KENNESAW, GA (August 28, 2010) - If there were any questions as to if FC Gold Pride (14-3-4, 46pts) would take their foot off the gas pedal after clinching the WPS regular season title, they were put to rest following a 6-1 blowout of the Atlanta Beat (5-11-5, 20pts) on Saturday night.
"We put so much hard work into being the best in this league. Winning the leagues regular season, we had a chance to win the championship and it obviously felt very good," said Pride Head Coach Albertin Montoya. "The players have really played their heart out. Tonight we were playing without a lot of pressure and that really allowed us to get into a great rhythm."
The 2010 regular season champion Pride dominated 6-1 over the Atlanta Beat with goals from five different players. With most of the play and possession going back and forth in the first half, forward Tiffeny Milbrett broke through to put the Pride on the board in the 43rd minute.
Midfielder Camille Abily, who just returned from national team duties overseas, came on at the start of the second half and kept the offense going by scoring her first goal of the season in the 51st minute.
The Beat notched their lone goal of the match when midfielder Angie Kerr sent a driven ball in from the left side of the field. Pride goalkeeper Brittany Cameron came out to make a play on the challenge for the goal with Aluko when the ball found the back of the net in the 65th.
The Pride rebounded quickly as Marta ran onto a ball, in behind, to net her first goal of the match just a minute later. The Brazilian forward found her second in the 70th minute after Georgia native Kelley O’Hara dummied a square ball on the six for Marta to finish. Marta stays ahead of the pack in the race for the Golden Boot by scoring her 16th and 17th goals of the season.
The score of 4-1 was only going to get more ugly as the game progressed. FC Gold Pride nailed their third goal in six minutes of play when O'Hara added one to her season's total in the 72 minute.
"Our philosophy hasn't changed, we just got to tighten everything up. They're the ones that are playing and they just got to continue to communicate as a unit. They stopped communicating which meant that the players weren't on the same page," said Beat interim Head Coach James Galanis, "If you're a great team, but there's no communication, you're going to lose."
With the score 5-1 and the game fully in hand, Christine Sinclair capped off the night by striking the game's final goal passed Beat keeper Hope Solo in the 87th minute in the lower left corner of the net. FC Gold Pride's six goal performance broke numerous league records: goals in one half of play (5), total goals in a game (6), and largest margin of victory (5).
The Pride head to Yurcak Field to face off against Sky Blue FC (7-10-4) for their last road game of the season. The team will return to the Bay Area to play their final two home games, starting with a match against the Boston Breakers on Sunday, September 5 at 6PM.
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