Veronica Boquete has been a revelation for the Philadelphia Independence. She joined her teammates in Philadelphia just over a month ago, following her club season in Spain, and has since won WPS Player of the Week twice. On Wednesday, she struck again.
Boquete’s 83rd minute goal lifted Philadelphia to a 1-0 victory over the Boston Breakers in front of 3,343 fans at Harvard Stadium.
“It was not a classic encounter to say the least, but there was one moment of magic and that was Vero’s finish,” said Independence Head Coach Paul Riley. “A brilliant strike that deserved to grab all three points.”
With the win, Philadelphia (9-3-3, 30 pts.) reclaims sole possession of first place. Boston (4-6-4, 16 pts.) remains in the fourth and final playoff spot with magicJack’s 2-0 loss to Sky Blue FC on Wednesday. The Breakers and magicJack are level on points but Boston owns the tiebreaker. However, magicJack (5-6-2, 16 pts.) has a game in hand. That one point deduction from earlier in the season could come back to haunt magicJack.
Wednesday’s loss snaps a five game unbeaten streak for Boston.
“We were going for the win,” Boston Head Coach Tony DiCicco said. “I was proud of the players. But give them (Independence) credit. That’s why they’re leading the league. Playing with only two days rest was also difficult. We have two more days rest and then we play again. The difference in the game – big players make big plays. I think we had a chance as good if not even better with Nikki Marshall, but (Nicole) Barnhart made the save. We’ve proven that we can play with anyone.”
