Breakers Drop Preseason Opener

SOMERVILLE, Mass. – In a seesaw affair at Dilboy Stadium, the Boston Breakers fell 3-2 to Sky Blue FC in preseason play on Wednesday night.

Kelley O’Hara collected a brace while Sophie Schmidt scored the game-winner late for Sky Blue, while Heather O’Reilly and Lianne Sanderson both notched goals for Boston.

“It’s frustrating as a defender giving up three goals,” said Breakers defender Cat Whitehill. “The first 15 or 20 minutes we got control of the ball and we had the run of play. Obviously a lot to improve on, it’s only been about a week. But every single goal we gave up was totally preventable.”

Despite having a majority of the play, Boston looked very much like a team playing its first preseason game. Freshly signed goalkeeper Colleen Boyd made her first start, while Bianca D’Agostino, recently converted to left back from midfield, appeared in defense.

Head Coach Lisa Cole opted for a 4-4-2 formation, using Jessica Lohman as the engine in central midfield with O’Reilly and Adrianna Leon out wide and Sydney LeRoux paired at forward alongside Katie Schoepfer.

While the backline is still a work in progress, the offense wasted no time getting settled. The Breakers won the midfield battle early, allowing the two forwards to have chances at goal.

Schoepfer chipped Brittany Cameron in the 10thminute, but saw her effort sail wide. In the 18th minute, LeRoux dribbled past two defenders and curled a shot just wide of the far post. Two minutes later, LeRoux took a Leon feed down the flank and had a shot stopped by Cameron.

O’Hara, who played for the Breakers in 2011, halted Boston’s offensive rhythm by curling a shot from 15 yards into the back of the net in the 24th minute to give Sky Blue the lead.

“The first goal was a little bit of luck,” said Cole. “We obviously didn’t close and gave O’Hara the opportunity to get the shot off. But it went in and give them credit for that.”

The Breakers equalized in the 36th minute through O’Reilly, who collected a long ball from D’Agostino on the left flank, ran into the penalty area, and slotted away the chance to make it 1-1.

“It was good for her to find the back of the net,” said Cole. “You can see that she’s evolving her game. She can do more than just go down that flank. She showed that she can finish, too.”

Despite the continued offensive pressure in the second stanza, O’Hara led Sky Blue to score against the run of play again. In the 65th minute, she had a shot tipped over the bar by Boyd. On the ensuing corner kick, O’Hara flicked a cross by Danesha Adams into the lower right corner of the net to restore her team’s lead.

“On that corner, Boyd is 5-10, she should dominate in the air,” added Cole. “She’s at least got to go out on and make a challenge on the cross. We had a young goalkeeper, she’s good but she made young player mistakes. But she’s still learning. And we have a backline that’s new.”

But Boston responded only four minutes later. In the 69th minute, trialist Libby Guess sent the ball wide to O’Reilly. O’Reilly then sent it into the center of the penalty area for Sanderson, who shot first-time to level the game again.

“It was a great build up play,” said Sanderson. “LeRoux played it out wide to O’Reilly and I just made the run to the far post. Luckily with great players, you know if you make the run the ball is going to get to you. Because of the wait of the pass, I just had to tap it in.”

Poor marking by the Breakers’ defense allowed Sky Blue to take the lead for a third time. In the 74th minute, Taylor Lytle crossed to Schmidt, who snuck in between Whitehill and Kia McNeill to poke the ball past Boyd for the 3-2 advantage.

This time, Sky Blue’s lead would stand.

“We didn’t win, but we can take a lot of positives,” said Sanderson. “There was a lot of combinations. A lot of the girls were gelling. There’s still a long way to go, but I think considering we’re just one week in, we did a great job tonight.”

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