Thursday Sol Gameday & More

The Sol (11-2-4) can clinch the inaugural WPS regular season title with just a point on the road tonight at FC Gold Pride (3-9-3), a team that hasn't won in eight games and are 0-3 against LA this season.

Gold Pride will play on just three days rest after taking the field Sunday, while the Sol have had a considerably longer opportunity to relax, sustaining a rare 1-0 home loss July 8 to St. Louis Athletica. The Pride expects Nicole Barnhart, Rachel Buehler and Leslie Osborne back from national team duty after two unnecessary games against Canada in four days; similarly the likes of midfielder Shannon Boxx (who went the full 90 last night) and goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc (an unused sub Wednesday night) return for the Sol.

Sol defender Allison Falk is listed as questionable with a right ankle injury.

Former Brazilian international Sissi, now 42-years-old, could find herself lining up against the Sol's Marta in a clash of different generations.

Meanwhile, Northern California native and oft-injured Sol star Aly Wagner sadly sounds more and more as if she's edging toward a premature retirement.

There's no TV or radio.

(BTW, the U.S. beat Canada 1-0 Wednesday night in South Carolina, the 89th minute goal coming from 18-year-old Christine Nairn just eight minutes after she entered the game as a sub. She was playing in her second national team game).

TV options tonight include a Gold Cup semifinals doubleheader with the U.S. facing Honduras at 4 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel and the Mexico-Costa Rica game following at 7 p.m. on Univision.

The Hondurans will no doubt be distracted by events at home.

Finally, as the college soccer season approaches, check out this story about UCLA's prized top recruit.