Aug. 22, 2009

The surprising run by the fourth-seeded Sky Blue FC and former Lady Vol All-American and current UT assistant soccer coach Keeley Dowling continued all the way to the inaugural Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) title as the New Jersey-based squad upset the top-seeded Los Angeles Sol, 1-0, on Saturday afternoon in the championship tilt at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., behind a 16th-minute goal from Heather O'Reilly.

The Sky Blue out-shot the home-based Sol, 12-8, and benefited from an early ejection that went against the home squad. LA's Allison Falk received a red card in the 27th-minute for a bad challenge on a breakaway attempt by the Sky Blue's Natasha Kai after being deemed the last defensive player with a chance to stop the break.

Dowling helped the upset-minded Sky Blue reach the championship match by scoring the team's lone goal on Thursday during a 1-0 victory over second-seeded St. Louis Athletica in the WPS semifinals. Her squad won three matches in a span of eight days.

The Carmel, Ind., native will now return to Rocky Top to begin her second season as an assistant on Tennessee head coach Angela Kelly's staff.