Los Angeles 2, FC Gold Pride 0: Samba Showdown Upstaged

(Photo courtesy of Michael Pimentel | isiphotos.com)

The Los Angeles Sol, fresh off a 1-0 win against Sky Blue FC, traveled up the road to Buck Shaw Stadium on the campus of Santa Clara University without a number of players who have been called up for international duty.

Goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc, defender Shannon Boxx, midfielder Brittany Bock, and forward/defender Martina Franko were assigned to international duty for a May 25 friendly at Toronto's BMO Field.

But Abner Rogers's club still had at its disposal Camille Abily, Han Duan, Aya Miyama, and...Marta.

With players like Lisa Sari, Liz Bogus, Johanna Frisk, and reserve keeper Val Henderson gaining valuable playing time, Los Angeles took advantage of an FC Gold Pride side that was missing the presence of defender Rachel Buehler, forward Christine Sinclair, and starting netmimnder Nicole Barnhart.

The result? A 2-0 victory for the Sol, who are now six points clear of the Boston Breakers for first place in the WPS (5-1-2, 17 pts).

And what was supposed to be a Battle of the Samba Queens turned out to be upstaged by two savvy show stealers: one from Dalian, China in Han; the other from Rennes, France in Abily.

LA's first goal came in the 27th minute, when FC Gold Pride's Carrie Dew fouled Aya Miyama, who wore the captain's armband for the Sol, in the penalty box. Referee Daniel Radford pointed to the spot to the disgust of the home crowd of 6,280, and Abily slotted home her second goal of the season.

Later in the contest, Han Duan opened her account with a shot in the 86th minute that sailed past a diving Allison Whitworth, who made six saves compared to Henderson's four. Overall, the Sol outshot the pride 13-9 (8-4 on target) and did not commit an offside, but were dealt a yellow card to Marta in the 45th minute.

“Today was a really great team victory for us,” said Rogers following the match. “We were missing some of our players, but our entire team pulled together and helped us earn a very good victory.

LA's second goal came on the heels of substitute Brandi Chastain missing a critical equalizer in the 85th minute.

“We had one mental lapse, but we will learn from it,” Gold Pride manager Albertin Montoya said after the contest. “We went from Brandi almost scoring to a missed ball off a goal kick. We lost our concentration for one second.  

"When you have players like Marta and Duan, they’ll make you pay.”

Indeed, Marta made the Lionesses of the Bay pay for marking on her and reducing the number of touches she made by allowing the rest of the team to shoulder the load. Pride defender Kandace Wilson was valiant in limiting the Brazilian international's ability to make plays, but suffered a hip injury in the 2nd half.

"I want to do the best I can for my team," said Whitworth regarding her debut as keeper after the match.  "It's my job to keep the ball out of the goal."

Los Angeles returns to the Home Depot Center this Saturday to take on St. Louis Athletica in a WPS/MLS doubleheader. Kickoff for the Sol vs. Athletica is scheduled for 4:00PM PT (7:00PM ET).

FC Gold Pride will look to bounce back with a game at Germantown, MD against the Washington Freedom. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00PM PT (4:00PM ET) on Sunday, May 31.