ST. LOUIS (July 2, 2009) –Saint Louis Athletica hit the road again when they begin their two game west coast swing in Santa Clara, California on Sunday afternoon. The matchup pits Athletica, currently in third place, against the last place FC Gold Pride. Kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m. central time at Buckshaw Stadium on the campus of Santa Clara University. The match can be heard on local radio in St. Louis on TEAM 1380 AM, on-line at www.team1380.net, and can also be followed on MATCHTRACKER at www.womensprosoccer.com.

The matchup Sunday is the second of the year between these two clubs. The first meeting back on May 9 resulted in a 1-0 win for Saint Louis as Lori Chalupny scored on a corner kick. The goal was Chalupny’s first of her WPS career and the victory was the first in franchise history for Saint Louis. The win over FC Gold Pride also snapped a four-game winless streak for Athletica.

Sunday’s match sees both clubs still needing to earn points as the season enters its last month. Saint Louis needs three points to create some breathing space between themselves and the fifth place Chicago Red Stars whose midweek win over Washington lifted them off the foot of the table. A win for Athletica would see them go six points clear of Chicago and give Athletica 20 points on the year. Saint Louis might even be able to climb back into second place depending on the result of Saturday’s game between the current second place team, Boston, and Sky Blue FC.

FC Gold Pride will be desperate for three points so they can move back ahead of Chicago and out of the WPS cellar. FC Gold Pride has 12 points, tied with Sky Blue FC, but is in last place based on goal differential.

Athletica will be in the middle leg of a four-game road trip when they arrive in California this weekend. After Sunday’s game Saint Louis will head to Los Angeles for a Wednesday afternoon matchup with the Sol and then finish up the trip with a July 18 match at RFK Stadium in Washington. Athletica began the four-game trip with a 2-1 win in New Jersey last weekend.

Every game in July will matter for Saint Louis no matter where the team they play resides in the standings. The WPS table currently sees the margin between second-place and last separated by just six points. Athletica Head Coach Jorge Barcellos expected the new league would be like this.

“Yes, I definitely thought that this would be a tight, tight league with all the teams being very close,” stated Barcellos. “With the exception of Los Angeles all the other teams are pretty much on the same level.”

England international Eniola Aluko hopes to bring her scoring touch with her to California. Aluko has posted a goal or an assist in four of her last five games. Aluko has four goals and two assists on the year. Saint Louis enters Sunday’s game having won three of their last five, five of their last eight, and have earned points in seven of their last ten games.

“Aluko does have the scoring touch right now,” Barcellos said from the training ground this week. “She is playing well, growing a lot, and she has a lot more to give us.”

The matchup Sunday will also feature some gold medalist from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games when Lori Chalupny and Hope Solo are reunited with their U.S. National teammates Rachel Buehler and Nicole Barnhart. Meaning the matchup will feature the two goalkeepers of choice for the United States Women’s National team, Solo and her understudy Barnhart. The third meeting between these two teams will be on July 26 in St. Louis might be even more interesting as the playoff chance intensifies. A fourth a final meeting will conclude the regular season for both teams when Athletica return to Santa Clara on August 9.

The next Athletica home game is July 22 against Sky Blue FC. Game time is 7:00 p.m. at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park.