ST. LOUIS (July 26, 2009) – Saint Louis Athletica were mere moments away from clinching a spot in the WPS Playoffs Sunday night at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park but Christine Sinclair’s 88th minute strike equalized the game for FC Gold Pride and kept Athletica from getting the three points they needed to secure a playoff spot.

Sinclair’s goal came from a Tina DiMartino cross that found Sinclair unmarked at the back post. Sinclair took one touch and drilled her shot home for a perfect finish.

“We played so well in the first half and could have been up by several goals but we were down by one,” said Sinclair. ”We knew if we kept playing we would create more chances so it was nice to get a tie.”

The road to Sunday night’s result was a long a winding one. Niki Cross put Athetica ahead in the 28th minute when she slammed home a cross from Kendall Fletcher for her first goal of the year. Fletcher bent a right-footed ball around three defenders that found Cross rushing onto it for a clean finish. The assist was Fletcher’s third of the year.

“I saw Fletcher go wide and she played a perfect ball right in behind them,” said Cross. “It was a better service from Fletcher than a finish by me, I just kind of got hit by the ball.”

Saint Louis had many quality chances to put the game away during the rest of the first half and through out the second half. Once again the story for Athletica would become not being able to find the goal to kill off the game. The best chances fell to Eniola Aluko in the 58th minute when she force Nicole Barnhart into a diving stop. Amanda Cinalli had a chance with a header in the 64th that Barnhart stopped and Aluko nearly made it 2-0 in the 84th minute on a cross from Lori Chalupny.

“We would have loved to get a win there,” said Chalupny. “Knowing the implications this game had for us a win would have taken some of the weight off our shoulders. Giving up a goal that late in the game was a stinger for us, we just have got to be able to put the game away at that point.”

“We had a lot of chances, especially in the second half. We need more composure,” said Head Coach Jorge Barcellos “A counter attack on a one-on-one is not a chance you should lose on. Something that is simple has become hard for us. I don’t know why.”

While Barcellos searches for the right scoring touch from his team his goalkeeper Hope Solo came up solid throughout the game for Saint Louis. Solo made three crucial saves; one in the 13th minute as she dove to stop a header from Sinclair, again in the 33rd minute as stopped Formiga from near point blank range, and finally in the 87th minute against Sinclair just moments before Sinclair would equalize.

“It slipped away, that is why we have said over and over how important it is to close the games,” said Hope Solo. “There was no reason for Sinclair to be wide open on that play. I didn’t feel like I was under pressure like I had been in other games. This game would have been huge for us but that is why this league is so great because every game comes with some much incentive to win.”

The draw leaves the WPS Playoff picture wide open. Athletica remain in second place with 27 points and maintain their two-point margin over the Boston Breakers. The Breakers will visit Athletica next week for a Saturday August 1 tilt that could well decide who finishes second in the WPS. Washington and Sky Blue FC are now in fourth and fifth respectively with 23 points each after their results this weekend. FC Gold Pride and Chicago have been eliminated from the playoff picture. This Wednesday will see Washington host Boston in a game that will have direct consequences on where Athletica might finish in the standings.

The next Athletica home game(s) will be at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park on August 1 against the Boston Breakers, and August 5 against the Chicago Red Stars before finishing up the regular season at FC Gold Pride in Santa Clara, California on August 9.

Saint Louis Athletica (8-6-3) vs. FC Gold Pride (3-9-5)
July 26, 2009 – The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park

SCORING SUMMARY:
28th STL Niki Cross (1) – assisted by Kendall Fletcher
87th BAY Christine Sinclair – assisted by Tina DiMartino

LINEUPS:
STL: Solo; Weber, Larsson (Logterman 46), Ellertson, McNeill (Tancredi 73); Fletcher, Woznuk, Chalupny, Cinalli; Cross (Walsh 66), Aluko

BAY: Barnhart; Buehler, Graczyk, Dew (Arakawa 83), Robinson; Osborne, Formiga, Chastain (Yokers 67), DiMartino; Milbrett (Adriane 78), Sinclair

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:

21st	STL	Larsson	Yellow Card	Unsporting Behavior
85th	BAY	Buehler	Yellow Card	Unsporting Behavior

STATS SUMMARY:

	STL	BAY
Total Shots:	14	16
Shots on Goal:	7	9
Saves:	8	6
Fouls:	7	10
Corners:	4	4
Offsides:	2	4

Referee: Bryan Roslund
Referee's Assistants: Amy Willing, Andy Wilkinson
4th official: George Major
time of game: 1:49
attendance: 4,212
weather: 85 degrees, warm and partly cloudy