Excitement filled the stadium as the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) Elite Leauge opened the inaugural season on Thursday, May 10, with ASA Chesapeake Charge hosting Boston Breakers at Anne Arundel Community College.
While Boston took a convincing 3-0 win, the score did not accurately indicate the fierce level of competition in the match. After scoring three quick goals in the opening 15 minutes, the former Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) side were held scoreless by a team made up primarily of college-level players and recent high school graduates.
“Obviously the score reflected how excited we were to be on the field together,” Breakers Head Coach Lisa Cole said after the game. “It felt great to be back in Blue. We really started the game with momentum. The second half the Charge came out stronger and we had to deal with it. They had more fight and grit in the second half. They have potential, and we do not take any team lightly in this league.”
An enthusiastic Maryland crowd and over a dozen members of the media watched as Boston opened the scoring in the fourth minute. University of North Carolina graduate Courtney Jones sent a pass in from the end line to Veronica Napoli, and Northeastern University’s all-time leading scorer took Jones’ cross and beat Charge keeper Lyndse Hokanson to give Boston the early lead.
The Breakers next two goals came back-to-back just before the 15 minute mark. First Napoli assisted on a goal by former Penn State All-American Katie Schoepfer. Minutes later former U.S. Women’s National Team midfielder and Breakers captain Leslie Osborne assisted on a goal by two-time America East Striker of the Year Jessica Luscinski.
After the surprise of the three early goals wore off, Charge quickly regrouped and began to play their own game. The talent-heavy Breakers were kept off the scoreboard for the remainder of the match, while Charge – with several highly-touted high school seniors on the roster – managed to challenge Boston goalkeeper Alice Binns a few times. Meanwhile, second-half Chesapeake substitute goalie Erin Quinnmade several important saves against the Breakers.
“I’m excited about what I saw last night,” Charge GM Patrick Crawford said. “After we settled down and the girls adjusted to the pace of play, I saw a lot that I liked. We are one of the youngest teams this season, but have built a young core squad to compete for years to come. It’s unfortunate for the girls that we had that bad 15 minute stretch.”
WPSL Commissioner Jerry Zanelliwas was pleased with the level of competition. “It’s exciting when a project you have been working on for the past three months comes to a successful culmination,” he said. “After Chesapeake got over the shock of the three quick goals, they settled down and played good soccer.”
“Fans are obviously excited about the Elite season,” said Boston Communications Manager Ryan Wood. “We had fans tweeting at us from Australia, New Zealand, England, Spain, China, Japan, Scotland, and all over the country before and during the match.”
While Boston’s starting lineup included Osborne and fellow former National Team member Cat Whitehill and current U.S. U-23 Women’s National Team members Amanda DaCosta and Bianca D’Agostino, Charge’s fielded a much younger squad. Starting for Chesapeake were high school talents Riley Barger, Shannon Collins, Maisie McCune, Ashley Spivey and Alexis Prior-Brown. From all accounts, this appears to be a group that has much to give as they develop.
“We started five high school seniors tonight and I think we showed that there may be a little adjustment period,” said Crawford, “but I promise you we will adjust and come out stronger in our next match. Give credit to Boston, they are a great team. We now see what level we will have to play at to compete in this league. We are looking forward to traveling to Boston to play them again.”
“While the teams that moved up from the WPSL to the Elite League will be challenged by the professional teams,” said Zanelli, “I know that during the course of the year they will get stronger. What we are doing her is developing the players of the future and possibly future National Team members.”
On Saturday, May 12, Boston will travel to the Maryland SoccerPlex for an exhibition match against D.C. United Women of the USL W-League. They return to WPSL Elite League action on Friday, May 18, when they host FC Indiana in their home opener at Dilboy Stadium in Somerville, Mass. Chesapeake Charge next play on Saturday, May 19, when they visit East Longmeadows High School to take on the New England Mutiny, who open their season on Saturday, May 12, hosting New York Fury.
