Spirit hit the road to face the Breakers

Washington Spirit  |   August 6, 2015
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BOYDS, Md. (August 7, 2015)—The Washington Spirit (7-4-3, 24 points) play the Boston Breakers (3-10-3, 12 points) this Saturday, August 8th at 7:00 p.m. EST at Soldiers Field. The two sides last met on June 6th sans national team players participating in the World Cup. Each side settled for a point after the 1-1 draw. Saturday’s game will be the Spirit’s first on the road in over three weeks.

“At this stage of the season every game is very important and we are focused on being the best we can be in Boston,” said head coach Mark Parsons. “The players have been excellent in training this week and motivation to perform is very high. I look forward to seeing the team putting in the strongest performance possible.”

The first meeting between the two sides resulted in a 1-1 tie. The Spirit had 16 shots to the Breakers eight shots on net. The lone goal for the Spirit came from Amanda Da Costa who struck a beautifully weighted ball in the upper left hand corner. Maddy Evans, for the Breakers, scored off a poor clearance from the Spirit backline, which secured the point for both teams.

Midfielder Kristie Mewis has been the key offensive threat for the Breakers. She has scored five goals on the season and forwards Morgan Marlborough and Stephanie McCaffrey will look for her offensive pressure when competing against the Spirit’s backline. Notably, Washington’s defense has only allowed five goals since playing the Breakers on June 6th.

After having three consecutive home games, the Washington Spirit, are in great form with forward Crystal Dunn scoring the only first half hat trick in NWSL history.  Dunn’s 12 goals in 14 games leads the league and she will continue to apply high pressure with the speed of her counter parts Diana Matheson and Francisca Ordega. Goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris, having yet to face off against the Breakers, will need to organize her backline throughout the game to prevent opportunities coming from the midfield and the flanks.

As the 2015 NWSL season heads toward the post season the Spirit sit in third place, only three points away from second place Chicago Red Stars. The road game against the Breakers is the first of three games in a week for the Spirit as they head to Boston to play on Saturday, return to the Soccerplex to face the Western New York Flash on August 12th and then head back on the road to play the Chicago Red Stars on August 16th

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