The second season of Women’s Professional Soccer kicked off Saturday in lovely Boyds, Md. Check out the highlights:

http://www.womensprosoccer.com/wps/swf/wpsflashplayer2.swf

The Freedom defense had one horrible lapse to let rookie Lauren Cheney sit at the doorstep on the first goal, and the marking could’ve been better on the second. Freedom captain and defender Cat Whitehill says the defenders are still getting used to each other, with one rookie (Nikki Marshall) and a converted midfielder (Rebecca Moros) at the back.

Freedom coach Jim Gabarra didn’t attribute the lapses and the lack of early possession to inexperience. “The more experienced players were doing the silly things, which is a shock,” Gabarra said.

Kristine Lilly, who has now appeared for the U.S. team in four different decades, wasn’t happy with her game. The Breakers midfielder set up the first goal off a short corner kick. Some reports credited her with setting up the second goal, but Boston’s Kelly Smith confirmed what the highlight-reader above says — the cross came from Stephanie Cox.

“I didn’t have the best game,” Lilly said. “I gave the ball away a little too much.”

And finally, Boston coach Tony DiCicco didn’t like the Breakers’ form in the final minutes.

“I was a little disappointed we gave up that late goal, but it was a good goal,” DiCicco said.

The criticisms, though, just demonstrate how high the standards have been raised for pro women’s soccer. The quality of play was better than what we saw in last year’s opener and far better than what we usually saw in the WUSA. We saw two excellent goals — Smith’s post move to give Boston the 2-0 lead a Whitehill-to-Abby Wambach-to-Allie Long quick strike to give Washington hope late in the game. The Freedom pressed very well late in each half.

DiCicco, the former U.S. coach and WUSA commissioner, sees a lot of improvement:

“The league, out of the gate last year, was better than the WUSA. This year, I think it’s a little bit better yet. I thought the WUSA in the second year was very good because all those amateur players that stepped into the league, by the second year, they were pros. The first year, they didn’t really know what professional was. I think we’ll see the same thing this year in the WPS.

“Games like this are fun to watch, Not as fun for a coach, but fun to watch.”

England has plans for a pro women’s league next summer, but English national team star Smith answered a quick “no” when asked if it would rival WPS.

“They’re cutting 12 teams down to eight,” Smith said. “It’s going to be hard for the league. The top international players are playing in America, and that’s the draw.”

The schedule — and likely a few FIFA and UEFA regulations — ensure that we won’t see player-sharing between WPS and England as we see in basketball, where Diana Taurasi spends summers in the WNBA but just led Russia’s Spartak Moscow to another Euroleague title.

The only leagues to keep most of their national teams at home are China, which has faded, and Germany, which is preparing to host the World Cup in 2011. But the German sides have few international players, and the national team is spread among several clubs. Two German teams are in the Champions League final four along with French side Lyon and traditional Swedish power Umea, yet both of those clubs have lost talent to WPS.

So can we call it? Is WPS the best women’s league ever?

The other games in Week 1 featured defenses that are a little ahead of the offenses:

– Philadelphia 0, Atlanta 0: Showcase for expansion goalkeepers Karina LeBlanc (ex-LA Sol) and Allison Whitworth (ex-FC Gold Pride).

– New Jersey 1, Chicago 0: The Red Stars’ lineup looks solid, especially with Kate Markgraf back from maternity, but Sky Blue have Natasha Kai.

– St. Louis 2, Bay Area 0: Shannon Boxx to Eniola Aluko. Repeat.