Week 5 in the 2010 WPS season has wrapped up. As in every week before, Pali Blues alums are displaying the type of game changers that they can be. None was more evident that the performance of a former Blues Goalkeeper. Sure, the masses came to see the brand new home of the Atlanta Beat (Kennesaw State University Soccer Stadium), but the real star of the of the evening was Karen Bardsley of Sky Blue FC.
"Karen was absolutely unbelievable tonight," Sky Blue FC head coach Pauliina Miettinen said of Bardsley on the team homepage. "She made so many amazing saves and really kept us in the match."
Wave after wave of Beat offense was repelled by Bardsley actions. By the end of the match, she had yet another shut out for the season, with an astounding 13 saves on the day.
"One of my biggest goals is to stay focused for 90 minutes," Bardsley stated. "Atlanta was really coming at us in the second half, and I knew that I would have to keep the switch turned on. Road wins are critical, and it’s huge for you as a team when you can pick up three points on the road."
In other action, FC Gold Pride continued to show their dominance over league opponents. With three former Blues on the starting lineup (Carrie Dew, Ali Riley, Kelly O’Hara) they defeated the Chicago Red Stars (featuring Whitney Engen) by a score of 2-0. Having gone up 1-0 at the conclusion of the 1st half, Kelly O’Hara put the match away with a goal in the 79th minute.
"We have some many good players on this team that there’s goal coming from all over the field, but it feels great to finally score and I’m just excited that we’re undefeated at home and just got a 2-0 win over a really good team,” commented O’Hara afterwards.
Continuing her role as super sub, Kandace Wilson entered the match in the 83rd minute.
After two straight starts between the pipes for the Philadelphia Independence, Valerie Henderson gave way to regular starting goalkeeper, Karina LeBlanc. Danesha Adams also sat out the match as Philadelphia lost 2-1, to the St. Louis Athletica. Kendal Fletcher played all 90 minutes of the match for St. Louis, while Ashlyn Harris watched from the sidelines.
And finally, the Boston Breakers paid a visit to the DC area to take on the Washington Freedom on a windy Saturday night with three former Pali Blues in tow. The match ended scoreless, with both Amy LePeilbet, and Lauren Cheney contesting all 90 minutes for Boston. Liz Bogus entered as a 2nd half sub in the 47th minute.
