Pacific Palisades, Calif. (Saturday, May 9, 2009) - The Pali Blues started the 2009 season right where they left off 2008, in front on a spirited crowd of 902 fans at the Stadium By The Sea with a 2-1 victory over the L.A. Legends. It was a very even match throughout with each team holding the run of play in a half. In the end, it was the Legends that held the edge in shots 11-10.

“I have to say that I am very impressed with the Legends," Blues head coach Charlie Naimo stated. “Twila and her staff did an amazing job putting the team together, as well as coaching it. That group would have been a top 3 team last season, and we are looking forward to our second match with them late in the season.”

The game was played at a very fast pace from the start as neither team could discourage the other from pressing. The Blues opened the scoring in the 14th minute as Jodie Taylor made a clever run out of the midfield and ran onto a well weighted through pass from Emily Wynne to slot the ball into the side netting for a 1-0 lead.

The second half also started with blazing pace, and it was not long before Lauren Welch out jumped a Blues defender to nail a header from Amelia Mathis into the bottom corner of the goal to bring the game level at 1-1 in the 48th minute. It wasn’t long until the Blues bulled the goal back and took the lead for good. In the 51st minute, Emily Wynne headed home a corner from Iris Mora for the final goal of the match and a 2-1 win for the Blues.

“On one hand, I am disappointed with our performance because we did very little of what we discussed, but I have to be happy that some of our experienced players knew how to find a way to win, one of which that had not even trained with the team yet,” Naimo said. “But I also want to credit the Legends once again for making us look unorganized and showing us where we need to improve.”

The Blues are home again at 3:00 p.m. next Sunday, May 17th, for the last time until late June.