Don't be surprised if the Los Angeles Sol and St. Louis Athletica are in the 2009 WPS Championship Game.
Amanda Cinalli's goal in the first half gave Jorge Barcellos's club a well-deserved 1-0 victory over the Sol on Wednesday afternoon at the Home Depot Center.
In the 11th minute, Eniola Aluko fed the ball inside to the debutante from Notre Dame. Capitalizing on a bad defensive play inside the box from Los Angeles, she slotted home her second goal of the season past Karina LeBlanc.
Athletica goalkeeper Hope Solo made four saves in earning her sixth shutout of the season. The victory for St. Louis was also the first on the road at Victoria Street.
In addition, Los Angeles will need to wait for this upcoming weekend's set of matches involving St. Louis and Boston to see if they will clinch the regular season championship.
Nonetheless, it was a less-than-impressive performance for Abner Rogers' club, who suffer their second loss of the season.
Los Angeles won more corners (eight to one) and had more shots (13 to nine), but the Sol failed to manage their way past a strong defensive effort from Athletica.
The Sol had numerous chances to equalize. Aya Miyama had an opportunity to outrace the St. Louis defense in the 61st minute, but took too much time to think before getting the shot off.
The best chance for Los Angeles came in the 65th minute, when a transition play for Miyama and Marta went affray. It was part of a miserable afternoon offensively for the home side.
“We created multiple opportunities and it’s our job to score; we should have put them away," said captain Shannon Boxx following the match. “In the second half, our back line did a great job as we picked it up and moved more people forward to get more scoring opportunities.”
As if things were not bad enough for the Sol, Marta was cautioned in the 70th minute for unsporting behavior.
“Our legs were heavy, but there are no excuses; we could have done a better job defensively," said a disappointed Rogers following the match. “We created multiple opportunities to tie up the match.
“In the first half, we came out flat. But, I think we did a better job battling back in the second half playing a 3-4-3 system.”
Despite the loss, Rogers remained optimistic.
“The loss today is a small bump in our successful season," he said. “It’s a true mark of a champion to bounce back after a loss.”
Rogers will see if Los Angeles can exhibit that true mark that he alluded to.
And who better to take their frustrations out on than their Northern California rival, FC Gold Pride.
Kickoff at Buck Shaw Stadium is scheduled for Thursday, July 23 at 10:00 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. PT).
St. Louis Athletica will finish their four-game road trip with a match on July 18 against the Washington Freedom. Kickoff at RFK Stadium is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. EST.
07.08.2009
Carson, Calif., – The Home Depot Center
Saint Louis Athletica – Los Angeles Sol 1:0 (1:0)
1 2 F
Saint Louis 1 0 1
Los Angeles 0 0 0
Scoring Summary
STL – Amanda Cinalli (Eniola Aluko) 11’
Lineups
Saint Louis Athletica: Hope Solo; Elsie Weber, Tina Ellertson, Sara Larsson, Stephanie Logeterman; Lori Chalupny©, Kendall Fletcher, Amanda Cinalli (78: Melissa Tancredi), Lisa Stoia, Angie Woznuk (77: Kia McNeill); Eniola Aluko (91+: Niki Cross).
Los Angeles Sol: Karina LeBlanc; Manya Makoski, Stephanie Cox, Brittany Bock, Katie Larkin (46: Aly Wagner); McCall Zerboni (78: Lyndsey Patterson), Camille Abily, Shannon Boxx©, Aya Miyama; Han Duan (46: Liz Bogus), Marta.
Misconduct Summary
LA – Marta (caution) 70’
STL – McNeill (caution) 83’
Statistics
Saint Louis Los Angeles
Shots 9 (4) 13 (4)
Shots on Goal 6 (3) 4 (2)
Saves 4 (2) 5 (2)
Fouls 11 (3) 9 (4)
Corners 1 (0) 8 (4)
Offside 3 (1) 3 (2)
Referee: Margaret Domka
Linesmen: Marlene Duffy, Colin Arblaster
4th Official: Israel Fernandez
Attendance: 4,841
Weather: Sunny and 79 degrees
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