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Rachel Buehler celebrates her goal with Christine Sinclair. FC Gold Pride and Saint Louis Athletica played to a 1-1 tie Sunday evening.

Boxscore (all statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (Aug. 9, 2009) – The WPS regular season came to a close on Sunday evening as FC Gold Pride and the Saint Louis Athletica tied, 1-1, at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.  The second-place Athletica finished the season 10-6-4 for 34 points while the last-place FC Gold Pride raised its record to 4-10-6, 18 points.

Christie Welsh scored the opener in the 17th minute on a long ball down the center of the field from Hope Solo. Welsh beat two defenders to the ball and took her shot off the volley to blast it past Nicole Barnhart. The assist by Solo was her first of the year and the first ever by a goalie in the WPS.

“It was exciting. I have wanted an assist forever,” said Solo. “It was kind of fun to get.”

Solo noted that her last assist as a goalkeeper probably came in college on a goal that her Athletica teammate Tina Ellerston scored while both played at the University of Washington.

Saint Louis would not maintain the lead for long. FC Gold Pride equalized in the 24th minute, just six minutes after falling behind, when Rachel Buehler went on an unchecked 35 yard run from midfield. Buehler found herself open by the time she reached the 18 yard box where she let go of a right footed shot that that bent away from a diving Hope Solo.

The rest of the first half saw FC Gold Pride with the better of the chances. Including a Christine Sinclair shot that forced a diving stop from Hope Solo to keep the game even at 1-1. It was Solo’s second quality save of the first half.

The second half of the game saw Solo forced into three more goal saving stops and Sinclair and Brandi Chastain each made their bid to win the game in front of the home crowd on Fan Appreciation Night. Solo turned Sinclair away but was fortunate that Chastain’s shot went over the crossbar. The crossbar would be Solo’s best friend late in the half when Ariko Arakwa smashed a 20-yard drive off it. Solo finished the game with nine saves.

“We came out there and I thought we played some excellent soccer and created very good opportunities and unfortunately we couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net,” said FC Gold Pride Head Coach Albertin Montoya. “I thought Hope Solo was incredible, as she always is. We came out here and played with a lot of heart and desire. It was very dangerous, very dangerous in attack but I think at the end of the day we put a good game for the fans.”

The second half was one of few chances for Saint Louis but Eniola Aluko, playing in her last game of the year, nearly won the match with an uncontested shot as she dribbled in from the right wing. Aluko’s shot beat Nicole Barnhart but slid just wide of the far post.

The defensive effort from Saint Louis was not what the coaching staff or players were looking for on the eve of the playoffs, something that Solo noted afterwards in her postgame media session. Saint Louis allowed 17 shots, 11 of which were on goal.

“It was more busy than I would have liked.” Said Solo.  “But we are tweaking some things and getting ready for the playoffs. We let more chances come through than we usually do. When are defense doesn’t play its best its because of our mentality not our physical play.”

At times during the match both teams looked slow and fatigued but the game sprang to life in the final 15 minutes and became a back and forth affair with wide open play. Either team could have earned all three points with the right finish.

“By the 20th game you are going to be a little fatigued,” said Lori Chalupny. “Maybe some tired legs, we just need to get ready for the playoffs but that won’t be too difficult. We want to go into the playoffs with a lot of momentum and playing well but we needed to try some things formation wise in case we need to use them in the playoffs.”

The Athletica now return to Saint Louis to host the Super Semifinal on Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 7pm ET (6pm CT).  The Athletica will face the winner of Saturday's First Round between the Washington Freedom and Sky Blue FC (4pm ET/1pm PT on Fox Sports Net).  For more information about the WPS Playoffs, visit: http://www.womensprosoccer.com/Home/schedule/wps-playoffs.aspx

The Pride, meanwhile, turn their attention to next season.

“I’m very excited,” said Montoya of the future of the Pride. “I’m looking forward to next season because we have a special group here. When we put performances like we have till the end of the season, it makes my job very difficult when deciding what changes I need to make for next season. Obviously, we need to find a few players that will help us get over the hump, but I got to give credit to our team, they’ve come out and played hard in every game.”

Boxscore (all statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial)