The 2009 FC Gold Pride season was the team's first as a professional women's soccer team. FC Gold Pride played in the Women's Professional Soccer league (WPS), the top tier of women's soccer in the United States.
Summary Preseason FC Gold Pride played two scrimmages against the Los Angeles Sol, losing both. They also posted a 6-1 win over the University of California women's soccer team and a 3-0 win over an "All-Star" team of local college players.
Regular season FC Gold Pride won their inaugural WPS game against the Boston Breakers on April 5, 2009. The club remained in strong contention until defender Kandace Wilson was injured during a home game against the Los Angeles Sol. After that, FC Gold Pride's second loss at the hands of the Washington Freedom marked the beginning of the club's slide to the bottom of the WPS rankings, where it would remain for the rest of the season. The club's transactions in the wake of Wilson's injury included signing Los Angeles Sol draftee Greer Barnes, elevating developmental player Marisa Abegg to the full roster, and returning Sissi to the field as a player.
In the end, FC Gold Pride failed to make the 2009 Women's Professional Soccer Playoffs, after a must-win game against the Saint Louis Athletica ended in a 1–1 draw. The club finally snapped its ten-game winless streak with a final 3–2 win against the Washington Freedom on August 1, 2009. However, a last loss to Sky Blue FC and a tie with Saint Louis Athletica did not allow FC Gold Pride to avoid finishing last in the WPS standings.
Team Squad As of the end of the 2009 WPS season.
(D)
(D)
(D) (D)
Transfers IN: Greer Barnes from Los Angeles Sol (July 2009)
Competitions Key
Regular season
Regular season standings
Results summary
Results by matchday
Statistics + Regular-season player statistics Name 3 DF 63 335 00 00 21 MF 124 451 11 00 30 FW 1911 1,088 11 00 14 DF 33 270 00 00 1 GK 1616 1,440 00 00 4 DF 1717 1,530 11 20 6 MF 105 450 00 00 19 DF 1717 1,429 10 21 5 MF 1818 1,530 01 10 20 DF 75 423 00 10 31 MF 1615 1,363 00 30 13 MF 2018 1,589 00 20 23 DF 42 193 00 00 15 FW 1914 1,303 41 10 10 MF 1918 1,622 00 10 7 DF 1815 1,339 10 00 12 FW 1716 1,412 61 00 11 MF 31 128 00 00 8 FW 1510 745 13 00 18 GK 44 360 00 00 9 FW 86 555 01 00 2 MF 92 238 10 00 Total 1710 131
Awards WPS All-Star Team
+ 2009 WPS All-Star Team selections Name Selected as Formiga Starter Christine Sinclair At-large Tiffeny Milbrett Replacement
References