| Rating | Description |
| 10 | Arguably the best in the world at her position |
| 9 | One of the best in the league, definite national team material |
| 8 | Outstanding but not quite up to the above levels |
| 7 | Very good |
| 6 | Good |
| 5 | Fair |
| 4 | Clearly substandard |
| 3 | Poor |
| 2 | Very Poor |
| 1 | Awful |
| + | Insufficient playing time for a detailed judgment but showed promise |
| = | Insufficient playing time for a detailed judgment but seemed adequate |
| - | Insufficient playing time for a detailed judgment but showed cause for concern |
"Delta" means the change from last year.
| Siri Mullinix | Rating: 9 | Delta: -1 | Misuse: |
| I've downmarked Siri because she didn't have quite as impressive a season this year as last, most notably in the Boston match at RFK when her flubbed grab of the ball led to a Breakers goal. Still, she came up big when it counted, and she's definitely one of the best 'keepers in the league. | |||
| Skylar Little | Rating: 7 | Delta: 0 | Misuse: |
| Skylar didn't get as involved with the attack as she did last year, perhaps due to the 4-5-1 formation that Gabarra frequently deployed. However, her defending was solid all year and outstanding in the playoffs, most notably in Boston where she stripped Kristine Lilly several times. | |||
| Carrie Moore | Rating: 7 | Delta: -1 | Misuse:  |
| Carrie dropped from sensational to solid as the Freedom went from a man-marking defense to a more team-oriented one, more or less out of necessity as few teams any longer have only a single attacking threat. She also got the first assists of her WUSA career and should have had two in the Founders Cup, as her long ball to Abby Wambach was the one that led to the one-on-one and red card to Nancy Augustyniak. | |||
| Jen Grubb | Rating: 9 | Delta: 0 | Misuse: |
| Well, there's solid and there's solid. Carrie may be solid, but Jen is cast-iron, carbon-steel, solid-mahogany - however you want to put it. In the dictionary next to the word "solid" is a photo of Jen Grubb. She anchored a sometimes uneven defense but one that came up huge when it had to, keeping the dangerous Boston and Atlanta attacks from even having any truly scary chances on goal. In addition, she continued her excellent performance on set pieces. The only question left is when she will get a national team callup. | |||
| Sandra Minnert | Rating: 9 | Delta: n/a | Misuse: |
| Germans always seem to show up about when we need them: Steffi just before Lindsay Stoecker had a season-ending injury, and Sandra likewise with Emmy Barr. Despite her natural role as a central defender, Sandra took over the left wing position as if she'd been born to it. She complemented Jen's strong leg with one of her own and took her share of the attack. Again, she helped with the near-shutout in the playoffs. | |||
| Lindsay Stoecker | Rating: 8 | Delta: 0 | Misuse: |
| Lindsay continued her solid performance as a holding midfielder and added a new dimension to her game by taking a larger part on offense, finishing as the team's third-leading goal-scorer, behind only league leaders Mia and Abby. I thought her defensive game slipped just a bit, and, presumably due to her recovery from an ACL injury, she frequently had to be subbed out late, but I'll refrain from dropping her a point due to her newfound scoring prowess. | |||
| Steffi Jones | Rating: 7 | Delta: -1 | Misuse: |
| Steffi had her moments - including her first two WUSA goals - but didn't seem to show quite the same stabilizing influence or enthusiasm that she did when she arrived last year. It's unfortunate that she's leaving us, but she seems more than ready to return to Germany. Meanwhile, the attempt to use her as a forward in one match was unfortunately laughable. | |||
| Jacqui Little | Rating: 6 | Delta: -1 | Misuse: |
| With the absence of Bai Jie, Jacqui went from supersub to starter, and her game dipped a bit in this role. Despite having half again as many minutes as in 2002, her points total was the same. She had a career match early against the New York Power, scoring two goals, but never lived up to that early promise. Her pesky, relentless style seems more suited to coming in late against a tired defense rather than starting. | |||
| Kelly Golebiowski | Rating: 6 | Delta: n/a | Misuse: |
| Kelly came in as a promising young attacking player and scored a spectacular goal early on, that left-footed volley that earned the Freedom a tie against the Beat. Unfortunately, as others have noted, her main objective from then on seemed to be to try to duplicate that feat. She was the lowest-scoring non-defender on the team and all but disappeared in the playoffs. She has great speed and showed some promise, but didn't live up to expectations. | |||
| Mia Hamm | Rating: 8 | Delta: -1 | Misuse: |
| I was prepared to give Mia an 11 here if she proved to be as formidable over 90 It didn't help that Gabarra saw fit to relegate the world's all-time leading goal-scorer to the midfield, but also she didn't seem to have the same spark that she did last year. In 2002, when Mia touched the ball, everyone sat up and took notice. She made incredible shots, put through amazing assists, and beat defenders one-on-one (or better). She did little of that this season. Though she tied for the league lead in scoring, much of that was due to her doing all of the close-in set pieces for the Freedom./TD> | |||
| Abby Wambach | Rating: 9 | Delta: +1 | Misuse: |
| Abby got off to a slow start but finished strong. If I divided the season in half, she'd have a 7 or 8 for the first half and a 10 for the second - and maybe an 11 for the Founders Cup. She's a money player and came through when the team needed her. She's well on her way to becoming one of the best forwards in the world, and I hope the world will get a chance to see that in a few weeks. | |||
| Lori Lindsey | Rating: 5 | Delta: n/a | Misuse: |
| Lori had an up-and-down season. She started well, then faltered so badly she got pulled early in one game. But in Boston she came in as a sub and really lit up the team. If she kept up her best performances, she could be a solid contributor and starter, vying with Kelly and Jacqui for playing time. But this year she wasn't consistent enough to do that. | |||
| Emmy Barr | Rating: 6 | Delta: -1 | Misuse: |
| Emmy seemed to be playing on hurt knees when she was in - and then couldn't play at all due to a knee injury. Along with many of the other Freedom players, she had a breakout performance last year, stepping up on defense and contributing on offense. But I didn't see her matching that level this year. Let's hope she recovers in the offseason and can compete for a starting spot in 2004. | |||
| Meredith Beard | Rating: 6 | Delta: n/a | Misuse: |
| "Flo" got significantly more time this year in the absence of Bai Jie and with the national team callups, and she made good use of it. She had a tremendous game at Herndon Stadium, but unfortunately was unable to get on the board against the stingy Atlanta defense or in fact anywhere else. I'm tempted to give her a 7, but I can't justify doing that to a forward who played nearly 500 minutes but never managed to score. Still, she remains a solid asset on the Freedom bench, and I hope she stays with the team. | |||
| Casey Zimny | Rating: 6 | Delta: +1 | Misuse: |
| Despite having less field time this year than last, Casey accomplished more, including her first WUSA goal. She had several respectable outings in the defensive midfield, with her most notable feat being the strip of the ball from a Beat player that led to Abby's championship-winning goal. Unfortunately, Casey may have an uphill battle for a roster spot next year with Sandra Minnert returning and Emmy Barr healthy. But with Steffi Jones leaving, perhaps she has a future as a holding midfielder. | |||
| Laura Schott | Rating: + | Delta: n/a | Misuse: |
| Laura got limited playing time but did well in the few minutes she had. In the preseason, she was given greater opportunities and scored several goals. She might deserve a closer look for next year. | |||
| Nicci Wright | Rating: + | Delta: n/a | Misuse: |
| Nicci only got one complete game in, against Atlanta, but proved capable in that one. The Freedom need a reliable backup goalkeeper, and Nicci was it for this season. It seems a waste, though, to use up an international slot on a backup keeper, so I don't know if she'll be back next year. | |||
| Erin Regan | Rating: - | Delta: n/a | Misuse: |
| Talk about teaching someone to swim by tossing them in the water! Coach Gabarra, in one of his more boneheaded moves, had only Erin on hand to play goalkeeper in a match against the defending WUSA champions. It's not surprising that the Freedom gave up five goals for the first and only time in their history. While Erin couldn't be blamed for most of them, there were a couple of soft ones that could have been stopped. Still, she was put in a very difficult situation. Bring back Erin Fahey! | |||
| Jennifer Meier | Rating: + | Delta: n/a | Misuse: |
| Before the playoffs, Jenni seemed like a near-loss. In her first outing, I don't think she even got a touch on the ball (but then Gabarra put her in so late that was scarcely surprising). However, in the semifinal match in Boston she authoritatively led off the Freedom penalty kicks with a successful one, then had the Cup-winning assist in San Diego. Rumors are that she'll be back next year, though she doesn't yet seem like the sort of world-class forward you look for with an international slot. But we'll see. | |||
| Sarah Kate Noftsinger | Rating: = | Delta: - | Misuse: |
| The Freedom had a plethora of midfielders this season, which unfortunately relegated "Skate" to bench time for much of the season. She's proven in the past that she's a solid performer at the WUSA level, but she had virtually no chance to demonstrate that this season. | |||