| Founded | 2011 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dissolved | 2012 | ||
| Stadium | FAU Soccer Field | ||
| Capacity | 1,200 | ||
| Owner | Dan Borislow[1] | ||
| Manager | Abby Wambach | ||
| League | Women's Professional Soccer | ||
| 2011 | WPS, 3rd | ||
magicJack (stylized with the first letter in lower case) was an American professionalsoccer club based inBoca Raton, Florida. The team competed inWomen's Professional Soccer (WPS) for one season until legal challenges caused the team's owner,Dan Borislow, to be banned from the WPS, which folded in 2012.
In 2001, magicJack was founded asWashington Freedom, a team of the defunctWomen's United Soccer Association (WUSA). The Freedom were the only team to continue as an organization after WUSA folded, first playing exhibition games, then joining theW-League. The Freedom were a founding member of WUSA's successor,Women's Professional Soccer. In 2011, the team was purchased byDan Borislow, the owner of the phone tech companymagicJack, renamed, and relocated toBoca Raton, Florida.
The team opened its2011 season with three wins, and was the only team with a perfect record for the first month of the season. Despite this, coachMike Lyons was then dismissed, beginning a long period of coaching controversy, while both Borislow andChristie Rampone functioned as team coach at various points. During the2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, magicJack lost in a WPS-record 6–0 defeat, falling to thePhiladelphia Independence.
On July 21, 2011,Abby Wambach was named as magicJack's player-coach for the rest of the season.[2] The team was the visiting side when theWestern New York Flash of Rochester (Wambach's hometown) set the new WPS league record attendance of 15,404.[3] magicJack ultimately finished third in both the regular season and the playoffs.
In the waning months of the season, Borislow sent an e-mail to his players telling them that WPS was threatening to terminate the team before the season was over, and he filed a suit in Florida courts. The league denied this accusation, and agreements were made for the suit to be dropped.[4]
On October 25, 2011, the Women's Professional League Governors voted to terminate the franchise,[5] accusing ownerDan Borislow of violations ranging from "unprofessional and disparaging treatment of his players" to "failure to pay his bills". WPS also stated, "Mr. Borislow's actions have been calculated to tarnish the reputation of the league and damage the league's business relationships."[6] All players were able to sign with new teams when free agency started on November 9, 2011.
ForwardElla Masar was the only magicJack player to publicly condemn the team owner, Dan Borislow, accusing him of mistreating players, including her.[7]
Borislow again filed suit in Florida courts; on January 10, 2012, the judge ruled that the league could not terminate the team's franchise without following its own procedures, and a hearing was set for the following week.[8] Before adjudication resumed, WPS and Borislow reached another deal, this time allowing Borislow to keep his team as an exhibition team, guaranteeing magicJack at least seven games for each of the next two years, one at each of the WPS teams' home grounds and two in Florida.[9] The WPS announced on January 30 that it was suspending the 2012 season, in part because of their legal dispute with Borislow.[10] The league announced that it would cease all operations on May 18, 2012.[11] Borislow died in July 2014 of a heart attack after playing in a soccer game.[12]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Final regular season standings.
Blue denotes regular season champion, and top seed in2011 Women's Professional Soccer Playoffs.
Green denotes team has spot in2011 Women's Professional Soccer Playoffs.
| Place | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western New York Flash | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 40 | 18 | +22 | 42 |
| 2 | Philadelphia Independence | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 31 | 18 | +13 | 36 |
| 3 | MagicJack | 18 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 28* |
| 4 | Boston Breakers** | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 19 | 24 | -5 | 19 |
| 5 | Sky Blue FC | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 24 | 29 | -5 | 19 |
| 6 | Atlanta Beat | 18 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 7 | 32 | -25 | 7 |
Source:WPS standings
*MagicJack was docked one point on 12 May for various violations of league standards.[14]
**Boston wins head-to-head 2-1-1 over Sky Blue.
Media related toMagicJack (WPS) at Wikimedia Commons
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