Sky Blue Deals Asante and Washington to Saint Louis

Sky Blue FC has traded defender Anita Asante, midfielder/attacker Nikki Washington, and their 2nd round selection in 2011 to Saint Louis for India Trotter and Athletica's 1st round selection in 2011.

Both Asante, who spent 2009 with Sky Blue, and Nikki Washington, who was acquired in the Los Angeles dispersal draft, have been injured. It is not known at the present time when either player would be able to return to action. Washington was never signed by New Jersey, presumably because of her injury which occured while playing for the University of North Carolina last fall.

“This is a move we feel clearly makes our team better by addressing a need,” said Saint Louis General Manager Tim Owens. “We have acquired one of the world’s elite defenders, which was a priority for us. Plus, we were able to bring in a young, dynamic, and very versatile player that is one of the young, upcoming stars in U.S. Soccer ”

“It is tough to give up a great player and a great person such as India Trotter,” stated Tim Owens.

To make room for Asante, who is an international, Athletica released Daniela, who has been injured since last May. Daniela scored the very first goal in Saint Louis history in the very game she was injured.

“It was a very difficult decision to part ways with a player such as Daniela,” reflected Owens. “She is a warrior, and she has a passion for the game that is second to none. We will always consider Daniela to be a part of the Athletica family.”

The deal comes after Athletica gave up 3 goals to Washington last weekend, only the 2nd time that has happened in franchise history. Clearly, Saint Louis felt the need to beef up their defense in light of that performance.

WPS - Injury Update & Change in Injured Reserve Rules

Carli Lloyd of Sky Blue FC has been placed on 30-day injured reserve with a broken ankle, suffered in the match with the Chicago Red Stars. Lloyd suffered the injury to her left ankle in the 27th minute of last Sunday's win when she slipped on the surface at Toyota Park and landed awkwardly on her ankle. After getting herself to the Sky Blue FC sideline, she was unable to return to the match. She is expected to fully recover and return to action later this season.

Tobin Heath of Atlanta suffered an injury to her right ankle in the 18th minute of Saturday night's match at FC Gold Pride. The latest word on her is that the ankle was not broken, but further tests will be made to determine the full extent of the injury.

Athletica midfielder, Daniela, has now joined the team, but the exact timetable for her return is unknown at this point. She had been placed on the 60-day injured reserve list, however, that rule has just been changed to a new 30-day injured reserve status.

League Approves Changes to Injured Reserve Policy to “30-day Injured Reserve List”
from WPS press release...

At April’s WPS Board meeting, the league owners approved changes to the WPS Injured Reserve Policy from the previous 60-day Injured Reserve List.

Now, an injured reserve list called “30-day Injured Reserve” is available for players who experience a major injury. Once placed on the list, a player may not play in a league game for a minimum of 30 days. After the initial 30 days, up to a maximum number of days until June 30 (the day before player contracts are guaranteed), the player may remain on the IR or be activated, if the team chooses to do so.

For a player on the IR as of the last day before semi-guaranteed player contracts become guaranteed, the team must either activate the player or declare her to be a season-ending injury. During the time the player is on the IR, the player’s salary continues to count against the in-season total team salary compensation. If the team elects to replace the player while she is on the IR, they may do so, and the salary of the replacement player does not count against the cap.

The 60-day Injured Reserve policy is no longer in place. However, the season-ending injury policy remains unaltered: rostered players who are listed with season-ending injuries will not have their salaries count towards total team compensation and can be replaced by replacement players.

WPS Midweek Match & Notes-July 29th

Boston Breakers at Washington Freedom

There is only one match scheduled for Wednesday, but it's one that will affect the playoff hopes of all four teams fighting for the last three playoff berths. The 3rd place Boston Breakers travel to Washington to meet the 4th place Freedom in an all important WPS contest. As it stands, Saint Louis is in 2nd place with 27 points, followed by Boston with 25, and Washington and Sky Blue with 23 each. Everybody has three games left with the exception of Sky Blue, which has only two games remaining. There are a couple more matches between contenders coming up. On Saturday, the Breakers will visit Saint Louis to take on Athletica. On the final weekend of the season, Washington will host Sky Blue FC.

The Breakers head into this match having posted 3 consecutive shutouts, all with Allison Lipsher in goal. They are 2-0-1 in those three games. On defense for Boston, it appears that Sue Weber will miss the remainder of the season due to a knee injury. That means that either Nancy Goffi or Candace Chapman will start at one of the center back spots along side of Amy LePeilbet, with Alex Scott and Heather Mitts handling the outside of the defense.

In the midfield, Angela Hucles and Kristine Lilly will be two of the starters. The big question is the status of Kelly Smith's gimpy knee. She's listed as "questionable", but with so much on the line for this match, you can bet she'll be playing if she's able. Maggie Tomecka, a starter at midfield in the Breakers' last game, is listed as "questionable" as well. As for attackers, Kelly Schmedes, Jennifer Nobis, and Fabiana were Tony DiCicco's choices last time out. However, Christine Latham is another option. First round draft pick Amy Rodriguez appears to have fallen out of favor. She subbed in during the 2nd half of Saturday's match against Sky Blue, only to be replaced after seeing only 15 minutes of action.

Washington also comes into this game with a 2-0-1 record over their last 3 matches. On Sunday, they managed a 3-2 come from behind victory over Chicago. Allie Long was the hero in that match, scoring the game winner in the 89th minute. Abby Wambach, who scored two goals against the Red Stars, will start at one forward spot, along with Lisa DeVanna. Both Wambach and DeVanna have 5 goals for the season. Rebecca Moros or Long will probably start as either a third forward or as an attacking midfielder.

Homare Sawa and Lori Lindsey have been steady and will be starting in their normal midfield capacities and Sonia Bompastor, who can play several positions, will likely be the other midfielder. On defense, the Freedom have Cat Whitehill and Becky Sauerbrunn at center backs. Neither Sauerbrunn nor Sawa has missed a minute of action all season. The outside starters will probably be Alex Singer and Ali Krieger if she's healthy, or possibly Jill Gilbeau. Erin McLeod, who has three shutouts to her credit, will be in goal for the Freedom.

Obviously, one of the keys to this match will be if, and how far, Kelly Smith can go. If she's able to play, Washington will be forced to spend a lot of defensive resources to keep her in check. The Breakers will be trying to extend an impressive streak of 323 minutes without giving up a goal, but they will have to do so against the powerful Freedom offense, with Wambach, DeVanna, and Bompastor. The Freedom can move up to 3rd place with a victory. The Breakers could finish the evening anywhere from 2nd to 4th place depending on the outcome. Considering what's at stake for these two teams, this could be one of the best matches of the year.

Midweek Notes

Washington's 3-2 victory over Chicago was the league's second ever come from behind victory. The Red Stars led 1-0 early in that contest. The first come from behind win also involved these two teams, but it was the Red Stars doing the honors to defeat the Freedom 2-1 back on July 1.

Several countries are represented among the top 9 goal scorers in the league. Only two Americans have cracked the list, Abby Wambach and Natasha Kai. Likewise, there are two Brazilians, Marta and Cristiane, and two Brits, Kelly Smith and Eniola Aluko. The other three players are Camille Abily (France), Christine Sinclair (Canada), and Lisa DeVanna (Australia). Sonia Bompastor of France and Aya Miyama of Japan are tied for the lead in assists with 6 each.

Allie Long, who scored her 2nd goal of the season against Chicago over the weekend, is the youngest player to have scored a goal in the WPS. She was 21 years, 256 days when she scored her first goal against FC Gold Pride. Long edges out Karen Carney, who was 21 years, 267 days when she scored that same weekend against Boston. The only other player to have scored a goal before she turned 22 is Elise Weber of Athletica, who turned 22 on Sunday.

Luke Thompson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Daniela participated in a 60 minute intersquad scrimmage yesterday. Daniela suffered severe knee and leg injuries in the May 3rd match at Washington. The talented Brazilian midfielder scored two goals in that match before being injured.

Boston Breakers-Goalkeeper Allison Lipsher has 5 shutouts in just 8 starts...The Breakers' last 6 goals have been scored by six different players-Kelly Schmedes, Angela Hucles, Jennifer Nobis, Christine Latham, Kristine Lilly, and Amy Rodriguez...The only team that has scored on the Breakers in their last 7 matches has been Sky Blue FC.

Chicago Red Stars-The Red Stars were officially eliminated from playoff contention with their loss to Washington on Sunday...Karen Carney and Megan Rapinoe both scored for the first time since April in that contest against the Freedom...Heather Garriock, who has seen action in just 4 matches due to injury, earned her first assist of the season against the Freedom.

FC Gold Pride-In spite of a solid effort against Athletica, Bay Area was eliminated from the playoff race over the weekend...Christine Sinclair scored the game tying goal against Saint Louis with Tina DiMartino earning her first assist of the season...Brandi Chastain, who just turned 41, started her second consecutive game for Gold Pride.

Los Angeles Sol-Marta (9 goals) and Camille Abily (8 goals) are probably the only two players in the league with a legitimate shot at scoring 10 goals for the season...The Sol have been shut out in their last two matches...Newly signed Sharolta Nonen started and played the full 90 minutes in the Sol's last match against FC Gold Pride.

Saint Louis Athletica-While Eniola Aluko has dominated scoring for Athletica, five different players have scored in their last 6 contests-Aluko, Amanda Cinalli, Elise Weber, Lori Chalupny, and Niki Cross...Kendall Fletcher now has 3 assists on the season, second only to Aluko who has 4...Athletica has been outscored 8-2 in the final 15 minutes of matches plus stoppage (a big thank you to my friend Austin for that statistic).

Sky Blue FC-Anita Asante picked up her 4th yellow card against Boston and will be suspended for SBFC's next match against FC Gold Pride on August 5th...Sky Blue has picked up 20 of their 23 total points against Boston and Chicago, earning only 3 ties against the rest of the league...Jen Branam picked up her 6th shutout of the season against the Breakers on Saturday.

Washington Freedom-The Freedom have scored 26 goals this season, more than any other team in the league...Abby Wambach joined Marta as being the only WPS players to have scored 2 goals in a game twice this season...Washington has only scored one goal total in their last three home games.

Damallsvenskan 2009: The Midway Point

By: Jocasta -- Damallsvenskan Soapbox

At this point, the top team (Umeå) and bottom teams (last year's newcomers Kristianstad and this year's newly-promoted Piteå and Stattena) come as no surprise. The order of teams in the middle, however, is a little unexpected, with for instance none of the Stockholm teams (AIK, Djurgården, and Hammarby) in the top half of the table. Every team, even Umeå, has lost a game at this point.

Let's start at the top. The facts that coach Andree Jeglertz was lured away to Allsvenskan (Djurgården's men's side), and that some player named Marta was lured away to WPS (Los Angeles Sol) does not seem to have slowed the team down much—perhaps they win by fewer goals than last year, but the outcome is the same. Umeå's single defeat came at the hands of Sunnanå, a team that Umeå historically has had trouble with, for some reason; they also tied Piteå, in the last game of the last round. Umeå now has 28 points, leading the field by 2 points.

The first small surprise of the 2009 season is the team currently in second place with 26 points, Kopparbergs/Göteborg. K/G opened the season by defeating LdB, and then went on to defeat Linköping in their second game. They've looked quite good in the games I've been able to see, and two of its young forwards are at (Linnea Liljegärd) or near (Sara Lindén) the top of the league for goals and assists.

Third-place Linköping FC (23 points) lost a couple key players from last year, including Daniela (WPS's St Louis Athletica). They are quite a strong team, but have had a little trouble playing at that high level consistently.

The second surprise in the table comes in the 4th place, KIF Örebro(22 points). Örebro is a team without any really well-known Swedish players, but they are solid throughout, and have some top players from Finland. They are also well-coached by Richard Holmlund, who used to be at Umeå.

LdB Malmö (19 points) are probably this year's under-performers, if comparing pre-season hype to mid-season place in the table. They currently sit 5th, with 1 ties and 4 losses. LdB did give Umeå a bit of a fight, in a well-played game that was televised. They can score a lot against weaker teams, scoring 25 goals in three weeks against Kristianstad, Piteå, and Stattena, and Djurgården.

Sixth-place Sunnanå (19 points) has the other sleeper team this year, along with Örebro. The return of former national team defender Hannah Marklund heralded what has been a quite good season for them. Any year in which they defeat Umeå has to be considered already a success, and being in the top half of the table is a nice bonus.

The bottom half of the table starts with all the teams from Stockholm,with Djurgården, Hammarby, and AIK in 7th, 8th, and 9th place. Djurgården and AIK both lost key players from last year and have been struggling. Djurgården lost both of its German internationals, keeper Nadine Angerer and midfielder/defender Ariane Hingst, who went back to Germany and now play for 1. FFC Frankfurt. AIK's Australian internationals Lisa DeVanna and Kathryn Gill went in quite different directions, with Gill heading up north to play for Sunnanå, and DeVanna heading west for WPS (Washington Freedom). The third Stockholm team, Hammarby, has much the same team and is faring much as they always do.

At the very bottom of the table, there are currently three teams vying for 10th place in the league, which is a big deal because the last two teams are relegated to a lower division. Of the three, Piteå (10th) is probably feeling the best about itself, as they have just come off a shock draw against Umeå, in a game that they were winning until the last five minutes. The bad performance of Kristianstad (11th) is probably the most surprising of the three, as they managed to stay in the top league last year, starting their season with a shock 2-1 defeat of Djurgården. Twelfth-place Stattena has had just an awful time, with a goal differential of -40.

Games are scheduled to continue through early July, with Round 16 being played at the end of July, then the league goes on hiatus forthe European Championships in August and September. The season will then resume in late September, and end in early November.

Go to the Swedish FA's site (http://svenskfotboll.se/damallsvenskan/) to see the complete table.

Match Report-Athletica 1, Sky Blue FC 0

Change was in the air as Saint Louis Athletica downed Sky Blue FC 1-0 before over 3100 at Soccer Park in Fenton, Missouri. It was the first game at Athletica's new home and with that new home came quite a few changes in Jorge Barcellos' lineup.

Barcellos, looking to bolster his scoring punch, started Christie Welsh for Kerri Hanks up front. He also inserted Amanda Cinalli and Stephanie Logterman into the lineup. Neither had seen a minute of action before this game. Cinalli has been recovering from an injury, while Logterman was finishing up her studies at the University of Texas. For Sky Blue, Kelly Lindsey sent Karen Bardsley out to play goal for the first time in 6 matches.

Saint Louis started with Solo in goal, Logterman, McNeill, Ellertson, and Weber on defense, Woznuk, Fletcher, Cinalli, and Chalupny at midfield, and Aluko and Welsh up top. Sky Blue had Bardsley in the nets, Sitch, Rampone, Schnur, and Asante on the back line, McCallum, O'Reilly, Averbuch, and Rosana at midfield, and Kai and White at forward.

Early in the game, Athletica held the advantage. They worked their passing game well and controlled possession for a majority of the first 20 minutes. The first scoring chance came when Elise Weber's cross was headed just wide of the goal by Christie Welsh.

It didn't take long for Cinalli to make an impact. In the 15th minute, Eniola Aluko received a pass and dribbled into the box to the goal line at Bardsley's left. Aluko sent a nice ball to the middle that eluded Sky Blue defenders right to Cinalli who found herself one-on-one against Bardsley. Cinalli settled the ball and buried it into the net from about 9 yards out, giving Athletica a 1-0 lead.

After the midpoint of the 1st half, Sky Blue's play improved. A Natasha Kai shot from straight out was tipped over the bar by Hope Solo. Several other Sky Blue chances followed. Yael Averbuch sent one well over the bar, Heather O'Reilly shot one just wide and then later hit one right at Solo.

The momentum swung back to Athletica near the end of the half. Aluko attempted a bicycle kick that hit a Sky Blue defender in the face and was cleared. Later, Christie Welsh dribbled in from the right side and nearly caught Bardsley off her line, chipping a ball that just barely cleared the bar. Later, Angie Woznuk hit one over the bar as well.

The 2nd half was mostly Sky Blue. About midway through the 2nd half, Kacey White sent a serve in front of the net that O'Reilly was just able to get a piece of, but the ball popped into the air and went over the crossbar. There was about a 15 minute stretch where Sky Blue seemed to be constantly at Solo's door step.

The best chance for Sky Blue came with about 15 minutes to go. Collette McCallum got the ball about 8 yards out, directly in front of Solo and unmarked. McCallum seemed to slip the slightest bit and she mishit the shot that appeared to come off the side of her foot and rolled harmlessly away. That's one I'm sure McCallum will be replaying over and over. Although the Jersey team continued to put pressure on, that was the last good scoring opportunity they would have.

Christie Welsh had one more good chance for Saint Louis, as she received a pass on the right side and dribbled to the box where she let go of a lot hard shot that Bardsley made an outstanding save on to keep Sky Blue in the game. But SBFC was unable to put another shot on net and the game ended with Athletica on top 1-0.

The victory places Saint Louis in a 3-way tie with Boston and Gold Pride for 3rd place at 11 points. They have two games in hand to Gold Pride. Sky Blue sits at the bottom of the table in spite of recent improved play with 8 points.

Cinalli and Welsh definitely added a bit of a spark to Athletica's offense. Logterman played generally well in her first action and looked good going forward a few times. Lori Chalupny played her usual strong game, but the team didn't need to rely on her to do everything as they did early in the season. Hope Solo was very good in goal, making a couple of tough saves and gaining the shutout. Although the defense made a few mistakes and maybe were a bit lucky that Sky Blue didn't capitalize on their chances, they played pretty well as a unit.

For Sky Blue, Heather O'Reilly was simply all over the field and had a very strong game. Karen Bardsley did well in goal and really had no chance on the goal that Athletica scored. Natasha Kai was dangerous at times and forced Solo to make a couple of leaping saves. Surprisingly, Keeley Dowling did not play for Sky Blue.

Saint Louis came out of the game a little banged up. Eni Aluko apparently tweaked a hamstring and was subbed out in the 2nd half. After the game she was limping fairly substantially. Kia McNeill also came out, but that appears to be because of cramps and she should be okay for next week's game. Melissa Tancredi is still bothered by an injury she sustained three weeks ago against Gold Pride and she did not play.

Looking ahead, Athletica travels to Boston next week where they will take on the Breakers on the FSC match of the week on Sunday. Sky Blue returns home where they will host the 1st place Los Angeles Sol on Saturday evening at Yurcak Field in Piscataway.

Game Notes

Saint Louis played in special kits in honor of Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness. Athletica players wore white socks, pink shorts and white jerseys with a pink ribbon. Puma created limited edition pink soccer balls for the occasion, which were used in the match. Several of the players' jerseys were among the items in a silent auction to raise money for this worthy cause.

Angie Woznuk remains the only Saint Louis player to have played every minute of every match for the season. For Sky Blue, only Anita Asante and Meghan Schnur have played every minute.

There have been very few goals scored in Athletica's home games. They have beaten Sky Blue and Gold Pride each 1-0, tied Los Angeles 0-0, and lost to Chicago 1-0, for a total of two goals for and one against over four games.

Daniela was walking around very stiffly, but without crutches, after the game. Athletica hopes she can return to action before the end of the season.

WPS Midweek Notes-May 7

United States National Team Call Ups

USWNT coach Pia Sundhage has announced her call ups for the two games against Japan on May 20th and May 23rd. Those call ups affect WPS rosters as follows:

Boston Breakers (4 players)-Hucles, LePeilbet, Mitts & Rodriguez, but they have a bye week so it won't affect them.

Chicago Red Stars (4 players)-Marian Dalmy, Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Lindsay Tarpley

FC Gold Pride (2 players)-Rachel Buehler, Nicole Barnhart

Los Angeles Sol (2 players)-Brittany Bock, Shannon Boxx

Saint Louis Athletica (2 players)-Lori Chalupny, Hope Solo

Sky Blue FC (2 players)-Heather O'Reilly, Christie Rampone

Washington Freedom (1 player)-Abby Wambach

Note that while Chicago, Saint Louis, Sky Blue, and Washington play on the 23rd, Los Angeles and Gold Pride play on the 24th, so it is possible that their US team players may be available for their game. WPS players account for 17 of the 21 players. The other four players are Casey Nogueira (UNC), Lauren Cheney (UCLA), Christine Nairn (Penn State), and Kelsey Davis (Portland).

Coach Sundhage appears to be looking at some of the younger talent for these two contests. 12 of the 21 players are 25 years and younger.

Foreign Domination?

WPS international players have done more than their fair share of scoring. Internationals have scored 18 of the league's 40 goals (45%) so far this year. The league's two leading scorers are Kelly Smith (Boston and England) with 4 goals and Marta (LA and Brazil) with 3 goals. All six goals in the Washington Freedom/Saint Louis Athletica contest were scored by international players.

By country, the leading scorers have been England 6, Brazil 5, France 3, Canada 2, and Australia and Japan, one apiece.

This is all in spite of the fact that several of the international players have missed games due to a variety of reasons including international call ups, injuries, and visa problems. It must be noted, however, that most of the international stars are offensive players, either forwards or attacking midfielders. Still, it can't be denied how well these players have performed and how important they are for the league.

Using Their Heads

The Washington Freedom have scored 9 goals so far this season and 7 of them have come via headers. One might expect this might be the case with Abby Wambach on their roster, but others have joined the show. Wambach scored twice in that manner against FC Gold Pride, but Sonia Bompastor also added two headers in the Athletica contest. Becky Sauerbrunn scored Washington's first goal of the year on a header. Lisa DeVanna and Lori Lindsey have also scored via that method.

Athletica-Freedom Aftermath

The WPS League Disciplinary Committee reviewed the on-field incidents in last Sunday's Saint Louis/Washington match and concluded that there was no evidence that any of the game referee's decisions should be overruled. Per the press release, Commissioner Tonya Antonucci has the power to "independently exercise her discretion to further review the match and assess penalties...". The Commissioner is expected to release a statement later today.

The game between the Freedom and Athletica was a particularly physical affair. There were a number of incidents of hard contact where fouls were not called, in addition to the play where Daniela was injured on a challenge by Abby Wambach. Wambach received a yellow card on that play. Earlier, Kia McNeill of Athletica was issued a yellow card for her foul on Wambach.

Wambach has released a statement regarding the play in which Daniela was injured, stating in part that "There was no intent on my side to cause any harm. I wish Daniela nothing but the speediest of recoveries. My thoughts and prayers are with her."

Observations-Athletica vs. Freedom

I was fortunate enough to be able to make the trip to Germantown, Maryland for this game. Since it was televised on FSC, I'll dispose with the normal game report and just share some observations from Sunday night's 3-3 tie between Saint Louis and Washington.

The Game

There were six goals in the game and quite frankly, several more could have been scored. It wasn't always a well played game, but it certainly was an exciting match. Athletica dominated early in the game, but then the Freedom took over and had the better of play for the rest of the 1st half and most of the 2nd half.

Obviously, the serious injury to Daniela overshadowed the result of the game. She was clearly the woman of the match for Athletica and at times, dominated at midfield. Her 2nd goal of the match was one of the best strikes of the year, a laser just inside the far post from 25-30 yards out. Unfortunately, it may well be the last we see of the talented Brazilian midfielder for the season, as it appears her injury is season ending.

Sonia Bompastor had another great effort for the Freedom. She has played consistently well this season and against Athletica, she managed to put away two headers, both of which brought her team even after they had fallen behind. The French National Team star has clearly been one of the best players in the league to this point.

Athletica had defensive lapses on several occasions, but were usually able to recover. However, it was in the air that they lost the game. All three Freedom goals were headers, surprisingly none of which came from Abby Wambach. Second half substitution, Kerri Hanks, finally made her offensive presence felt placing a nice pass through the middle which Eni Aluko finished with a low shot in the corner. As always, Aluko was dangerous and her hard work paid off with her 1st goal of the season. Tina Ellertson also had a strong game.

For the Freedom, I thought Jill Gilbeau had a nice game, earning an assist on Bompastor's first goal and making several nice overlapping runs up the right side. Lisa DeVanna scored her 1st goal of the season, a header that Hope Solo was unable to react to. The Freedom's goalkeeping adventures continued as they allowed 3 goals for the third consecutive game. Kati Jo Spisak, a St. Louis native, was very good at times and made a couple of sparkling saves. She was certainly not to blame on the 1st goal as she made a great kick save off of a Melissa Tancredi shot, before Daniela buried the rebound. However, she may have played a bit of a bad angle on Aluko's goal and on a couple occasions, she looked shaky allowing balls to elude her grasp which could have been costly.

Lineup Changes

Coach Jorge Barcellos decided to start Francielle on the outside of the backline, instead of at midfield. The 19 year old Brazilian seemed ill-suited for the new position, as she gave Bompastor too many easy runs up the left side. To his credit, Barcellos recognized this early on and switched Lori Chalupny back and moved Francielle up to her normal midfield spot. Unfortunately, Daniela's injury forced Barcellos' hand and he was forced to move Chalupny back to midfield and insert Niki Cross on the backline for the final minutes of the game. Cross is a capable defender, but she had played only 45 minutes this season and to be inserted in a pressure situation with so little playing time under her belt had to be tough. The winning header by Bompastor was made in the middle of a trio of Athletica defenders, Lisa Stoia, Elise Weber, and Cross.

Chippy Play

There have been several matches marked by physical play so far this season. This game was most certainly one of them. Athletica seemed intent on not letting Wambach have a replay of the previous game where she dominated Gold Pride in the air. There were definitely some nasty shots dished out in the 1st half by Saint Louis, most notably by Kia McNeill who received a card for one such effort. This has probably been brewing since the first match of the season, when Athletica thought Lori Chalupny was roughed up. Additionally, Wambach collided hard with Athletica keeper Hope Solo on one play.

The physical play culminated on Wambach's late challenge on Daniela which resulted in a serious injury. I'm sure there was no intent to injure Daniela, but in my opinion, it could easily have been a red card for a "serious foul play." The league really needs to reel in some of the physical play on all sides, before further injuries happen.

The Wounded

Barcellos is now in the unenviable position of trying to juggle his lineup yet again. He was already missing defender Sara Larsson and attacking midfielder Amanda Cinalli due to injuries. Now he has to deal with the loss of Daniela, arguably his best player for the last two games. Adding to his problems, Stephanie Logterman is completing her studies in Texas and Tina Ellertson came out of Sunday's game with what appeared to be a mild injury.

According to Tom Timmerman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, two options that Athletica are exploring are a trade or a foreign signing. But with so many key players injured, do they really have anybody they can afford to trade? The only good news is that Saint Louis has a bye week after this week's match against FC Gold Pride. Hopefully, that will give Larsson and Cinalli time to heal.

Maryland SoccerPlex and the Hall of Freedom

Overall, I think the Maryland SoccerPlex is a nice facility and there was an enjoyable atmosphere at the game. The only thing I might want to add is some goal line seating on each end, thus adding maybe a couple hundred seats. The official attendance for the game was 5,149 and Freedom fans are to be commended for supporting their team in yet another evening of soggy weather.

Former USWNT players Mia Hamm and Siri Mullinix were honored by induction into the Hall of Freedom at halftime. Both players were members of the WUSA version of the Washington Freedom and led their team to the 2003 WUSA championship. Mullinix starred in goal for the Freedom and was the starting keeper for the 2000 US Olympic Team that won a silver medal. Hamm, of course, is a soccer legend. Among her accomplishments, two Olympic gold medals (1996, 2004), two World Cup championships (1991, 1999), and two FIFA Player of the Year awards (2001, 2002).

Daniela Is Out With Left Knee Injury

Saint Louis Athletica playmaker and Goal.com Player of the Week, Daniela, is out after sustaining ligament and bone damage to her left knee -- Read On -- Daniela Is Out Indefinitely

Daniela Named As Goal.com Player Of Week 6

Saint Louis Atheltica playmaker Daniela named as Goal.com POW -- Read On -- Goal.com's WPS Player Of Week 6: Saint Louis Athletica's Daniela

Athletica and Sol Battle to a Scoreless Tie

Some things don't change. Saint Louis Athletica entered Saturday's game with the Los Angles Sol at Robert R. Hermann Stadium having been scoreless in their two previous contests. The Sol had not allowed a goal in three contests. Neither of those things changed. What did change was Athletica managed to earn their first point of the season, playing to a scoreless draw with Los Angeles.

Los Angeles was playing without a large portion of their offense as Marta, Han Duan, Camille Abily were all playing internationally this weekend. Athletica was without the services of defender Sara Larsson and midfielder Francielle, who were facing off against each other in Sweden.

It's certainly a game that shouldn't have ended scoreless. The game included two failed penalty kicks and several other scoring opportunities, especially for Athletica. They had the better of the play for much of the game and for the third straight game, they outshot their opponents, this time 17-8.

Both teams had a couple of good opportunities in the first half. Athletica midfielder Daniela sent a cross toward the Sol net early in the game that had their keeper Karina LeBlanc desperately leaping to keep the ball out of the net. The ball hit the top of the cross bar and bounced back onto the field of play, but Athletica were unable to muster a rebound attempt on the play. Later in the half, it was Daniela again sending a free kick into the box that Tina Ellertson slid to get her foot on, only to pop the ball straight into the air and go wide.

Shannon Box of the Sol let go a shot from about 25 yards out that Hope Solo made a nice diving stop on. Later in the half, Aya Miyama hit a shot that deflected off of an Athletica defender and went narrowly wide of the right post. After being outplayed most of the first half, the Sol was able to dominate play for the last 10 minutes of the half, but were unable to score in spite of a strong wind at their back.

The 2nd half started with Saint Louis subbing Sheree Gray for Nikki Cross, who was making her first start for the team. Not far into the half, Kerri Hanks sent a hard shot that also went just wide of the right post. At the 53 minute mark, Coach Jorge Barcellos subbed Eniola Aluko for Hanks. Aluko had just traveled from England where she had helped her national team to a 3-0 victory over Norway. She seemed to provide a spark for St. Louis, who became stronger as the half wore on. They continued to apply pressure and in the 70th minute, Aluko fired a shot that went high and wide right from the 18 yard mark.

However, in the 74th minute, Tina Ellertson was whistled for bringing down Katie Larkin in the Athletica penalty area. Athletica protested the call to no avail and Aly Wagner of the Sol stepped forward to take the penalty. Her low shot to the left side of the net was fairly well placed, but did not have enough pace to beat Solo, who anticipated correctly to make the save. It certainly didn't appear that Wagner had struck the ball very well.

Athletica quickly countered following the save and seconds later, Daniela received a cross about 12 yards out and just left of the Sol goal. She was unmarked, but her shot sailed well left of the goal and her frustration was evident as she pulled her jersey over her face.

Saint Louis continued to control play and in the 82nd minute, Sol defender Allison Falk was whistled for a hand ball on a cross from Aluko. Athletica captain Lori Chalupny attempted the penalty, but it was definitely not one of her best and LeBlanc saved the shot that was only a few feet to her left.

Several more Athletica opportunities followed. Daniela shot just wide of the net in the 86th minute, followed by Chalupny's diving attempt at a header directly in front of the LA net, that she just missed connecting on. A minute later, it was Angie Woznuk settling the ball from about 25 yards and sending a shot toward the upper right side of the goal that was nicely saved by LeBlanc. After that, two more dangerous crosses from Aluko failed to produce results. One was deflected over the net by a Sol defender and the other eluded Athletica players and rolled harmlessly through the box.

Both goalkeepers played very well, although LeBlanc was more tested. She was able to run her scoreless streak to 4 games. Daniela played her best game so far, after having some injury problems early in the season. Aluko once again provided energy to the front line, this time as a 2nd half substitution. Athletica's backline played well, with the exception of the penalty.

Martina Franko made her debut for the Sol on the backline. Katie Larkin and Christie Welsh filled in up front for Marta and Han Duan, but were unable to create any serious chances, outside of the penalty on which Larkin was tripped. Boxx, Wagner, and Miyama were most active for Los Angeles, but the absence of Marta obviously affected the team.

Next week, Los Angeles travels to Boston to meet the Breakers, who were 4-0 losers to Chicago on Saturday. Saint Louis heads to Washington to face the Freedom in a Sunday night match on FSC.