Breakers and Freedom to Meet in Rematch of Early Season Game

The two original WUSA teams in WPS face off for the second time this season as the Washington Freedom come to Harvard Stadium for the Breakers’ first televised home match.

The Breakers are now in second place, just one point behind the first-place Sol after grabbing four out of a possible six points in the past two matches with the league leaders. Boston defeated Los Angeles, 2-1, two weeks ago at Harvard Stadium, the first loss of the year for the Sol.

The teams then played to a 0-0 draw at the Home Depot Center in California this past Sunday. The Breakers are two points ahead of third-place Chicago, although the Red Stars have a game in hand. Sunday’s game is the second rematch for Boston against a WPS team.

The Breakers have now faced five of the other six league clubs. The lone team Boston has not played against, Sky Blue FC, will be the Breakers’ next opponent on May 31 in New Jersey.

MATCHUP
                                              Boston                               Washington
Record                                 3-2-1, 10 pts                        1-2-2, 5 pts
League Standing                    2nd                                      7th
Goals Scored                         8                                        9
Goals Against                        8                                        12
Form (prev 5)                         W W L W T                          L T L W T
Latest Result                          T, 0-0 at LA                         T, 3-3 vs. STL
Fouls Caused/Game               10.2                                    7.8
Fouls Suffered/Game             12.2                                    8.4
Corners Per Game                  7.0                                      10.2
Goals Leader                          Kelly Smith (4)                     3 tied with 2
Assists Leader                       2 tied with 2                        3 tied with 2
Saves Leader                         Kristin Luckenbill (17)           Brianna Scurry (11)

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Season Series                        Head Coach                        Head Coach
Boston leads, 1-0-0                 Tony DiCicco                      Jim Gabarra

Previous Meeting                   Players to Watch                Players to Watch
Boyds, Md., 3-1                      Kristine Lilly                        Sonia Bompastor
(April 2, 2009 at WSH)             Kelly Smith                         Lori Lindsey
                                              Amy Rodriguez                   Cat Whitehill

Last Time versus Washington, the Breakers defeated the Freedom, 3-1, in Boyds, Md. on April 25. It was the second-straight win for Boston and the team's first on the road.  Kelly Smith opened the scoring in the 56th minute with the league’s first-ever penalty kick.

The Freedom leveled through Lori Lindsay four minutes later, and then had a penalty kick of their own in the 72nd minute. Breakers’ keeper Kristin Luckenbill dove to the right, however, to deny Abby Wambach for the league’s first-ever PK save. Boston took control after that with goals from Christine Latham and Angela Hucles to close out the win.

Scouting the Freedom

The Freedom offense has revved up in recent weeks, scoring seven goals in their two matches since falling to the Breakers on April 25. Washington had a thrilling 4-3 win over FC Gold Pride, and then drew with Saint Louis Athletica, 3-3, in their last match on May 3. 

Abby Wambach, the hero with a last-gasp game-winner in stoppage time against FC Gold Pride, will miss Sunday’s game through suspension.  She received a one-match ban from the league following a tackle on Athletica’s Danijela that left the Brazilian likely out for the season through injury.

The Freedom still have plenty of attacking options, including French midfielder Sonia Bompastor, who tallied twice against Saint Louis and was tabbed the WPS Player of the Week for Week Six.

The Arrival

The final member of the Boston Breakers has arrived to the Hub. Brazilian international Fabiana came into Boston a week ago and visited with her teammates and front office staff. The 19-year-old forward has begun moderate post-surgery training and running following a knee injury last fall, and team doctors and coaches are monitoring and evaluating her condition on a continuous basis.

Fabiana is one of only two teenagers in the league, and the second-youngest player behind compatriot and Saint Louis Athletica midfielder Francielle.

The Return

While one international Breakers player with a bright future arrived in Boston last week, another with a bright history with the Breakers is making her return this weekend.

Former Germany forward/midfielder Maren Meinert will be the first inductee into the Breakers Pillars of Excellence during a halftime ceremony in Sunday’s match vs. the Freedom. Her former coach with the Breakers in 2003, and current U.S. National Team head coach Pia Sundhage, will be at Sunday’s ceremony. 

Meinert was the 2003 WUSA Most Valuable Player and was also named the MVP of the WUSA All-Star Game that year. After retiring from club soccer, she led her native Germany to its first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup title in October 2003. Meinert is now the head coach of Germany’s under-20 Women’s National Team.

Call to Duty

A total of seven Breakers will be away from the team later this week after being called into national team duty, although none of them will have to miss any WPS action. Four players—Angela Hucles, Amy LePeilbet, Heather Mitts, and Amy Rodriguez—have been called up by Pia Sundhage for U.S. match against Canada on May 25 (originally a two-game series against Japan).

Boston and Chicago lead WPS with four players each on the U.S. roster. Candace Chapman has also been called up to the Canadian squadfor that match. Meanwhile, England internationals Kelly Smith and Alex Scott will take part in a four-day training camp called by England head coach Hope Powell in preparation for EURO 2009.

Leading Scorer

Breakers midfielder Kelly Smith was held scoreless for the first time this season on Sunday. Despite that, she still leads the league in goals with four from five matches played.

Good Turnout

A festive crowd of 8,031 fans packed Harvard Stadium for last weekend’s showdown between the Breakers and the Sol. It was the highest attendance for a Breakers game and the second-highest total for a match in WPS play this season.

The Los Angeles Sol had a crowd of 14,832 for the WPS Inaugural Match on March 29 against the Washington Freedom.

First Lady

Boston forward Kelly Smith has had numerous “firsts” this season. The England international became the first player to have scored in both U.S. professional women’s soccer leagues (WPS and WUSA) when she scored in the 79th minute of Boston’s 2-1 loss at FC Gold Pride in the season opener—which was also Boston’s first WPS goal.

She scored the league’s first-ever penalty kick in Boston’s first-ever road victory against Washington on April 18. Smith would go on to be WPS’ first Player of the Month (April), and then became the first-ever player to score against the Los Angeles Sol with her second-minute strike in Boston’s 2-1 win on May 2. The Sol had opened the season with four consecutive shutouts.

Fast Start

The Sol came into the May 2 match in Boston having not yielded a goal in four matches played, while the Breakers had not previously scored in the first half all season. All that changed in a hurry, as Kelly Smith scored the fastest goal in WPS history in the second minute (1:09 to be exact) of the match.

The previous fastest goal came from Sol defender Allison Falk, who tallied in the sixth minute of the WPS Inaugural Match on March 29 against the Freedom.

League Leaders

While Los Angeles and Boston are ranked first and second, respectively, in the league standings, Breakers forward Kelly Smith and Sol forward Marta are making a case as the early front-runners for WPS MVP. The international stars are ranked first and second, respectively, in goals scored.

Player of the Month

Boston’s Kelly Smith was tabbed the WPS Player of the Month for April. It is the league’s first-ever monthly award. Smith scored goals in all three of the games she played during the month of April, leading the Breakers to a 2-1-0 record in those matches.

Smith was an automatic nominee for the award after claiming the WPS Player of the Week award on April 12 for Week Three. Smith beat out L.A.’s Marta and Karina LeBlanc, who finished second and third, respectively, for the monthly honor in voting done by media, fans, and the teams.

Scheduling Note

The June 20 rematch between Boston and the Chicago Red Stars at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill., has been rescheduled. The game will now be played on June 21 at 8:00 p.m. ET at Toyota Park.

Back in the WUSA

The Breakers have eight players on their roster that played in the previous American women’s pro soccer league, including two that have returned to the Breakers—Kristine Lilly and Angela Hucles.

The other six players are Kelly Smith and Heather Mitts (Philadelphia Charge), Abby Crumpton and Nancy Augustyniak Goffi (Atlanta Beat), Kristin Luckenbill (Carolina Courage) and Christine Latham (San Diego Spirit).

Second Term In The Capital

Like Boston, the Freedom have two players, Abby Wambach and Lori Lindsey, who have returned to play for the WPS Washington Freedom. In addition, head coach Jim Gabarra is back and never left the Freedom, having coached the W-League version since the WUSA folded.

There are a total of 10 players on Washington’s roster who also played with the W-League Freedom at one point.

Alligator Alley

Breakers defender Heather Mitts and Washington Freedom forward Abby Wambach both played at the University of Florida and were teammates on the Gators' 1998 National Championship squad.

Austin (Texas) Powers

Washington Freedom defender/midfielder Jill Gilbeau and Breakers defender Kasey Moore both played at the University of Texas.

Meet Virginia

Breakers midfielder Angela Hucles, along with Washington Freedom midfielders Sarah Huffman, Lori Lindsey, defenders Becky Sauerbrunn and Alex Singer all played at the University of Virginia.

Golden Tarheels

Breakers midfielder/forward Kristine Lilly and Washington Freedom defender Cat Whitehill both played for the Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina. They were both members of the 2007 World Cup squad and the gold-medal team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

The above article was excerpted from a press release provided by the Boston Breakers. Photo credit: Tony Quinn | isiphotos.net