 In 2008 , a new professional league was announced for women in the United States : Women 's Professional Soccer ( WPS ) . During the 2008 WPS Player Allocation in which twenty @-@ one players from the United States national team player pool were assigned to the seven teams in the new league , Wambach was assigned to the Washington Freedom . She was voted WPS Player of the Week for the week of April 26 ( Week 5 ) after scoring two goals in the Washington Freedom 's 4 – 3 victory over the FC Gold Pride , the Freedom 's first victory in the new league . During the Freedom 's next game on May 3 , 2009 , she received a yellow card for a tackle on St. Louis Athletica midfielder Daniela that left Daniela with two damaged knee ligaments and a crack in the tibia and sidelined her for the rest of the season . Wambach was suspended for one game after the challenge was reviewed by the league commissioner . 
