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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Sept. 23, 2010) – The Philadelphia Independence advanced to the WPS Championship presented by Citi with a 2-1 overtime victory over the Boston Breakers in the WPS Super Semifinal Thursday evening at Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium.  Danesha Adams scored the game-winning goal in the 103rd minute to lift the Independence into the WPS Championship where they will face FC Gold Pride on Sunday, Sept. 26. 

After winning the WPS First Round on Amy Rodriguez’s 120th minute goal versus the Washington Freedom on Sunday, the Independence traveled to Boston and needed another 120 minutes to defeat the Breakers.

Playing at home, the Boston Breakers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute as rookie forward Lauren Cheney brought down a long flighted pass from Kristine Lilly.  With Val Henderson caught in a moment of indecision, Cheney chipped her shot over the Independence goalkeeper and into the right side of the goal.

Boston’s lead was short lived as Philadelphia responded in the 29th minute.  Rodriguez found Caroline Seger open on the right side of the penalty area and the Swedish midfielder buried a low shot into the far corner past Breakers goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.

Rodriguez had three solid chances to give the Independence the lead in the second half but couldn’t finish.  Her best two opportunities came in the 49th and 56th minutes and were nearly identical: when Naeher came out to challenge her for the ball at the top of the penalty area, Rodriguez took a touch around the Boston ‘keeper but both times her shot on a wide open goal drifted past the near post.

Philadelphia scored the gamewinner in the 103rd minute as midfielder Tina DiMartino reached the right endline and fired a cross to the back post where second-half substitute Danesha Adams leapt and headed the ball into the goal.  The Breakers protested that Adams handled the ball, but the goal stood.

The Breakers pushed every forward in the last minutes of overtime in a desperate search for the equalizer.  They almost got it in the 112th minute as Kasey Moore won the ball from Adams in midfield and hit a long-range shot off the crossbar.  The rebound fell to Alex Scott but she muffed her shot and Philadelphia was able to recover.

The Independence will travel to the Bay Area on Friday in preparation for Sunday’s WPS Championship where they will meet top-seeded FC Gold Pride.  Television coverage of the WPS Championship begins at 2pm ET/11am PT on FSN.

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