Vancouver Sun: Eagles Top Breakers
Eagles top Breakers
Charlotte and Boston will meet in
W-League soccer title game tonight
Dan Stinson
Vancouver
Sun
Quite simply, it was the best played, most entertaining soccer
game at Swangard Stadium in recent years. Regardless of the players'
gender.
Vancouver Breakers and North Carolina's Charlotte Lady Eagles put
on nothing short of a brilliant spectacle Friday night in the second semi-final
match of the W-League women's championship tournament, keeping 2,485 fans in
full voice and on the edge of their seats for 120 minutes before settling the
issue on penalty kicks.
The Eagles prevailed 5-4 from the 12-yard spot
after the teams had battled to a 1-1 tie in regulation time and sudden-death
overtime, advancing to tonight's title game against the defending champion
Boston Renegades at the Burnaby facility.
The Renegades advanced with a
somewhat pedestrian -- and certainly much less spectacular -- 2-1 semi-final
victory over the Denver Lady Cougars earlier Friday.
The Breakers and
Eagles were tied 4-4 on penalty kicks when Charlotte goalkeeper Esther Thompson
made a diviing save on Diana Artuso's shot. Eagles' Jen Lewis then stroked home
the decisive kick past Breakers' goalkeeper Michele Gademans.
The
Breakers had their hands full with the Eagles' superb speed on the forward line
much of the game and were frustrated for the most part on their counter attacks.
But the momentum turned decidedly in the Breakers' favour in the late minutes of
regulation time, when they were unlucky not to settle the issue with the Eagles
on their heels and defending desperately.
"I can't count the number of
great chances we had to win it late in regulation time," said Breakers' head
coach Dave Dew. "The ball must have hit two crossbars, a couple of posts and was
cleared off the line twice. The way it went, we could probably have played
another full game and still not scored."
Charlotte striker Tina Murphy
opened scoring in the 47th minute by putting away speed merchant Patience Avre's
cross from the right flank, beating Gademans by bouncing the ball off the inside
of the far post. The Breakers equalized in the 82nd when second-half substitute
strikers Rosalyn Hicks and Tammy Crawford combined for a highlight reel goal.
Crawford's looping chip pass was collected by Hicks at the top of the
Charlotte penalty area and she then took three strides before connecting on a
wicked half-volley shot that screamed into the middle of the net.
Earlier in the second half, Breakers' defender Liz Conner blocked a
goal-stamped shot by Charlotte's Australian international midfielder Joey Peters
and Gademans performed acrobatics to stop the ensuing rebound.
The
Breakers were denied a first goal on several earlier occasions -- most notably
in the 50th minute when Artuso's sharp-angled shot deep on the left flank was
alertly parried by Thompson. The rebound went to striker Amber Allen, who was
unmarked near the far post but had her header shot brilliantly saved by
Thompson, who scrambled across her line quickly.
"We're obviously
disappointed with the final result, but the most important thing was to play
attractive soccer in front of our home fans," Dew said. "I'd like to think we
achieved that."
As expected, the Renegades advanced to the title game,
but eked out a a narrow victory over the Lady Cougars. Defending champions and
top-seeded in the four-team showcase tournament, the Renegades clearly suffered
from the effects of a grinding travel itinerary that started late Thursday
afternoon at Logan International Airport in Boston and ended early Friday
morning at Vancouver International.
"It's not an excuse, but our travel
schedule was brutal getting to Vancouver," said Renegades' coach Peter Bradley.
"Our players were committed to appearing at youth development camps in the
Boston area until late Thursday afternoon and then had to travel across a
continent to get here.
"We arrived in Vancouver at about 2 a.m. this
morning. We didn't play well as a team nor anywhere near our potential today. We
allowed the Lady Cougars to stay in it and were somewhat fortunate to
win."
A evenly played first half saw the Renegades take a 1-0 lead in the
40th minute on a Lady Cougars' own goal by centre back Amy Gray. Attempting to
clear a rising shot from the right flank by Renegades' Finnish international
striker Laura Kalmari, Gray mi**** the ball and it hooked into the open right
corner of the net, out of reach of goalkeeper Chellie McCourt.
But the
Lady Cougars, seeded No. 4, played the Renegades virtually even in territorial
play during the half despite giving up considerable height. Neither team managed
a dangerous shot on goal in the opening 45 minutes, however.
The winning
goal came in the 69th minute on a superbly taken direct free kick by Boston's
Canadian international midfielder Mary Beth Bowie. After a teammate made a dummy
run over the ball, Bowie crashed a rising shot from 22 yards into the upper left
corner of the net, cleanly beating McCourt.
The Cougars clawed back with
a goal by midfielder Chrissie Duren in the 88th minute, but their late rally
fell short.
The Breakers and Cougars will play in the consolation final
for third place today at 4:30 p.m.
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2002 Vancouver Sun
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