Back from Women's World Cup, Amy Rodriguez's spot with Independence not guaranteed

Will forward Amy Rodriguez, recently returned from the U.S. Women's World Cup team, play for the Independence against host Sky Blue on Saturday?

We won't know until the Women's Professional Soccer game, scheduled for 7 p.m., starts.

"After the last Indy game, [coach Paul Riley] said that World Cup players will have to work their way back into the lineup," said Rodriguez, who registered the most playing time of the three Independence players on the national team roster.

The Indy's last game, a 1-0 win over the host Atlanta Beat, extended the team's winning streak to six. They lead the league with an 8-2 record.

Rodriguez played in the five games that preceded the World Cup championship match with Japan. Midfielder Lori Lindsey played in one game, against Colombia, in a 3-1 win. Nicole Barnhart, a backup keeper, saw no playing time.

"I totally expected to earn my spot back," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez, one of the league's leading scorers last season, has some catching up to do. In the first five games of the season, "A-Rod," as she is known by her teammates, had one goal and no assists. She missed the next nine matches because of World Cup action, during which teammate Tasha Kai, also a forward, has established herself as the league's scoring leader with Western New York's Christine Sinclair. Both have eight goals.

The Independence have five regular-season games to play before the WPS playoffs are scheduled to start on Aug. 17. The Independence finished as the league's runners-up last year.

"Paul is an excellent coach and it shows with Tasha Kai as the leading scorer," Rodriguez said.

"I was joking that my first game [of the season] was with New Jersey [a 2-2 tie] and now my first game back is with New Jersey. I'm excited to see how my team matches up.

"I'm looking forward to putting on an Indy jersey for the first time in a little while."

Rodriguez & Co. now must play against some of those players with whom they advanced to the World Cup championship game against Japan, and lost, 3-1, on penalty kicks Sunday after coming from behind, twice, in a 2-2 tie in regulation.

"We emotionally bonded as a national team and it will be hard to go up against one another after wearing the same jersey . . . but I love how competitive [WPS] is and I love playing for Philly," Rodriguez said.

Wambach to coach. Abby Wambach has returned to her WPS team, the Florida-based magicJack, from the World Cup as player-coach for the rest of the season, ESPN.com reports.

The move comes after a grievance filed July 8 by the WPS Players Union alleging a hostile work environment prompted the league on July 14 to ban magicJack owner and sometimes coach Dan Borislow from the sideline for the rest of the year.