LA SOL V BOSTON BREAKERS

Running on empty!

The LA Sol and the Boston Breakers played out a 0-0 draw on a hot Sunday afternoon at The Home Depot Center in front of a crowd of over 6,200. It was a rematch after the Breakers gave the Sol their 1st defeat of the season last weekend in Boston.
LA started brightly with the best chance in the sixth minute when Marta's through ball found fellow forward Han Duan in stride outside the penalty area. Duan dribbled around a defender before putting a low shot on the Boston goal that was steered aside for a corner by GK Kristin Luckenbill. The Sol also created a chance a minute later, but a scramble in front of the goal did not result in a clear shot on goal.
Duan had several chances in the 1st half with the first in the 24th minute but her glancing header off a Martina Franko cross sailed clearly over the bar. She also had an opportunity in the 38th minute when Shannon Boxx played a long ball over the Boston defense but her effort banged off the left post with only Luckinbill to beat. At the end of the match a clearly emotional Duan was being comforted by fellow teammates.
In the 2nd half the Breakers were clearly the better team. Pushing for the win first with Kelly Smith sending a dangerous ball into the area but this was cleared by LA's defenders. Boston had a series of dangerous free-kicks which were scrambled away by LA. Amy LePeilbet had a header cleared of the line with 5 minutes to go. It remained scoreless till the end.
Defenders for both teams won the day.Marta and Smith did not get a lot of clearcut chances. Marta was double-teamed , even sometimes triple teamed by Boston. Smith was shadowed by the excellent Brittany Bock who was playing in midfield specifically to contain Smith.
Both teams are very evenly matched. I expect both to be in the play-offs.

"I thought we played a good first half but we lacked quality finishing," said Los Angeles Sol Head Coach Abner Rogers. "Boston is a very good team and you're not going to get many opportunities to score against them. The chances were there today, but we need to finish better."

“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.”

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).