Weekend Report

The Saint Louis Athletica were the biggest movers in Week 12 of WPS as they catapulted into second in the WPS Standings for the first time this season with a 1-0 road victory Sunday over the Boston Breakers. The win cut into the first-place lead of the Los Angeles Sol, who are still dominant atop the table, 11 points clear of Saint Louis. The Sol tied a determined Sky Blue FC team in New Jersey on Saturday. On a weekend that saw four WPS teams pick up a point from ties, two scoreless draws happened – the first scoreless games in WPS in over a month. Boston, Chicago and FC Gold Pride now find themselves in a three-way logjam for fourth place – the final playoff spot – with the Breakers having played one game less.

Washington Freedom 0, Chicago Red Stars 0
The Chicago Red Stars (2-3-5) played the 2nd-place Washington Freedom (3-3-4) to a scoreless tie at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. Saturday evening, the second consecutive draw between these two teams this season.

The Red Stars were forced to play one player down for the final thirty minutes of the match, following the ejection of English forward Karen Carney in the 60th minute for a tackle against Abby Wambach. It was the first straight red card in WPS league history and it is the second time in as many games against the Freedom that the Red Stars had to contend the final half hour with only 10 players. In that previous meeting with Washington on April 11th, the Red Stars secured a 1-1 draw down a player.

Chicago’s Swedish goalkeeper Caroline Jönsson had another impressive performance, recording eight saves, seven of which came in the second half.  Jönsson has four clean sheets on the season and leads the WPS in saves with 46. Washington outshot Chicago 8-1. The tie featured the debut of Washington defender Ali Krieger, who played her first game with the Freedom after arriving on loan from 1. FFC Frankfurt in Germany’s top league.

Sky Blue FC 0, Los Angeles Sol 0
In a matchup of two teams at the opposite ends of the standings, the Los Angeles Sol – the top team in Women's Professional Soccer – were outplayed and outhustled by a seventh-placed Sky Blue FC that put together a possession-minded and attacking game, but couldn’t finish in the final third and had to settle for a 0-0 tie with the league leaders on a rainy night at Yurcak Field.

Sky Blue FC held a 14-5 advantage in shots and controlled the pace for much of the game. Both goalkeepers – Jenni Branam of Sky Blue FC and Karina LeBlanc of the Sol – finished the game with three saves.

"We played New Jersey soccer today, getting down and dirty in the mud," said Sky Blue FC interim Head Coach Kelly Lindsey. "Our team was prepared for the conditions tonight - I thought they did very well with the weather. I give our team a lot of credit, there was a ton of passion and energy today and I think that they deserved the result. We would have liked a victory, but today was a moral victory for us."

With the draw, Los Angeles now stands at 7-1-4 and has a seven-match unbeaten streak, while Sky Blue FC is 2-5-3, two points from fourth-position in the WPS Standings. Following the scoreless draw earlier on Saturday, the result was the fifth scoreless draw in WPS this season.

Saint Louis Athletica 1, Boston Breakers 0
Eniola Aluko scored the game’s only goal in the 44th minute as the Saint Louis Athletica defeated the Boston Breakers, 1-0, in action  Sunday evening at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, Mass.
The game winner was scored against the run of play, when Saint Louis midfielder Kendall Fletcher sent a long through ball to Aluko, who burst in behind the Breakers defense, and hit the ball low in a one-on-one past goalkeeper Kristin Luckenbill. Aluko’s goal marked her team-high third for the season.

“I was proud of the way we responded,” said Boston head coach Tony DiCicco about the team’s effort after giving up the goal. “We defended well, but today we had a breakdown and it cost us. Give Saint Louis credit; they got the goal and defended it well”

The Breakers owned a commanding 17-7 advantage in shots on goal, and an 8-1 edge in corners.  Boston also enjoyed the majority of the possession throughout the game, but were unable to score.

“We are creating the chances, we just need to score,” said DiCicco.

The Breakers (3-4-2) dropped into a three-way tie for fourth place with Wednesday night’s opponent, FC Gold Pride, and the Chicago Red Stars, and are still one point behind the Washington Freedom. Athletica (4-3-2), meanwhile, moves into second place for the first time this season and play the Washington Freedom at home on Saturday.

Line Up Notables
Chicago Red Stars: Key midfielder, Karen Carney, was ejected on a red card in the 60th minute after a hard foul against the Freedom’s Abby Wambach and will be unavailable Sunday against the Boston Breakers.

Boston Breakers: Canadian international Candace Chapman stepped into the backline as right-center back, earning her first start after entering the season with an injury.  Forward Jenny Nobis posted her first start with the team as frontline regular,
Christine Latham, was serving her second of a two-game suspension.

Los Angeles Sol: Just signed Keri Sanchez, started for the Sol for the second straight time. Manya Makoski, a Sol backline regular, was not present for Saturday’s match. Karina LeBlanc continued her league-leading stat, tallying her 8th shutout.

Saint Louis Athletica: Eniola Aluko scored her third goal this season and tallied the only goal of the weekend. Ashlee Pistorius got into her second-match this season replacing Christie Welsh up top in the 89th minute.

Sky Blue FC: In a back and forth competition for the starting goalkeeping spot, Jenni Branam won this week’s battle and started for the New Jersey team. Natasha Kai continued her upwards streak in the attack, posing a threat to the Sol’s seven-game unbeaten streak.

Washington Freedom: Freedom goalkeeper, Erin McLeod, earned her first and the team’s first shutout of the season. Midfielder, Allie Long, had an outstanding game posting seven-shots on goal. The defensive line presented Ali Krieger for the first time after arriving on loan from her German club, FFC Frankfurt.

Quotables From Notables
A few words from players and coaches…
“Absolutely brilliant ball from Kendall Fletcher,” said Saint Louis forward Eniola Aluko. “She put me right in to the channel and I just knew I had to finish. Thankfully it went through the goalkeeper’s legs and we got the win away from home. Now its onwards and upwards.”

“We always believed we could move up in the standings,” said Athletica Head Coach Jorge Barcellos. “It is very good for us right now and our supporters in St. Louis to be on this stretch of winning play.”

“I think we are digging in ourselves a hole and then we start playing,” said Boston Breakers team captain Kristine Lilly.  “It makes it more difficult for us. We think we need to get more shots on goal. Then it’s getting that last chance in. We ended well but we didn’t play that well in the first half.”

"We played New Jersey soccer today, getting down and dirty in the mud," said Sky Blue FC interim Head Coach Kelly Lindsey. "Our team was prepared for the conditions tonight - I thought they did very well with the weather. I give our team a lot of credit, there was a ton of passion and energy today and I think that they deserved the result. We would have liked a victory, but today was a moral victory for us."

Atlanta to Make Major Announcement
WPS Commissioner and Atlanta 2010 investor T. Fitz Johnson are scheduled to make a major announcement Thursday in Atlanta at a ceremony at the Atlanta Metro Chamber of Commerce. For media inquiries and further details, please contact Ada Barber: ABarber@hopebeckham.com.

SeeExtraordinary.com Launches
Women’s Professional Soccer’s version of YouTube soccer highlights, SeeExtraordinary.com, launched this past week. Clips include videos featuring amazing goals, crazy tricks and memorable moments from the backyard to the pitch. Filled with extraordinary clips from around the world, SeeExtraordinary.com lets fans watch and rate videos, upload their own extraordinary moments and share posts with friends.

Attendance Watch
With 35 of the 70 regular season games already in the books, Women’s Professional Soccer is currently averaging 5,008 fans per game in attendance at the midway point of its regular season. The season average does not include the WPS-MLS doubleheaders played on May 23 at RFK Stadium and May 30 at The Home Depot Center.

WPS Features Father’s Day Promotion: Tell WPS Why You Are Dad’s Biggest Fan
The month of June marks a time for celebration of Dad’s everywhere. This year, WPS is giving fans a chance to win a gift for Dad he’ll never forget. In 250 words or less, fans simply need to tell WPS why their dad deserves to be treated to a world-class weekend with WPS. Entries should be emailed to mydad@womensprosoccer.com. The most-deserving entry, as determined by a panel of judges, will win a VIP Trip Package for Two to either the WPS Championship Match or WPS All-Star Game. The Game you take Dad to is the winner’s choice! Visit fancorner.womensprosoccer.com to learn more. 

International Goal Scoring Update
With Eniola Aluko’s goal on Sunday, Internationals have now scored seven more goals in WPS play than U.S. players. The totals are as follows:  Internationals 39, United States 32, Own Goals 2. The top seven scorers in the league are all international players with no Americans having scored more than 2 goals in WPS play. Here is the latest tally of WPS goals by home country:

United States:  32
England:  10
Brazil:  9
France:  9
Canada:  5
Australia:  4
Japan:  1
China:  1
Own Goals:  2

Goals by the Numbers

• Top Scorers – Los Angeles Sol’s Camille Abily (6), Boston Breakers’ Kelly Smith (5)
• Goals by Team – Washington Freedom (16), Los Angeles Sol (15), Boston Breakers (10), FC Gold Pride (10), Chicago Red Stars (8), Saint Louis Athletica (8), Sky Blue FC (6)
• Total Goals – 73 goals scored since WPS Inaugural Match on March 29, 2009 with an average of 2.09 goals per game.
• Quickest Goal in League Play: Kelly Smith in 2nd minute of play, Boston Breakers vs. Los Angeles Sol (5/2/09)
• Quickest back-to-back goals by one team: 2 goals in 3 minutes – 42 minute, 45 minute – from Marta in Los Angeles Sol vs. Sky Blue FC match (4/5/09)
• Most Goals in One Game by one team: 4, Washington Freedom 4-3 FC Gold Pride (4/26/09) and Chicago Red Stars 4-0 Boston Breakers (4/25/09)
• Most Goals in One Game by both teams: 7, Washington Freedom 4-3 FC Gold Pride (4/26/09)
• Most Goals in a Game by a player: 2, Marta (Los Angeles Sol – 4/5/09), Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom – 4/26/09), Daniela (Saint Louis Athletica – 5/3/09), Sonia Bompastor (Washington Freedom – 5/3/09), Camille Abily (Los Angeles Sol – 6/7/09)
  

On TV
The WPS Sunday on FSC match between the Los Angeles Sol and the FC Gold Pride will air on the Fox Soccer Channel on Sunday, June 21 at 6 pm ET.