Siri Mullinix - Tony Quinn

Annapolis, Md., August 11 – The Washington Freedom, with their season all but over, tried to work out what plagued them during the season on Saturday but managed only to bring out more questions losing their regular season finale to playoff-bound New York 2-0 before 8,033 in attendance at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

The Power, lead by the relentless pursuit of leading scorer Tiffeny Milbrett and a powerful shot by defender Gro Espeseth -- scored in the waning minutes of each half -- in what has become commonplace during Freedom loses.

“We need an experienced central defender,” said Freedom coach Jim Gabarra, whose team finished the year at a disappointing 6-12-3 with 21 points. “There is no need to have a haul over of the team, but we will need to evaluate our players. At least half of our 12 loses we could have tied or won if it weren’t for a defensive mistake. We’ll be looking for a leader in the back this offseason.”

The opening goal was an example of a defensive lapse leading directly to a goal for the opponent. With a few minutes remaining before halftime, Nel Fettig sent a corner kick to Sara Whalen who then lobbed the ball across the Washington defense to an unmarked Emily Janss. Janss had two defenders near her, but had enough time to gain control of the ball and sent a short pass to Espeseth who fired a rocket from just inside the penalty box passed Washington goalkeeper Siri Mullinix for her first goal of the season.

“We play to win,” said Mia Hamm. “But this game is extremely humbling and we understand that.”

The game was placed out of reach in the 78th minute on a great individual effort by Milbrett, who now has scored 14 goals in her last 14 games. On the play forward Tammy Pearman drew a couple of Washington defenders to her and sent a pass to a streaking Milbrett, who outran one defender and beat Mullinix with a shot to the left.

It was Milbrett’s fifth shot of the match in a day that saw the striker run all over the pitch doing whatever was necessary for her team to pickup the much needed win. With the victory New York finishes the year at 6-7-5 (32 points) to earn a playoff berth over fifth-placed San Diego.

Milbrett, always humbled, could only thank others for her outstanding season in which she finished with 16 goals, earning her the league scoring title in the WUSA’s inaugural season.

“Personal accolades come from team success,” Milbrett said. “My goal is to score so that my team is in a position to win. I would give back all my goals so that we could finish first this season.” New York will finish the year either in third or fourth place and will have to travel to either at the Bay Area CyberRays or at Atlanta in semifinal action on August 18.

Washington outshot New York 13-11, but managed to create few scoring threats. In the 72nd minute Anne Makinene sent a shot from 25 yards out to the right that forced Power goalkeeper Gao Hong to make a diving save to preserve the one goal advantage. Four minutes later Keri Sarver sent a header from close range straight to Gao.

Scoring Summary:
NY – Gro Espeseth (unassisted), 43rd minute.
NY – Tiffeny Milbrett (Tammy Pearman), 78th.
Lineups:
New York Power: Gao Hong, Sara Whalen, Nel Fettig, Kristy Whelchel, Ronnie Fair, Gro Espeseth (Ann Kristin Aarones, 80th), Anne Nielsen (Jen O’Sullivan, 70th), Emily Janss (Raven McDonald, 65th), Tammy Pearman, Jen Lalor (Emily Stauffer, 59th), Tiffeny Milbrett.

Washington Freedom: Siri Mullinix, Skylar Little, Lindsay Stoecker (Pretinha, 69th), Carrie Moore, Emmy Barr (Keri Sarver, 59th), Michelle French, Jennifer Grubb, Justi Baumgardt (Louise Lieberman, 63rd), Bai Jie (Anne Makinen, 46th), Tracey Milburn, Mia Hamm. Misconduct Summary:

WAS – Skylar Little, 58th minute. (caution)
WAS – Skylar Little, 86th. (ejection)

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