Masar Provides Late Spark
Former Illini Ella Masar only played three minutes in last night's Chicago Red Stars game against the Los Angeles Sol, but she made them count. Masar replaced forward Megan Rapinoe in the 87th minute, then fed Brazilian star Christiane on a beautiful cross for a goal in the 88th minute to give the Red Stars a short lived 1-0 lead against the league's top team at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. It was Masar's first assist of her WPS career, in this her rookie season.
The Red Stars were unable to finish off the victory, however, as fellow Brazilian Marta created the tying scoring chance for the Sol in the 90th minute. Marta hit the post with a shot from the top of the box, and Camille Abily drove home the rebound to tie the score at 1-1. Neither team was able to score the go-ahead goal in stoppage time.
The goal was a big one for the Red Stars, as they had been shut out in their previous five matches going back nearly two months to a 1-1 draw against the Washington Freedom on April 11. The Red Stars will head north to Santa Clara to take on FC Gold Pride on Sunday at 7 pm. The game will be televised by Comcast Sportsnet Chicago.
With the tie, the Red Stars are now 2-3-3 on the season and in fifth place in the seven-team league. The top four teams will make the playoffs in August. FC Gold Pride is currently in fourth place with ten points, just one ahead of Chicago. Thanks for reading.
UPDATE: Oh, and you can see Ella in the background of this photo. She's standing with her hands on her knees while Christiane celebrates her goal with a backflip.
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