Red Stars Top Athletica

For weeks I've thought about making the 13+hour drive from Philadelphia to Edwardsville, IL for the Athletica home-opener. Since I have to cover the Sky Blue FC game tomorrow for American Soccer News and OleOle I was concerned I wouldn't make it back in time (mind you, I still need to dedicate a few hours to getting a lil' shut-eye). Now, after following tonight's game on MatchTracker and Twitter, I regret not giving it a shot.

After 90 minutes of solid soccer, between two teams that I think are pretty evenly matched, the Chicago Red Stars defeated the St. Louis Athletica 1-0, thanks to a Lindsay Tarpley goal in the 78th minute. I never thought they'd get one past my girl, Solo, but if anyone could do it, it'd be Lindsay Tarpley. Props to Marian Dalmy for the assist.

Though the game was in St. Louis territory, Chicago did what every good team should do...They bussed fans down from Chicago, with Pabst Blue Ribbon in hand, and brought a lil' bit of Chi-town to Southern Illinois University. I love it!! Who knows, maybe that extra fan support is just what the team needed to pull out its first road win.

Congrats to the Red Stars!

Keep your eyes on WPS.com for more game-day reports from the Athletica home-opener.