RED STARS 3, L.A. SOL 1

First-place Sol allow season-high 3 goals to Red Stars

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - Heading into the 2009 Women’s Professional Soccer season, the Los Angeles Sol and Chicago Red Stars were thought to be two of the better organizations to take home the inaugural title.

The Sol have lived up to their billing, securing a place in the title game. The Red Stars missed the playoffs. But on Sunday, Chicago showed some life with the combinations that were thought to make a significant impact from the get-go, especially in the midfield.

Carli Lloyd (pictured), Lindsay Tarpley and Cristiane each provided a goal as the Red Stars defeated the Sol, 3-1, in front of a record Red Stars crowd of 7,959 at Toyota Park.

In some ways this result was both sweet and bitter for the Red Stars (5-9-5), since it was a high-quality win against the Sol (11-3-5), but did not have any bearing toward a postseason.

“This game in some levels is meaningless, to us at least because we are out of the playoffs. For me, this is a benchmark - a building platform for next season,” Red Stars head coach Emma Hayes said.

“If we bring consistent elements to our game every time we play, we’re going to be a competitive team, and we hope to win,” Tarpley said. “So whether we’re playing a first-place team or whoever, it doesn’t matter. Every game is important. And we’re disappointed we’re not in the playoffs. That’s fair to say, and that’s our goal. We want to be at the top of the league. We’ve got some work to do. But today, I think it was great for us to go out there and play well and have fun.”

Lloyd’s first-half goal was set up by Tarpley on a give-and-go in the middle of the field. Lloyd got a right foot on the ball and found the back of the net past Sol goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc in the 24th minute for a 1-0 lead.

The Lloyd-Tarpley combination was probably a welcome sight to Red Stars fans, especially since in the preseason this was supposed to be a bread-and-butter mode of attack. They are two allocated players with U.S. Women’s National Team experience and an already successful career before WPS.

“Today there was no pressure on us. This was like the first game where there was no pressure,” Lloyd said. “Sometimes you play better, and we just went out there and played hard. Tarp and I have a good relationship on the field, as well as with the national team.”

Chicago came out at halftime and immediately added to its lead in the 47th minute. Megan Rapinoe provided a cross from the left wing. Brittany Klein headed the ball to Tarpley, whose header found the goal for a 2-0 advantage.

And though the Sol cut the Red Stars’ lead to 2-1 later in the half, Chicago responded with a Cristiane tally, with Ella Masar assisting, in stoppage time for the eventual 3-1 final.

The Sol’s Han Duan netted a 90th-minute goal, and the team definitely had some other chances. The best defensive stop from the Red Stars’ perspective came in the 55th minute, when Brazilian sensation Marta put a ton of pace on the ball and Red Stars goalkeeper Caroline Jonsson somehow managed to react quickly enough to her left to stop the strike and maintain the 2-0 lead at that point.

“Marta is very threatening, and dangerous. But that’s Marta for you,” Hayes said.

Jonsson made six saves and LeBlanc made four for L.A.

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Next up: The Red Stars conclude their 2009 season for a 7 p.m. match on Wednesday, Aug. 5, at St. Louis Athletica.

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SlideTackles.net thoughts: This was the Red Stars team everybody expected from Day 1. The close calls on the defensive side were expected against L.A.’s high-octane offense. But the midfield contributions and the ability to respond to an opposing team’s goal were clearly elements that this team wanted to showcase earlier in the season on a consistent basis.

Over the course of the season, the focus has been mostly on Cristiane because she has been the main scoring weapon, now with seven goals on the season. Up until her goal, the Brazilian showdown between Marta and Cristiane really didn’t develop. Marta threatened periodically, but her shots were wide of the net or stopped impressively by Jonsson. In the first half, Cristiane attempted to dribble through some cramped spaces and other times was not really present in the attack.

But her goal was a team character builder. This team does have the potential to be in the upper tier of WPS. On Sunday, Chicago tallied more goals against L.A. than any other WPS team. That definitely counts for something, but not in the grand scheme of things.

IRELAND EDGES RED STARS

The Chicago Red Stars out-shot the Ireland Women's National Team, 16-2, on Sunday. But it was Ireland that tallied the game's lone goal in a 1-0 exhibition victory over the Women's Professional Soccer squad at Benedictine University in Lisle.

Ireland's Aine O'Gorman scored on a breakaway in the 40th minute for a lead that held up the rest of the way. Ireland's only two shot attempts were on goal, while the Red Stars managed only two shots on goal, as well.

Red Stars head coach Emma Hayes made sure to spread around the playing time in this friendly. Caroline Jonsson and Lydia Williams split goalkeeping duties, with Williams recording the team's only save of the day in the second half.

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Next up: The Red Stars host FC Gold Pride at 7 p.m. Sunday, July 12, at Toyota Park. The game includes a 10-year anniversary celebration of the U.S. Women's National Team's victory in the 1999 World Cup. The Red Stars have a special 99-cent ticket promotion. Visit ChicagoRedStars.com for more information.

FC GOLD PRIDE 1, RED STARS 0

Chicago drops 2nd straight home match

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - Both the Chicago Red Stars and FC Gold Pride were coming off of disappointing shutout losses last week in Women’s Professional Soccer play. The Bay Area turned the tide, but Chicago could not break through with a goal.

The Gold Pride topped the Red Stars, 1-0, on Saturday night at Toyota Park, and Chicago (2-2-2) dropped its second straight during a five-game home stand.

“It’s a quiet locker room in there right now, because they know they could have gotten more from the game,” Red Stars head coach Emma Hayes said.

The Bay Area improved to 3-3-1, thanks to an early goal and a clean sheet in the second half.

“Defensively, we held strong against an excellent attacking team,” Gold Pride head coach Albertin Montoya said. “Chicago may be the best attacking team in the league, and I have a lot of respect for them.”

This game carried quite a bit of value for the Red Stars because they will lose defender Marian Dalmy and midfielders Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe and Lindsay Tarpley to the Women’s National Team next week. The WNT takes on Canada on May 25, and the Red Stars’ four stars will not be available for Chicago’s May 23 home match against St. Louis Athletica.

On Saturday, the Red Stars started to create some chances on the offensive end in the first half, and the buildup was evident with Cristiane heavily on the attack, and Rapinoe the main catalyst trying to get Cristiane the ball. Then, in the 30th minute, the Gold Pride grabbed the momentum in a heartbeat.

Christine Sinclair netted the only goal, unassisted. She was the beneficiary of a ball that was booted into the side from their right side and bounced away from Red Stars goalkeeper Caroline Jonsson. The ball wound up at Sinclair’s feet and she practically dribbled it all the way into the net for a 1-0 lead.

“This was huge for us to get a goal in the first half,” Sinclair said. “We’ve struggled to get goals lately.”

In the net, Jonsson made four saves for the Red Stars while Nicole Barnhart had three saves for the Gold Pride. Barnhart made a clutch save in the 83rd minute on a Karen Carney strike. It was the best Red Stars scoring chance in the second half, but nothing mirrored their attack between the 20th and 30th minutes.

“It’s a little bit disappointing obviously,” Rapinoe said of the turn of events in the first half. “We played really well in that stretch in that moment there. But I think as a player, you can’t let yourself get deflated after they score a goal. We still had plenty of time left in the game. I thought we played well at times today and I thought that we had a lot of attacking chances.”

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Next up: The Red Stars host St. Louis Athletica at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 23, at Toyota Park. Not television or Web cast are available for the match.

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SlideTackles.net thoughts: The Red Stars needed a victory Saturday for many reasons: to rebound from their previous defeat against Sky Blue FC, to take advantage of their five-game home stand, and to capitalize on having a full roster before they are shorthanded against St. Louis.

Now they have to juggle a few things around to try and match up against St. Louis Athletica. Thankfully for the Red Stars, St. Louis will be without goalkeeper Hope Solo and defender Lori Chalupny, who are joining the WNT.

On Saturday the Red Stars did showcase some creativity with the ball, especially in the first half. Here are just a few moments within that buildup between the 20th and 30th minutes: Rapinoe was called offside in the 21st minute after making a quick run, otherwise she would have had the game’s first goal. In the 27th minute, Rapinoe made a fantastic touch with the outside of her right foot on a cross from the left wing, but it was just out of reach for Cristiane. Then in the 29th minute, Cristiane had a shot on goal after another good setup by Rapinoe.

“I think the first half, our attacking play was exciting. I think it was the best we’ve been this season,” Hayes said. “I think Cristiane proved her worth and her abilities.”

Thankfully Cristiane’s attacking skills are available next week. She and Carney will need to shoulder the load offensively when they are shorthanded against St. Louis.