The highly anticipated Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) Elite League matchup between two former WPS rivals did not disappoint Saturday night at Dilboy Stadium in Somerville. In front of a sold-out crowd of 2,342 at Dilboy Stadium in Somerville, the Boston Breakers got a hat trick from forward Katie Schoepfer in a 3-2 win over the Western New York Flash. With the victory, the Breakers are now 4-0 and have a comfortable lead atop the WPSL Elite League. For Schoepfer, her three strikes now give her the league lead with six goals.
“My teammates did most of the work,” Schoepfer said. “The ball was just landing for me in the right spot. Two of them were all Kyah (Simon’s) work. I think it’s a sign of a good team that we’ve won in many different ways. We’ve had blowouts, we’ve had teams that were a lot more physical, we’ve had teams that were a lot more organized. Figuring out how the Flash played after the first half, we kind of talked it out, and we were able to make the adjustments we needed to make and go out there and take it to them.”
The Flash came out and dominated possession early in the first half, creating a number of chances. In the 7th minute, McCall Zerboni rocketed a cross from Adriana on goal, but Breakers rookie keeper Alice Binns was there to make the stop, one of season-high seven saves on the night. Four minutes later, Adriana ripped a shot from 20 yards out, again stopped by Binns.
“It was our intention to start well today, and I thought we did that,” WNY Head Coach Aaran Linessaid. “I thought we started well and then conceded a goal against the run of play. It’s still a young team that’s learning. But that’s when you roll your sleeves up and you turn it on. I thought we got our heads down a little bit. We got into the second half, and I thought we responded well. Started well again.”
The Breakers struggled to push the ball forward until the 20th minute when Cat Whitehill played in rookie forward Melissa Henderson on a free kick. Henderson and Simon both got a foot on it, but WNY’s backline cleared it from danger.
Despite losing the possession game early on, the Breakers eventually struck first. Schoepfer scored the first of her three goals, burying a shot past Allison Lipsher off a redirection in front. The 33rd minute goal gave Boston a 1-0 lead. The Flash tied the game in the 49th minute when striker Adriana flicked a pass through a gap in Boston’s backline. The ball went right to Angela Salem, who beat Binns to level the score.
Boston retook the lead in the 54th minute after Simon was tripped up in the box on a breakaway. The Breakers were awarded a penalty shot, which Schoepfer buried for her second goal and a 2-1 lead. In the 67th minute, Schoepfer scored her hat trick, the first three-goal game since her senior year at Penn State University.
The Flash threatened in the following minutes when Adriana hit two shots on goal in a span of two minutes. Her persistence finally paid off. The Spanish striker scored to make it a 3-2 game in the 82nd minute, putting a loose ball in the box past Binns. But the Breakers held on from there for their fourth consecutive win of the season.
“We created enough chances for two away games,” Lines said of his Flash squad. “We’re going to work hard. It’s not quite there. We’ve got to improve in areas of the park. We’ve got to get more grip in the midfield. It’s a challenge, and I’m sure this group will respond.”
“It was a little nerve-wracking at the end. We knew the game was going to be a good game. They have good players, and we have a set of good players,” Breakers Head Coach Lisa Cole said. “I think we were lucky to get up 3-1, and they made interesting there at the end, but I was proud of what the girls were able to accomplish, especially coming off the game on Wednesday.”
Cole talked about the performances of both Schoepfer and Binns.”Shep’s always been a big finisher. That’s her unique quality. In the offseason, she’s put a lot of time into her fitness and developing her game, but when she gets in front of goal, I think she’s very dangerous,” Cole said. “Alice has been fantastic for us. She’s a big save type of goalkeeper. She’s focused. She stays tuned in on the ball and has good reactions. She kept us in the game.”
The Breakers now head out west, taking on FC Indiana on Friday, June 1, and the Chicago Red Stars on Sunday, June 3. They then visit the Philadelphia Fever on June 10 before returning home June 20 to meet the New England Mutiny.
The Flash will next travel to Long Island for a rematch with New York Fury on June 3 before returning home to host Chicago on Wednesday, June 13. They then return to the road for back-to-back games on Saturday, June 16, against ASA Chesapeake Charge and Sunday, June 17, against Philadelphia.
