Boston Aztec Breakers Reserve Win WPSL Championship

August 1, 2010

Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) East Conference champion Boston Aztec Breakers Reserves (12-1-1) defeated Pacific Conference champion Ajax America (9-4-1) 2-1 to win the 2010 WPSL National Championship in Richardson, Texas.

The Breakers Reserves put the pressure on Ajax in the first half and the teams switched roles in the second, but Boston scored the decisive goal in the 83rd minute. Boston's Mandi Back put a shot on goal that Ajax goalkeeper Anna Picarelli tipped off the crossbar. The rebound fell right to Becca Mays, who finished coolly to cement the 2-1 victory for the Breakers Reserves.

"I think it was good for us to see Ajax play yesterday [in their Semifinal vs. Oklahoma]," said Boston Head Coach Mike Kersker. "It gave us an opportunity to make a couple tactical adjustments. We did that and it really made a big difference for us. Again, it�s the resiliency of this team. We went up early, [Ajax] came back to score in the beginning of the second half and we said to ourselves, 'we gave them a goal' and now let's get one more and that's it. Every player on the field was phenomenal."

The coach's opinion was cemented in the first half, when Boston came out of the gates as the stronger side and were attacking from all angles. In the 10th minute, Taleen Dimirdjian's hustle proved very beneficial as she chased down a ball at the top of the penalty area and got in a scramble with Ajax keeper Yiana Dimmitt.

The ball squirted loose and Becky Ryan drove the ball into the empty net for the 1-0 lead. Leah Blayney and Ryan would combine together seven minutes later, but the shot from Blayney (the Final Four MVP) would go just wide. In the 21st minute, Mays would move deftly into the penalty area, shed a defender but her shot would rocket into the near post side netting.

Ajax picked up their play at the end of the first half, and would continue that strong surge into the second half. In the 49th minute, the combination of a acrobatic end-line run from Leah Gallegos and the Boston defense falling back off of her gave the former USC star a shot on goal, which she sent inside the far post to tie the game at 1-1.

"We've been in that position a couple of times this season," said Breakers Reserves captain Rebekah Splaine. "We know how to come back from a tied game or a deficit. One thing I know about our team, we never throw in the towel."

From there, the pace of the match picked up exponentially. Boston's Chioma Igwe fired just wide of the far post in the 54th minute, while Ajax' Shannon Cross forced Breakers Reserves keeper Rebecca Ritchie into a double-save in the 58th minute.

Play would tighten up as the half wore on, with the physicality and will to win from both teams in evidence. A hard but clean slide tackle from Blayney would win the ball for her team in the Ajax half of the field, and from there, Back's shot and Mays' finish would give Boston their first-ever WPSL National Championship title.

For Splaine, it was a very appropriate end to a playing career that has seen her go from a collegiate All-American to a two-time champion with the now-defunct W-League Boston Renegades to the WUSA and now - a WPSL Championship.

"I got a little teary-eyed after the game," said Splaine. "This is my last year playing, so it was really nice to win a championship again... a National Championship to end my career is fantastic."

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