The 24-year-old Boston Breakers midfielder has turned out to be one of the hottest rookies in the WPS this year. She leads the entire 2010 WPS Draft class with four goals. The 16th overall pick (second round) has played in 12 games for Boston, which includes seven starts. Her goals to shots on goal percentage (four goals on 12 shots on target) is only second to Sky Blue rookie Brittany Taylor, who has scored one goal in her three shots on frame.

Angeli is second on the Breakers in goals scored (two behind Kelly Smith), and as far as the 2010 rookies that came out of the draft, she’s ahead of first-round draft picks Kelley O’Hara (three goals in 10 games for FC Gold Pride), Casey Noguiera (two goals in 17 games for Chicago), teammate Lauren Cheney (two goals in 14 games), and Taylor (one goal in 15 games).

“I don’t really focus much on rankings because I know that I’m just trying to stay in the moment and stay focused on what we’re doing right now and enjoy it while it’s lasting,” Angeli said after Wednesday’s training session at Harvard. “I credit my teammates a lot. They give me good balls, and I just do the easy work of putting it in the back of the net. I try to help my team in any way I can.”

Angeli, who is currently considered in the front running, along with Gold Pride defender Ali Riley, for 2010 WPS Rookie of the Year, scored her first WPS goal June 13 in a 2-1 loss to Sky Blue FC. Beginning July 11 in a 3-1 win over the Atlanta Beat, Angeli scored in three straight games. Her next game, Angeli scored the game-winner against the Freedom, and in a July 21 loss to Gold Pride, Angeli scored her fourth goal of the year and became the first WPS rookie this season to score in three straight games. Three of her four goals have come at home, and that’s where Boston plays Saturday against the Freedom.

The Freedom come into Saturday’s game with a 4-6-5 record and are stuck in the worst winless streak in WPS history, having not earned three points in 10 games. They also have had trouble against Boston. The Breakers are 2-0-1 against Washington this year, and last year won the season series, 2-1-1. Boston has never lost to Washington at home.

The Breakers (5-6-4)  jumped all the way up to third place with their 3-1 win last weekend over Chicago and remained there Wednesday night after Philadelphia beat Chicago and Atlanta topped Washington in a midweek WPS doubleheader.

Boston (19 points), Sky Blue (18 points), Washington (17 points), Chicago (17 points), and Atlanta (16 points) all face their most critical stretches of their seasons. Boston will remain in third place with a draw or win Saturday, but if Atlanta can score a victory over Gold Pride Sunday, and Boston draws with Washington, the Beat will move into third-place tie with Boston. A Washington win and Atlanta loss puts the Freedom alone in third place and Boston in fourth place.

“I think we go into every game with the same attitude, just performing the best we can,” Angeli said, noting the significance of Boston’s stretch of seemingly must-win games in order to stay in the playoff picture. “They’re definitely important, and we’re excited to keep the ball rolling.”

Breakers notebook:

Boston will sport a new look Sunday, wearing pink jerseys as part of PUMA’s Project Pink initiative to create awareness of and raise funds for the fight against breast cancer. There will be five WPS matches that will feature the pink kits, and the jerseys that Boston players wear Saturday will be auctioned off in the main concourse area (100 percent of the proceeds will go to the Boston chapter of Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of the American Cancer Society).

From Sept. 9, 2009, to Nov. 11, 2009, the Breakers loaned Nobis to Piteå IF, a Swedish football club that plays in Damallsvenskan. During her two months with Piteå, Nobis made six appearances and scored three goals as an outside midfielder.

She looked forward to the 2010 WPS season for a number of reasons. She was as fit as she’s ever been, she was coming off a great finish to the 2009 WPS season with the Breakers (she was one of only five players to score at least two goals for Boston), and she knew the Breakers wanted to find a spot for her on the field. The coaching staff put Nobis on its list of protected players for the WPS Expansion Draft.

“She worked really hard in the offseason,” Boston Head Coach Tony DiCicco said. “Last year, she didn’t really know what it was about. She wasn’t as fit as she needed to be, but she didn’t have a bad season. This year, she was so focused, so fit.”

But on Feb. 9, 2010, one month before the WPS preseason began, Nobis’ dreams of a “breakout season” came to an abrupt end. She tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee in a recreational soccer game.  Eight days later, she underwent surgery, and that’s when it hit her. Nobis was convinced she would miss the entire WPS season with the Breakers and possibly not play soccer the rest of the year.

“Obviously I was super disappointed. I worked really hard in the offseason, and I thought this would be my breakout season,” Nobis said. “When I tore it, you can’t do anything about it, so my mentality was stay positive and let everyone know that I’m fine and I’m going to come back, and I’m going to prove to them again that I’m going to come back a better player. It (stinks), but I think I grew mentally stronger. I was upset. It was probably one of the most devastating moments because this is my job; this is my career.”

But just one week after the surgery, Nobis began her recovery. A few weeks later, Nobis started swimming. By the end of March, Nobis started doing cardio workouts, and in late April, she could juggle the ball on her knee.  She first started running again in early May. And one of those days, she logged five miles on a knee she tore apart just three months prior. She became a regular at Boston’s training sessions after a couple months of rehab, and she started working on the side of the practice field with a trainer to strengthen her knee and then on the field in full-on practices with the team.

“It’s not normal,” DiCicco said of Nobis’ speedy recovery. “I’ve seen someone come back quicker than that. Amanda Cromwell did her ACL in February (of 1996) and was competing mid-May for a spot on the (1996 Olympic) team, and she made it back. That was pretty impressive. But the next best one I’ve seen is Jenny. It’s a credit to their capacity to deal with pain in rehab and the amount of rehab they do. That injury is nine to 12-months before you’re back to 100 percent. She’s not there yet from a balance type standpoint, but she’s doing quite well.”

Throughout the 2010 WPS season, Nobis always was listed as having a “season-ending injury” on the WPS roster report. DiCicco said on a number of occasions that Boston never ruled Nobis out for the entire season. In fact, DiCicco said a couple months ago that Nobis could return to play for the Breakers this season. However, DiCicco, Nobis, and Nobis’ agent decided it was best not to rush her back to the fast-paced action of the WPS.

Instead, Nobis will head to Sweden to play for Kvarnsveden of the Swedish Division 1 North league, she said. A deal is conceptually in place. According to her agent, Nobis plans to leave Aug. 2.

“This team I’m going to is amazing. They know it’s going to be a struggle for me to continue to come back,” Nobis said. “They are not putting any pressure on me to come in and perform well. They’re in fourth place right now. They’re in a comfortable position where they know they’re going to do well. So basically they’re doing me a favor to come over, get some games in, and test out my knee, so I don’t have any pressure the first couple weeks I’m there where I have to play phenomenal, score 10 goals, and I’m happy with that. (It’s) where no one can see me (perform poorly) and then come back here and be confident and strong and ready to go.”

In mid-June, Nobis ran the beep test with the Breakers. It gauged her fitness level and gave her an idea of where she needed to be if she wanted to get back onto the field. In her most recent training session, Thursday, July 22, Nobis, just five months removed from the surgery to repair her torn ACL, looked fit. The only difference that separated her from the other players was the large black brace she wore on her left leg.

“I’m way ahead of schedule,” Nobis said. “That’s scary as well because I’m so ahead of schedule that I want to continue to push myself. Right now, I’d love to be playing with them (Breakers) for the last two months, but it is only five months out, and I have to keep remembering that it’s still weak and it needs to be built up slowly. I know I’m going to come back stronger than ever. But I need to take my time, and I need to be patient because I know that’s why I tore it because I over-trained and wasn’t patient.”

Nobis became a regular starter for Boston during the second half of last season. She made 11 appearances, including seven starts. After returning from Sweden last year, Nobis knew she had to work to earn a spot on Boston’s roster. In the offseason, DiCicco brought in a number of attacking players to increase scoring, Boston’s biggest weak point last season.

During her recent training sessions with the Breakers, Nobis has tried getting used to moving her leg freely as it spent months tightly secured in a brace.

“I’m a little unbalanced. I’m trying to shoot again with my left foot. I’m just not used of the motion,” Nobis said. “It’s been in this one set position with my brace. Other than that, my touch isn’t as bad as I expected. My knowledge of the game has never really been lost. I’m seeing more things now that I’ve watched the game. My mental game, I’m ready to go, and I think that’s the hardest part.”

Boston retains Nobis’ rights, DiCicco said. Will she play for Boston next year? Well, it all depends on how things go from now until early spring of 2011.

“She’s got a ways to go to come back,” DiCicco said. “But I think she’s got a good mentality, and she’s really focused on being a pro player.”

Even before she got back out onto the training field with the Breakers, Nobis often came to the practices, and she clearly paid attention. She hopes to use the knowledge gained and translate it onto the field with Boston next year.

“I get to see what Tony wants them to do, so I pick up pointers for next season, ” Nobis said. “I’m excited. I’m practicing with them, which I absolutely love, but I don’t want them to think that this is the type of player I really am. They all understand that I’m coming back, and they were my first practices. And then we have the new girls on the team. I love the team this year. I’m definitely excited. Hopefully a lot of them will stay for next season, and they keep room for me as well.”

“Cheney came into the game, and she had three looks, and (Barnhart) made some great saves,” midfielder Kristine Lilly said. “I had a look inside the box. Tiff had a header that hits the post, so we had the chances. For us, it’s so frustrating because they’ve been going in the back of the net the last three games, but we used momentum of creating chances even when we were down. Our momentum is still going in the right direction.”

After taking a 1-0 lead in the 31st minute on Jordan Angeli’s third goal in as many games, the Breakers conceded two goals before the end of the first 45 minutes, including the game-winner from Marta. The Brazilian superstar netted her league-best 11th goal of the season in injury time and with less than 20 seconds to go in the first half. Christine Sinclair netted the equalizer for Gold Pride in the 35th minute.

Sinclair’s goal came off a failed attempt by Boston keeper Alyssa Naeher to clear the ball and a heads-up play from Gold Pride defender Ali Riley, who intercepted Naeher’s clearance in the box and crossed the ball to Sinclair, who had a wide-open look on goal.

“I thought that we weathered them early on, we started to solve them, scored our goal, looked confident, and then we gave them a goal, and in extra time they scored another goal,” Boston Head Coach Tony DiCicco said. “Those are two no-no’s. These young players gotta learn. Unfortunately, you’ve got to learn on the job in this game. But she’ll (Naeher) bounce back, and she won’t make that mistake again.”

The loss snapped Boston’s three-game winning streak and extended Gold Pride’s run of four consecutive wins and six in their last seven games. The league’s top team improved to 11-3-1 (34 points), while Boston dropped to 4-6-4 (16 points).

The Breakers sit one point behind the Washington Freedom and Chicago Red Stars. They take on the Red Stars Sunday and could move into at least a tie for fifth place with a draw and take sole possession of fifth with a victory. And, if the Freedom lose to Gold Pride Saturday and Boston wins Sunday, the Breakers end up in fifth place alone. A Sky Blue loss to Philadelphia and a Breakers’ win puts Boston into third place.

“This team has a lot of fight,” DiCicco said. “They’re fit. They work hard. And we created some chances. Barnhart made a real good save. We hit the post on another one. But again we gifted a goal, and you can’t do that against the best team in the league.  But I was proud of how the team played, and we’re still in the hunt, but this was a game that I really think we could’ve got a result. I thought Cheney came in and immediately created problems for them and was unlucky not to score a goal. And then Tiffany Weimer and headed that one of the post. That would’ve been a great goal for us.”

Weimer had the best chance of putting home the equalizer late in the second half. Lilly hit a cross from the corner, placing it perfectly far post where Weimer came in and knocked it off the post with a header.

“Lil played a great ball in. I tried to get my head on it. (Gold Pride) was trying to clear it, so I was trying to avoid a foot and get it on frame,” Weimer said. “I got it on the frame, just not on the back of the net. I’m kinda disappointed for sure.”

Weimer also set up Cheney in the box in the 81st minute, but Cheney couldn’t seem to get a shot off. Cheney, who came off the bench and into the game in the 59th minute, had another shot on goal late in the game, but Barnhart came up big again.

Marta’s game-winner in the first half was one of brilliance. She got past the best defender in the league, Amy LePeilbet, and rocketed a shot that bent around Naeher.

“(I) got in front of the defender, and then the keeper came around on the left-hand side, and (I) tried to put it on the left-hand side and was lucky with that,” Marta said through a translator, the team’s assistant coach, Vilmer Marques. “We got scored on first, and it was very hard to keep our composure, and then keeping up composure we were able to create chances, and then we scored the two goals. We could’ve scored more goals because we created more chances, so there could’ve been more goals.”

The Breakers (4-5-4, 16 points, sixth place) got their third result against the Freedom (4-5-5, 17 points, fifth place) this season. They started the season with a 2-1 win against Washington and then the teams drew, 0-0, on May 8.

With the victory, the Breakers set a team record for most consecutive victories in a season (three). The team is also 3-0 playing in their new Foxwoods-sponsored jerseys. And, 22-year-old keeper Alyssa Naeher became the youngest keeper in WPS history to win three games in a season.

The game didn’t start so well for Naeher and the Breakers. Washington’s Nikki Marshall, who went from central defender to playing up front Sunday, scored in the third minute, taking advantage of a complete breakdown by Boston on the defensive end. It began when Sarah Huffman picked up the ball 10 yards shy of midfield, then sprinted more than 50 yards down the right flank before sending a cross to Marshall, who one-touched it past a sliding Naeher. Marshall timed her run well as Huffman slid the ball in behind four Boston defenders and Marshall managed to stay onside and tap in the goal.

“I look at that goal and say, because I played goalkeeper, that is an organization goal,” Boston Head Coach Tony DiCicco said. “It’s a goal we shouldn’t give up and certainly not within three minutes of the start, but it wasn’t because we weren’t ready to play. This team is ready to play. She (Naeher) is still evolving.”

Naeher redeemed herself in the 17th minute when she made a spectacular save on Marshall, who received a ball over the top from Sonia Bompastor and went in one-on-one with Naeher, but Naeher came out and cut down the angle. Marshall tried to hit it past Naeher with the outside of her foot, but Naeher made a sliding kick save. She later made a leaping save on a blast by Bompastor, tipping the ball over the net and then another stop on a partial break by Marshall.

“I was just trying to slow her down as much as possible. She’s a great player. Obviously she’s really fast,” Naeher said about her save on Marshall in the 17th minute. “I was just trying to close the angle as much as possible.”

Naeher finished the game with a career-high seven saves. She now has 20 saves in five appearances (four starts).

Six minutes later, the Breakers netted the equalizer on a play that began when Kelly Smith dispossessed Cat Whitehill 35 yards from goal and then deked Beverly Goebel before flicking it over to Liz Bogus, who nutmegged Washington keeper Erin McLeod.

“When you’re scoring goals, it makes a big difference,” DiCicco said. “We’ve gone behind now in four straight games, so that necessarily isn’t a good thing, but there’s no panic on the team.”

After a few near-misses on net in the second half, the Breakers finally put home the game-winner. It came in the 74th minute and started with a great corner kick from Kristine Lilly, who sent the ball into the box where Dieke headed it on target. As McLeod came to punch the ball away, Lindsay Tarpley slid in and flicked it with her head, and Angeli struck it high and put Boston ahead for good.

“I knew that it was coming toward the middle of the goal,” Angeli said. “I just kind of put myself in there and hoped it dropped in front of me. Luckily Tarp got her head on it, and it came right to me, and I got to put it in the back of the net. We were really sharp in practice this week. We continue to keep progressing our game as individuals and as a team together. We’re on a good path. We’re headed in the right direction at this point in the season, and we hope to just keep on going.”

The Breakers have a chance to move up in the WPS table as early as Wednesday when they take on FC Gold Pride at home. If the Breakers win and Chicago either loses or plays to a draw Wednesday against Atlanta, they will jump all the way up to third place, if only for a couple days (second-place Philadelphia and third-place Sky Blue FC play July 24).

“It’s a good run, but we’ve dug ourselves a pretty big hole. We’re just starting to see a little bit of light,” DiCicco said. “We need to keep playing well, and we’ll have a chance to test ourselves against Gold Pride on Wednesday. This is a big week for us. Gold Pride on Wednesday and Sunday Chicago. If we can get results, we’re going to be in the thick of it.”

The Boston vs. Washington game has the biggest ramifications as both teams start the second half of the season in the bottom half of the table, both fighting for points to put themselves into position to get into the playoffs. Washington is in desperate need of three points, having earned only six points in its last five games. The Freedom (4-4-5, 17 points) haven’t won since May 30 when the beat Philadelphia, 2-1 at home. They have three players on National Team duty – Allie Long, Sarah Huffman, and most importantly, their leading scorer, Abby Wambach (five goals and seven assists).

“If she (Wambach) plays 90 minutes (Saturday), I doubt she will play (Sunday),” Boston Head Coach Tony DiCicco said. “They’re available as substitutes (Sunday), but I don’t think she would start. ”

The Breakers, meanwhile, have Lauren Cheney, Kristine Lilly, Stephanie Cox, and Amy LePeilbet off with the National Team. LePeilbet won’t play for the U.S. Saturday. She sprained her ankle earlier this week in the U.S./Sweden match. LePeilbet’s injury looked worse than it actually turned out to be, Boston’s trainer Dawn Purington said Friday. Purington said that X-rays taken Thursday on LePeilbet’s ankle came back negative and that she won’t play Sunday for Boston, but could return for the Breakers as early as Wednesday, July 21. DiCicco expects Cheney to play a full 90 minutes for Sundhage, isn’t sure of Lilly’s availability Sunday, but believes that Cox will see time against the Freedom.

Speaking about LePeilbet’s ankle injury, DiCicco said, “She said she turned it and she was all right. But when she had to be helped off the field you think the worst. Especially now because I’ve got Effy (Ifeoma Dieke), and they haven’t played together, but I think that is a winning combination. It gives us a little more pace in the back.”

Boston (3-5-4, 13 points) has won two straight, picking up six points in two games after losing five of seven. After setting a WPS record of scoring three goals in five minutes in last Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Beat, confidence is at an all-time high this season for the Breakers.

“Starting with that Fabby goal (June 25 vs. Chicago), I think it kind of unleashed us a little bit,” DiCicco said. “And then Lil’s got her first goal, Cheney got a second goal, Jordy (Jordan Angeli) got a second goal, Bogey (Liz Bogus) got her first goal. With scoring comes a little bit of confidence, and with winning comes some confidence. So this next stretch off games – Washington, Gold Pride, Chicago – are obviously three key games, and if we can get results in those three games we’ll feel a good about where we are.”

On the other end of the field, the Breakers have a new defender, Scotland international and former Chicago Red Star Ifeoma Dieke, who played a full 90 minutes in last week’s win. Dieke, who joined the squad a few weeks ago, said former Chicago teammates and current Breakers Chioma Igwe and Lindsay Tarpley helped make her transition a little smoother.

“It’s easy to come in and just give your all, train hard, and try and fit in as quickly as possible. I think I’ve adjusted pretty well,” Dieke said. “In terms of training, it’s been brilliant. Coming in, I couldn’t understand how the Breakers were in the position they were because the training sessions have been fantastic, and the work ethic has been great as well. I’m fortunate to be a part of it, and to come in and get two wins, obviously we’re hoping for that to continue. There’s a great spirit spread throughout the camp. Everybody gets on very well.”

Prior to Dieke’s arrival, the Breakers had to reshuffle their roster, moving a couple players to developmental status and bumping another up to the full squad. DiCicco said the players that went from the full squad to developmental are battling to get back on the pitch.

“Everybody all season long has worked hard in training. It’s a good group from that respect,” he said. “We had to make some moves, some options for us to bring Effy in, and then we put Taryn (Hemmings) on (the full roster). We think Taryn has done well, and with the rules in the league, we can’t keep playing her as a developmental player without having to offer her a contract, so if we didn’t offer her a contract now, we would’ve been able to not even play her because it would put us over the cap. So there’s one spot that will probably be determined certainly by the end of next week. Tiff (Weimer), Chioma, and Bogey, one of them will get the spot, and Niki Cross would be elevated to developmental. And the other two would stay as developmental.”

Breakers notebook:

Boston’s projected lineup for Sunday’s match is: Alyssa Naeher, Alex Scott, Ifeoma Dieke, Kasey Moore, Taryn Hemmings, Leslie Osborne, Fabiana, Lindsay Tarpley, Jordan Angeli, Kelly Smith, and Liz Bogus. Available on the bench: Laura del Rio, Chioma Igwe, Ashley Phillips, Kristine Lilly, Lauren Cheney, Stephanie Cox, and Amy LePeilbet. Sarah Walsh and Jennifer Nobis are on the injury report … DiCicco said that Analisa Marquez may also join the team in some in the coming weeks. “We like her as a young player,” he said. “She’s fast on defense. She’s a pretty good player, but she’s inexperienced. It’s hard to put her into key games until she gets some playing experience.” … No matter what result the Breakers get Sunday, they will not go anywhere in the WPS table. They are six points clear of Atlanta, and going into the game, Washington and Chicago are four points clear of Boston. The Breakers do however have a game in hand and will play four games in 14 days – July 21 vs. Gold Pride, July 25 at Chicago, July 31 vs. Washington, and Aug. 4 vs. Atlanta … Even though the WPS regular season doesn’t end until Sept. 11, Boston’s final game at Harvard Stadium takes place Aug. 15 (against Sky Blue). The team’s final “home” game will be played Aug. 21 at Veteran Memorial Stadium in Connecticut against Atlanta … This week’s game will air on Fox Soccer Channel. The Breakers’ July 25 game against Chicago will air on Comcast Sports New England. They will then play on Fox Soccer Channel three more times this season (Aug. 8 at Philadelphia, Aug. 15 vs. Sky Blue, and Aug. 29 at Philadelphia) … Boston’s game Sunday against Washington begins at 5 p.m. at Harvard Stadium.

“The good thing is that goals are starting to come,” Boston Head Coach Tony DiCicco said after Sunday’s win. “I’m hoping two wins in a row after a long stretch, that July (and) August will be a lot better to us than May and June.”

After falling behind, 1-0, just six minutes into the game on a goal by Atlanta’s Johanna Rasmussen, the Breakers tried netting the equalizer in the first half, but couldn’t get their game in gear. Atlanta nearly scored a second goal when Eniola Aluko broke into the box on the right after beating two Breakers. Boston defender Ifeoma Dieke kept pace with Aluko, but the English international got a shot off, and it slid just past the far post.

Boston’s best chance in the first half came in the 44th minute. Lindsay Tarpley put a shot on goal from inside the 18. The ball ricocheted off Atlanta keeper Bret Maron and out of play. Fabiana then took the corner, put a great ball into the box to Laura del Rio, but the Spanish international’s header went over the net.

The Breakers, who have proven they’re second half team, offered further proof Sunday night. They set a WPS record by scoring three goals in five minutes. It started in the 49th minute when rookie Jordan Angeli netted her second goal of the season. Leslie Osborne served a ball from midfield, and Angeli struck it midair off a bounce the ball took just outside the 18. In the 52nd minute, Kelly Smith scored her fifth goal of the season, and it came on a heads-up play right at the goal line.  The play began out on the right wing when Fabiana crossed the ball, which Tarpley then redirected with her head right on goal. Maron dove to stop the ball, attempted to pull it in, but Smith raced in and punched it into the net to put Boston ahead, 2-1.

The record-setting goal came from Liz Bogus, who the Breakers waived on June 10, re-signed June 24, waived July 2, and re-signed as a developmental player July 7. Bogus came in on the upper left corner of the box and drew Maron off her line. This gave Bogus plenty of space to find an opening, and she made the most of it and put Boston in front, 3-1, with her first career WPS goal.

“It’s definitely been a hard month for me, but I believed in myself the whole time,” Bogus said. “And I just fight. I fight every day to get back on the field. Thankfully, Tony (DiCicco) saw that hard work and gave me that second chance. It was definitely an emotional game for me.”

After Bogus’ goal, the Breakers stepped back a bit and played a defensive-minded game, not allowing the Beat to get in behind and create goal-scoring opportunities. They forced Aluko offsides three times after they scored their third goal. Atlanta’s Leigh Ann Robinson put two shots on goal, one in the 58th minute, the other in the 62nd minute, but both were easily scooped up by Boston keeper Alyssa Naeher. In the 85th minute, Naeher punched out a cross from Lauren Sesselmann and then stopped a shot by Rasmussen.

“It’s a relief,” Smith said. “Really pleased with everyone involved tonight. We put pressure on the players and got the first step to the ball, which we didn’t do in the first half.”

Breakers notebook:

Leslie Osborne picked up her first assist of the year. She also wore the captain’s armband with Kristine Lilly out on U.S. Women’s National Team Duty. “It’s my first time wearing the captain’s band, and Tony believes in me to be a captain,” Osborne said. “To be a captain alongside Lilly, who I’ve looked up to for a long time, is an honor. I just tried to (be) a good leader out there.” … The three goals Boston scored were a franchise high for the team in WPS … Smith’s goal was her fifth of the season, and she’s now one away from tying her mark from last year. She has 12 games left to score her sixth goal, and in her entire club career, Smith has never gone that long without scoring a goal … The Breakers return to action Sunday, July 18, when they take on the Washington Freedom at Harvard Stadium.

The Breakers host the expansion Atlanta Beat Sunday at Harvard Stadium looking to win two consecutive games for the first time since last July when they beat Chicago July 15 and then FC Gold Pride four days later. That win over Chicago is also the last time Boston won at home.

With their 2-1 win over Philadelphia on Independence Day, the Breakers (2-5-4, 10 points) snapped a nine-game winless streak. Kristine Lilly and Lauren Cheney scored in the come-from-behind win.
“It was massive for us obviously. It’s not nice to keep losing,” Boston midfielder Kelly Smith said. “We wanted to be in a better position at this point in the season, but we’re still in the hunt. If we win our games in hand, we’re pushing for a playoff spot.”

The Beat (1-6-4, 7 points) look completely different than they did at the beginning of the season. They signed keeper Hope Solo, forward Eniola Aluko, midfielders Lori Chalupny and Aya Miyama, and defender Tina Ellertson when the Saint Louis Athletica folded in May. But a combination of injuries, a suspension, and U.S. Women’s National Team duties has shape-shifted both team’s rosters for Sunday’s match.

For Atlanta, Kia McNeill was suspended for her reckless challenge on Gold Pride keeper Nicole Barnhart in last weekend’s 4-0 loss. Solo and Swedish international forward Ramona Bachmann also won’t make the trip to Boston. Solo will be training with the U.S. Women’s National Team, while Bachmann will be at the U-20 Women’s World Cup in Germany with Switzerland. Chalupny and Monica Ocampo are both out with injuries.

Boston will be without U.S. Women’s National Team players Lilly, Cheney, Amy LePeilbet, and Stephanie Cox. That leaves 16 players on Boston’s roster, and three of those players are keepers. Expect to see some faces that Boston waived earlier this season. Liz Bogus, who was waived June 10, returned June 24 and signed a developmental contract with the team. She then was waived again (July 2), the same day Chioma Igwe and Tiffany Weimer, who the team waived June 29, signed developmental contracts with Boston. Then, on July 7, Boston signed Bogus again to a developmental contract. Boston also signed defender Ifeoma Dieke, who previously played for Chicago, on June 30. On July 7, the Breakers elevated Taryn Hemmings from developmental status to its full team.
“We have pretty good depth on this team. You can’t get into the playoffs without a pretty deep team because of call-ups, injuries, and everything else,” Boston Head Coach Tony DiCicco said, noting that he has to juggle his roster due to his four USWNT call-ups. “Bogey (Liz Bogus) might be on the starting side. Taryn will be on the starting side. Iffy (Dieke) will be on the starting side. Kasey (Moore) could be on the starting side, so there will be some different people in the lineup. It gives other players an opportunity to prove themselves and help the team, and I think they’ll take it very serious. They’ll be ready to play a good game and really help the team. Our challenge is getting the lineup the right way we need it.”

The Breakers cannot advance in the WPS standings with a win or a tie Sunday, but if Atlanta wins, the Beat tie Boston with 10 points. Boston and Atlanta both still have two games in hand. If Boston wins and Chicago loses to Sky Blue, Boston will pull within one point of Chicago.

“We don’t want to give up gift goals. We’ve done that a little bit, so hopefully we’ve turned it around here,” DiCicco said. “Sunday’s our last game of the first half of the season so there’s still time, but we’ve got to start to string some wins together. It’s been so frustrating for us because we’ve been in a lot of games. It’s a case where we’ve got some young players that we need to bring along and get better, and we’ve got to make less mistakes, and we’ve got to finish our chances. ”

Boston’s projected starting lineup was not released as of Saturday morning, but with the players he has available coupled with the fact that he wants his team to string together some wins, it looks like DiCicco might go with a 3-5-2 formation.

“We’re confident,” Smith said. “We had a good training week. We’ve still got experienced players on the field so we need to lead by example and help those who haven’t (played) this much this year.”

Breakers notebook:
It’s not a surprise to hear Breakers players and coaches saying they want Spain to win the World Cup Sunday. Spanish international and Boston midfielder Laura del Rio predicted a 2-0 win with goals from Fernando Torres and David Villa. She said that Andres Iniesta and Pedro are her favorite players to watch. Kelly Smith predicted a 1-0 win. “I hope it’s a close game,” she said. “I hope Holland don’t play defensive. I hope they go out and be very expressive.” DiCicco said, “I like that we’re going to have a new winner, and I’d like to see Spain win.” … Despite being on the WPS’ “season-ending injury list,” Breakers forward Jennifer Nobis may return for Boston this season, according to DiCicco. Nobis has recently trained with the team, rehabbing a torn ACL she suffered in early February. “She trained pretty hard with us (Thursday),” DiCicco said. “She would come back into a developmental spot most likely. But there still is a chance she can come back. I don’t see her being (ready) at all this month, but (maybe) getting a chance to compete the beginning of next month. We don’t want to rush her back. But she’s trained hard, and I thought she looked good in the fitness (Thursday).” … This will be Boston’s first home game wearing its new-look jerseys. Foxwoods Resort Casino became Boston’s “presenting sponsor” on Thursday, July 1. The Foxwoods logo appears on the front of Boston’s home and away jerseys … Niki Cross, who Boston signed to a developmental contract and then released shortly thereafter, practiced with Boston Friday as did a couple members of Boston Aztec, the Breakers’ reserve squad … Speaking of Aztec, they will play the Aztec U23 team Sunday at noon at Harvard Stadium … The Breakers game begins at 6 p.m.

The Breakers fall to 1-5-4, while Chicago improves to 3-5-3. Since its season-opening win over the Washington Freedom, the Breakers have gone 0-5-4. They haven’t won at home this season. Boston’s last home victory came nearly a year ago (a 1-0 win over Chicago on July 15, 2009).

“We’ve got to start winning. There are no qualms about it,” Smith said. “It’s frustrating. I’m not gonna lie. Going in 1-nil down at halftime, I think we deserved to be 1-nil down. We weren’t good enough in the first half. But in the second half, we turned it around with guns blazing. There’s still a lot to play for.”

Masar scored Chicago’s first goal in the 13th minute of the game. Cristiane played a ball deep to Masar, and when Boston keeper Alyssa Naeher came out to the top of the box to go after the ball, Masar already had control of it and lofted it over Naeher. Masar’s second goal (79th minute) looked almost as identical as the first, but this time, she beat Boston defender Amy LePeilbet and took advantage of Naeher racing out off her line.

“On the first one Cris (Cristiane) had a great flick, and I happened to be in the right place, and I got a lucky finish,” Masar said. “And the second one, Marian Dalmy played a great ball. It was supposed to stay high. I got lucky. The goalie came out, and I put it in the back of the net.”

The Breakers looked frustrated in the first half, unable to get around Chicago’s back line, not taking advantage of three late corner kicks, and not registering a single shot on goal.

“Tonight wasn’t our night,” Smith said. “We came out flat. I don’t know why. It was just really hard to play in. It was very frustrating for myself and to all the players. We were second to everything, and you can’t do that at this level. You get punished.”

When the Breakers came out to start the second half, their play immediately looked miles ahead of their sluggish first-half performance. Two minutes into the second half, Laura del Rio took the ball down the left side, came streaking into the upper left corner of the box and had Fabiana racing into the top of the 18 out on the right. Del Rio then sent a perfect ball along the ground to the far corner, and Fabiana got in behind her defend and hit it home to equalize. It was Fabiana’s first goal in Women’s Professional Soccer.

Boston created a few more chances in the second half. Lauren Cheney headed a ball over the net off a cross from Fabiana in the 58th minute. In the 63rd minute, Smith dispossessed Whitney Engen at the top of the Chicago box and hit a hard strike right at Chicago keeper Jillian Loyden.

“What we’re doing is hemorrhaging bad goals,” Boston Head Coach Tony DiCicco said. “I know we’re young in goal, and this is the first full game that (Naeher) has played. They (Red Stars) played well, and I think they were probably a little bit better than us in the game. We’re just not finishing our chances. We’ve got to stop giving up easy goals. If a team plays great and they score a great goal, fair enough. But we’re just giving up bad goals. Four home games in a with a loss. If somebody told me that at the start of the season, I’d say you were crazy, but the team has to stay together and keep working hard.”

“I think we outplayed them in both halves, but obviously we left some goals on the table in the first half that we should’ve put away,” Boston Head Coach Tony DiCicco said. “I’m proud of the players. They’re devastated. They went after this game. They wanted it. If they play with this mentality we will get the wins. We’re making some mistakes we’ve got to correct and we’re not finishing chances that we’ve got to finish. That’s the story of this game.”

Boston outshot Sky Blue 20-9 (8-4 shots on goal). The Breakers (1-3-4) got on the board in the 14th minute. Midfielder Jordan Angeli, filling in for Leslie Osborne (sidelined with a leg injury), put home a loose ball served into the box by Kasey Moore. Moore took a corner kick from the left, drove the ball into the box, and after a brief scramble, Angeli beat Sky Blue keeper Karen Bardsley, who dove to her right in attempt to stop the shot.

“I just saw the ball in front of me, and I (said), ‘Just kick it at the goal,’ and it went through someone’s legs and in the net. It was pretty exciting,” Angeli said. “We should’ve come out of the first have 2 or 3 to zero. We played a very good first half, and those are just the little opportunities we need to put away to get us those three points. I think we’re getting there. I still feel like we’re playing good soccer.”

Boston nearly scored in just the second minute of play when defender Alex Scott sent a ball in the box to Fabiana, who had all the time in the world and an open look on net. Rather than take the shot, Fabiana pushed the ball to the far corner as Lindsay Tarpley streaked in from the left. Tarpley was a half step behind Fabiana’s pass.

The scoring chances were there all day for Boston. Kristine Lilly put a shot on goal in the 13th minute that forced Bardsley to make a diving stop. Kelly Smith had a pair of shots, one in the 20th minute, the other in the 22nd minute, and in the 24th minute, Fabiana at the back post knocked a header off Lilly’s corner kick wide right. Tarpley hit a shot from the top of the box off a pass from Lauren Cheney, and in stoppage time of the first half, Cheney sent a ball out to Fabiana, who came into the box and had a great chance to beat Bardsley, but her shot slid past the far post by less than a foot.

“Between the 18s, you can look really good and we did, but you’ve got to do it at both ends of the field,” DiCicco said. “We haven’t sorted that out yet. I think we’re missing passes in the penalty area. It’s the same thing you hear with the Celtics. Make the extra pass. As far as the effort, the intensity, the work, and how much they cared about this game, I am very, very pleased, but we’ve got to figure out ways to win instead of figure out ways to lose.”

Sky Blue (4-2-2) equalized in the 52nd minute on a goal by Heather O’Reilly, her first of the season. Phillips came off her line to cut down Tasha Kai, who came into box and found an open lane. Phillips broke up the play, but the ball quickly bounced out to O’Reilly, who chipped a shot from 25 yards out, and Phillips couldn’t recover in time.

“I’m gonna have to see it on the replay because that’s one of those I don’t remember too clearly,” O’Reilly said of her goal. “I do remember Natasha Kai putting great pressure on the goalkeeper, and that’s sort of what made the play start off, and the goalie was out of the box, and the ball was pretty much bouncing straight towards me. There was no spin on the ball. It was just very straight. That’s something you do at practice all the time. It’s about keeping good technique. This was my first goal this season so I’m thrilled about getting one in the back of the net. I’m glad I could contribute to the win.”

Sky Blue escaped with three points thanks to Rosana’s PK in stoppage time on a questionable call. Referee Michael Donovan called a penalty on Lauren Cheney after Cheney tried to dispossess Rosana right inside the top of the box. Rosana converted on the PK, going on the opposite direction of Phillips.

“It’s part of the thing that American players need to learn from the international players. (Rosana) is going to make that look like a penalty. Whether she was hit hard or not, she’s going down,” DiCicco said. “And now the referee has to make a decision. We’ll see that all World Cup long – make the referee make a decision. It’s the equivalent of taking a charge in basketball. Some of them are charges and some of them are little bit of flopping. There’s a level of sophistication in this game, and American players, especially female players, don’t have it yet.  One of the reasons is we don’t see it every day on TV. There is a level of sophistication that this team needs to grow into, whether it’s finding the pass in the penalty area or knowing when to go down to draw the call.”

O’Reilly said she was pleased to see her team put in the late-game effort to take the three points from Boston.

“Obviously if you agree or disagree with the penalty at the end, we at least got in the box and had numbers and were looking for a finish in that 92nd minute,” O’Reilly said. “And there’s a lot to say about that. Until the end, we fought for each other, and that’s something we haven’t necessarily seen this season.”

Boston had a few scoring chances in the second half, but couldn’t convert. In the 72nd minute, Fabiana turned Sky Blue back Meghan Schnur in the right corner, took it along the end line, and sent a ball in front of goal, but Bardsley snatched it up. Four minutes later, Smith hit a ball toward the upper 90, only to have Bardsley come up with another stop.

A lot of pressure falls on Boston’s forwards, particularly Lauren Cheney, the No. 2 overall draft pick in the 2010 WPS Draft. Everywhere the 22-year-old has gone, she’s made a major impact. UCLA’s all-time leading scorer with 173 points, Cheney came into Boston with high expectations. Not only did she slay opponents at UCLA, she had one of the top performances with the U.S. Women’s National Team at the Algarve Cup. She scored four goals during the tournament, including the game-winner against Sweden that put the U.S. in the finals, which it won by beating Germany, 3-2.

Moments after Boston drafted Cheney, she told World Soccer Reader, “I don’t feel any pressure. There’s no point in feeling pressure. I know how to play the game of soccer – it’s just new names, new faces.”

So how does Cheney feel after having played seven games for the Breakers, who come into Sunday’s game against Sky Blue FC with a 1-2-4 record? Is she feeling the heat to score goals?

“Obviously I want to score goals. It’s my job,” said Cheney after a training session last week. “Every forward feels that pressure to score goals. That’s your role on this team. I don’t think there’s any added pressure. I think that our team does a great job. We’ve had a frustrating start, but we’re still positive. I think it’s coming. We’re playing good soccer.”

The Breakers enter the game in sixth place in the WPS, while Sky Blue makes its first appearance at Harvard Stadium this season carrying a 3-2-2 record (fourth place) into Cambridge. The teams last played May 22 in New Jersey, and the game ended in a 0-0 draw. Boston has never beat Sky Blue.

Cheney said she knew the level of competition in the WPS was miles ahead of college. Coming into the season, however, Cheney was unsure just how much higher it would be from the college game.

“I’m not sure what I expected going into it, but I definitely think it’s a high level,” Cheney said. “I wasn’t sure how high of a level it would be, but every day I feel like I’m playing against some of the best players, so I think, if anything, if I was surprised, it was a good surprise. I do think it’s a step up, just having international players who’ve played at the highest level and veterans players from the U.S. Just playing with them every day, the speed of play, the intensity of games, the physicality of the games is just a level above college. In college, you have from 17 to 21, and here you have 22 to 39, so there is a big difference of maturity and physical presence.”

Cheney is certainly no stranger to competing at the highest level on the international level, having played since 2007 on the U.S. Women’s National Team.

“Playing at that level, playing with that national team, having been with the national team since I was younger, coming here, this is the training environment you want,” she said. “You want to play against these internationals. You want to play in that intense, physical environment. I think just being around them, I try to absorb everything they give off. Lil (Kristine Lilly) is not only one of the best in the world as a soccer player, as a person she’s phenomenal. She’s world class. She definitely has this presence that every time I’m around her, I’m learning something new. So that also keeps my calm and knowing that I have her on my team to continue to learn from. I just think Kelly (Smith) is unbelievable. Anybody who watches Kelly play is in awe of her. She’s one of the best in the world for sure, and I think playing with her, her ideas are sometimes the exact same as mine, and sometimes they’re different, and I think it’s cool that I get to play with her and get to learn from her every game.”

Breakers notebook:

This week, the Breakers waived Liz Bogus, who played in four games this season, including one start, for Boston. The Breakers also released Claire Zimmeck, who had been sidelined since week two with a foot injury. She played in stoppage time in the first game of the season against the Washington Freedom. This frees up some roster space for the Breakers, who look to add a player or two in the coming weeks … Midfielder Leslie Osborne will miss Sunday’s game with a leg injury. Sarah Walsh, who recently was placed on the 30-day injured reserve list, and Michelle Enyeart also will not play … The projected lineup for Sunday’s match is: Ashley Phillips, Amy LePeilbet, Alex Scott, Kasey Moore, Stephanie Cox, Jordan Angeli, Kristine Lilly, Fabiana, Kelly Smith, Lauren Cheney, and Lindsay Tarpley … Boston is looking for its first win at home this season and first win at home since July 15, 2009, when the Breakers beat Chicago, 1-0 … Sunday’s game at Harvard Stadium kicks off at 4 p.m.