SAINT LOUIS ATHLETICA V FC GOLD PRIDE

Concentrate!

Pheeeewwww! The whole of Saint Louis breath a collective sigh of relief..no? Well i did anyway.
Lori Chalupny's goal in the 16th minute lifted Athletica to a 1-0 victory over FC Gold Pride on Saturday in Edwardsville, Ill.Chalupny bent a left-footed corner kick around Gold Pride goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart and inside the far post.Can i just say that Chalupny is not left footed.She didn't mean it she said but they all count. Athletica continued to press for the 2nd goal in the half with Eniola Aluko and Keri Hanks looking dangerous and at the other end the defence was solid. Kia McNeil was able to play as she has appealed her suspension.
In the 2nd half FC Gold Pride created many chances. They could have and maybe should have got the goal to tie the match.They surged late, with good scoring chances by Christine Sinclair, Eriko Arakawa and Tiffeny Milbrett. But goalkeeper Hope Solo was not to be beaten.Solo was tested in the 75th minute as she punched away an Arakawa screamer. The chance was the Pride’s best of the game at that point and the first serious threat that Solo had to deal with.
Minutes later Tiffeny Milbrett nearly equalized when she let go of a well struck right-footed shot that bent from right to left. The chance sailed just a foot or two over the bar ending Gold Pride's best sequence of play.
The referee added 6 minutes of stoppage time. I have no idea why. Testing the nerves of the 3,860 strong home crowd as well as the players. With Aluko and Head Coach Jorge Barcellos berating the referee and the lines people. This was enough time for one last effort by the Pride. The ball was punted up field by a Pride player, Solo challenged the ball on the edge and knocked it forward where Sinclair fired it back straight away towards goal. Solo turned as she retreated and plucked the shot out of the air just inside the penalty area to prevent the goal. She was lucky. “I made a better read on that than a save,” said Solo. “I could have retreated to my line but I chose to turn and make a play on it.”

Jubilant scenes at the end as Saint Louis held on for the win. “This is one I’ll never forget,” said Chalupny. “It may not be on the scope of the Olympic Finals or the World Cup Final but this is really big to finally get that win under our belt. To do it at home is perfect."

“I feel a lot more relaxed,” said Head Coach Jorge Barcellos. “It is kind of hard when you are representing a town and a city and you can’t get a win in four games. When you get the win you are relieved that you finally got what you are looking for.”

"You have got to give it to the Athletica, they defended with everything they had," Gold Pride Coach Albertin Montoya said. "We were dangerous throughout the (second) half we just couldn't put one in the back of the net."

LINEUPS:

STL: Solo; Tancredi (Cross 62), McNeill, Ellertson, Weber; Stoia, Larsson (Fletcher 57), Woznuk, Chalupny; Aluko, Hanks

FCGP: Barnhart; Wilson, Buehler, Dew, Graczyk (Robinson 80); Formiga, DiMartino, Osborne (Erika 72), Weimar (Milbrett 46), Sinclair, Arakawa