By CHRISTA MANN

Two scoreless Saturday ties and a single goal Sunday victory summarize Week 12 in Women's Pro Soccer.

The Chicago Red Stars and the Washington Freedom fought to an even battle in their opening half, but the Freedom took the closing advantage when Chicago picked up red card early in the second half. Red Stars goalkeeper Caroline Jonsson was the only saving grace for Chicago as she once again put on another great performance.

In the second Saturday match-up, the top rated L.A. Sol took on the bottom rated Sky Blue FC (New Jersey) in some unfavorable conditions. The best and the worst team in the league battled it out in rainy New Jersey weather to finish tied at zero.

The St. Louis Athletica avenged the Boston Breakers with a 1-0 result  in the only Sunday game, and the Bay Area's FC Gold Pride spent this week away from WPS competition.

Week 12 brought some unexpected results and saw the finish of only a single goal in three games.

The weekend began when Washington hosted Chicago at RFK Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The Freedom out shot the Red Stars in both halves and gained momentum in the final 30 minutes once Chicago's Karen Carney earned herself a red.   The foul was a slide from behind that hit nothing but Abby Wambach's legs and sent the Freedom's U.S. superstar to the ground. The foul was pretty hard and seemed unnecessary since there was another Chicago defender  covering behind Carney to make up for the play.

This is the second meeting between the two teams and also the second consecutive instance that Chicago has finished with only 10 players against the Freedom. The Red Stars lost Frida Östbergto a red card in Chicago's first game against the Washington.  This time around, just as before, the Windy City's Swedish goalkeeper Caroline Jonsson preserved the tie in another stand-out performance.

In the second half alone, Washington recorded seven shots on goal to Chicago's one and posted an overall shot margin of 24-9 with the final half advantage of 15-6.

In addition to Carney's red card, Chicago's Brittany Klein and Megan Rapinoe plus the Freedom's Abby Wambach and Sonia Bompastor each picked up a yellow before the end of the match.

The 0-0 tie moves Chicago out of the bottom two and also moves Washington out of the top two.

In the second scoreless tie of the weekend,  both the L.A. Sol and Sky Blue FC maintained their current positions as the league's top and bottom teams respectively.

The rainy conditions definitely contributed to the game's final result, but credit SBFC with the offensive advantage.  Each team had a near finish before the first twenty minutes of the game, but New Jersey had the greatest attacking presence throughout the entire match.

SBFC led 7-2 in first half shots and 7-3 after the break. Yet, keepers from both sides made only three each despite a 4-3 New Jersey edge in shots on goal. 

There is no doubt that the weather played a role in this contest; but all things considered, New Jersey may still have a fighting chance in this league. SBFC is finally coming into its own and has the grit to battle plus the heart to win.

Holding the Sol scoreless is no easy task, so kudos to the New Jersey club. The team will now face a new test on Wednesday as it competes in its first ever mid week contest of the season.

St. Louis continued on its current hot streak to record a second consecutive win in the club's fourth result in five games when it defeated the Boston Breakers 1-0 on Sunday.

The Athletica controlled much of the possession even in the game's opening minutes, but it was Eniola Aluko, the club's English forward, who came up with the game winning goal just before the half.

Boston is coming off its second bye in three weeks and has struggled to regain its stride in the WPS despite defeating numerous W-League and WPSL opponents.  Breakers Head Coach Tony DiCicco started Canadian International Candace Chapman in place of Sue Weber at center back and also used Jennifer Nobis up top while Christine Latham sat our her second game of a two match suspension.

Week 12 in the WPS revealed two 0-0 ties and a 1-0 victory. It kept the number one team at the top, the number seven team at the bottom, and made a few shifts in the middle of the pack. 

St. Louis has made the greatest leap after moving from sixth place just a few weeks ago all the way up to second after Sunday's win.  Conversely, the Chicago Red Stars have moved from their, at one time, second place position to spend a second straight week in the bottom three.

League standings are coming together, but a change here and there reveals how teams stack up in this week's SBI WPS Power Rankings.

SBI WPS Power Rankings

1. Los Angeles Sol (7-1-4)

Outlook:The Sol took their fourth tie this weekend to remain at the top of the table with three more wins than the next closest team.  L.A. did well to set the tone early in season and to record some early shutout wins.  As the second half of this inaugural season progresses, L.A. must maintain its dominance with a few more wins to secure the number one spot.  A tie this week against SBFC seems almost a bit of a passive result for the "class of the league."  However, muddy conditions did play a role, so no judgment passed.

2. St. Louis Athletica (4-3-2)

Outlook:The Athletica has won four of its last five games with a two game recent win streak.  For a team that had a rough start early on, St. Louis has really bounced back well. Believe it or not, the Athletica now owns the second highest number of wins (four) and has begun to finishconsistently. St. Louis has a chance to remain near the top, but it must win every game in order to stay there.

3. Washington Freedom (3-3-4)

Outlook:The Freedom has earned a tie, a loss, and two wins in the club's last few games.  This inconsistency in results and failure to finish a goal this weekend has dropped Washington from number two down to number three this week.  The Freedom have scored twice as many goals as St. Louis, but the club is also -2 in goal differential where the Athletica is at an even zero.  Washington is neck with this Athletica team, but the extra win puts St. Louis on top.  If the Freedom pick up a win next week and St. Louis ties or takes a loss, Washington could find itself back in the number two spot.

4. Boston Breakers (3-4-2)

Outlook:  The Breakers fell to St. Louis this week and recorded the club's second loss after returning from a bye week. Boston was a strong team in the early part of the season, but has been up and down after spending some time away from the WPS.  The extra loss where Washington has a tie definitely hurts the Breaker's cause for a position any higher, so Boston needs a win to get back on track. Any future ties will continue to hurt the team's confidence its chances of advancing any higher in either league standings or thes SBI Power Rankings.

5. FC Gold Pride (3-5-2)

Outlook:FC Gold Pride earns the benefit of the doubt this week since it spent the weekend away from the WPS.  The Bay Area's last couple of appearances ended with a pair of two goal losses.  The only saving grace for FCGP is the 1-0 shutout win in a head to head contest over Chicago.  Without that win, FCGP could be number six.

6. Chicago Red Stars (2-3-5)

Outlook:Chicago has more ties than any other team in WPS.  The scoreless draw this week did nothing to move the Red Stars out of sixth place.  Chicago has a good team with some dynamic players, but great players mean nothing when a team finishes without a win and without any goals.  All is not lost for this team as long as it can overcome some future ties to improve the win column. Early wins proved Chicago's potential but living up to those standards is the only method for the Red Stars to improve.

7. Sky Blue FC (2-5-3)

Outlook: SBFC played well against the league's top team and held the Sol scoreless.  After New Jersey sorted out some non-soccer issues, things have continued to move in a positive direction.  The club is definitely on the right track and can move out of last place with a few more wins here and there.  The competition is not going to be easy, but SBFC has the heart to battle and the will to win.

All Week 12 match-ups occurred during weekend, but look for two mid-week Wednesday games to begin Week 13 on an early note.

Boston will host the Bay Area at 7:00 P.M. while New Jersey hosts Chicago at the same time on Wednesday.

What were some of your favorite moments from Week 12?  Agree or Disagree with Power Rankings? Share your thoughts below.