prepared to argue! Or maybe just look over the list and remember all the pretty goals the Freedom scored this year.
Use of language:
| Summary | Description | Credit |
| April 13, vs. New York Power | ||
| Monica Gerardo (Abby Wambach, Emmy Barr), 9 | Pu sent the ball out to a wide-open Barr on the left flank. Barr brought the ball forward down the left flank and centered it, Wambach headed it to Gerardo, who settled it and sent a beautiful shot into the upper left corner. | As stated |
| April 21, vs. San Jose CyberRays | ||
| J. Little 1 (Wambach 2, Pu 1), 49 | Barr centered the ball to Wambach, who knocked it on to Pu, who made a point-blank shot from the left side of the goal. The GK blocked it but could not control. Pu recovered the ball and centered it to the right through Wambach's legs to Little, who knocked the ball into the open goal. | Emphasize Pu, for initial shot and getting the rebound |
| Beard 1 (Wambach 3, Bai 1), 82 | On the right flank, Bai sent the ball through the CyberRays flat line to Wambach, who was kept onside by a retreating defender on the other side. With a 3-on-2 break, Wambach got the GK to commit, then passed to Beard, who touched it in | Emphasize Bai, Wambach for beating the offside trap |
| May 5, vs. San Diego Spirit | ||
| Jacqui Little 2 (Pu Wei 2) 22 | Pu near the center, about 20 yards out, laid the ball off nicely to an open Little on the right flank. Little attempted a centering pass, but it went toward the goalmouth, bouncing off the crossbar and sidepost and in | As stated |
| Abby Wambach 1 (Pu Wei 3, Skylar Little 1) 38 | At midfield, Gerardo sent a long pass to into open space in front of Little, who was streaking forward on the right flank. Little beat a defender along the baseline, then found Pu in the box, who sent it on to Wambach, who put it away | Add Gerardo, emphasize S. Little |
| Monica Gerardo 2 (penalty kick) 72 | San Diego committed an ugly foul on their side of midfield. Jen Grubb took the free kick and Omagbemi was called for fouling Wambach in the box. Gerardo put away the PK | As stated |
| May 11, vs. Philadelphia Charge | ||
| Abby Wambach (Pu Wei) 88 | As the Charge were recovering from scoring, Pu fed Wambach off the kickoff. Wambach weaved her way through the Philly defense and put her shot away | As stated |
| May 18, vs. Carolina Courage | ||
| Abby Wambach (Jacqui Little), 31 | Little shot the ball toward the right post from the right flank. The GK bobbled, and Wambach was right there to put it away. | As stated |
| June 8, vs. Philadelphia Charge | ||
| Grubb 1 (unassisted) (penalty kick), 40 | Jacqui Little broke through the Charge defense, forcing the Charge GK to trip her in the box. Grubb made the PK | Add J. Little |
| June 12, vs. Boston Breakers | ||
| Abby Wambach (Jacqui Little, Anne Makinen), 45 | Carrie Moore intercepted a ball intended for Lilly and cleared it to the left side of midfield. Boston tried vigorously to settle the ball, but Little outplayed three opponents, taking advantage of their overplaying and pouncing on the ball, then brought it to the top of the box while drawing defenders before passing to Makinen. Makinen one-touched the ball through the entire Breakers defense to find Wambach, who nutmegged Sobrero for the goal. | Emphasize J. Little for run, Makinen for cross |
| Mia Hamm (unassisted), 72 | Wambach fed Hamm down the left flank, who took the ball to the box and shot. The rebound came back to her. She settled, brought the ball out toward the left front corner of the box, then shot from about ten yards out, threading the ball past two defenders and the GK for the winning goal. | As stated |
| June 15, vs. San Diego Spirit | ||
| Abby Wambach 5 (Pu Wei 4) 26 | Wambach headed in a Pu corner kick for the Freedom's first goal of the season off a corner | As stated |
| Anne Makinen 1 (Abby Wambach 4, Mia Hamm 1) 79 | Wambach brought the ball down the right flank, then centered to Hamm. Hamm had the attention of the defenders and passed to a wide-open Makinen at the top of the box, and she put it away | Emphasize Wambach, Hamm |
| Mia Hamm 2 (penalty kick) 81 | Ann Cook got the ball near midfield, drove straight in on goal, and was fouled in the box. Hamm made the PK | Add Cook |
| Abby Wambach 6 (Bai Jie) 89 | Bai Jie on the left sideline near midfield found an open Wambach breaking through the defense. Wambach had plenty of time to put the ball away, and did | Emphasize Bai for a good lead pass |
| June 22, vs. Carolina Courage | ||
| Bai 1 (unassisted), 76 | The ball was being knocked around in the air in midfield when Wambach headed a beautiful pass through a seam in the defense to Bai, who ran onto it unopposed and shot the ball right at the GK. The GK blocked it but was unable to possess it. Bai recovered, settled, and put it away. | Add Wambach for a beautiful header |
| June 29, vs. New York Power | ||
| S. Little 1 (Bai 3, Jones 1), 30 | Jones passed the ball forward to Bai, who drew the attention of defenders near the top of the box, then passed to a wide open Little streaking forward from the right flank, who brought the ball into the box and finished nicely, one-on-one with the GK | As stated |
| Makinen 2 (unassisted), 38 | Makinen took a free kick from near midfield that the GK misplayed, and it went in | As stated |
| Hamm 3 (unassisted), 62 | Makinen found Wambach forward. Wambach drew the defense, then centered to Hamm, who shot directly at the GK. The ball rebounded, and Hamm headed it, again at the GK. She managed to put away the second rebound. | Add Makinen, Wambach |
| Hamm 4 (Milburn 1, J. Little 3), 90 | Little brought the ball down the right sideline, then knocked a nice backheel back to Milburn. Milburn sent it on to Hamm near the top right corner of the box. Hamm brought the ball a little toward the middle, then made a stunning flat-footed shot into the upper-left corner of the goal. | As stated |
| July 3, vs. Atlanta Beat | ||
| Emmy Barr 1 (Anne Makinen 2) 11 | Pu Wei brought the ball down the right flank and was fouled just outside the box. Makinen took the free kick and found Barr, who had looped around to a spot right in front of the goalmouth without being marked. Barr headed the ball in for the goal | As stated |
| Bai Jie 2 (Emmy Barr 2, Abby Wambach 5) 19 | Barr threw the ball in to Wambach, to Barr, to Wambach, back heel to Barr, who sent in a centering pass that found Bai at the right corner of the goal. Bai snapped in a header past the GK | As stated |
| July 14, vs. Philadelphia Charge | ||
| Abby Wambach 7 (Steffi Jones 2) 75th minute | Hamm sent in a dangerous corner kick that Jones headed down and Wambach attempted to knock in, but it was blocked by a defender. The clearance went out to Cook, who sent it out to Grubb, who knocked it to Jones at the top of the box. Jones slid the ball in to Wambach, who, unmarked, pounced on the ball and put it away. | As stated |
| July 21, vs. San Jose CyberRays | ||
| Grubb 2 (unassisted) (penalty kick), 39 | Bai Jie broke through the defense and was tripped by the GK. Grubb made the PK | Add Bai |
| own goal (Kelly Lindsey), 56 | Ann Cook sent in a centering pass on frame. Lindsey attempted to block it, but it went in. | Add Cook |
| Gerardo 3 (J. Little 4) | Beard at the left side of the box crossed to Little, who brought the ball forward before knocking it back to Gerardo, who sent a seeing-eye ball into the lower left corner of the goal | As stated |
| July 24, vs. Boston Breakers | ||
| Abby Wambach 8 (Pu Wei 6) 25 | For the second time, Wambach scored a goal on a header off a corner kick by Pu Wei | As stated |
| July 27, vs. San Diego Spirit | ||
| Wambach 9 (Hamm 2, Cook 1), 67 | Jacqui Little intercepted a throw-in along the right sideline, passed to Pu Wei, who passed to Steffi Jones, who fed Ann Cook. Cook ran forward, drawing defenders before passing to Hamm. Hamm sent a nifty through pass behind the defense to Wambach, who had an easy put-away | Add J. Little, Jones, emphasize Hamm for pass, Cook for run |
| July 31, vs. Carolina Courage | ||
| Abby Wambach 10 (Pu Wei 7) 23 | Pu sent a routine feed to Wambach on the left flank, then Wambach's crossing pass hit the side post and went in | As stated |
| Bai Jie 3 (Abby Wambach 6, Sarah Kate Noftsinger 1) 53 | Noftsinger took a throwin near midfield, got it to Bai, got it back, centered it to Wambach, who drew the defense before sending it across to the right to Bai, who hammered the ball into the upper left corner of the goal. | As stated |
| Mia Hamm 5 (Abby Wambach 7) 56 | Noftsinger threw into a double-covered Wambach, who beat her coverage and lined a ball across the front of the goalmouth to the left post, where Hamm slid into it and knocked it in | Emphasize Wambach for a beautiful cross |
| Bai Jie 4 (Mia Hamm 3) 60 | Barr intercepted a goalkick, forwarding it to Hamm, who sent a long ball in front of a streaking Bai Jie. Bai took a moment to settle the ball as the GK attempted to snatch it, then got past the GK to score into an open net. | Emphasize Hamm for a long, spot-on feed |
| Mia Hamm 6 (Abby Wambach 8) 80 | Grubb sent a long ball to Wambach behind the defense. Wambach couldn't settle before the defense caught up, so she fed the ball back out to Hamm, who torpedoed in a shot from 25 yards out | Add Grubb |
| August 4, vs. Atlanta Beat | ||
| Hamm 7 (Bai 4, Fahey 1) | Fahey's goalkick went to Wambach, who headed the ball down and got it to Bai, who knocked the ball onto Hamm just past midfield near the left flank. Hamm ran through three Atlanta defenders and knocked the ball in | Emphasize Hamm |
| Bai 5 (Hamm 4), 75 | Hamm's corner kick went right along the line and was somehow headed in by Bai from an impossible angle | Emphasize Bai |
| Pu 1 (Hamm 5), 92 | Pu headed in a Hamm corner kick to put the Freedom into the playoffs. Corner kick forced by J. Little | Add J. Little |
| August 10, vs. New York Power | ||
| Bai 6 (Pu 8), 17 | Wambach intercepts a NY pass and turns it around to Pu. Pu sent the ball in front of an open Bai behind the defense. Bai knocked the ball with the outside of her right foot past the GK, off the right post, and in | Add Wambach |
| Barr 2 (Bai 5, Hamm 6), 56 | Hamm's near-post corner kick was knocked to Barr by a diving Bai. Barr put it away. | As stated |
| Hamm 8 (unassisted), 67 | From 20 yards out, Hamm curled a free kick around the wall and in | As stated |
| J. Little 3 (unassisted), 79 | Little collected a Mullinix goalkick near midfield and drove in on goal in her best Mia Hamm imitation, beating Ronnie Fair and nutmegging the GK to score. | Add Mullinix |
| SEMIFINAL: August 17, vs. Philadelphia Charge | ||
| Monica Gerardo (Jacqui Little, Pu Wei) 80 | Pu collected an attempted clearance off a Hamm corner kick, sending a high ball into Little, who collected it and drove to the baseline to the right of the goal, fighting through two Charge defenders. Little centered the ball back to a wide-open Gerardo, who had an easy putaway. | Emphasize J. Little |
| FOUNDERS CUP II: August 24, vs. Carolina Courage | ||
| own goal 31 | From near midfield, Jen Grubb sent in a long free kick that bounced off Danielle Fotopoulos's side and in. Fotop was attempting to mark Abby Wambach. | Add Grubb |
| Hamm 1 (Wambach 1) 64 | Wambach led Hamm with a long ball to the left side of the box. Hamm collected it, returned to the top of the box, and hammered in one of her patented turn-shoot-score goals. | As stated |
Okay, here's the summary table. The first few columns are the official regular-season statistics, followed by the official playoff statistics. At the end are my bonuses for quality assists (where I have "emphasize" above), extra assists (where I have "add" above), and goal bonus (for our two Goal of the Year candidates). The last column totals the regular-season points, the playoff points, and my bonus points. Note that Jacqui Little is probably the most unsung heroine on the team, with five points added to her contributions. Abby also does well, which indicates to me that she's far more than just a goal-scorer. In fact, if certain of her fellow forwards could just finish on the first try (instead of the third), she would have joined Danielle Fotopoulos as the only WUSA players in double figures in both goals and assists.
| Player | Goals | Assists | Points | Playoff Goals | Playoff Assists | Playoff Points | Quality Assists | Extra Assists | Goal Bonus | Quality Points | Total Points |
| Wambach | 10 | 9 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 36 |
| Hamm | 8 | 6 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 28 |
| Jie | 6 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 19 |
| J. Little | 3 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 16 |
| Pu | 1 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| Gerardo | 3 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| Makinen | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Grubb | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| S. Little | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Beard | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jones | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Cook | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 |