Breakers 3, Freedom 1
It seemed the surest and easiest way for Abby Wambach to finally start doing what she came back to Washington to do – score goals – when the U.S. national team’s most fearsome striker stepped up for a second-half penalty kick Saturday night at Maryland SoccerPlex.
But Boston Breakers goalkeeper Kristin Luckenbill’s successful diving stab save to the right in the 72nd minute did more than keep Wambach off the score sheet for another week. It tilted the game in favor of the visitors, who scored twice in the next nine minutes to send Washington (0-2-1) to a 3-1 defeat in front of 4,232.
“She has to be patient just like we have to be patient with her,” said Freedom head coach Jim Gabarra of his star striker, who is yet to fully recover from a broken leg suffered last July. “It’s frustrating. You know the goals are going to come. But she still has a ways to go physically.”
After a sluggish first half by both teams, English forward Kelly Smith continued her run fortune opposite of Wambach, converting from the spot for her third goal of the season to give the Breakers (2-1-0) a 1-0 lead in the 56th minute.
“I don’t think to be honest that we actually deserved to win tonight,” said Smith. “Washington are a good side. I don’t both teams showed what they actually have tonight. We were a little bit disappointed in that we didn’t keep the ball as much as we’d have liked, especially the first half. We were overrun in the midfield. They’re midfield outplayed us, and we got told that at halftime. Harsh words were said.”
The penalty was awarded after Washington goalkeeper Briana Scurry came off her line to try and cut off a cross but instead crashed into Boston’s Angela Hucles. Referee Daniel Fitzgerald allowed the Breakers to take a shot on goal that was blocked by Freedom defenders before blowing his whistle.
“It was interesting because the referee let it play, then we saved it, and then he called the PK, which was odd to me,” said Scurry.
Despite allowing the first goal for the third straight game, the Freedom fought back, and Lori Lindsey knotted the score, 1-1, in the 60th minute with a left-footed bullet from just outside the box. Moments later, Hucles handled a Sonia Bompastor free kick in the penalty box, and Wambach appeared primed for the go-ahead goal that would’ve also given the Freedom its first lead in the still young inaugural Women’s Professional Soccer season.
But momentum shifted immediately after Luckenbill’s save.
First, substitute Christine Latham put the Breakers back in front with a looping far-post header over Scurry in the 76th minute, and then Hucles put the game out of reach with a blast from 25 yards in the 81st.
“The first half, I thought, was disappointing for both teams,” said Gabarra. “I thought it was substandard, and neither team really looked like it wanted to be out there. The second half we did a better job, but we have to have good pressure on the ball, especially when you’re down a goal. You need to put someone on them and make them beat you with a pass, but it didn’t happen on either of those goals.”
