Washington Freedom
 |
|
| Full name | Washington Freedom |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Freedom |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Dissolved | 2011 (relocated, became magicJack) |
| Stadium |
Maryland SoccerPlex RFK Stadium |
| Capacity |
5,126 /56,692 |
| Owner |
 Dan Borislow
|
| Manager |
Mike Lyons
|
| League | Women's Professional Soccer |
| 2010 | WPS, 4th/First round |
5,126
The Washington Freedom was an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Germantown, Maryland that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The Freedom was founded in 2001 as a member of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association. Since 2004, the Freedom had played its home games at the Maryland SoccerPlex. In 2011, the team relocated to Boca Raton, Florida and became magicJack.
The team played its home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., where the team offices were also located. The team's "founding players" (players from the national team allocated three to each WUSA team) were Mia Hamm, Siri Mullinix and Michelle French. The team was expected by some to be one of the best in the league but finished seventh out of the eight teams their first season.
However, this finish allowed the Freedom to select Abby Wambach as their first pick in the 2002 WUSA draft. Additional personnel changes, better performance from retained players, and a Mia Hamm improved by off-season knee surgery led to a far better finish, as Washington went undefeated in their last eight matches and finished in third place (only two points out of first). In the postseason, they won their semifinal match against the Philadelphia Charge, 1–0, and went to the Founders Cup, the WUSA championship match, which they lost, 3–2, to the Carolina Courage.
In 2003, the Freedom were just good enough to make the playoffs, clinching the fourth and final spot with two games to go. However, they would go on to beat the regular season champion Boston Breakers in the semifinals, 0–0 (3–1 penalty kick shootout), and then defeated the Atlanta Beat in the Founders Cup, 2–1, in overtime. It was the last Golden Goal in a FIFA-sanctioned first-division league before the practice was changed.
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