Robert Mora | isiphotos.com

Camille Abily netted the equalizer in the 90th minute as the Los Angeles Sol and Chicago Red Stars played to a 1-1 tie.

Boxscore (all statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial)

CARSON, Calif. (June 3, 2009) - In a thrilling match packed with late drama, the Los Angeles Sol (6-1-3) and Chicago Red Stars (2-3-3) played to a 1-1 tie Wednesday evening at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. in WPS's first midweek match.

Scoreless deep in the match, Chicago forward Ella Masar, a second half substitute, came up with a huge play in the 88th minute.  From just off the end line Masar played a beautiful near post cross to Cristiane, who fired a shot to the right side of the net and past a helpless Karina LeBlanc.  The goal ended a 396-minute scoreless drought for Chicago, dating back to the second half of an April 25th win over Boston.

But Chicago’s defense, which did a good job controlling three-time FIFA Player of the Year Marta for most of the match, couldn’t quite finish off a clean sheet.  In the 90th minute the Sol’s Brazilian star shot from the top of the box and hit the left post.  Red Stars goalkeeper Caroline Jönsson dove but was unable to stop the rebound as it bounced right to Camille Abily who drove home the equalizer, her fourth goal of the season.

Despite a scoreless first half, the Red Stars had a pair of strong chances early in the match.  In the sixth minute, Lindsay Tarpley blasted a shot off her left foot that went just wide right of the net.  Minutes later Tarpley attempted to connect with Cristiane, who came streaking in to the top of the box, but LeBlanc just beat the Brazilian to the ball and was able to corral it to defuse the chance.

Jönsson was busy midway through the first half.  Los Angeles put two shots on goal in the 25th minute – one a shot by Abily and the other a Marta header that went wide left.  The Sol nearly scored in the 31st minute when Marta fired a left-footed blast on net but Jönsson managed to deflect the ball off her left leg and out of harm’s way.  The Swede ended up with six saves on the night.

Chicago earned its first in a month as it pulled into fifth place and now travels to the Bay Area to face FC Gold Pride on Sunday at 8pm ET/5pm PT.  The Sol, meanwhile, extended its grasp on first place to nine points and will host the second-place Washington Freedom on Sunday in a match that can be seen on Fox Soccer Channel (6pm ET/3pm PT).

Boxscore (all statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial)

POST-GAME QUOTES

Abner Rogers, Los Angeles Sol Head Coach

“We were slow coming out of the box tonight, but we played a much better second half.”

“Sometimes the standings and points don’t really reflect how good some of the teams are. Chicago is a very difficult team to beat, but we showed a lot of character at the end of tonight’s game.”