CARSON, CA (May, 30 2009) – Saint Louis Athletica paid their first ever visit to The Home Depot Center with the result being a 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Sol. Goals from Camille Abily in the first half and Shannon Boxx in the second half were the difference.

The first half started with promise for Saint Louis and as the game progressed it was Athletica that had the first great chance come their way in the 31st minute. Angie Woznuk played Eniola Aluko onto goal with a perfectly weighted pass that allowed the England international to stride onto the ball. Aluko attempted to place her shot just over Karina LeBlanc but the Sol goalkeeper timed her run at Aluko perfectly and was able to get her fingertips on the shot and prevent Aluko from scoring her third of the season.

LeBlanc’s save may have shifted the momentum in what had been an otherwise even first half. Minutes later Los Angeles found space on the left wing for Shannon Box to drive a left-footed cross into the middle. A well defended Marta threw herself at the ball and got a glancing touch with her head to send it to the right edge of the six yard box where Camille Abily was there to drive a shot into top of the net for a 1-0 Los Angeles lead. The 35th minute wasn’t the end for LA, before the half was over Hope Solo was forced to make a point blank save on a Han Duan header.

The second half would start with Jorge Barcellos subbing in defender Elise Weber for Kendall Fletcher. Eniola Aluko managed a good shot to open the half still could not find the back of the net. Again the momentum seemed to shift as moments later Shannon Boxx hammered home a second for the Sol. This time fed by an excellent cross from Han Duan.

“As a team we did not play very well today,” said Head Coach Jorge Barcellos. “We could have done a lot better, we could have completed our passes better as well.”

Saint Louis still managed quality chances after falling behind by two. Niki Cross found Kerri Hanks inside the area in the 61st minute but Hanks couldn’t strike it cleanly leaving LeBlanc an easy save. Angie Woznuk and Hanks both sent searching shots towards the goal as the half progressed but LeBlanc dealt with them sure-handedly.

“ We just seemed like we couldn’t get things going,” said captain Lori Chalupny. “These was a lot of errant passing that was killing our attack at times. I think it was a frustrating game. I never felt like we got up to our potential for any period of time. And you can’t play like that against the top team in the league.”

“Its two steps forward and then a little bit back,” said Hope Solo. “We are growing though. We had great possession in the first half.”

The loss drops Saint Louis to 2-3-2 for the season. Athletica now trail the league leading Sol by 12 points. Next up for Athletica is Sky Blue FC on Sunday June 7th at the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, Missouri. Game time is 3:00 p.m. central.

Saint Louis Athletica (2-3-2) at Los Angeles Sol (6-1-2)
May 30, 2009 – The Home Depot Center, Carson, California

SCORING SUMMARY:
35th        LA    Camille Abily (assisted by Marta)       
50TH        LA    Shannon Box (assisted by Han Duan)           

LINEUPS:
STL: Solo; Larsson, McNeill, Ellertson, Cross (Stoia 65); Woznuk, Chalupny, Francielle (Welsh 75), Fletcher (Weber 45); Aluko, Hanks

LA: LeBlanc; Falk, Franco, Cox, Makoski; Box, Miyama, Abily, Bock (Zerboni 86); Duan (Larkin 87), Marta

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
None
 
STATS SUMMARY:
    STL    LA
Total Shots:    8    16   
Shots on Goal:    4    8           
Saves:    6    4   
Fouls:    7    3   
Corners:    2    6       
Offsides:    1    3           
Referee: Kari Seitz
Referee's Assistants: Veronica Perez, Bing Kongmehbol
4th official: Felisha Mariscal
time of game: 1:47
attendance: 6,288
weather: cloudy, 63 degrees