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It took the Washington Freedom women's soccer team a while to find its footing in last year's inaugural Women's Professional Soccer season.

There were extenuating circumstances: Three integral players were at less than 100 percent early in the year. U.S. National Team forward Abby Wambach was still recovering from a broken leg. Defender Cat Whitehill and goalkeeper Erin McLeod were fresh off Anterior Cruciate Ligament tears.

Once intact, Washington went on a tear over the second half of the summer to earn the third seed in the WPS playoffs, where it lost to eventual league champion Sky Blue FC of New Jersey.

Virtually injury-free as they prepare to host the Boston Breakers in their season opener 7 p.m. Saturday at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, the Freedom (8-8-5 record in 2009) are poised to make a stronger start this spring.

"It's a completely different story this season," Freedom coach Jim Gabarra said. "We are healthy, fit and sharp. It was a bonus to have Abby, Cat and Erin the entire preseason; they're able to help out the younger players and perform at the level they're used to. This year the players are comfortable in their roles, it's kind of a win-win with the added year of experience plus the benefit of those players being 100 percent."

The top four finishers in the eight-team league qualify for playoffs at the end of a 24-game regular season.

Washington is dynamic in the middle and final thirds. Wambach has scored 105 goals in 137 appearances with the national team, including the only goal in a 1-0 win over Mexico on March 31. Australia's Lisa De Vanna, Sonia Bompastor of France and Japan's Homare Sawa join her in an explosive attack that led the league in goals last season, with 32.

Wambach's eight goals in 2009 led the team and were second in the league. She and De Vanna are a coach's dream combination for a two-forward offense when on the field together.

Wambach is a more traditional scorer, Gabarra said, while De Vanna uses her sheer speed to get behind opposing defenses. De Vanna is a high-energy player who rarely plays a full 90 minutes, but will provide a huge spark whenever she is on the field.

Sawa is excellent in one-on-one situations, providing Washington with lots of options. Bompastor led the league with six assists last year. Norway's Lene Mykjaland joins the team this year and will add variety, as well.

While Gabarra plans to be versatile in his tactics, the preseason has mostly seen Wambach deployed as a lone striker, with the midfielders and wide players getting forward to join in attacks.

Scoring should take care of itself, but defense could be a question mark. It was the team's Achilles heel last year, when the Freedom gave up a league-leading 32 goals.

But Gabarra made some changes this offseason he hopes will rectify those concerns.

"Our biggest need was on the defensive side of the ball; we were pretty disorganized defensively to start the season," Gabarra said. "We wanted to address the goals-against without sacrificing our attack. We needed some pace in back and some presence in the defensive midfield. We feel we have addressed some of those issues through the draft and now we will see how those decisions affect us."

Newcomers Nikki Marshall and Brittany Bock, who is recovering from foot surgery but should be good to go early in the season, join Freedom veterans Alex Singer, Becky Sauerbrunn and McLeod in the back.

"We value versatility; good soccer players," Gabarra said. "We think we have a good group, a very intelligent and competitive group, and we're all excited to get under way."