Marta and Tiffeny Milbrett each scored a pair of goals as FC Gold Pride routed the Washington Freedom, 4-1, Saturday evening in front of 4,809 fans at the Maryland Soccerplex in Boyds, Md.  The red-hot Bay Area team has won five straight matches tying their own league record set earlier this season.

Milbrett gave FC Gold Pride a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute as Christine Sinclair picked up a loose ball at the top of the box and dribbled to the right endline.  Sinclair’s cross connected with Milbrett in front of the goal but Milbrett’s first shot was blocked by Freedom goalkeeper Erin McLeod.  The rebound popped right back to Milbrett who headed it home.

The Freedom knotted the score just before halftime as midfielder Beverly Goebel played a give-and-go with defender Cat Whitehill at the top of the 18-yard box.  Goebel then dribbled into the left side of the box and served a cross which FC Gold Pride goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart got a hand to, but Abby Wambach, who was making a far post run, was there to tap it in.  Wambach’s goal, which came in the 42nd minute, was her team-leading sixth of the season.

FC Gold Pride erupted for three goals in the second half with Marta leading the charge.  In the 59th minute, she received a pass from Sinclair and then went on a dribbling run past the Freedom defense towards the left endline where she fired a left-footed shot from a tight angle between the legs of McLeod and into the far corner of the goal.  The score gave the Bay Area side a 2-1 advantage.

In the 84th minute, Sinclair again sprung Marta who dribbled into the box alone with only McLeod to beat.  Marta cut to her right and as McLeod buckled over, shot the ball into the back of the net for her league-leading 13th goal of the season.

McLeod suffered a right knee injury on the play and was forced to leave the game.  Since Washington had already used all three of its substitutions, the Freedom played down a player and Whitehill donned the goalkeeper gloves for the final six minutes plus extra time.

FC Gold Pride took advantage of Washington’s misfortune in the 89th minute, pushing its lead to 4-1.  Building the play through the midfield, second-half substitute Becky Edwards received a pass at the top of the 18-yard box and laid it off for Milbrett on the left side.  With no defender pressuring her, Milbrett chipped the ball into the upper right corner giving Whitehill no chance to stop her well-taken shot.  With two goals on the night, Milbrett doubled her season total.

The first-place FC Gold Pride improved its record to 11-3-1 (34 points), while the Washington Freedom (4-5-5, 17 points) remain in a tie for fourth place with the Chicago Red Stars who host the Boston Breakers on Sunday.

FC Gold Pride stays on the road next week, travelling to Atlanta to face the Beat on Sunday, Aug. 1 at 5pm ET / 2pm PT on Fox Soccer Channel.  The Freedom will also pay a visit to Atlanta on Wednesday, July 28 at 7:30pm ET before continuing on to Boston where they will play the Breakers on Saturday, July 31 at 6pm ET.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

Abby Wambach, Washington Freedom Striker

"We felt like we had more scoring chances then they did. They are such a great team that Sinclair and Marta are going to capitalize on theirs, and we just couldn't take advantage of the shots we had.

"She (Marta) is the best player in the world. She runs faster than any of us, and she is just as fast when she has the ball. Her ball skills are terrific, and by far the best on the field."

Cat Whitehill, Washington Freedom Defender

"We are hoping that it doesn't get worst than this. I feel like we are at rock bottom. We haven't won in a while. We have a Wednesday game against Atlanta and we have won twice against them. They are on a win streak so it will be a tough game.

"Sinclair made a great touch up to Marta. Her shot was perfectly placed. She always seems to find the spot.

"We are trying everything. Different formations, different players. We need some things to fall our way. We just need a little bit of luck. Just a few things to go our way, because we are giving 100 percent, no doubt about it. 

"If we had played 60 minutes in the first half we would have scored."

Sarah Huffman, Washington Freedom midfielder

"Losing is unfortunately a part of soccer and you just take a loss and hope to learn from it and move forward and that's what we're going to do.

"Our goal is to make the playoffs and win a WPS championship and that hasn't changed. I think we're going to keep working towards that and keep fighting.

"I think we had the courage to go for it and that's what our team is about. We're going to keep fighting. Erin's strong, she's going to come back and our team is going to pull together even closer than before."

Jim Gabarra, Washington Freedom Head Coach

"We didn't do a good job with the chances we had and they were very good with theirs.

"We couldn't capitalize on our shots, and a lot of them went right to Barnhart. Normally some of those shots go in. They weren't today.

"We still have nine games and still plenty of points out there. We just have to keep working hard."

Christine Sinclair, FC Gold Pride striker

"Coming out of the first half with a 1-1 tie was a little bit of a victory for us. They had the better of the chances and we knew that they weren't going to be able to last the 90 minutes with their high pressure from the first half.

"We're blessed with a lot of speed up top, and I think especially in the second half we were able to utilize that."

Shannon Boxx, FC Gold Pride midfielder

"I feel bad for McLeod, I really do. I mean, no one wants to see that so close to a World Cup, but obviously Cat was a good sport going in goal.

"It is difficult to travel as far as we have to go from the West Coast, but we came out with 6 points (on the East Coast) and that's a great thing for us. I feel like we have gotten that separation but we need to keep moving forward. We can't quit, we can't stop playing because people can catch us for sure. I think I've learned a lot from last year that you can never stop playing because of the momentum going into playoffs and you want to keep getting better as a team no matter where you are in the standings."