In spite of being named head coach of Women’s Professional Soccer’s (WPS) Washington Freedom, not much has changed for Jim Gabarra.
He coached the Freedom in the WUSA and has never really stopped. After the league suspended operations in 2003, the Freedom organization stayed together, thanks to an investment from WUSA founding father, John Hendricks. They competed in exhibitions from 2004 to 2006 as the Washington Freedom Reserves and then as a W-League franchise beginning in 2007. So, while the stakes are higher as the team returns to professional soccer, things are not all that different for Gabarra and assistant coach Clyde Jordan.

Back in September last year, the University of Portland’s women’s soccer team was dealt a double blow when two of their top players suffered left knee ACL tears. It wasn’t just a tough break for the school and their fans but for the Rapinoe family too as it was twin sisters Rachael (left) and Megan (right and bottom right) that suffered the nightmare injuries.

First, it was Rachael, who had been firing on all cylinders with 4 goals in 4 games and had declared herself feeling, “the fittest and strongest I’ve ever been,” who broke down. Then, a week later, All-American junior Megan, who had red-shirted her first year at Portland to play for the U.S. in the 2004 U19s FIFA World Championships and was making inroads into the senior set-up suffered the same injury in practice — for the second time in less than a year.