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WPS Chicago Stars FC

Cristiane Strikes Again as Red Stars Tie FC Gold Pride

June 7, 2009 - Women's Professional Soccer (WPS)
Chicago Stars FC News Release


SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Cristiane's second goal of the season helped the Chicago Red Stars overcome a deficit on the road to earn a 1-1 tie with FC Gold Pride Sunday night at Buck Shaw Stadium.

The Brazilian native scored in the second consecutive game for Chicago (2-3-4), which earned a pair of points on its two-game West Coast road trip. The draw marks the first point earned by the Red Stars this season after falling behind in a match.

Trailing 1-0 in the 47th minute, Megan Rapinoe played the ball in from the left side and crossed to Cristiane, who headed it on target from directly in front of the goal. The ball appeared to deflect off the leg of FC Gold Pride defender Rachel Buehler before going in the net but Cristiane was credited with her second goal, tying Lindsay Tarpley as Chicago's leading scorer on the season.

Cristiane had a chance at a second goal by header in the 61st minute, but played the ball wide right off a feed from midfielder Karen Carney.

FC Gold Pride (3-5-2) opened the scoring in the 14th minute. After being played into the box, Eriko Arakawa crossed directly in front of the goal to Christine Sinclair, who slipped behind the Red Stars defense and scored from the left side. The tally was the fourth on the season for Sinclair and her second against Chicago.

Red Stars goalkeeper Caroline Jönsson recorded a pair of saves in the second half, equaling the total of stops by FC Gold Pride keeper Nicole Barnhart.

The Red Stars put a chance on target early in the match when Karen Carney sent an 8th minute pass through traffic to Tarpley, who fired a left-footed shot from 25 yards out, but Barnhart was just able get a foot on the shot and deflect it away.

Despite the tie, Chicago drops to sixth place in the WPS standings with 10 points - but the Red Stars are just a point back of a three-way tie for third place. Boston, FC Gold Pride and Saint Louis are knotted together with 11 points each. The Red Stars also maintain the league's only unbeaten road record (1-0-3).

Chicago will now travel across the country before returning to action Saturday, June 13th at Washington. The match will be contested at RFK Stadium. The Red Stars return home to TOYOTA PARK June 21st for a 3 pm match with the Boston Breakers. Tickets are available by calling (866) WPS-2009 or logging on to www.chicagoredstars.com.

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Women's Professional Soccer Stories from June 7, 2009


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