LOS ANGELES SOL vs. FC GOLD PRIDE (BAY AREA)
BUCK SHAW STADIUM – SANTA CLARA, CA
THURSDAY, JULY 23 – 7:00 PM (PT)

MATCH AT A GLANCE
SOL (11-2-4) vs. FC GOLD PRIDE (3-9-3)

HEAD COACHES:
Los Angeles - Abner Rogers
Bay Area – Albertin Montoya

PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Los Angeles - M Shannon Boxx, M Camille Abily, F Marta
Bay Area – F Christine Sinclair, F Tiffeny Millbrett, M Leslie Osborne

2009 RECORD VS. BAY AREA: 3-0

REFEREES: Felisha Mariscal (R), Maurizio Laudani (SAR), Marlene Duffy (JAR), Colin Arblaster (FO)

LOS ANGELES SOL VS. FC GOLD PRIDE
The Sol has defeated FC Gold Pride all three times they have met this season. The teams first met at The Home Depot Center on April 19, when the Sol beat Bay Area 1-0 on a Marta goal in the 47th minute. The next match occurred on May 24 at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, when the Sol’s Camille Abily and Han Duan each put one in the net to secure a 2-0 victory. The last, and most recent, match between FC Gold Pride and the Sol took place at The Home Depot Center on June 21 and ended in a 2-0 shutout in favor of the Sol, with goals from Camille Abily and Marta.

LAST GAME RECAP
The Sol suffered a 1-0 loss at the hands of the Saint Louis Athletica July 8 at The Home Depot Center. Despite the loss, the Sol remain in first place in the WPS standings at 11-2-4. Saint Louis took the lead just 11 minutes into the match when midfielder Amanda Cinalli slotted home a pass from Eniola Aluko past a helpless Karina LeBlanc in the Sol net. The Sol nearly equalized in the 20th minute – Marta hit a low, first-time shot towards the goal that the Athletica's Hope Solo dove to her left to smother. Chinese forward Han Duan almost drew the Sol even in the 31st minute after collecting a pass from Marta and eluding a couple of defenders in the penalty area, but Solo knocked her low shot out of danger. Neither team threatened for the remainder of the first half and the visitors clung to the slimmest of margins at the interval. In the opening minutes of the second half, the Sol threatened a couple of times in rapid succession, but were unable to break through the Athletica defense and the visitors remained in the lead. Marta nearly equalized for the Sol in the 58th minute, but Solo parried her curling corner kick out of danger.  Defender Brittany Bock got her head to a corner five minutes later, but Solo reacted quickly, covered the near post well and punched the ball off the line. Miyama collected a pass from Marta in the box in the 67th minute, but she hesitated before taking a low shot and Solo cut off the angle and again made the save to preserve the victory.

TONIGHT’S LOS ANGELES SOL INJURY REPORT
Christie Shaner – OUT (right leg)
Allison Falk – QUESTIONABLE (right ankle)

NOTE TO MEDIA: The team name Los Angeles Sol should be pronounced like "Soul" or "Sole" not "Saul."

LOS ANGELES SOL NEWS & NOTES

WPS All-Star Voting
Voting for the 2009 WPS All-Star Team began Friday, July 17, on the Women’s Professional Soccer website. The WPS All-Star Game featuring the WPS All-Stars against Swedish league champions Umea IK is being played at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, MO, on Sunday, August 30th with kick-off scheduled for 5:30pm ET/4:30pm CT. The game will be televised live nationally on Fox Soccer Channel and regionally on select Fox Sports Net affiliates (check local listings) with coverage starting at 5:00 p.m. ET with a half-hour pre-game show prior to kick-off. A total of 18 WPS players will take part in the WPS All-Star Game with the Starting XI players selected through voting and the other seven chosen by the WPS Commissioner and the All-Star Game Head Coach. Players voted on to the Starting XI who are not available to play in the WPS All-Star Game will be replaced by the next-highest vote-getters at that position. The Starting XI will be made up of one goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders and two forwards with the vote ending at 8pm ET on July 31. The WPS All-Star team will be selected according to the following vote breakdown and will be announced the week of August 3:
11 players, Vote – 25% fans, 25% media, 25% players, 25% coaches
7 players, At-Large Selections (WPS Commissioner and All-Star Head Coach)
In order to be on the All-Star Game Ballot, players need to have played at least 50% of their team’s total minutes this season through June 22. Write-in votes are also accepted. In a unique twist for the first year of the WPS All-Star Game, the head coach will be voted on collectively by the players. The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park is currently the home field of the Saint Louis Athletica and has a rich soccer tradition dating back almost three decades to when it opened in 1982.

Sol Sign Sharolta Nonen
The Sol signed defender Sharolta Nonen to replace Christie Shaner, who underwent surgery July 6 to repair a mid-shaft fracture in her tibia/fibula, the club announced Monday, July 13. Per club and WPS policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Nonen, 31, has recorded 58 national team caps with the Canadian National Team and played in the 1999 and 2003 World Cup. She also played in the WUSA with the Atlanta Beat from 2001-2004. Nonen spent her collegiate career at the University of Nebraska, with current teammate Karina LeBlanc, where she was a three-time NSCAA All-American and was named Big 12 Conference Player of the Year.  

Three Sol Players called up for USA/Canada International Friendlies
Sol defender Stephanie Cox and midfielder Shannon Boxx are among the 21 players called in by U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Pia Sundhage for two matches against Canada. In addition, Sol goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc has been called in for the same games by Canada coach Carolina Morace. All three players will be out of today’s lineup. 

Val Henderson to Start
For the first time since May 24, goalkeeper Val Henderson will start for the Sol. Coincidentally, Henderson’s only appearance of the season was against FC Gold Pride (Bay Area) at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, where she had four saves en route to shutting out the Pride.