Boston Breakers Grab Point on the Road at First-Place Los Angeles Sol

In a match which showcased two of the league’s biggest offensive stars, it was the defenses that took center stage as the Boston Breakers and the Los Angeles Sol played to a 0-0 draw in Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) action on Sunday afternoon at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

The draw leaves the top of the standings unchanged with Los Angeles (3-1-2) and Boston (3-2-1) in first and second place with 11 and 10 points, respectively, after six matches. Boston is two points ahead of third-place Chicago, although the Red Stars have a game in hand.

“Getting the point on the road is not a bad result,” said Breakers head coach Tony DiCicco.I’m not totally satisfied, but I think it was probably the right result."

"It was an even game and hard-fought by both teams. I’m proud of the way our players responded in the second half. It was a little hot out here for us and they stood strong through the end, which is a compliment to our fitness staff.”

The game featured the league’s top two goal scorers, Boston’s Kelly Smith (four goals this season) and Los Angeles’ Marta (three), but both defenses kept a clean score sheet.

Boston's Amy LePeilbet and the Breakers back line were stellar in snuffing out scoring chances by Sol forwards Marta and Han Duan, while the Los Angeles kept Smith off the score-sheet for the first time in WPS play.

The Breakers held an 11-8 shot advantage in the game, with much of the pressure coming in the second half. The Sol out-shot Boston, 7-5, in the first half, although both teams managed to hit the woodwork surrounding the net.  

First it was Los Angeles forward Han Duan, who was one-on-one with Breakers keeper Kristin Luckenbill, but the Chinese international star hit the post with her shot in the 39th minute.

Just before the break, Boston’s Christine Latham hit the top of the crossbar with a header that went out of bounds.

The Breakers came out strong in the second half, and looked close to grabbing a late winner on one of a series of set pieces. LePeilbet had a ball cleared off the line after a header with less than five minutes remaining. Kristine Lilly, Kasey Moore and Smith each also got on the end of services late, but were all defended successfully by the Sol.

The contest was a rematch from last weekend in Boston when the Breakers handed Los Angeles its first loss of the season, 2-1.

The teams will face each other once more in the final match of the regular season, August 9 in Boston.

The Breakers return home to face the Washington Freedom on Sunday, May 17. The team will honor former star Maren Meinert at halftime by inducting her as the first member to the Breakers “Pillars of Excellence”. Meinert played for the WUSA’s Boston Breakers from 2001-03 and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player in 2003.

For more information about the Boston Breakers, go the www.bostonbreakers.com 

Box Score

May 10, 2009-Home Depot Center – Carson, Calif.

GOALS 1  2  – Total

Boston 0  0  –   0 

Los Angeles  0  0  –   0

Stats

Shots: LA 8 BOS 11; Shots on Goal: LA 1 BOS 3; Saves: Karina LeBlanc (LA) 3 Kristin Luckenbill (BOS) 1; Corners: LA 3 BOS 3; Fouls: LA 18 BOS 16.

Lineups

LOS ANGELES: Karina LeBlanc; Brittany Bock, Stephanie Cox, Martina Franko, Manya Makoski (Katie Larkin, 46th minute), Aly Wagner (Camile Abily, 77th minute), Shannon Boxx, Aya Miyama, Allison Falk; Marta, Han Duan.

BOSTON: Kristin Luckenbill; Alex Scott, Amy LePeilbet, Sue Weber, Heather Mitts (Nancy Augustyniak-Goffi, 78th minute); Angela Hucles, Kristine Lilly, Stacy Bishop (Kasey Moore, 85th minute), Kelly Smith; Kelly Schmedes, Christine Latham (Amy Rodriguez, 51st minute).

Misconduct Summary                                                                                     

Cautions: 

Boston -  Hucles, 50th minute; Augustyniak-Goffi, 89th minute.

Los Angeles - Boxx, 79th minute; Abily, 90th+2 minute.

Attendance: 6,210  Weather – 68, cloudy

Officials - R: Sandra Serafini; A1: Maurizio Laudani; A2: Ian Anderson; FO: Daniel Radford.

This story was excerpted from a Press Release by the Boston Breakers of the WPS. Michael Janosz | ISIphotos.net. Todd Civin is a free lance writer. His stories appear each day on the Bleacher Report. Feel free to contact him at [e-mail] with story leads or suggestions.