A 1-0 loss Saturday to Sky Blue FC, c0upled with a 1-0 St. Louis Athletica victory over FC Gold Pride, sends the Boston Breakers from second to third place with seven games remaining on their WPS schedule. The Breakers (5-5-3, 18 points) trail Athletica (6-5-2) by two points and lead the fourth-place Washington Freedom (4-6-4) by two points. The top four teams qualify for the playoffs. The Los Angeles Sol (11-1-4, 37 points) are the only WPS team to qualify for the playoffs thus far.
In Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Sky Blue FC, the Breakers conceded an early goal and couldn’t respond, losing to Sky Blue for the second time this season. The two teams meet Sunday in Boston. Saturday afternoon, Sky Blue’s Heather O’Reilly scored in the sixth minute off a corner kick. The goal snapped Boston’s opponent’s scoreless streak. The Breakers went 261 minutes having not conceded a goal.
“It was a pretty even game and we certainly had our chances,” Boston Head Coach Tony DiCicco said after the game. “They scored on the corner, and we weren’t able to answer. We played hard and created chances in the second half, we just weren’t able to convert. We have to execute better next week. The effort was pretty good, we just need to be better in the final pass and the final shot.”
Sky Blue keeper Jenni Branam stopped five shots, while Boston keeper Alli Lipsher came up with six saves, suffering her first loss of the season.
Breakers Notebook: Amy Rodriguez played a full 90 minutes for the first time this season … Nancy Augustyniak Goffi got a start on defense, playing for the injured Sue Weber. Speaking of injuries. Starting left back Heather Mitts came off Saturday in the 46th minute after suffering a gash on the side of her head following a collision with Sky Blue’s Kelly Parker … Brazlian international Fabiana is set to make her Breakers debut, which more than likely will come Sunday night in Boston … In other WPS news, L.A.’s Christie Shaner, playing her first game for the Sol after a trade from Sky Blue, went down with a season-ending injury after she collided with Washington’s Abby Wambach. Shaner fractured her right tibia, which was clearly obvious watching the replay. Both Shaner and Wambach slid in on the ball and collided. Shaner came out of the collision in midair, and her bone bent back looking as if someone was pulling a slingshot. This is the second time that a collision with Wambach resulted in a season-ending injury. A slide tackle on St. Louis’ Daniela earlier this season ended Daniela’s season and earned Wambach a two-game suspension.
Source: Women’s Professional Soccer, Boston Breakers
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