No. 1 with a bullet

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After three straight scoreless draws in early August, Women's Professional Soccer fans wondered what was wrong with first-place FC Gold Pride's dominant offense. Now, after scoring nine goals in its last two games, including a record-breaking 6-1 domination of the Atlanta Beat on Saturday, those questions are a distant memory.

"Goals come and go," FC Gold Pride coach Albertin Montoya said Tuesday. "We actually had spent a lot of time working on our defensive shape and our defensive game. All we stressed for about two weeks was getting shutouts. Really, that's all we focused on.

"Our goal," added Montoya, "is to make sure everything comes together close to playoff time and that's what we're really working on."

The most impressive part of the win over Atlanta was that it came after wrapping up the No. 1 seed in the league and an automatic spot in the WPS title game. With nothing at stake, FC Gold Pride turned in the best offensive performance in WPS history, which included five goals in the second half and a total of six scored on WPS 2009 Goalkeeper of the Year Hope Solo.

"I want to make sure that our team doesn't relax in any way," Montoya said. "We have to work on our game and make sure that we don't have any mental lapses and relax. At the same time, we want to put a little bit of fear in our opponents."

With just three games left in the regular season, FC Gold Pride will focus on managing minutes, resting a few players and preparing for the title game, which the team earned the right to host. One interesting storyline to watch is whether this year's likely Player of the Year winner, Marta, will see herself subbed out of a match. The Brazilian international, sitting on 17 goals for the season, well ahead in the race for the Golden Boot, has played every minute of every game she's appeared in, and has missed only one match (for international duty) since the league began.

"I think if we were to sit her, even just for a half, I don't know if we could be around her, because she constantly has so much energy. You can see it out there on the field when she plays," Montoya said. "But we'll see. We'll see how the games play out. She's healthy right now. She's not injured. She's young. I think she can play."

With the No. 1 seed wrapped up, Montoya and FC Gold Pride get to sit back a bit and watch the race for the three remaining playoff spots. The Philadelphia Independence and the Boston Breakers are locked in a tough battle for the No. 2 seed, which secures a home playoff spot (the Super Semifinal on Sept. 23) and a bye through the first round, meaning that team would only have to win one match at home to advance to the title game on Sept. 26. The No. 2 seed is a coveted spot at the end of a long regular season, especially with European World Cup qualifiers taking place at the end of the season and both teams led by key European players. The rest would be welcomed.

While Boston is red-hot (8-2-1 in its last 11 games), Philadelphia has hit a bit of a bump in the road, losing back-to-back games, both win-and-in playoff scenarios. One of those losses was to Boston on Sunday, giving the Breakers the chance to clinch the No. 2 spot if they win out.

"It's a tough stretch for us," Philadelphia coach Paul Riley said. "Obviously, we've got to get this thing done and get the point we need and get ourselves situated in the playoffs. We still hope we can get in second place."

Philadelphia ended its season series with Boston without getting a win, going 0-2-2, but had the misfortune of facing the Breakers three times during their in-form run. The last two games between the two teams have been thrilling, and a playoff meeting in the Super Semifinal between them seems quite likely.

WPS fans couldn't ask for much more.

Showing her true colors

If you've been watching the Philadelphia Independence closely, you've probably noticed that Karina LeBlanc is still wearing pink somewhere on her uniform (armbands, socks), despite the Independence having already played their official "Project Pink" game to support breast cancer charities.

"I am [wearing pink] -- even though it clashes," LeBlanc said. "The whole point is just to make a statement. For me, it's something I support … I think it's just a fantastic cause. The more we can get people talking about it, the more awareness [we can] bring toward it. Hopefully, it's just going to bring more dollars to the cause so that we can come upon a cure."

Puma's Project Pink program was a project WPS players asked to do, and pink jerseys, socks and balls were used in five WPS matches this season. In a nice bit of karma, WPS teams were undefeated (2-0-3) when wearing the special jerseys, which were then auctioned off with the money donated to local charities.

Jacqueline Purdy covers women's soccer for ESPN.com. She also is an editor for ESPNRadio.com. She can be reached by e-mail at jacquelinepurdy@gmail.com or on twitter at twitter.com/jacquelinepurdy.

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