Breakers Agree to Terms with U.S. National Team Midfielder Osborne

The Boston Breakers have agreed to terms with free agent midfielder Leslie Osborne, a former member of FC Gold Pride and current member of the U.S. Women’s National Team.  Osborne is the second new arrival to join the Breakers via free agency this offseason, joining her former FC Gold Pride teammate Tiffany Weimer .  

Osborne captained FC Gold Pride in 2009, starting in 18 of the club’s 20 matches and leading the team with 1,622 minutes of playing time. Her iron-woman performance marked a successful return from a torn ACL and ankle injury suffered during United States National Team training in May 2008, which caused Osborne to miss the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Osborne has recorded 61 international caps in her career with the U.S. National Team. She earned her first full team cap on January 20, 2004 against Sweden.  An impact player in the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup in China, she appeared in five of the six games.

In 2006, she played in 19 matches, starting 12, and scored her first international goal against Chinese Taipei. In the same year, Osborne broke into the scoring column in the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup Final against Canada.

The Brookfield, Wisconsin native is expected to bring consistency and leadership in the defensive midfield for the Breakers, a position where several different players were rotated during the 2009 season.

"Leslie Osborne is a proven midfielder who has a wonderful soccer pedigree and a track record of success,” said Boston Breakers Head Coach Tony DiCicco .  “She is talented, tough and a team leader, all qualities that will make the Breakers better.  I am looking forward to coaching her and introducing her to our Breaker fans." 

“I am tremendously excited to play for the Boston Breakers,” said Osborne. “Boston has a special place in my heart and I am ready to give everything I have to this great organization. This is a great opportunity to learn from such an experienced coach like Coach DiCicco and to play alongside some of the best players in the world.

Being in the same city as our sponsor Puma is only another positive for me.  I cannot wait to arrive in Boston and begin to prepare for the 2010 WPS season.”

A former collegiate standout and three-time All-American at Santa Clara University, Osborne recorded 44 goals and 34 assists for the Broncos.  She was the first player in league history to be named the WCC Defender of the year and WCC Player of the year. 

In 2004, as a senior, the team captain won the Honda Sports Award as the nation’s outstanding collegiate female soccer player and was a Hermann Trophy semifinalist. As a freshman, Osborne was a key member of the Santa Clara team that won the 2001 NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship, beating collegiate women’s soccer powerhouse North Carolina. 

About Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS)

Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) is the premier women’s soccer league in the world and the global standard by which women’s professional sports are measured. The Inaugural Season kicked off in March 2009 with seven WPS teams based in the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Jersey/New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C.

The league’s eighth and nine franchises, Philadelphia and Atlanta, will begin play in the 2010 WPS Season, which kicks-off March 2010. For more information and tickets, visit www.womensprosoccer.com