PREVIEW: RED STARS AT ATHLETICA

Chicago tries to finish the way it started, with a win vs. St. Louis

For many, it is difficult to imagine that the Chicago Red Stars' inaugural Women's Professional Soccer season is just about to come to a close.

The Red Stars wrap up their regular season against the team they first faced, St. Louis Athletica. Chicago and St. Louis battle for a 7 p.m. match Wednesday at Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo.

Chicago topped host St. Louis, 1-0, on April 4, with Lindsay Tarpley (pictured somewhere in that huddle) scoring the lone goal in the Red Stars' WPS debut. That 78th-minute tally was the Red Stars' only shot on goal in that second half. And that game was the starting point of a 2-0-2 start to the season, before the Red Stars went more than two months without a victory.

But if Sunday was any indication, this team wants to end this campaign with as much positive aura as it can muster heading into the off-season. Chicago (5-9-5, 20 points) became the first team to post three goals against the first-place Los Angeles Sol, 3-1. And it was some of the team's standout names who found the back of the net: Tarpley, Carli Lloyd and Cristiane.

St. Louis (9-6-3, 30 points) clinched second place in the league and a first-round bye in the WPS playoffs. Athletica hosts a semifinal match on Aug. 19, awaiting the winner between the No. 3 and 4 seeds, which are yet to be determined.

• Red Stars come up blank in WPS All-Star First XI: On Tuesday, the league announced its 2009 WPS All-Star First XI players. The Red Stars did not have a representative. But there still is a chance for Chicago to have some representation. The roster consists of 18 players, and several players named to the First XI are likely going to miss the Aug. 30 game against Swedish league champion Umea IK because of 2009 European Championships commitments. Locally, Crystal Lake native and Boston Breakers defender Amy LePeilbet made the First XI group.