Sol 0 Sky Blue FC 1

It’s a well-deserved lead for the underdogs against a flat Sol. Coach Abner Rogers removed midfielder McCall Zerboni for defender Sharolta Nonen after the straight red, but the Sol will need to do more than that to come from behind. Which team had the most rest coming into this game anyway?

To call the Sol one-dimensional at this point would be an understatement. Sky Blue FC has had the better of the attacks and that seems strange to say against a team that was so dominant going forward in the regular season.

The consensus up here: the Sol badly miss midfielder and second leading goalscorer Camille Abily, who is back in Europe playing for France.

And remember, the team that scores first in WPS invariably wins.

BTW, I’ve been designated the pool reporter up here and will ask referee Kari Seitz what that extremely questionable red card was all about. I’ll try to phrase it tactfully. (Supposedly it was because Kai was denied a “goal scoring chance,” BTW).

Key stat: Sky Blue has nine shots on goal, the Sol just one.