SOMERVILLE, Mass. – The Boston Breakers defeated the New York Fury 2-0 on Saturday night at Dilboy Stadium in front of 2,117 fans. A 45 minute delay to kickoff due to thunderstorms could not stop Australian Kyah Simon from scoring her WPSL Elite League-leading eighth and ninth goals of the season.
Simon struck first in the 35th minute and again in the 90th, icing the game for the home team.
Saturday’s match also marked the debut of U.S. midfielder Heather O’Reilly for the Breakers and the debut of Tobin Heath for the Fury. Both had chances throughout the match and even engaged in some friendly banter as they frequently found themselves matched up against each other.
Heath looked like she had struck the first blow in the 19th minute, but her would-be goal was called back due to an initial ball in behind being deemed offside.
O’Reilly required some adjusting to her new (albeit temporary) home field as she tried to figure out how to position herself on the narrow 63-yard pitch. She did have several chances in the second half, however, but could not finish on two breakaways. First O’Reilly pushed the balll just wide of net in the 52nd minute and then in the 74th minute, Fury goalkeeper Michelle Betos came up big for the Fury, stopping O’Reilly one-on-one.
But Simon took care of business in the 35th minute, posting up on Fury defender Nikki Krzysik from eight yards out, turning her body to the left and firing her shot past Betos.
The final goal of the evening came at the expense of getting O’Reilly on the score sheet after an active match. Second half substitute Jazmyne Avant cleared O’Reilly’s shot off the line in the 90th minute, but Simon soon finished the loose ball for her second of the night.
Avant’s clearance served as repayment for earlier in the match, when Breakers midfielder Amanda Da Costa cleared Jasmyne Spencer’s header off the line in first half stoppage time.
Boston’s Leslie Osborne and Heather O’Reilly postgame, shot by Meg Linehan:
