SAINT LOUIS ATHLETICA 0 - 1 NJ SKY BLUE FC

Sky Blue FC done the unthinkable last night by defeating Saint Louis Athletica 1-0 at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, Saint Louis.

They now advance to the WPS Championship where they will face the Los Angeles Sol – the WPS regular season champions.

In front of over a 5,000 strong crowd Sky Blue started the first half with a bang.Passing and moving the ball around they caused problems for Saint Louis.

3 minutes in, Heather O'Reilly playing on the left wing slipped past defender Melissa Tancredi, got to the byline and sent in a fast paced cross into the box. Forward Keri Hanks came on to volley the ball at goal from six yards out, which looked to be going in but Hope Solo made a diving save to her left to somehow keep the ball out. Fantastic save by Solo.

10 minutes later Solo again rescued Athletica when Kacey White struck at goal from inside the box on the right. Solo with the diving save.

Athletica were having problems connecting with the front pairing of Christie Welsh and Sarah Walsh.

Sky Blue got their reward for a dominant first half when in the 30th minute after good possession,right-back Keeley Dowling made a surge down the right wing into Athletica's half. She played the ball to O’Reilly who had now switched to the right, who in turn played a short pass at the top of the right corner of the box to Yael Averbuch. Averbuch made a great pull-back move through two defenders and then fed Dowling who had continued her run into the box. Dowling then curled a left-footed shot just inside the left post passed an outstretched Solo.

Sky Blue deserved the lead.

The best chance for Saint Louis in the opening half came in stoppage time as Welsh forced a falling save from Branam from 22 yards out.

In the second half Athletica came out with a different attitude and started to pile pressure on Sky Blue. However the chances they were creating were not being taken.

Sky Blue hung in there and could have gone 2-0 up when in the 49th minute, Solo punched away a shot from the Rosana from the top of the box and in the 60th minute, the Athletica keeper knocked away a header from Rosana off a corner kick that was headed toward the upper left corner.

Saint Louis through everything forward in the closing minutes but couldn’t break through.Tancredi just missed with a header in the 68th minute and Lori Chalupny nearly equalized with a blistering shot from the left wing that sailed past the goalmouth in the 75th minute.In the 77th minute after Chalupny drew a foul just outside the penalty area. The resulting free kick produced a screaming shot from Niki Cross that just missed the far left post. Minutes later Walsh would shoot just over the top of the bar as she flicked a chance towards goal.

That was the last good chance for Athletica. Sky Blue held on to the 1-0 lead with a gutsy display. Goalkeeper Jenni Branam who was hurt in a collision with Kendall Fletcher earlier in the game was immense,fighting through the pain.Captain Christie Rampone was marshalling her back four brilliantly, pushing them, keeping them going for the 7 extra minutes of stoppage time.

Who would have thought it. A cinderella story?


Saint Louis Athletica Head Coach Jorge Barcellos

“We could have produced more in the first half.We suffered a goal with a mistake on marking. In a game like this you cannot let anyone shoot inside the box and we waited until we were behind to show them what we really have.”

“It was my dream to bring a championship to St. Louis.Sometimes it doesn’t happen the way you want it to but we have to keep our head high so we can win this championship next year…which I know we can do.”

Saint Louis Athletica Captain Lori Chalupny

“It is such a shame, you get to this point and I feel like we only played for 45 minutes.Once this little sting wears off we can be proud of what we accomplished and what we accomplished this first season and learn from this experience and come back stronger next year.”



NJ Sky Blue FC Player/Coach Christie Rampone

"In the first half, we were so successful because we kept the ball moving. There were a good few combos and in the beginning the combinations really helped the way we played. We didn’t do that as much in the second half but still came out on top. There were a lot of goal opportunities for us but we stayed compact and the first ball got us our victory. Midfield did a great job staying back and overall, we couldn’t have played a better game."

NJ Sky Blue FC Defender and scorer of the goal Keeley Dowling

"I had possession of the ball, picked my head up, and placed it with my left foot.It was funny because Hope made such tremendous saves tonight and mine just snuck right by her. We played our game and came out on top. I'm very proud of my goal, but even prouder of my team."


Lineups:

Saint Louis Athletica: Hope Solo; Melissa Tancredi, Kia McNeill (Stephanie Logterman 64'), Tina Ellertson, Elise Weber; Angie Woznuk (Niki Cross 60'), Amanda Cinalli, Kendall Fletcher, Lori Chalupny(C) ; Sarah Walsh, Christie Welsh (Ashlee Pistorius 71').

Sky Blue FC: Jenni Branam; Keeley Dowling, Jen Buczkowski, Christie Rampone(C), Meghan Schnur; Kacey White, Yael Averbuch, Collette McCallum (Francielle 72'), Heather O'Reilly (Kelly Parker 63'); Rosana, Kerri Hanks (Natasha Kai 46').