Sol clinches regular-season title

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Jul 24, 2009

[WPS] The Los Angeles Sol clinched in the inaugural Women's Professional Soccer regular-season title in anticlimactic fashion. Its 0-0 tie at last-place FC Gold Pride gave it the title with two games to spare and a bye into the WPS Championship at the Home Depot Center on Aug. 22 (TV: Fox Sports Net and select regional outlets, live, 4 pm ET/1 pm PT).

The outcome will raise some concerns in the Sol camp, however. Since beating Chicago, 4-0, four weeks ago, Los Angeles has only scored one goal.

The Gold Pride is all but eliminated from playoff contention, sitting nine points behind fourth-place Sky Blue FC with four games to play.

Standings
TEAM W L T GF GA P
Los Angeles 11 2 5 24 6 38
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St. Louis 8 6 2 14 13 26
Boston 7 6 3 17 16 24
Sky Blue FC 6 7 4 16 17 22
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Washington 5 6 5 23 26 20
Chicago 4 8 5 13 19 17
FC Gold Pride 3 9 4 12 22 13

Leading Scorers:
Marta (Los Angeles) 9
Camille Abily (Los Angeles) 8
Cristiane (Chicago) 6
Christine Sinclair (FC Gold Pride) 5
Kelly Smith (Boston) 5
Natasha Kai (Sky Blue FC) 5
Lisa De Vanna (Washington) 5
Eniola Aluko (St. Louis) 5
Sonia Bompastor (Washington) 4

Schedule:
Saturday, July 25
Boston vs. Sky Blue FC, 7 pm ET
Sunday, July 26
Saint Louis vs. FC Gold Pride, 6 pm ET (FSC)
Chicago vs. Washington, 4 pm
Wednesday, July 29
Washington vs. Boston, 8 pm ET (CSN)
Saturday, August 1
FC Gold Pride vs. Washington, 6 pm ET
Saint Louis vs. Boston, 8 pm ET
Sunday, August 2
Chicago vs. Los Angeles, 6 pm ET (FSC)
Wednesday, August 5
Sky Blue FC vs. FC Gold Pride, 7 pm ET
Saint Louis vs. Chicago, 8 pm ET
Saturday, August 8
Washington vs. Sky Blue FC, 7 pm ET
Sunday, August 9
Boston vs. Los Angeles, 6 pm ET (FSC)
FC Gold Pride vs. Saint Louis, 8 pm ET