Howard C. Smith | isiphotos.com

Sky Blue FC's Natasha Kai attempts to round Sol defender Allison Falk on a soggy evening.  Sky Blue FC and the Los Angeles Sol tied, 0-0.

Boxscore (all statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (June 13, 2009) - Sky Blue FC and the Los Angeles Sol played to a 0-0 tie Saturday evening at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, N.J.  With the tie, the Sol (7-1-4, 25 points) maintained its firm grasp on first place, while Sky Blue FC (2-5-3, 9 points) remains in last place.

"We played New Jersey soccer today, getting down and dirty in the mud," said Sky Blue FC interim Head Coach Kelly Lindsey. "Our team was prepared for the conditions tonight - I thought they did very well with the weather. I give our team a lot of credit, there was a ton of passion and energy today and I think that they deserved the result. We would have liked a victory, but today was a moral victory for us."

The rain clearly affected play from outset, as both teams struggled to complete passes on the soggy field.  Sky Blue FC had the better of the play in the early going with Natasha Kai, Rosana and Heather O’Reilly all taking shots in the first five minutes. However, none of them troubled Sol goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc.  

In the 11th minute, the Sol nearly went ahead when midfielder Aly Wagner served a long ball into the box that troubled Sky Blue FC ‘keeper Jenni Branam, who was able to push it out of harm’s way at the last possible instant.

Kai provided the home side with a number of close chances including the best opportunity of the game in the 15th minute. Kai ran onto a ball through from Kacey White and rolled a tantalizingly slow shot past LeBlanc and off the left post.

After the teams traded chances for the better part of 30 minutes, Sky Blue nearly jumped on top just before the interval when Rosana uncorked a right-footed blast that went just wide of the goal and the teams headed to the locker rooms in a  scoreless deadlock.

The second half belonged to the home team; Sky Blue FC outshot the Sol by a 7-2 margin, but was unable to get a shot past LeBlanc, who recorded her league-best eighth shutout. Sky Blue FC's best chances of the second half came off a shot by Kai in the 55th minute that went just wide left and a delicate chip from substitute Collette McCallum in the 72nd minute that floated just over the crossbar.

For the match, Sky Blue FC held a 14-5 advantage in shots and controlled much of the play. Both goalkeepers - Branam of Sky Blue FC and LeBlanc of the Sol - finished the game with three saves.

In their next match, Sky Blue FC will host the Chicago Red Stars on Wednesday, June 17 at Yurcak Field.  The Sol, meanwhile, return to the Home Depot Center to host FC Gold Pride on Sunday, June 21 in a match that will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel and streamed at womensprosoccer.com (6pm ET / 3pm PT).

Boxscore (all statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial)