WPS -MVP Half-Term by position - GOALKEEPER

No1. Karina LeBlanc - The Canadian international has been the surprise leader in GK stats in the WPS at the halfway mark. The back-up keeper to Erin McLeod for the Canadian Women’s team, LeBlanc has established herself as the leader in the LA Sol defence and a leader to the team in general on and off the field.

From the Sol’s very first game the Inaugural game against the Washington Freedom ,LeBlanc displayed a calm, aggressive and decisive game, making a vital save against US International Abby Wambach to keep the clean sheet, one of many and to steer the Sol to their first win.

Playing in front of the stingiest defence in the league LeBlanc is well protected but when called upon she has made those vital saves keeping her teamates in the game.
Her constant barracking at her defence keeps them on their toes as she organises her penalty area to insure opposition players are getting picked up and the defenders are aware of their duties. None so than in the first set of games where both the Sol's centre-backs Brittany Bock and Alison Falk were rookies just out of college and inexperienced at this level. Her voice can be easily heard above everybody else’s as she gives words of encouragement or instructions to her defenders.

LeBlanc a Sol fan favourite leads the GK stats after starting 14 games with 10 shut-outs, 55 saves, 5 Goals conceded, 9 wins , 1 lost, 4 draws and a goal against average (GAA) of 0.36.

Runners-up - Hope Solo (Saint Louis Athletica) and Caroline Jonsson (Chicago Red Stars). Both keepers have made vital saves to save their teams from defeat. Both with 4 shut-outs.

WPS Half-Term report - LOS ANGELES SOL

Who? What left is there to say about the Sol that has not been said or read already.

In this 1st half of the Inaugural season of the WPS, THE Los Angeles Sol so far have been the dominant, most consistent and yes… the best team in the league.

The league table doesn’t lie.And neither do the stats.The Sol sit at the top as of June 25th with 31 pts - Played 14 , Won 9, Lost 1, Draws 4. They have played two games more than the 2nd placed Boston Breakers but they are still comfortably in front.
They are currently on a 9 games unbeaten run - 6 of those are wins.
How? The team are playing well together. They play possession soccer. The midfield four have specific jobs and they are executing the jobs well and the defence are defending intelligently and as a unit.
The Sol are difficult to score against and ultimately to beat. Teams have tried and come close and even some have deserved to score and a win but they have come up short and not taken their chances.
The Sol offence when given a chance will most likely take that chance…thank you very much.

They lead the league in most goals scored 19 ; least goals conceded 5 ; most shutouts 10 and Top goal scorer , Camille Abily 7.

Players - Offence:
Marta is the star player. The Brazilian Attracts the attention of the opposition defenders, sometimes all of them at the same time, that just leaves space for the other Sol players to exploit. Which they have taken.
When Marta is not scoring she is setting up her teamates. She is 2nd in the goal scoring charts with 6 goals and 2nd in assists with 3.



Midfield:
Camille Abily is one player who has benefited from the attention on Marta. She has snuck in there almost unnoticed to score a league leading 7 goals. All from midfield. The French international brings a calm, technical game to the Sol midfield. An intelligent player who always makes herself available in midfield to receive the ball, hold the ball and pass it off to an open player without fuss. Abily is a fan favourite and although unknown at the beginning of the season to the American public she is now becoming a star there too as she was in her native France. No wonder Olympic Lyon were having a cardiac arrest when she moved to WPS. Now we know why.
Defence:
Alison Falk never gets mentioned too much by reporters or blogs. But here at womans soccer insider we believe she is vital to the Sol.The rookie…yes she is a rookie..from Stanford University has been the rock at the back. Started 13 games out of 14 and played 90 minutes in all ,Falk is tall, good in the air, deceptively strong and quick. Falk hasn’t put a foot wrong as she has gone up against strong, experienced and international players like Abby Wambach and Christine Sinclair and quick players like Lisa DeVanna and Eniola Aluko and been a match for all of them.

Mentions to - Brittany Bock - defender, midfielder, forward ? She’s been everywhere but in goal. Bock is a competitive player that gives 110% no matter where she is playing. Almost combative by nature she played the first 5 games as a centre-back having never played there before. Impressing the Sol coaches in training with her desire to compete for challenges. She was a midfielder/forward in college. She then spent the next few in midfield man marked Boston’s Kelly Smith out of the game in that position in the 0-0 tie at the Home Depot Center.
Moved to centre forward to give some assist to Marta and scored her 2nd goal of the season. Yes we had to mention Brittany Bock.

Karina Leblanc - KK to her friends - we will look at her closely further in the blog but the stats say it all.
13 games , 51 saves , goals against 5 , Goals against avg 0.38 , Saved a PK , 9 Shutouts. No1.

All those players have stood out to us but LA really have played as a team and we would be here all day and night if we had to mention all the players.

A- Excellent. Still room for improvement.(harsh,i know) Top of the class for now.

ST LOUIS ATHLETICA 0 - 0 LOS ANGELES SOL

GOALIES ON TOP


OR MISSED OPPORTUNITIES!

Missed opportunities were the story of the day Saturday afternoon at Hermann Stadium as Saint Louis Athletica played the Los Angeles Sol to a 0-0 draw in front 4, 228 fans.

The first missed chance went to the Sol and Aly Wagner. Wagner’s 73rd minute penalty was stopped by Hope Solo who dove to her right to cover and hold onto the shot just inside the post.

The penalty was set up on a run from Katie Larkin. Larkin eluded Tina Ellertson and dribbled into the area. Ellertson in hustling to try and win the ball back was late on a slide tackle clipping Larkin’s back foot for the foul.

“I don’t think she struck it very well,” said Solo. “Nevertheless I was going to my right.”

Following the penalty miss Athletica dashed to the other end of the field and Daniela nearly scored the first goal of the year as she pushed her shot wide to the left. Ashlee Pistorius provided the set up.

Ten minutes later it was Athletica’s turn at a penalty try. A flurry of chances inside the area resulted in a handball on Sol Defender Allison Falk. Ashlee Pistorius had the initial shot blocked and Eniola Aluko’s follow up effort came off the hand of Falk. Captain Lori Chalupny stepped up and drilled her penalty straight into Karina LeBlanc. Chalupny’s shot was right down the middle and LeBlanc barely moved as Athletica’s goal scoring drought continued.

"It was a very difficult game and we had very good chances. Goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc made huge saves for the team," said Los Angeles Sol Head Coach Abner Rogers. "It was a physical game and St. Louis had that edge on us. Overall, it was a very exciting game for the fans."

With close shots on goal by Shannon Boxx and Aya Miyama and missed shots from Daniela and Lori Chalupny (Athletica) the game remained scoreless in the first half.
The first best chance of the second half fell to Melissa Tancredi just inside the penalty area. Tancredi’s shot sailed well over and the scoreless streak continued.

The last best chance of the game came in the 89th minute when Angie Woznuk nearly gave Saint Louis a dramatic winner. Woznuk got to a second ball and put her shot toward the upper left hand corner only for Karina LeBlanc to make a spectacular save.

LA Sol were without Marta , Camille Abily and Han Duan who were on international duty. England's Eniola Aluko had returned from playing in the England Norway match was a 2nd half substitution. She sparked some life into Athletica but there was still no goals.

Lineups:

St. Louis Athletica: Hope Solo; Elise Weber, Kia McNeill, Niki Cross (Gray, 45); Lori Chalupny, Lisa Stoia, Daniela; Angie Woznuk, Tina Ellertson, Melissa Tancredi (Pistorius 77), Kerri Hanks (Aluko, 53)

Los Angeles Sol: Karina LeBlanc; Stephanie Cox , Brittany Bock, Allison Falk; Shannon Boxx, Aya Miyama, Manya Makoski, Aly Wagner, Katie Larkin, Martina Franco (Sari, 77), Christie Welsh (Bogus, 60)

WPS PREVIEW WEEK 4

LOS ANGELES SOL v. FC GOLD PRIDE ...Sun 19th April 4pm ET follow on matchtracker.

West Coast rivals, both undefeated , the top 2 in the league , attacking flair....this match should have been televised on FSC but alas.We get to see this game live in mid season though.
At the Home Depot Center in California the Los Angles Sol play after their bye week. They sit pretty at the top of the league with a 100% record, scored 4 goals and conceded none.Marta their marquee player scoring 2 but they are more than Marta's team. Look out for Japan's Aya Miyama to shine she had a great 1st game for the Sol and she is a free-kick specialist with an assist already for the inaugural game. The Sol have a fast attacking style which can only get better with the type of players they have. Canadian International defender Martina Franko signed during the week.Squad is looking solid in defence also with GK Karina Leblanc looking for another clean sheet.
FC Gold Pride look to continue their good form against their Californian neighbours. After beating the Breakers in the 1st game and getting an away draw against Sky Blue FC, the Pride are looking to get back to winning ways again.The exciting Tiffany Weimer is looking to continue her blitz in the soccer world. She was watched by the USWNT head coach Pia Sundhage last week and could possibly make the next squad. Japan's Eriko Arakawa is up against her teammate Miyama and hoping to score her 2nd goal of the season.Brazilian defender Erika broke her nose and cheekbone in their 1st game and is doubtful, unless she wears a mask.
My prediction 2-1 Sol win. (Sol's offence is to strong for the Pride in an exciting match).