The Boston Breakers defeated Sky Blue FC 1-0 on Sunday at Harvard Stadium behind a second half goal from Rachel Buehler.
After an uneventful first half, the Breakers came out strong in the second half and took the game to Sky Blue FC and it took only seven minutes for Boston to capitalize on the pressure. Kelly Smith lined up a free kick from 27 yards out on Boston’s right flank and served it into a crowded Sky Blue FC penalty area. Leslie Osborne’s reaching leg did enough to throw off Carolyn Blank, who could not clear the ball. It bounced off of Blank’s body and Buehler swooped in for the half volley from 12 yards out that smacked the bottom of the crossbar and went into the back of the net.
That 52nd minute goal opened the game up and Boston’s pressure continued. Lauren Cheney’s shot from 18 yards out in the 58th minute skimmed off the top of the crossbar and Keelin Winters blew two golden opportunities in the 67th and 69th minutes, shooting the first one wide of an empty net and the latter softly enough for Sky Blue FC goalkeeper Jenni Branam to recover and make the save.
Sky Blue FC’s best opportunity came in the 61st minute when Carrie Dew flicked on a Brittany Taylor free kick from 15 yards out and forced Breakers goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher to make a tip-save. That was one of few second half scoring chances for a Sky Blue FC (0-2-1, 1 pt.) team that sits at the bottom of the table.
With the win, Boston (2-2-0, 6 pts.) moves into a tie for second place with magicJack.
“I thought we were much better in the second half,” Breakers Head Coach Tony DiCicco said. “I thought in the first half we were just a little bit out of sync, holding the ball too much, not being able to make simple passes and giving them opportunities.”
