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Boyds, Md. (July 25, 2013) – The Washington Spirit will host the Boston Breakers on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on the Maryland SoccerPlex’s Maureen Hendricks Field, as the teams square off for the fourth and final time in the inaugural NWSL regular season.
The Spirit (1-11-4) can even the season series with a win, having drawn twice and lost once to the Breakers so far. The teams played to a 1-1 draw in the season opener on April 14 in Boston, and had the same result at the Maryland SoccerPlex on May 11 in their second meeting. Boston (5-7-5) took control of the series on May 25 at home with a 3-0 shutout of the Spirit, led by three assists from Lianne Sanderson.
Following a road-heavy middle of the season, the Spirit will play four of their final six matches at Maureen Hendricks Field, beginning on Saturday. This comes off a stretch of playing eight of their last 11 games on the road.
Washington has lost four straight matches since drawing FC Kansas City 1-1 at home on July 3. The Spirit suffered a hard-fought loss at the hands of the Chicago Red Stars in their last outing at Benedictine University. The game was a defensive struggle except for the 62nd minute, when Tiffany McCarty turned a header by Red Stars forward Inka Grings into her own net, leading to a 1-0 defeat. With only 15 players available due to injuries, McCarty was forced to move from her usual position at forward to make an emergency start at right back.
Ashlyn Harris was superb in the Washington net otherwise, piling up seven saves. Harris’ 65 total saves are good for second in the NWSL.
Midfiedler Diana Matheson is also among the league leaders but on the offensive side. The Canadian Women’s National Team starter’s team-leading six goals are fourth in the league. Matheson’s partner in the midfield, Lori Lindsey, is looking to extend her team-high starts streak to 17. The U.S. Women’s National Teamer player has been on the pitch for every minute of the team’s matches so far.
Sixth place Boston enters the weekend battling for the fourth and final playoff spot, with four weeks remaining in the season. The Breakers are seven points back of Western New York, whose 27 points are five ahead of fifth place Chicago. The Breakers have six matches left to make good on their postseason hopes, but are coming off a tough 3-0 loss to FC Kansas City on Wednesday.
Tickets for Saturday’s match, including the new VIP Field Side Seats, are available at https://tickets.washingtonspirit.com.
The live stream for the match is available on the NWSL YouTube Channel.