SANTA CLARA, Calif. (April 27, 2009) -- Three games into the WPS season the U.S. National Team’s active leading scorer, Abby Wambach, was missing one thing in league play: a goal. In the week leading up to Washington Freedom’s game against FC Gold Pride, the woman who has scored 99 goals in 127 games for her country picked up the phone and dialed one of the most prolific goal-scorers in women’s soccer history, Mia Hamm.
 
“She gave me a lot of really great things to listen to, to think about,” Wambach said. “You have to reach out to the people that you trust and she’s obviously one of those people for me.”
 
One phone call, two goals and an assist later, the old Abby is back.
 
“Having her confidence in me was important,” Wambach said of Hamm at the press conference after the Freedom beat the Pride 4-3 Sunday.
 
The highest scoring WPS game thus far, the Freedom and Pride battled it out at Buck Shaw Stadium with Wambach scoring the winning goal for Washington in stoppage time.
 
“I do want to score goals for my team,” Wambach said, “but more importantly and most importantly I want to win games.”
 
Wambach recorded her first goal of the game in the 18th minute when she rose to nod a Cat Whitehill free kick past FC Gold Pride goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart.
 
Tied 1-1 at halftime after Tiffeny Milbrett netted the equalizer, both teams came out aggressively, but it was the Freedom who struck first. Wambach found space on the left flank and fired a cross into the center of the 18-yard box where Lori Lindsey headed the ball in past the outstretched hands of Barnhart. The Freedom scored again with Lindsey slipping a pass to Allie Long who drove it home.
 
The Pride answered with two goals in ten minutes from Tiffany Weimer and Christine Sinclair. Despite the late FC Gold Pride resurgence, Whitehill and Wambach teamed up again in the final minute to score the game clincher.  After Kandace Wilson was whistled for a foul, Whitehill drove another 40-yard free kick into the center of the penalty box where Wambach leapt to nod the ball into the lower right corner.
 
“Three points for our team, first win of the season is huge and we want to stay in the playoff hunt,” Wambach said. “We have to figure out what our strengths are and play to our strengths and me being within the goals posts inside the 18-yard-box is obviously a strength for our team.”
 
Despite the loss, Pride coach Albertin Montoya was proud of his players’ efforts.
 
“It was just a great showing from our players coming back” he said, “and unfortunately one of the greatest goal scorers of all time decides to get hot against us at the end there and we really didn’t have anyone who could match up against her height and size and strength.”
 
While pleased with their first win, Wambach said the Freedom still has some things to work on.  
 
“Defensively we had a few breakdowns,” she said. “We put some goals in the back of the net today and I think that’s a big reason why we came out on top.”
 
Wambach and the Freedom’s next test will come against Saint Louis Athletica at Maryland SoccerPlex on May 3 (Fox Soccer Channel, 6pm ET/3pm PT).   Buy Tickets.