Complete turnaround for Freedom, Courage

ATLANTA - A year ago, Carolina and Washington were at the bottom of the WUSA standings. <br> <br> On Saturday, the Courage and Freedom will play for the league&#39;s second championship. <br> <br> Carolina (13-5-4) was the regular-season champion and advanced to the Founders Cup final with a 2-1 overtime victory over the Atlanta Beat. <br> <br> Washington (12-5-5), the hottest team in the league, earned a chance to play for the championship with a 1-0 road victory over the Philadelphia Charge. <br> <br> Both teams have made huge strides since WUSA&#39;s inaugural season, when they tied for last place in the eight-team league. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s a complete turnaround for both teams from last year,&#39;&#39; said Washington star Mia Hamm, whose recovery from knee surgery sparked the Freedom&#39;s surge. ``It&#39;s amazing how much the attitude has changed, just from success.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The parity of the league was evident in Year 2. Defending champion San Jose didn&#39;t even make the playoffs, and runner-up Atlanta barely squeaked into the postseason. <br> <br> ``Last year, Atlanta and San Jose had the formula,&#39;&#39; Washington coach Jim Gabarra said. ``Last year, both Carolina and Washington were probably not as bad as their record indicated. I don&#39;t think we were as far off as people say we were. It was a very even league.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The Beat was hoping to play for the championship in front of its home fans at Herndon Stadium. The Courage ruined that plan in the semifinals when Carla Overbeck scored on a rebound 1:20 into overtime. <br> <br> ``We worked very hard in the offseason to turn things around,&#39;&#39; Carolina coach Marcia McDermott said. ``Once the regular season started, it was not in our conversation to talk about last year.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Washington was mired in sixth place when Hamm returned from the most serious injury of her career on June 12. The leading international scorer in women&#39;s soccer history, she put the ball in the net within seven minutes of entering her first game. <br> <br> The Freedom is 10-1-2 since Hamm&#39;s return, even though she&#39;s being used off the bench to preserve her fragile left knee. <br> <br> ``I&#39;ve been extremely lucky in terms of being injury-free throughout my career,&#39;&#39; she said. ``I found out I had this injury, and pretty much just had to deal with it.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Hamm&#39;s comeback and the rebound of both teams provides some compelling storylines in a league still struggling to gain a toehold with the American sporting public. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s two great success stories,&#39;&#39; McDermott said. ``It makes excitement for this final.&#39;&#39;