A five minute stretch set the tone for the remaining hour-plus as Boston secured their second victory of the season with a 4-1 win against Chicago.
Boston Breakers vs. Chicago Red Stars: Final score 4-1, It’s the Boston Breakers Show, Folks!
The Breakers have Katie Schoepfer and Sydney ‘hat trick’ Leroux to thank for a colossal 4-1 win over Chicago.
Stanley Chou
The Chicago Red Stars showed the most promise at the start with Lydia Vandenbergh hitting crosses to Zakiya Bywaters and Ella Masar. On a few occasions at the start, they found their way into the box, challenging Ashley Phillips to come off her line.
The opening goal came in the 19th minute when Lianne Sanderson shipped a nice pass into Katie Schoepfer, who controlled the ball up the right flank. That forced Erin McLeod to step outside of the box, which left Schoepfer with a convenient opening in the low corner of the net.
Following the Breakers’ goal, the Red Stars picked up their pace, but could not defeat Phillips in net. The Breakers defense let Chicago have the ball in dangerous areas outside the 18 yard box. In order for the Red Stars to have built their offensive attack, they needed a better performance from Leslie Osborne, who sat too deep in the midfield keeping her from picking up the ball.
Schoepfer was hungry for another goal in the 23rd minute when she spotted McLeod with a poor clearance. Schoepfer latching onto the ball in the box, but was immediately dispossessed. But it was just a mere minute until a short corner kick from Schoepfer to Heather O’Reilly allowed her to it a cross into the box. Sydney Leroux surprised McLeod with an on-target header that found the bottom hand corner of the net.
The second half was the Breakers Show with two ambitious and successful attacks setup by Leroux. In the 55th minute the Breakers found an opportunity to expand their 2-0 lead with a cross from Leroux to Nogueira with an on-target header, but was deflected by McLeod.
Chicago’s only goal cam in the 60th minute from a run by Bywaters, who was able to nip past the Breakers’ back line and force Phillips off her line. The Breakers defense could have gotten their first clean sheet if it wasn’t for their defenders sitting behind Bywaters, providing her with free space to push into the box.
The Red Stars defense is not immune to criticism after their poor performance, particularly Michelle Wenino and Rachel Quon. McLeod was alone in the back, but managed to make a few saves on strikes by Leroux.
McLeod could not prevent her from extending the lead by two more points, though. Wenino could not connect with the ball or with her defender responsibilities allowing O’Reilly to run up to the edge of the 18 on several occasions.
Chicago made a good attempt to keep their presence in the box following a 72nd minute corner, but the Breakers’ defense and midfield crowded the box, disallowing Osborne and others to get on target shots. That benefited the team as Leroux found the ball from the box and tracked it up the flank with only Wenino marking her. Leroux’s quick feet caused Wenino to trip, opening up the field for Leroux to run into the box unmarked with Carmelina Moscato and Wenino trailing behind. Leroux caught McLeod off her line and shipped the ball into the net. extending the Breakers lead to 3-1.
In the 82nd minute, Leroux sealed the deal with her second goal of the night made off a run down the center pushing the defense back and forcing McLeod to step off her line yet again.
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