Sports Then and Now

The Boston Breakers pulled in a crucial point when they tied St. Louis Athletica in a wet and windy game on the road last night. Both teams battled through poor conditions at the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, MO to earn a 1-1 draw.

Both teams remain undefeated with a 1-0-2 record and sit in a three-way tie for second place with the Philadelphia Independence.

Boston tallied first in the 21st minute when midfielder Kristine Lilly stepped up to take a corner kick and sent the ball over the top of the box. Defender Kasey Moore ran onto the ball and hit it first-time into the back of the net for her first goal as a Breaker.

Lilly picked up her second assist in the 2010 season, with both of them coming off of corner kicks.

Their lead didn’t last long, when St. Louis midfielder Aya Miyama was fouled and awarded a free kick. Tina Ellertson headed the ball towards net, where Carolyn Blank touched the ball past Ashlyn Harris with her upper body, making the score 1-1.

Boston outshot St. Louis 11-4 before the second half of play, and forced Hope Solo to give up only her second goal in 2010. In a big save during the second half, Solo blocked a shot to Kristine Lilly, but was unable to get control of the ball. As Kelly Smith ran onto the rebound, Solo recovered and blocked the point-blank.

The second half was quiet for both teams as Boston had three shots to Athletica’s five. Neither could capitalize on their chances.

“Another hard fought match between two even teams,” said Breakers head coach Tony DiCicco. “Overall I’m pleased with the performance and if our players continue to invest that much into our matches we will earn points.”

The St. Louis Athletica struggled through poor conditions to earn a tie against the Boston Breakers today at the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo.

On a sloppy, muddy pitch, the Athletica came from behind to earn their tie with the Breakers in front of 3,300 brave fans.

Boston’s goal came from a corner kick setup by midfielder Kristine Lilly. Defender Kasey Moore struck a one-touch shot low at the 18-yard box, sending it whistling past the St. Louis defense and goalkeeper Hope Solo.

The equalizer came only six minutes later when rookie Carolyn Blank netted the goal for St. Louis, redirecting a header from Tina Ellertson off her upper body. It was Blank’s first goal as a professional soccer player.

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The St. Louis Athletica earned a 1-1 draw with the Chicago Red Stars Saturday at Toyota Park in the Windy City.

The Athletica opened the scoring in the third minute thanks to a goal by midfielder captain Lori Chalupny. After a cross from Tina Dimartino was punched away by Chicago goalkeeper Jillian Loyden, the ball fell to Chalupny, who knocked it in for her first goal of the season.

The edge that the Athletica carried during the first half lasted until a second-half substitution by Chicago coach Emma Hayes brought Casey Nogueira onto the field.

In the 58th minute, a shot off the crossbar by a Red Star bounced straight down. The Red Stars continued to press the attack, and it ended in Chicago’s Katie Chapman passing the ball from right to left to Nogueira.

Nogueria took a touch to free space before firing the ball into the upper right corner past Athletica goalkeeper Hope Solo. Read the rest of this entry →

The Atlanta Beat are headed north this weekend to play the Washington Freedom on Sunday, April 18. This will be the expansion team’s second Women’s Professional Soccer match. They tied 0-0 with the Philadelphia Independence last Sunday, April 11, on Philly’s home turf.

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Many things are new to Women’s Professional Soccer this year: Two new teams in Philadelphia and Atlanta made their debut this weekend, the collegiate and expansion drafts brought in new players, changes in the offseason introduced new coaches,  fantastic advertisements drew in new sponsors, and PUMA unveiled a new set of jerseys .

One of the most exciting additions to the WPS is something that is challenging and nerve-wracking. It’s exciting and competitive. It’s not even real.

The WPS Fantasy Challenge kicked off two weeks before the opening weekend and has already garnered hundreds of fans. For those who want competition, or those who simply want to support their favorite players, the Fantasy Challenge is a great addition to the WPS community.

My own experience with fantasy teams prior to the creation of the WPS Fantasy was negative. As a member of my collegiate track and field team, I would join the rest of my female teammates as we scorned the boys who were constantly talking about fantasy baseball, hockey, or football.

How could anyone’s life be so controlled by something that doesn’t even matter in the big scheme of things?

Following the opening weekend matches on Twitter and the WPS Match-tracker, I saw that many tweets and posts were about fantasy rosters. Some tweets or posts were extremely positive as they had chosen players who performed well.

Others were not so thrilled. Some of my favorites were: “Epic @wpsfantasy fail”. Another: “Dear Abby, please score. A bunch of times, if you can. My fantasy team depends on it. Yours in soccer, dharv5.”

After a particularly crafty bicycle kick by Boston’s Fabiana, attempting to score against Washington on Saturday, a tweet was sent out by @WPSFansGameDay: “How many points does a bicycle kick count as on fantasy?”

During this opening weekend of WPS’s second season, I found myself enthralled with every game, including those that didn’t involve my favorite teams. While I was as excited for the season last year, I decided to make a fantasy team this time around.

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In their final spring exhibition game before the Women’s Professional Soccer league regular season kicks off April 10, the St. Louis Athletica fell 2-1 to the Atlanta Beat today in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Former Athletica defender Kia McNeil opened the scoring with a first-half goal and the Beat added a second thanks to Ramona Bachmann. Shannon Boxx added one for the Athletica, but St. Louis couldn’t add any more.

St. Louis had several positives added to the game when captain Lori Chalupny returned to action for the first time since taking time off for concussion-related issues. “It felt great to get back on the field. Today was an especially important game for us because it gave us a chance to see where we stand,” said Chalupny.

She started the game, and has been cleared to play in matches, having previously been cleared to practice only. “I’m still working to get back to 90 minutes match fit, but I keep feeling better and better every minute.”

Lindsay Tarpley also saw her first game time since she joined St. Louis. Recovering from an ACL injury she suffered last August in practice with her former team, the Chicago Red Stars, Tarpley played 15 minutes today. Read the rest of this entry →