The Philadelphia Independence earned its first victory of the 2010 season, beating Washington Freedom 3-1.

The victory at a chilly and rainy John A Farrell Stadium in West Chester came off of goals by Amy Rodriguez (53), Allison Falk (57) and Lianne Sanderson (67).

The first half of the match saw plenty of scoring opportunities for both sides. The Freedom controlled early play with Amy Wambach scoring in the thirteenth minute. only to have the goal disallowed because of offsides. This early threat energized the Independence, who quickly made two scoring opportunities of their own, including a low shot by Sanderson that beat the Washington keeper but was cleared off the line by a defender.

Washington scored the first goal of the match in the 50th minute when Wambach’s cross found an unmarked Lisa DeVanna. But the Independence responded with a flurry of opportunities, scoring three goals in less than fifteen minutes.

Independence head coach Paul Riley said of Washington’s goal after the match, “I think it really lit a fire under us when we went down, but once A-Rod [Amy Rodriguez] got the first goal I think we all had the feeling that it was just a matter of time until we got another one. Falky [Allison Falk] buried another header like last week at Boston, and Lianne cemented it for us with her goal.”

Wambach said of the loss, “Overall, it’s disappointing to come away with a loss after going ahead. I felt good about our first half performance. I thought our midfield kept good shape. We got some good chances, but honestly I think Philadelphia out played us in the second half.”

The win moves the Independence into third place in the league. The team next face Atlanta Beat on May 1st at John A. Farrell Stadium in West Chester. When the two teams met in the opening game of the season, the match ended as a scoreless draw.