CARSON, Calif. (March 29) – Soon after getting off the bus at the team hotel in Carson, Calif., midfielder Lori Lindsey gave head coach Jim Gabarra a hug, hardly able to contain the excitement she felt for the return of professional women’s soccer to the U.S.

Despite the fact the Freedom lost to the Los Angeles Sol 2-0 at the Home Depot Center earlier in the afternoon, it was visibly clear the sacrifices Lindsey, Gabarra and others had made waiting for the return of pro soccer had finally paid off.

“It’s a tremendous atmosphere,” Gabarra said after the match. “I think the fans were great. Obviously [this is] a world-class stadium. I was very happy with the product both teams put on the field – it’s well deserving of an inaugural game. From my experience I think the level of play was better than the WUSA inaugural game.”

In spite of giving up two goals, the Freedom defense seemed to do a good job of containing three-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year Marta, only allowing her to assist on Camile Abily’s goal in the 87th minute at a time when the Freedom were pressing forward in an attempt to tie the game.

“I couldn’t have been happier with our back four dealing with Han Duan, Marta and Miyama,” Gabarra said. “They were a real handful and our defenders did a good job with them.”

Added Cat Whitehill, one of the defenders tasked with keeping tabs on Marta: “I was really proud of the defense. I think in the beginning we were a little shaky but we got our legs underneath us. Defensively I thought we played really well. Marta, she was non-existent for a lot of it and they have two incredible international forwards in Han Duan and Marta and they have a really good midfield.

“To play a player like Marta and Han Duan in the first game and to hold both of them scoreless, I think that’s a pretty good job.”

Becky Sauerbrunn, who in 2006 was part of the University of Virginia defense that allowed an NCAA-low 0.4 goals against average and recorded 15 shutouts, felt the defense did a good job of assisting each other.

“I think as a defensive unit we had talked about, we’re going to have to give each other a lot of cover when it comes to Marta because she’s so tricky with the ball at her feet. And I think as a defensive unit everyone was covering for each other whenever Marta had the ball.”

After allowing a goal to Allison Falk off a Aya Miyama free kick in the sixth minute, the Washington defense tightened up and made the plays it needed to in order to keep the Freedom in the match. However, the offense never quite got on track despite multiple scoring chances.

“We were missing some synchronization up front and that’s really due to the fact our first string forward Lisa De Vanna has been [battling] injury and hasn’t really had a chance to play with Abby,” Gabarra said. “I thought they were a little bit inverted there for the most part of the second half where we needed Lisa to be getting behind their defensive line and Abby showing. They were kind of doing each other’s jobs.”

With the first game in the books, Gabarra has already entered coach – ready to learn from the team’s mistakes and start preparing for the next match in which the Freedom will host the Chicago Red Stars in the team’s home opener on April 11.

“It’s great to get that one under your belt,” Gabarra said. “We have some things to work on and some adjustments to make.  I was very proud of the team and I thought they fought, did the things we asked them to do for the most part and I really think we deserved a goal or two. It’s just you don’t always get what you deserve in this game.”

Along with the return of pro soccer to the U.S., there is a second potential silver lining to this match. After winning the inaugural match of the WUSA in 2001, the Freedom finished tied for last place in the league while their opponent – the San Jose CyberRays – went on to win the league title. With 19 more matches left this season, there is still enough time for history to repeat itself.

Match: Los Angeles Sol vs. Washington Freedom   
Date:  March 29, 2009   
Venue:  The Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.   
Kickoff:  3PM PT   
Attendance:  14,832 

Scoring Summary:    1    2    F 
LA                              1    1    2   
WSH                           0    0    0   

LA – Allison Falk (Aya Miyama)          6th minute   

LA – Camille Abily (Marta)                  87th minute 

Lineups: 
LA:    23-Karina LeBlanc (GK), 2- Kendall Fletcher (18-Katie Larkin, 46), 3-Allison Falk, 7-Shannon Boxx (Captain), 14-Stephanie Cox, 8-Aya Miyama, 11-Brittany Bock, 20-Camille Abily, 22-Manya Makoski, 9-Han Duan (13-Christie Welsh, 84), 10-Marta. 
Subs not used: 1-Val Henderson (GK), 0-Brittney Cameron (GK), 4-Aly Wagner, 5-Greer Barnes, 6-McCall Zerboni, 12-Lisa Sari, 21-Johanna Frisk  
Head Coach: Abner Rogers  

WSH:    1-Briana Scurry (GK), 4-Cat Whitehill, 11-Emily Janss, 21-Alex Singer, 22-Becky Sauerbrunn, 6-Lori Lindsey (3-Jill Gilbeau, 72), 8-Sonia Bompastor, 9-Allie Long, 10-Homare Sawa, 20-Abby Wambach (Captain), 25-Claire Zimmeck (17-Lisa De Vanna, 43). 
Subs not used: 61-Kati Jo Spisak (GK), 15-Kristin DeDycker, 19-Rebecca Moros.  
Head Coach: Jim Gabarra  

Statistical Summary: LA / WSH 
Shots: 14 / 12   
Saves: 3 / 6   
Corner Kicks: 3 / 4   
Fouls: 7 / 9   
Offside: 2 / 2   

Misconduct Summary: 
None.   

Officials: 
Referee: Kari Seitz 
Assistant: Referee: Veronica Perez   
Assistant: Referee: Marlene Duffy 
Fourth Official: Jennifer Bennett   

All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial.