KENNESAW - Within the first 7 minutes of Wednesday's WPS All-Star Game, two things were clear.

Goals would not be coming at a premium, and Marta was well worth her status as the four-time FIFA player of the year.

The FC Gold Pride star scored twice in just over a minute and led her side to a 5-2 victory at KSU Soccer Stadium.

"I think the game was a great game," said Marta, the All-Star Game MVP, through a translator. "I think we gave the fans what they came for, which is to have fun and enjoy. And of course, I'm really happy because we won the game."

In the sixth minute, Marta began the goal scoring when she received a pass from Boston midfielder Kelly Smith. The Brazilian star dribbled twice, and buried a shot with her left foot past Atlanta goalkeeper Hope Solo into the far corner.

One minute later, Marta struck again. This time, it was unassisted as she dribbled in with the ball toward the near post. Solo anticipated another shot to the far corner and gave a small sliver of space to the near post. Once again, Marta drilled the ball with her left, but beat Solo at the near post.

"As a goalkeeper, you are just out there to play the game," Solo said, "but Marta is an amazing player. I've faced her several times with the national team and at other points in time, but I didn't realize that it was her (who scored) until the ball was in the back of the net."

Solo will quickly get a chance at redemption. The Beat host Marta's FC Gold Pride squad Saturday.

"Hopefully, it will be a better match on Saturday, because that will be the game that matters."

Though the All-Star Game was held during the middle of the week, the announced attendance of 4,610 bested last year's game, when 4,115 watched the inaugural contest in suburban St. Louis.

When asked if the All-Star Game being scheduled on a Wednesday was due to the World Cup quarterfinal games being held this weekend, WPS commissioner Tonya Antonucci simple said, "We wanted to stay away from World Cup play."

This year's version of the All-Star Game was a sharp contrast to last year's in that it was held at midseason, as opposed to the end of the season. Also, the WPS players played each other instead of last year, when they played as one unit in a game against Swedish club Umea IK.

"The two All-Star Games were very different," Solo said. "Everyone was able to let loose a little more than they were last year. Everybody has future games to think about, but at the same time, there was a lot of quality play."

After Marta's two goals, her FC Gold Pride teammate, Christine Sinclair, scored in the 35th minute when she laced a ball into the right corner of the net off a rebound.

"I told them that this was an All-Star Game, and that if we could just defend enough, then I knew that we were going to create goals," said FC Gold Pride coach Albertin Montoya, who also helmed the Marta-captained side. "With the attacking players that we had, the goals were going to come."

Marta's team scored its other two goals in the second half when Atlanta midfielder Aya Miyama drilled a low liner past Jillian Loyden to extend the lead to 4-2 in the 74th minute. Philadelphia's Amy Rodriguez scored in the 80th minute to finish off the night's scoring.

The side captained by Washington's Abby Wambach scored its goals in the 35th minute (Atlanta's Eniola Aluko) and the 78th minute (Boston's Lauren Cheney).