Westwood, Mass. (July 3, 2009) – The second-place Boston Breakers look to continue their winning ways when they travel to face Sky Blue FC, Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. in Piscataway, N.J.  The Breakers have returned to form recently and come into the match on a two-game winning streak, and unbeaten in their last three.
 
Boston (5-4-3, 18 points) leapfrogged the Washington Freedom into second place following last week’s 1-0 win over their former WUSA rivals. Christine Latham scored the game’s only goal in the 37th minute. It was her second goal of the season, both of which were game-winners against the Freedom.

This marks the first time the Breakers have been in second place in the WPS standings since May 31, when Saturday’s opponent Sky Blue FC (3-6-3, 12 points) stopped a then- three-match unbeaten run for Boston with a 2-1 win. Since that match, Sky Blue FC is 1-2-1, including a 2-1 loss at Saint Louis this past Sunday. The team is currently tied for last place in the standings, but are just four points behind Washington for the fourth and final playoff spot.

This will be the second of four meetings between the two sides this season. The teams will each travel up I-95 this week to Cambridge for the second match of a home-and-home series at Harvard Stadium on Sunday, July 12 at 6 p.m.

 

MATCHUP

BOSTON 5-4-3, 18 pts 2nd 14 13 L L T W W W, 1-0 vs. WSH 8.9 11.0 4.1 Kelly Smith (5) 3 tied with 2 Kristin Luckenbill (24) Head Coach Tony DiCicco Players to Watch Kristine Lilly Kelly Smith Amy LePeilbet

Record League Standing Goals Scored Goals Against Form (prev 5) Latest Result Fouls Caused/Game Fouls Suffered/Game Corners Per Game Goals Leader Assists Leader Saves Leader Season Series Breakers trail, 0-1-0 Previous Meeting Breakers lost, 2-1 (Away, 5/31/09)

SKY BLUE FC 3-6-3, 12 pts T-6th 8 11 W L T W L L, 2-1 at STL 8.0 6.3 4.8 2 tied with 2 Meghan Schnur (2) Jenni Branam (31) Head Coach Kelly Lindsey Players to Watch Heather O’Reilly Christie Rampone Natasha Kai

 

NOTES

Leading In
The Breakers won back-to-back games for the second time this season after downing the Washington Freedom, 1-0, last time out on June 24. The victory clinched the season series between the two teams for the Breakers, who are now 2-0-1 against the Freedom. Christine Latham scored the game-winning goal in both wins over Washington this season.

Standings Update
The Breakers (5-4-3) are back in second place in the standings for the first time since May 31. Boston is now one point ahead of third-place Saint Louis, and yet trail league-leading Los Angeles by 16 points. The Breakers have three games in hand over the Sol, however Los Angeles’ magic number to clinch the regular season title, and a bye into the WPS Championship Game, is just nine points. The top four teams qualify for the playoffs, which start August 15.

Scouting Sky Blue FC
Sky Blue FC is 1-2-1, including a 2-1 loss at Saint Louis this past Sunday, since defeating Boston, 2-1, on May 31. The team is currently tied for last place in the standings, but are just four points behind Washington for the fourth and final playoff spot. The team has made a number of moves recently. They traded Australian international Sarah Walsh to Saint Louis in return for two-time MAC Trophy winner (college soccer’s top player) Kerri Hanks and Brazilian Francielle (along with a swap of WPS playing rights for Brazilians Ester and Renata Costa). They also traded defender Christie Shaner to Los Angeles for a 2010 third-round draft pick.

Last Time We Met…
Kelly Smith scored her team-high fifth goal of the season, but it wasn’t enough as the Breakers saw their then- three-match winning streak come to an end with a 2-1 defeat at Sky Blue FC on May 31. The loss dropped Boston out of second place for the first time since May 2. Natasha Kai got the scoring started early, putting the hosts in the lead in the fourth minute. Smith equalized just eight minutes later, but Kacey White capped the scoring in the 29th minute to give Sky Blue FC their first victory under new head coach Kelly Lindsey.

Miserly Defense
The Boston Breakers have held opponents scoreless for a season-high 255 consecutive minutes going into Saturday’s match. Goalkeeper Ali Lipsher, who recently took over the starting spot, has been in goal for all three of those matches and has recorded Boston’s first back-to-back clean sheets this season. The last goal scored against the Breakers came in the 15th minute of a 1-1 tie against FC Gold Pride on June 17.

TV Curse Broken
Playing on television had not been a friendly experience for the Breakers prior to defeating Washington, 1-0, in a regionally-televised game on Comcast SportsNet last time out. Overall, Boston’s TV record stands at 1-3-1, although the team has yet to record a victory on national television (0-3-1 on Fox Soccer Channel). Things seemed to be turning around in the match prior to the Washington victory when Boston won for the first time on a webcast against Chicago on June 21. The team’s overall live broadcast record is now 2-4-1 on the year. Three of Boston’s eight remaining regular season matches will be also shown on television.

Always Second-Best?
After breaking the TV curse last time out against Washington, the second-place Breakers now have another demon to confront. Being the second-place team in the WPS Standings has not proven to be helpful in winning games this season. Since after the first week of the season, no team in second place has won a match – and the teams are a combined 0-6-6. Boston, who was in second-place on April 25, and again from May 2-31, was 0-2-2 in that span.

Fabiana Update
Brazil National Team player Fabiana is getting closer to her debut for the Breakers. She got on the pitch for 33 minutes in Aztec's 1-0 win over SoccerPlus CT Reds on June 20, and then played the whole first half in Aztec's 2-0 win over Bay State Selects this past Saturday. She came close to scoring after hitting the post in the match against the Selects, and picked up a yellow card. It is expected that Fabiana will be ready to step onto the pitch for the Breakers as early as next weekend.

Fenway First Pitch
Breakers defender Heather Mitts will be joined by a group of 11 teammates when she throws out the first pitch this Wednesday (June 8) in the Boston Red Sox’ game against the Oakland Athletics at Fenway Park. Joining Heather will be Angela Hucles, Ashley Phillips, Ali Lipsher, Kasey Moore, Kristin Luckenbill, Christine Latham, Candace Chapman, Amy Rodriguez, Kelly Schmedes, Mary-Frances Monroe and Sophia Mundy.

Remembering ‘99
As part of a WPS league-wide initiative to mark the historic 1999 Women's World Cup triumph, the Boston Breakers will look back at '99 during the next home game against Sky Blue FC on July 12. 1999 USWNT veteran Danielle Fotopoulos will be on hand to sign autographs and greet fans prior to the game and to participate in a video presentation during halftime. Fans can also purchase a World Cup Legends Package, which includes four Category II tickets to the game, along with a post-game photo on the field with the 1999 World Cup Trophy and Breakers 1999 World Cup Legends Tony DiCicco and Kristine Lilly. The package is available for only $99.00 and is limited to 500 participants.

All-Star Game Announced
WPS recently announced that the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo., will be the site of the 2009 WPS All-Star Game on August 30. An 18-player WPS All-Star team will face off against Swedish Champions Umeå IK (the former club of Los Angeles Sol forward Marta). The game will be televised live nationally on Fox Soccer Channel and regionally on select Fox Sports Net affiliates, starting at 5:00 p.m. Fans, media, players and coaches will be able to cast votes for the team. The WPS Commissioner and All-Star Head Coach will also have a role in player selection. In a unique twist for the first year of the WPS All-Star Game, the All-Star Team head coach will be voted on collectively by the players with the announcement coming in late July.

Newcomers Hit Ground Running
Recently-added midfielders Sophia Mundy and Mary-Frances Monroe each saw playing time in their first match with the Breakers during the team’s 1-0 win over Washington on June 24. Mundy started and played the full 90 minutes, while Monroe (who played with the 2003 Boston Breakers in the WUSA), came in as a sub in the 71st minute for Amy Rodriguez.

Starting Strong
Prior to the current two-match winning streak, the Breakers had not scored first in a match since defeating Los Angeles, 2-1, on May 2. Boston is a perfect 5-0-0 when that happens. In the four games prior to the winning streak, all five opponent goals had been scored in the first half.

Tight Games
Boston’s 2-0 win over Chicago on June 21 was the team’s first match since April 25 that had been decided by more than one goal. Keeping the score close, the goal differential in seven of the Breakers last eight games has been just one or zero. In fact, that brief moment in second-half stoppage time against the Red Stars was the only time there was a lead of more than one goal since Boston led Los Angeles, 2-0, for an eight minute stretch of the second half on May 2.

Frequent Playing Miles
Three Boston Breakers have played in every minute of every match thus far this season. Midfielder and all-time international caps leader Kristine Lilly, as well as defenders Amy LePeilbet and Alex Scott have each logged 1080 minutes in 12 matches. 

Almost Never the Same Result
Prior to beating Washington for the second time in three meetings last time out, the Breakers had yet to have two of the same result with any of the five WPS teams that Boston had played more than once (Saturday will be the second match vs. Sky Blue FC). The Breakers records against the other WPS clubs are: Chicago (1-1-0), FC Gold Pride (0-1-1), Los Angeles Sol (1-0-1), Saint Louis Athletica (1-1-0), Sky Blue FC (0-1-0) and Washington Freedom (2-0-1).