For one reason or another, the Boston Breakers have not figured out Sky Blue FC. The New Jersey-based club has wreaked havoc on Boston, handing the now third-place Breakers two one-goal losses, the most recent coming last Saturday. The two teams meet up Sunday night (July 12) at Harvard Stadium.

“They just have a mentality to them that they may not be the most sophisticated team at times, but they are going to work for the whole 90 minutes,” Boston defender Kasey Moore said Thursday following the team’s late-morning training session at Harvard University. “They’re just a hard-working team, and they fight for every single ball. They may be at the bottom of the standings, but most of their games are hard-fought battles. There’s not too many games where they get blown out. They’re going to work hard. They make it difficult to score another goal on them when you’re down one.”

Of the three goals Boston has conceded to Sky Blue in two games – Boston lost, 2-1, back on May 31, and 1-0 last Saturday – two came within the first 10 minutes of the game. In fact, all three goals in the two games combined have come in the first half.

“You hate conceding early goals,” Boston Head Coach Tony DiCicco said. “And then you’re down chasing the game, and it’s hard to chase a  game in this league. Just take a look at this league. The last four games have been 1-0 games. There’s been one team that’s come back and won after they conceded a goal, and there’s been four or five that have tied after conceding a goal. For whatever reason, it’s a difficult season to come back and win because teams are so committed to their defending, and there’s good goalkeeping.”

Sky Blue’s Heather O’Reilly scored far post in the sixth minute off a corner kick, and for the next 84 minutes and some change, the Breakers (5-5-3, 18 points) could not net the equalizer.

“It was a fluky goal that happened,” Moore said. “We didn’t think it went across the line, but you can’t really tell. But once you’re scored on, it’s hard to come back when you get stuck in a hole. We’re excited to get another shot at them so quickly after the last one. We’re ready to take it to them at our home.”

Sky Blue (4-6-3, 15 points) comes into dangerous territory. At Harvard Stadium, the Breakers have a 4-1-2 record. The only team to beat Boston on its home turf – St. Louis Athletica.

“Obviously we can’t go behind on Sunday,” DiCicco said. “I liked the way we played last time. We did a lot of good things. We created a lot of potentially good scoring opportunities, and I thought when we got into those positions we either didn’t make the right choice or didn’t execute. We need to make sure we’re not chasing the game. They’ve got good players like every team in the league, and what they try to do is work hard and create opportunities off their hard work. We need to neutralize their hard work.”

Even with seven games remaining on their 20-game scheduled, the Breakers feel the pressure to lock up one of the three remaining playoff spots. Only the Los Angeles Sol (11-2-4, 37 points) has clinched a playoff berth.

“We win on Sunday, we put ourselves in a pretty good spot,” DiCicco said. “(Second-place) St. Louis has separated themselves a little bit. But there’s a third of the season left, and it’s going to be a dogfight down to the end.”

Brazilian Women’s National Team midfielder Fabiana is set to make her Breakers debut Sunday. She underwent knee surgery in December and has been training with Boston for the past two months. Sunday’s game will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel (6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time).

World Cup celebration

The 1999 World Cup trophy won by the U.S. Women’s National Team will be on display at Sunday night’s Boston vs. Sky Blue match. The WPS is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of one of the most memorable moment’s in USWNT history, one that DiCicco knows all about. He led the team in one of the best World Cups in soccer history, one in which the U.S. won in a penalty shootout against China in front of more than 90,000 fans at the Rose Bowl.

“The ‘99 team was just a special team,” DiCicco said. “And I think it was a glimpse into the future where women’s athletics can be. I don’t think we’ve reached back to that level again where hardcore male sports fans are talking strategy on women’s soccer. It was like the Olympics with only one sport. We’re bonded forever because of that event. You just has fond memories every time you think of it. Going into the penalty kick shootout, I felt pretty confident. I felt the team would rise to the occasion, and scoring five out of five is not easy at any level.”

At Boston’s practice Thursday, two members of the 1999 World Cup champion team were on hand – Kristine Lilly and Mia Hamm. Lilly plays for the Breakers and is only one of three Breakers to play every minute of every game this season. Hamm took in Thursday’s practice and took time out for a World Soccer Reader exclusive interview. Hamm reflected on the 1999 World Cup victory and how the win pushed women’s soccer into the limelight.

“The World Cup was so much more than just us as players. It was about the organizing committee and the challenge they had in front of them and then really stepping up and taking it to a level we never thought possible,” Hamm said. “The communities in which we played, the other country’s teams that were involved, and the media that came out and supported it. That really helped us make it into a historic event.”

Hamm said she still gets stopped today by people who witnessed the historic game.

“We still walk around and people will stop me and say, ‘I remember where I was during that final game,’ to someone in New York, saying ‘You just heard the cheers throughout the entire city. Everyone was watching it.’ That just makes you feel so great,” Hamm said. “As a mother now, I’m hoping to continue those opportunities for young girls.”

Breakers take over Fenway

Twelve Breakers took the field at Fenway Park this past Wednesday, and one of them had the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

“It was a big honor and a lot of fun,” said defender Heather Mitts, who took the mound prior to Boston’s game vs. Oakland. “I’m happy that I had a good pitch. It was a little nerve-wracking, I’m not going to lie. Once you get out there and on the field and everybody is kind of piling in to watch the game, you’re like, “What am I doing?’ I was nervous, and everybody said, “Well, you’ve played in the Olympics, what do you mean you’re nervous.’ But this isn’t something I do every day.”

Mitts, in jeans and a Sox T-shirt, fired a perfect strike.

“I was on the spot, but I think that I performed,” she said. “I haven’t thrown a baseball since high school, so it’s been a long time. It was like, ‘Does this arm still work? How do we do this?’ It was fun.”

At the game, Mitts was joined by fellow Breakers Angela Hucles, Ashley Phillips, Ali Lipsher, Kasey Moore, Kristin Luckenbill, Christine Latham, Candace Chapman, Amy Rodriguez, Kelly Schmedes, Mary-Frances Monroe, and Sophia Mundy.

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