The new site contains everything that Independence fans need, including all important information on the team, players, stadium, events, sponsorships, affiliates, and tickets. Fans also have access to all team and statistics, league standings, and schedules through the new site, along withadditional fun features like Fan Corner and WPS Fantasy Challenge.

Visit the new Official Website of the Philadelphia Independence

Premier Orthopaedics, together with Crozer-Keystone Health System, is already the Official Medical Service Provider for the Independence and with this much broader agreement, Premier will expand its imaging, orthopaedic and physican services care throughout the 2010 season at both the team’s practice and game venues. Premier Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine is recognized for providing high quality musculoskeletal care in the Philadelphia region. Premier is comprised of 30 orthopaedic surgeons with unparalleled experience and credentials. Its specialists provide treatment for problems ranging from the hand, spine, foot and ankle, to joint replacement and sports injuries involving knees and shoulders. Many of Premier’s physicians are affiliated with professional sports teams, professional dance companies, and athletes from high schools, colleges, and U.S. Olympic teams. In addition, Premier has a wide range of exceptional physical therapy, MRI/imaging, and urgent care facilities.

“This is a tremendous partnership for the Philadelphia Independence,” said David Halstead, Independence Owner/CEO. “Premier Orthopaedics has excellent resources and is committed to providing our athletes with responsive, top quality care, and the surrounding communities with exceptional medical services and support. Our team physician and team trainer, both from Premier, have already imbedded themselves in our organization as trusted partners and medical professionals. We are proud to wear the “Premier” brand on our jersey front and be part of the company’s community growth and expansion.”

According to Dr. Anne Colton, Premier Orthopaedics senior partner and surgeon, “We at Premier Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine are proud to sponsor the Independence Women’s soccer team in this unique way. As the leaders in Orthopaedic care in Delaware and Chester counties, Premier has a long history of support for our community’s athletes, and we are dedicated to providing outstanding musculoskeletal care for all of our patients.”

For more information about Premier Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Associates, LTD visit www.premierortho.com.

To stay tuned to additional sponsorship news for the Philadelphia Independence, as well as updates related to player, schedule, community, and ticketing, see www.wpsphillyindependence.com.

About Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS)
Headquartered in San Francisco, Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) is the world’s premier soccer league for women with eight teams across the United States featuring the best players from around the world. In 2010, eight teams will each play 24-game schedules from April 10-September 12 including six original WPS teams – Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Gold Pride (Bay Area), Saint Louis Athletica, Sky Blue FC (NJ/NY) and Washington Freedom – and two expansion teams Atlanta Beat and Philadelphia Independence. The top four finishers in the regular season will qualify for the 2010 WPS Playoffs scheduled for September 19-26. For more information, visit the WPS official website at www.womensprosoccer.com or follow all the news at www.twitter.com/womensprosoccer

Philadelphia, PA (March 31, 2010) – After a month of rigorous preseason training camp, the Philadelphia Independence has announced an impressive final roster of twenty-two players for the 2010 WPS season. Boasting nine National Team players from six different countries (US, Sweden, Canada, England, Iceland, and Japan), the team combines a wealth of experience with an exciting collection of young talent. After a tremendous preseason, Head Coach Paul Riley believes that the team’s chemistry both on and off the field puts the Independence in good stead to compete for the WPS playoffs this season.

2010 Independence Roster

Name	Position	College/Int'l Club
Adams, Danesha	Forward	UCLA
Buczkowski, Jennifer	Midfielder	Notre Dame
Falk, Allison	Defender	Stanford
Henderson, Val	Goalkeeper	UCLA
Johnson, Estelle	Defender	University of Kansas
Krzysik, Nikki	Defender	UVA
Larsson, Sara	Defender	Sweden
LeBlanc, Karina	Goalkeeper	Canada
Lindsey, Lori	Midfielder	UVA
Lohman, Joanna	Midfielder	Penn State
Magnusdottir, Holmfridur	Forward	Iceland
Maruyama, Karina	Forward	Japan
Mitts, Heather	Defender	University of Florida
Patterson, Lyndsey	Forward	Univ of Tennessee
Rodriguez, Amy	Forward	USC
Sanderson, Lianne	Forward	England
Seger, Caroline	Midfielder	Sweden
Senty, Sarah	Defender	UVA

Developmental Roster

Name	Position	College/Int'l Club
Jones, Robyn	Goalkeeper	Franklin & Marshall
Patterson, Carrie	Forward	University of Georgia
Reynolds, Katherine	Defender	Santa Clara
DiMartino, Gina	Forward	Boston College

The talented group of twenty-two players selected makes the Independence squad one of the strongest in the league. “I feel we have a great balance between youth and experience” says Riley. “In putting the squad together we wanted to make sure we have combined intelligent, savvy players with speedy, athletic ones. We have an attacking roster and I’m hopeful with more time together that we will gel into a very good attacking unit with a style of play that will be attractive to watch for the fans of Philadelphia. First things first though…we want a win opening night against Atlanta on April 11th.”

In addition to the eighteen Independence players under full contract, the WPS allows teams to select up to four developmental players, including one goalkeeper. If the number of rostered players on the available list falls below eighteen due to injury or absence, developmental players can be used during home games or selected for away matches. A developmental contract is a great opportunity for younger, less experienced players to train at the highest level and earn playing time in WPS. If a developmental player participates in ten WPS games, they must be moved onto the roster and placed under a regular player contract.

Don’t miss your opportunity to take part in history and support Philadelphia’s own Women’s Professional Soccer team in the first-ever Independence game. Visit www.indepenedencetix.com to purchase single game, group, or season tickets today!

About Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS)
Headquartered in San Francisco, Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) is the world’s premier soccer league for women with eight teams across the United States featuring the best players from around the world. In 2010, eight teams will each play 24-game schedules from April 10-September 12 including six original WPS teams – Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Gold Pride (Bay Area), Saint Louis Athletica, Sky Blue FC (NJ/NY) and Washington Freedom – and two expansion teams Atlanta Beat and Philadelphia Independence. The top four finishers in the regular season will qualify for the 2010 WPS Playoffs scheduled for September 19-26. For more information, visit the WPS official website at www.womensprosoccer.com or follow all the news at www.twitter.com/womensprosoccer.

Just one day after announcing the final 2010 roster, the Independence faced off against Penn State in front of another sellout crowd, defeating the Nittany Lions 1-0. Despite missing several key players due to National Team duty, the Independence demonstrated the depth of the roster with a solid defensive effort and a game-winning goal from Penn State alum, Joanna Lohman.

From the first whistle, the Independence showed their attacking prowess, creating several dangerous opportunities in the opening minutes of the match. The Independence finally struck in the 29th minute with a volleyed finish from Independence midfielder Joanna Lohman. Lyndsey Patterson demonstrated her quickness and skill on the outside, beating her defender and lofting a cross to Lohman, who buried it past the keeper. Last night’s game-winner marks Lohman’s third goal in four preseason matches for the Independence. Lohman and Patterson connected again just minutes after the goal, this time creating a dangerous chance for Patterson that was stopped with a spectacular save by the Penn State keeper.

The Independence entered halftime with a 1-0 lead, and both teams came out strong the second half. Both the Independence and Penn State focused on a more possession-oriented style of play and the teams battled in the middle-third of the field for much of the half. Holmfridur Magnusdottir provided a spark for the Independence on the left side, creating problems for the Penn State defense and sending two blistering shots just over the crossbar in the 70th and 84th minutes. Penn State turned up the pressure in the closing minutes of the match, with a dangerous opportunity in stoppage time that the team was unable to convert. Goalkeeper Val Henderson was a commanding presence in net, and the Independence were able to hold the 1-0 lead until the final whistle.

Last night’s contest was an important victory for the Independence in the last scrimmage before the team takes on Atlanta in the WPS Home Opener next weekend. Tickets for the April 11th inaugural Independence match are on sale at www.independencetix.com! Don’t miss your opportunity to be a part of history and support the return of professional women’s soccer to Philadelphia!

The Philadelphia Independence has announced a multi-platform media partnership with CBS Television Stations’ local channels, CBS3 (KYW-TV) and CW57 (WPSG-TV). The agreement provides a showcase for the Independence across the CBS stations’ television networks and online sites.

The partnership allows the Independence to reach the local networks’ viewers through full station integration. Independence players and coaches will be in-studio, featured interview subjects on popular CBS talk shows, Talk Philly and Sports Zone, and Independence scores will be listed on CBS3.com’s sports page. The host of Sports Zone, former NFL player Beasley Reece, interviewed the Independence in CBS3’s Center City studios during the team’s March 22 bus tour of Philadelphia, and will host an in-studio interview with Independence players later this season.

Another exciting element of the media partnership is the coverage the Independence will receive as a featured segment on the 2010 “Summer Philly Fun” 30-minute special, hosted by the CW Crew and airing five times throughout the summer. The special promises to cover “everything from fun summer fashions to fun summer foods…from the Shore to the Poconos and all the fun places in between” and will showcase Independence games as one of the summer’s top events.

Independence players will also be featured as the hosts of the CW premiere of the “Bend it Like Beckham” movie (Saturday 5/8 from 8-10p and Sunday 5/30 from 1-3p.)

“CBS3 and CW57 are top-notch Philly stations, and we are excited to continue building our fan base and connection to the community through this unique media partnership” says Executive Director of Sponsorship and Marketing, Steve Scebelo. “We are thrilled to be working with a media partner that wants to integrate the Independence into their local programming content, helping to promote the team to a broader audience and build our fan base throughout the Greater Philadelphia market.”

The partnership kicks off on April 6th, just five days before the team’s inaugural match on April 11th, with an in-studio interview of Independence players on the popular daytime talk show, Talk Philly.

Tune in to CBS next Wednesday morning to watch hosts Ukee Washington and Pat Ciarrocchi interview the Independence stars prior to the Home Opener.
Don’t miss out on the excitement of the Independence Home Opener and Philly’s first WPS season! Single-game, group, and season tickets are on sale now at www.independencetix.com. For package details visit www.wpsphillyindependence.com.

(Boyds, MD) – March 27, 2010 – Today, the Philadelphia Independence battled the Washington Freedom to a 0-0 tie in its third preseason match of 2010. With windy, cold conditions the team, minus its US National Team players and a handful of international stars, traveled to Maryland for its final scrimmage before rosters are due to the league. This game marks the first time the Independence played a fellow WPS team.

Independence players Amy Rodriguez, Heather Mitts and Lori Lindsey did not join the squad on this trip as they are with the US Women’s National Team participating in exhibition matches against Mexico. International players Holmfridur Magnusdottir and Lianne Sanderson are also playing for their respective countries. Sanderson, who joined England last week for World Cup Qualifiers, already netted a goal and picked up an assist in her game against Austria.

“Obviously were missing a lot of our key players,” said General Manger Terry Foley. “But, this game provides our coaching staff an opportunity to give some other players a second look. We have some things to work on, but overall I’m pretty pleased with our play today.”

The Independence will solidify its final roster on March 31 before facing Penn State for its final preseason game on April 1 in Downingtown.

April 11 marks the opening of the Independence inaugural season when they take on WPS expansion team the Atlanta Beat. Get your tickets now! Single-game, group and season tickets are on sale now!. For package details visit www.wpsphillyindependence.com

By Charles Cuttone || PhillySoccerNews.com
Allison Falk might best be remembered as the first player to score a goal in Women’s Professional Soccer. She did it in the league opener last season, playing for the Los Angeles Sol, but that was a year and a coast ago. Falk, a defender by trade, was traded to the Philadelphia Independence before the Sol folded.

“It’s definitely a transition,” said Falk on a cold windy day at the team’s United Sports Training Center practice facility. “Even just going from California to Pennsylvania, I am a California girl. But I have definitely loved it so far.”

A Stanford grad, Falk said the biggest adjustment has not been the weather, especially since the winter temperatures have started abating and the snow has melted.

“It’s just getting used to a whole new team and a whole new coaching staff and playing with different girls out there on the field,” she said.

Falk played in 16 of the Sol’s 20 games last season. The first goal in the team’s season-opening 2-0 win over the Washington Freedom, was her only point of the season. The team went wire to wire in first place, before falling in the championship game to Sky Blue FC.

“It definitely was disappointing, we couldn’t get to win the championship in the last game,” she said. “We had a great year. We only lost 3-4 games all year.”

Perhaps more disappointing for Falk was that the Sol folded after the season, although she had already been traded to the Independence, along with goalkeeper Val Henderson, in exchange for Philly’s first round pick (5th overall) and its third round pick (22nd overall) in the 2010 WPS Draft.

“You don’t want to see a team not succeed in the league,” she said. “We have other great strong teams, with good owners and strong backing. Hopefully they’ll come back.”

Falk thinks the Independence is starting to gel, especially after all the national team players arrived in camp last week. “I really think we are starting to feel each other out, and how everyone is playing and getting a sense of where we are. We had people coming in gradually, so we don’t really have quite the whole team feel yet. It’s going to be a challenge.”

At Stanford, the Pleasanton, Calif. native was honored the by Pac-10 Conference in each of her four seasons. She was named to the league All-Freshman team, then in succeeding seasons, was a second team, honorable mention and second team selection.

A four year letter-winner at San Ramon Valley High school, Falk was the California High School Sports North Coast Section Player of the Year in 2004 and led her school back-to-back league championships in 2003 and 2004, as well as the NCS finals in `04. She also won two letters in track. While she graduated from Stanford with a degree in American studies, her passions are outdoors, including wakeboarding and waterskiing.

While she’s at home on the soccer field getting photographed by sports photographers, you might also find her on the other side of a camera lens.

“I took three years of photography,” she said. “I studied abroad in Florence my junior year in college and I took black and white photography there. It was exciting to capture the cities and towns there.”

With just over two weeks until the inaugural home-opener, the time to declare your Independence is now!

Still unsure of what your ever-changing schedule is going to look like a month from now? Can’t make it to all the games but still want to show your Philly pride? A Flex plan is the perfect solution!

The Independence Flex Plan allows fans the ability to customize their own ticket packages! Fans can purchase vouchers for ANY combination of games or attendees and redeem them at the Independence box office on the day of the game. Flex plans can be purchased in packs of 12 or 20!

Flex Plan Details:

• Independence Flex Plans are $250 for twenty (20) undated ticket vouchers, or $175 for twelve (12) undated vouchers.
• Use as many or as few as you please at any regular season home game in 2010.
• Vouchers can be redeemed at the stadium Box Office for General Admission seating, subject to availability, on the day of game only.
• Flex Packs will be available for shipping at an additional cost of $5.00.

Please call the Independence at 1-877-WPS-PHIL or visit www.independencetix.com.

After 3 weeks of arduous training, Independence players and staff took Monday afternoon off to visit Philadelphia, its many historic sites, and meet fans. Many of the players, who have been in market for a few weeks now, have been so busy gearing up for the season they haven’t had a chance to get acquainted with the city.

When Monday’s first training session concluded, players, coaches and the front office hopped onto a bus for an action-packed afternoon. Despite the torrential rains and the exciting schedule of city historical spots, there was only one thing on the minds of the players – authentic Philly cheesesteaks.

As most people know, Philadelphia is known for having THE BEST cheesesteaks in the country. While every Philadelphian has their favorite spot, many loyalties lie with Pat’s in south Philly. “I’ve never had a Philly cheesesteak before,” said forward Danesha Adams. “I have very high expectations now though, so I better not be disappointed!” The team decided to head to Pat’s King of Steaks and were quickly taught by area natives the proper way to order a cheesesteak — “Whiz wit, please.” Then it was time to chow down! After talking with fans at lunch (and the friendly staff at Pat’s), and consuming more whiz than Coach Riley may have liked, it was time for the team to head to CBS3 studios where they had an appearance on the evening news. Sports anchor Beasely Reese and his staff were great, interviewing the coach and team, and discussing the upcoming season.

Next stop…The Philadelphia Art Museum. Despite the pouring rain, players and coaches darted out of the bus and sprinted straight for the museum steps — made famous by Sylvester Stallone in Rocky. Rumblings were heard earlier about heavy legs after the morning session but that didn’t stop this team! After some team photos with Rocky, it was back on the bus for some trivia competition on the history of the city, the team colors and Independence player backgrounds. Once Coach Riley was confident his players knew the city’s history well enough, it was time to see Independence Hall, the very place where the Declaration of Independence was drafted and signed. Players stopped for a photo and even got a peak of the Liberty Bell, which was located directly across the street.

After a whirlwind couple of hours, there was one last stop to make — the Dark Horse Tavern, home bar of the Philadelphia Union. Players and staff sat down for appetizers and dinner, and mingled with Sons of Ben members who were in-and-out throughout the evening. “It was great to show the players this great city – including many players who are enjoying their first trip to the U.S. The fans are so enthusiastic and welcoming here and Philly has such a great sports tradition” said Independence owner David Halstead. “It was also terrific to visit with some of the Sons of Ben. We look forward to continuing our connection to the city, its fans, businesses, communities, culture, and history.”

The Independence opens its inaugural season on Sunday April 11 at 6pm at John A. Farrell Stadium on the campus of West Chester University. Tickets are on sale now. For more information on season tickets, single games or flex plans please visit www.independencetix.com.

The Philadelphia Independence is pleased to announce that its Club Affiliate Program was strengthened today with the additions of two of the largest soccer clubs in the area. The team signed Spirit United Soccer Club and West Chester United Soccer Club to the franchise’s growing affiliate list. “These two club partnerships are very important to us,” said General Manager Terry Foley. “Both club organizations are right here in our backyard and we truly value the opportunity to get involved with all of their teams, coaches, and players, all of whom are such a huge part of the local soccer community.”

Spirit United, a prominent member of EPYSA, consists of boys and girls travel teams that compete in the Delco Soccer and Philadelphia Area Girls Soccer (PAGS) leagues. The SUSC soccer program is designed to develop players to their greatest potential by focusing on top quality instruction and training and exposure to top level competition. “Having female role models at United Sports on a daily basis will greatly benefit our female athletes and club as a whole,” said Spirit President Dave Hatt. “To have some of the best female soccer players in the world playing at our home will have a tremendous impact on our club and community.”

West Chester United Soccer Club, founded in 1976, is a full service soccer club that provides all levels of play from recreation to premier for the club’s 3,400 youth members, as well as competitive leagues for over 300 adult players. “West Chester United is very excited to partner with the Independence,’ said WCUSC Administrator Damon Nolan. “It’s a natural fit for us. We are looking forward to having our young girls and boys inspired by seeing the highest level of women’s soccer played up close.”

The Philadelphia Independence Club Affiliate Program is an opportunity for all local clubs to take advantage of having a Women’s Professional Soccer team in Philadelphia. Through player appearances, discount ticketing, in-game opportunities and group night, local clubs have an opportunity to showcase their organization, while exposing their players to the top women’s talent in the world. For more information on how your club can get involved, call 1-877-WPS-PHIL or visit www.wpsphillyindependence.com/club-affiliate-program. The Philadelphia Independence opens up its season on April 11 at 6pm against the Atlanta Beat. To find out how you can be part of history, purchase (link to ticket page) your ticket to the inaugural game today!