Photo by ISIphotos.com

By CHRISTA MANN

Womens Professional Soccer takes the field over two days in this fourth week of competition.  The Boston Breakers travel to the Washington Freedom on Saturday, while Sunday action includes the L.A. Sol against FC Gold Pride (Bay Area) and the Chicago Red Stars hosting Sky Blue FC for the televised game (FSC 5:00 P.M. CT). After suffering two shut-out losses, the St. Louis Athletica will take a bye week.

In the Saturday match-up between two strong attacking teams, The Boston Breakers (1-0-1) and Washington Freedom (0-1-1) enter the game ranked fourth and fifth in WPS standings. There is no denying that both teams create dangerous scoring opportunities, but the better defensive effort will decide the game’s winner.

With the task of shutting down Boston’s Kelly Smith (WPS Player of the Week), the Washington back-line must mark her out of the game.  Plus, since the Breakers tend to score about midway through the second half, Freedom defenders must also eliminate mistakes late in the game.  

With that taken into account, Washington now faces the challenge of deciding on a goalkeeper. Should a sub-par Briana Scurry once again take the top spot or will Katie Jo Spisak move into the starting 11?

After resolving issues on the defensive side of the ball, Washington’s next worry will be finishing in the final third.

 Leading the league with 11 shots but no goals to show, Abby Wambach will be the main concern for the Boston Breakers’ defense. If she can find some decent angles or even get around a couple players, lucky shot number twelve or thirteen may just find the back of the net.

Shutting-down Wambach will be one thing but shutting down the midfield will be another.  Last week, the Freedom’s Sonia Bompastor sent in dangerous the balls that accounted for two of the team's most dangerous plays. If she continues to find targets on these serves, expect Wambach to finally score her first goal of the season.

Defense will determine the final result between the Boston Breakers and the Washington Freedom; however, these two offenses are only the beginning Week Four’s attacking showcase.

As the undefeated L.A. Sol (2-0) comes off a bye week, Marta and company face the Bay Area’s Eriko Arakawa and Tiffany Weimer.  Expect some flashy forward play and anticipate some fouls in the attacking third.

If FCGP can score first, the Bay Area may have a shot at the upset.  Otherwise, these teams will come away with an even amount of shots on goal when the favored L.A. Sol takes the advantage.

Speaking of favorites, Chicago opens at home to New Jersey in this week’s televised match-up (FSC, 6pm).  After traveling for the first two contests of the season, the Red Stars finally catch a break with home-field advantage against a progressing Sky Blue FC.

In Chicago’s game against the Freedom last week, Lindsay Tarpley once again scored the team’s only goal.  With the Red Stars’ Caroline Jönsson guarding the net, some other players should finally get on the board for the Windy City.

As for New Jersey, perhaps this underdog story can prevail for a second week. Realistically, it seems that Chicago will take the win, but anything can happen.

As the league embarks on a fourth week of action, Washington and Boston will be the most physical, L.A. and FCGP will be the most exciting, and hopefully Chicago against SBFC will be one worth watching.

How do you think this weekend’s match-up will finish?  Do you agree or disagree with these predictions?  Share your thoughts below.