Once again Marta came through for the LA Sol to defeat Sky Blue FC 1-0 in front of 6,115 fans at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA.  The play started with goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc as she punted the ball. Han Duan got rid of the long ball by giving Camille Abily a short back pass. Abily sent Marta on a run, Sky Blue 'keeper Jenni Branam came out, but Marta went around her to score between two Jersey defenders. LeBlanc, has now posted her 6th shutout, with 28 saves this season.

Sol dominated the attack for most of the first half with a lot of chances to score, that they could not finish. In just the 11th minute, Han Duan took a shot that Branam deflected towards the right post. Aly Wagner got to the slow-rolling ball and sent a low cross across the goal, only to find Sky Blue defender Christie Rampone on the other side of the goal.

In the 21st minute, Sol had yet another close chance. Han Duan sent a perfect low cross to Wagner, whose shot went wide right and high over the goal.

The second half was more even, and got us Sol fans a little nervous at times. In the 73rd mintue, Heather O'Reilly crossed the ball into the box, which found Natasha Kai, whose header was cleared off the goal line by Liz Bogus.

In stoppage time, Sky Blue nearly tied the game. Allison Falk misplayed a Sky Blue cross. The ball fell right into Meghan Schnur's path. Her left-footed volley went just wide from six yards out.

During the last 5 minutes of the game LA dropped their guard, giving Sky Blue more opportunities to score when compared to the rest of the match. When asked what went wrong, defender Stephanie Cox replied, "It's a tough mentality when you know you're up 1-0, especially when you score so late in the game. Sometimes we just couldn't clear the ball as far as we could and it's hard when they're throwing numbers at you. We just need to prepare to hunker down." Aside from the last few minutes of the game, Sol's defense had another extraordinary game.

"Tash was really dangerous in the air today so it was a different challenge. Sky Blue was serving a lot of balls over our heads," said Cox, but as the outcome shows, Sol was able to prevent Kai from scoring. Sol also neutralized another threat, allowing them to earn another shutout. Heather O'Reilly from Sky Blue is a very dangerous player and can score in any given opportunity. But Sol's strategy and focus on trying to seperate her from the rest of her team paid off. "I think she felt more isolated today, but she did get behind me once in the first half," chuckled Stephanie Cox, "but she wasn't all over the field like she normally is."

To make things even worse for Sky Blue, Natasha Kai went down after Marta scored, when she collided with LeBlanc in the air. She had to be taken off the field on a stretcher.

The Sol have now earned 3 points they needed very much. They remain the top team with 14 points. FC Gold Pride is tied with the Boston Breakers with 10 points. The Breakers take on Washington Freedom, but should earn their 3 points as the Freedom, a team that has been struggling with their defense all season long, will play without their biggest scoring threat, Abby Wambach.

The Sol will be on the road next week as they head up to Northern California to face Leslie Osborne and FC Gold Pride on May 24 at Buck Shaw Stadium at Santa Clara University. Sol has beat Gold Pride three times, two of which were friendlies. When asked if Sol could beat them again, Cox said, "The last game, Gold Pride was a really good team. Their attack caused defense a lot of problems. We're more well-prepared this time. As long as we keep getting shutouts and more goals, we can be more successful." Earlier, Shannon Boxx also commented that Bay Area was one of the tougher teams she's faced. The match will be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel at 4 pm PT.

To see more pictures of Friday night's game, click here.