August 15, 2010 (West Chester, PA)-- The Philadelphia Independence captured an exciting 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Beat tonight, coming back from a two goal deficit to earn a win at Farrell Stadium.  Two goals from Tina DiMartino and an late game-winner from Johanna Lohman lifted the Independence to victory late in the match.

Atlanta came out strong from the first whistle took an early lead, scoring less than four minutes into the match with a show of skill from Danish international Johanna Rasmussen.  Midfielder Ramona Bachmann dribbled through the Independence defense and sent a ball to Rasmussen who nailed a shot with the outside of her foot into the far corner of the net to put Atlanta ahead 1-0.  The Beat scored again just twelve minutes later when Lori Chalupny slipped between two Independence defenders and calmly toe poked the ball past an onrushing LeBlanc to make it 2-0.

The Independence didn’t click until late in the half, but had two extremely dangerous chances in the 36th minute. Heather Mitts carried the ball up the sideline and crossed it to Lori Lindsey, who nailed the crossbar with her header.  Just seconds later, Caroline Seger found Tina DiMartino open on the right side of the net, but Atlanta keeper Hope Solo came up with a huge save to tip her shot over the bar.

Solo was unable to stop DiMartino’s next shot, which came in the 41st minute and sailed into the upper ninety to put Philadelphia on the board.  A free kick from Sanderson deflected off the Atlanta wall and landed at the feet of DiMartino who buried the ball to put the Independence within one just before the half.

"I think getting the goal before halftime was vital" said Head Coach Paul Riley.  "It gave us some spark going into the second half...the girls knew they were still in it.  Plus, it was a brilliant goal from Tina."

The Independence showed their resilience as a team in the second half, and fifteen minutes in DiMartino struck again to equalize for Philadelphia.  Rodriguez provided her first assist of the evening in the 60th minute, slotting the ball to DiMartino on the left side for another left footed finish in the far corner.

Two second half subs were game-changers for the Independence, with Danesha Adams entering the game shortly after the second goal, and Lohman coming into the match in the 74th minute.  Adams immediately provided an offensive spark, creating problems for the Beat defense and creating scoring opportunities for the Independence.  Adams sent a shot over the bar in the 78th minute, and seconds later her corner kick found a diving Johanna Lohman on the back post but her header slipped wide.

Lohman lifted the Independence to victory just 3 minutes later when she buried a back pass from Amy Rodriguez to put the Independence ahead 3-2.  Adams started the play from the sideline and sent the ball across to Rodriguez, who dropped it to Lohman from ten yards out to send home. 

"Lohman and Adams brought a great energy to the field tonight off the bench" said Riley.  "Adams is a tremendous striker and I think she’s very underrated. I think you’ll see a lot of her in the upcoming weeks and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a couple of goals before the end of the season, as well."

Although Atlanta dominated the first half, they didn’t have many chances in the second half with a strong defensive showing from Philly.  Atlanta Head Coach Garrett O’Sullivan, believes the Beat passed on an opportunity for three points on the road "I’m disappointed that we gave up the late goal when we did.  We had a great start to the game and I wish that we’d taken advantage of going ahead early like we did."

The Independence plays away at New Jersey next weekend and returns to Farrell Stadium for the last regular season home game on August 29th. Kickoff is scheduled for 6pm and tickets are available at