The WPS All-Stars came from behind to beat Swedish national champion Umeå, 4-2, in the WPS All-Star Game at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo.
4 - 2.Umeå IK started to crash the party early. With just 2 minutes on the clock
Mami Yamaguchi sent a through ball to
Madelaine Edlund on the right side of the box. With only the Los Angeles Sol’s
Karina LeBlanc to beat, Edlund fired her shot past the WPS All-Star goalkeeper to give Umeå an early 1-0 lead.
Umeå kept on the attack as two minutes later Yamaguchi unleashed a dipping shot from 30 yards out, which LeBlanc had to tip out of bounds to keep from going into the upper right corner.
In the 15th minute, Umeå made it 2-0 when Edlund again found space on the right flank and cranked a shot which LeBlanc got a paw to, but the rebound went straight to
Sofia Jakobsson. The Swedish forward banged a shot off the left post to increase Umeå’s lead.
Umeå were playing without their star forward
Ramona Bchmann. She had taken ill and was left back at the hotel.
Having not played together the WPS All-Star players were all at sixes and sevens but they started to play with a higher tempo and midfielder
Shannon Boxx and
Marta became more involved. They started to create chances.
First In the 24th minute, Marta zoomed down the left flank and attempted to serve a cross into the box, but it deflected off teammate
Cristiane right back to Marta.The Los Angeles Sol forward’s next serve found its mark as Lilly streaked to the top of the box to fire a shot that bounced off the left post before finally settling into the goal to trim Umeå’s lead to 2-1.
Gaining momentum after their goal, the WPS All-Stars had a few prime opportunities to knot the score. In the 28th minute, Marta went on a breakaway down the left flank, but keeper Carola Soberg rushed out to stuff Marta’s shot. The rebound fell to Megan Rapinoe at the top of the box, but the Chicago Red Stars’ midfielder mishit the ball, which looped harmlessly out of bounds.
A minute later, the Sol’s Shannon Boxx sent a cross into the penalty area, which Saint Louis Athletica’s Tina Ellertson headed off the left goalpost.
In the 40th, Marta tied the score as she received the ball at the top of the 18-yard box from Chicago’s Cristiane and threw a few fakes to set up a left-footed shot into the far corner.
Into the second half Coach Abner Rogers decided to make all the substitutions at the start, all 7 in total.
It paid off. They switched to a 3-5-2 formation with Marta out wide on the left and Abby Wambach and Christine Sinclair upfront with Tiffeny Millbrett playing just behind the front two.
Just two minutes after halftime, the WPS All-Stars grabbed the lead as Marta, who moved to left midfield after the break, passed the ball to FC Gold Pride forward Christine Sinclair in front of the box. Sinclair knocked it into the goal to give the WPS All-Stars a 3-2 advantage.
Two minutes later Sinclair pushed the WPS All-Stars lead to 4-2 as she dribbled down the right flank, drew Soberg off her line and fired it past the Umeå goalkeeper.
In the 52nd minute, Sinclair had a chance to notch a hat trick on a breakaway, but shot directly into Soberg’s feet. Umeå then counterattacked as Jakobsson broke down the left flank, but Washington Freedom defender Cat Whitehill tracked her down to force a corner kick before she could get a shot off.
Then Marta began to work her magic in earnest. In the 69th minute, she sent a cross into the box from the left flank which landed at Sinclair’s feet. Still trying for the hat trick, Sinclair blasted a rocket off the crossbar that left the woodwork shaking.
In the 75th minute, Marta wormed her way into the left side of the penalty box and past a Umeå defender before sending a cross to Abby Wambach. The Freedom forward’s shot glanced off Soberg with the rebound caroming to Sky Blue FC’s Heather O’Reilly whose shot was cleared out of danger.
Edlund again caused trouble for the WPS All-Star defense in the 77th minute as she got free on the left and unleashed a shot that Saint Louis Athletica goalkeeper
Hope Solo had to dive to her right to snag.
In the late-going, the WPS All-Stars continued to create scoring opportunities with Marta directing the attack. In the 82nd minute, Marta backheeled the ball to spring Sinclair into the penalty box on the left. Sinclair’s cross found a wide open O’Reilly, but the Sky Blue FC midfielder’s shot was kick saved by Soberg.
Lineups:
WPS All-Stars:Karina Le Blanc(Hope Solo 46), Tina Elertson(Tiffeny Milbrett 46), Amy LePeilbet (Christine Sinclair 46), Christie Rampone (C), Lori Chalupny , Megan Rapinoe (Heather O'Reilly 46), Aya Miyama ( Brittany Klein 46), Shannon Boxx, Kristine Lilly ( Cat Whitehill 46), Cristiane (Abby Wambach 46), Marta
Umea IK : Carola Soberg, Emma Berglund (Emma Kulberg 74), Johanna Frisk, Karolina Westberg(C), Frida Ostberg , Elaine Moura, Emmelie Konradsson, Emma Aberg Zingmark (Malin Mostrom 46), Madelaine Edmund, Mami Yamaguchi, Sofia Jakobsson
WPS Champions New Jersey Sky Blue FC have announced today that the organization has hired former Finnish international Pauliina Miettinen as its new head coach.
