Los Angeles Sol

The Los Angeles Sol was an American professional soccer club that was based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California that participated in Women's Professional Soccer.

Los Angeles Sol
Full nameLos Angeles Sol
Nickname(s)Sol
Founded2007
Dissolved2010
GroundHome Depot Center
Capacity27,000
LeagueWomen's Professional Soccer
2009WPS Supporters Shield Champions 2009

The team was co-owned and operated by Blue Star, LLC and AEG, a subsidiary of the Anschutz Entertainment Group. The Sol had played its home games at The Home Depot Center.[1] It was announced on January 28, 2010 that the team would cease operations.[2][3][4]

History

The formation of Women's Professional Soccer was announced on September 4, 2007, and it was also announced on that day that a franchise had been awarded to Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Sol was officially unveiled on October 26, 2008. USA Women's National Team midfielder Shannon Boxx was the first player in Sol history when she was allocated to the team on September 16, 2008.[5] [6]

2009 season

The team played its first game on March 29, 2009, against Washington Freedom resulting in a 2–0 victory. The first goal in club and league history was recorded in the sixth minute of the match, when defender Allison Falk out-jumped a crowd of Freedom defenders in the penalty area to head in a free kick from Japanese National Football Team star Aya Miyama.[7]

The Sol won their next two games as well, totaling a +5 goal differential, setting them apart early as the best team in the league. Though they did not win either of their next two games, they never dropped from first place in the table, and then went on an eleven-game unbeaten streak, with three draws and eight wins, at times having twice the number of points as the second-place team. They then lost to the Saint Louis Athletica in their last home game of the season, which ended their streak and kept alive the hopes that some team other than the Sol could win the regular season title, but a 0–0 draw against FC Gold Pride (who was the worst team in the league) gave the Sol the regular season title with two games to spare. The lost 1–3 to the Chicago Red Stars and won 2–1 against the Boston Breakers to end their regular season, the win giving the Sol the title of the first team to beat every other team in the league. They finished the season with 41 pts. (a 12–3–5 record) and a +17 goal differential.

Being regular season champions, the Sol received a bye to the August 22nd championship match. They lost 0–1 to Sky Blue FC who made the playoffs when potential invitees Boston earned no points in their final regular season match against the Sol.

Sale and folding

In November, AEG gave their share of the Sol back to WPS. WPS ran the Sol for the next three months, completing trades, changing coaches, and participating in the 2010 WPS Draft. However, the potential ownership group that WPS had been working with to take on the Sol backed out "in the 11th hour" according to league commissioner Tonya Antonuci. Following this failure to sell the team, the league announced its decision to disband the Sol on January 27, 2010, and organized a dispersal draft for the 19 players under contract to be held February 4.

Players

2009 Roster

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF  FRA Camille Abily
5 DF  USA Greer Barnes
11 FW  USA Brittany Bock
17 MF  USA Liz Bogus
7 MF  USA Shannon Boxx
0 GK  USA Brittany Cameron
14 DF  USA Stephanie Cox
9 FW  CHN Han Duan
3 DF  USA Allison Falk
19 DF  CAN Martina Franko
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 DF  SWE Johanna Frisk
1 GK  USA Valerie Henderson
18 MF  USA Katie Larkin
23 GK  CAN Karina LeBlanc
22 MF  USA Manya Makoski
10 FW  BRA Marta
8 MF  JPN Aya Miyama
12 MF  USA Lisa Sari
4 MF  USA Aly Wagner
6 MF  USA McCall Zerboni

Milestones

See also

References
  1. "Womensprosoccer.com". Archived from the original on 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
  2. "WPS runner-up Los Angeles folds after first season". USA Today. January 28, 2010.
  3. "Sol's demise another bump". ESPN. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  4. "Los Angeles Sol of Women's Professional Soccer to cease operations". Los Angeles Times. January 28, 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  5. "Womensprosoccer.com". Archived from the original on 2009-02-21. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
  6. "Los Angeles Sol unveils its true colors". Los Angeles Times. October 24, 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  7. "Womensprosoccer.com". Archived from the original on 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
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