Photo credit: Charlotte Mace

The Women’s Professional Soccer league (WPS) held the Los Angeles Sol Dispersal Draft with the eight remaining teams via conference call Thursday.

With the seventh pick, the Washington Freedom selected Notre Dame star, Brittany Bock.

“She’s versatile, she can play in multiple positions, and we’re looking forward to seeing her in camp and seeing exactly where she fits in and how she fits in,” said Freedom head coach Jim Gabarra.

Bock fit in nicely with the LA Sol last season, starting 17 of the team’s 18 games. She was part of a solid backline that marked the Sol as the league leader in defense, with a goals against average of 0.5.

Having the highest goals against average in the league last season with 1.6, the Freedom might just find a good spot for Bock. But with the ability to play up top and in the midfield, her versatility gives flexibility to the Freedom roster.

Bock’s standout performance with regular season champion Sol was enough to catch the eye of U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Pia Sundhage. She received her first full national team call-up in 2009.

In the second round of the draft, the Freedom selected Faith Ikidi. The Nigerian international played at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, as well as the 2007 Women’s World Cup in China.

“She’s a very good central defender. She’s still under contract in Sweden, so it’s basically kind of a pick for the future. Possibly next season she comes in,” Gabarra explained.

“We’re in a situation where we’re bringing back a large number of our players, and to add another player, that’s under contract, or draft choice, makes more decisions for us. This just puts off the decision. There’s good value in that pick and we basically just relinquished the rights to Nilla Fischer, who’s under contract as well in Sweden, but actually for another year and a half, I believe. So she’s not an option to us like we thought she may be. So it makes sense to us to swap them up, so to speak.”

With the recent drafts and the Freedom tryouts coming up later this month, Gabarra sees a more challenging fight for a roster spot. “It’s gonna be difficult for players trying out, players that are drafted, players that were already under contract. It’s gonna be very competitive.”

“We try to make it a situation where the best eighteen get their roster spots and the next four best get the developmental spots. And it shouldn’t matter if you were drafted, or if you were undrafted, or if you tried out, or if you’re currently under contract. Our responsibility is to put the best product we can on the field.”

Preseason starts March 7th, as the team heads down to Florida the next day for training. The opening roster due date is March 31st, less than two weeks before the season opener on April 10th.

The Freedom thanks their fans after their last regular season game at the Maryland Soccerplex.

The November 9, 2009 issue of The Washington Post included something a reader doesn’t see everyday – an ad from a women’s soccer team.

“Fed Up Washington Sports Fans – Fight for Your Freedom!” read the first line of the Washington Freedom ad. For most DC sports fans, it was a not-so-subtle way of taking a jab at the Washington Redskins, which calls FedEx field its home. The ad continued on to list down the benefits of being a Freedom fan. But for Redskins fans, the list contained more zingers aimed at the Redskins and its management.

“It appears to take shots at the Washington Redskins in lieu of the PR nightmares it has faced this season. In that regards, this seems to be a brilliant ad campaign. However, if this is meant to be a ’stimulus package’ of sorts for Redskins fans finding solace in a pro-women’s soccer league, then this campaign is way in over its head,” Redskins freelance writer Ryan Estorninos observes. “Where I do believe they are on to something, and actively stumping for new fans, the Freedom should focus on its own winning tradition and hope for the future.”

Meanwhile Redskins fan Alan Gonzales, after another disappointing loss by the team, laments, “If you’re a true Skins fan, your skin is so callous from this season that all you can do is laugh about [the ad].”

The buzz spread around the Internet through blogs, Twitter, and other forms of social media. In the women’s soccer community, most have praised the Freedom’s bold move in drawing awareness for one of the least popular sports in the country. At The Washington Post’s Soccer Insider, there were mixed reactions. Some were impressed by the ad, while some criticized it. Some thought it was just harmless fun that won’t make a difference.

Good or bad, there’s no denying the Freedom got the attention it needed.

“When we introduce ourselves and say, ‘We’re with the Washington Freedom,’ a lot of people say, ‘What is the Freedom? Who are the Freedom?’ There’s a lot of people out there who don’t know who we are so that’s where we came up with the simple phrase ‘Freedom Is,’” explains Washington Freedom VP of Marketing George Perry.

“Freedom Is” is the new ad campaign the Freedom revealed through The Washington Post ad. On their website, a Freedom Fan Bill of Rights was put up to let fans know what they’re getting. The Bill of Rights ends with a question asking the fans what Freedom means to them. The question allows fans to be involved in building the evolving Bill of Rights and defining what the Freedom actually is.

Such a move is just one of the ways the Freedom makes its fans feel valuable to the franchise.Through the web, fans are given the opportunity to interact with each other and with the players. A few days before their playoff game against WPS champion Sky Blue FC, the Freedom created Facebook accounts and Twitter accounts for all of the players on the team. At home games, Freedom staff members hand out programs, posters and thundersticks. Players – from Freedom and the opposing team – stay after every game to sign autographs. At times Freedom players and staff members head to a nearby sports bar for a post-game party with the fans.

“The fans are so important to us and we just want to make sure they know that if they want to create signs, and if they want to complain to us and tell us what’s going on, we’re gonna listen to them. And we’re gonna do whatever we can to make sure they have an amazing experience,” Perry says.

The Freedom’s “for fans” approach, may it be on or off-season, seems to be working. In the past season, the average attendance of a home game, not including the RFK doubleheader with DC United, is around 4,600 – one of the highest in the league. Only one home game had less than 4,000 spectators, and that was held on weeknight. Season ticket sales for 2010 have by and far surpassed the previous season’s.

“They’re definitely doing their best within their budget constraints to take care of us. Whenever I talk with a team representative, player or staff, they’re very positive, very helpful, and very grateful for my support,” notes Freedom season ticket holder Kevin Parker.

The Freedom’s average attendance count appears to be around 5% of the Redskins’. While the ad seems to pit David against Goliath in a rather controversial way, it definitely reached an audience outside the women’s soccer community. The question of whether or not the ad will help increase attendance in home games by drawing in new fans won’t be answered anytime soon. As far as the Freedom staff goes, work continues during the off-season in both promoting the team in the DC community and keeping fans happy.

“We know we’re not the Redskins, but we’re certainly a great value, great sports entertainment, and we value the fans,” Perry says.