WASHINGTON FREEDOM 0 - 1 LOS ANGELES SOL

The Los Angeles Sol rallied in the closing moments to break a scoreless tie and defeat the Washington Freedom, 1-0, at the Maryland SoccerPlex in front of 5,143 fans on Sunday night.

The Sol, who became the first team in WPS to clinch a playoff berth last week, traded scoring opportunities with the Freedom for the first 90 minutes of the match before three-time FIFA World Player of the Year Marta found the back of the net in stoppage time.

In the 91st minute, Marta collected a pass left of the area from Japanese international Aya Miyama, touched it and immediately drilled a shot towards the far post to give the Sol its fourth consecutive victory and extend its unbeaten streak to eleven games.

Washington’s best chance came early, when Abby Wambach drilled a left-footed shot from the top of the box, saved only by a spectacular dive by LA’s keeper, Karina LeBlanc. Later on, in the 25th minute, Freedom defender Cat Whitehill took a beautiful free kick from nearly 35 yards out, but it hit the right goal post.

The rest of the half was slightly more stagnant than the first half, punctuated by the occasional hustle play by Washington’s Lisa De Vanna or fancy footwork by Marta.

The 2nd half started with a collision. Sol defender Christie Shaner a trade from Sky Blue FC making her 1st start with LA went in to challenge for the ball with Wambach in the penalty box. Shaner came out the worst with a nasty injury which looks like it could be a broken leg. Play was held up for 10 minutes while Shaner was being attended to. She was taken of the field on a stretcher right into an ambulance.

Play continued in the 2nd half and LA created a lot of chances as Washington got frustrated. In the 2nd half, LA had seven shots on goal in comparison to the Freedom’s one. The one that counted was Marta's.

Though it took her 46 minutes to score once the second half began, Marta put on a speed and footwork clinic for the 5,143 fans in attendance. Freedom defender Alex Singer, tasked with the job of defending the seemingly unstoppable Marta, explained her defensive strategy: “I just do anything I can to make sure she [Marta] doesn’t get past me with the ball. She can get past me, or the ball can go by me, but never together.”

The Sol will play its next game in just three days against St. Louis, as the Freedom get 10 days to rest before traveling to New Jersey on July 15 to play Sky Blue FC.


Lineups:

Washington Freedom: Erin McLeod; Becky Sauerbrunn, Cat Whitehill, Alex Singer, Sarah Senty, Homare Sawa, Sonia Bompastor, Ali Krieger (Rebecca Moros, 72'), Lori Lindsey, Abby Wambach (C), Lisa De Vanna (Allie Long, 82')

Los Angeles Sol: Karina LeBlanc; Stephanie Cox, Brittany Bock, Christie Shaner (Manya Makoski, 52'), Shannon Boxx (C), Camille Abily, Aya Miyama, Katie Larkin, McCall Zerboni, Han Duan, Marta