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The Breakers and Aztec played on a perfect night at Amesbury Sports Park. (Photo by Mark Goodman) |
Kelly Schmedes came off the bench at halftime and notched a second half brace for the WPS side, the first assisted by Jennifer Nobis and the second by Shrewsbury, Mass. native Maggie Tomecka.
Tomecka opened the scoring six minutes in, taking a square pass across the edge of the box from Kristine Lilly and firing a well-placed shot just under the crossbar. Sophia Mundy, an Aztec player who trains with the Breakers and was playing for the women in blue on this night, scored their second in the 36th minute on a nice bending shot from just inside the area.
Mundy played the full 90 minutes in an attacking midfield role for the Breakers, and had a very active game - one that caught the eye of Breakers head coach Tony DiCicco.
“She’s a good soccer player. She reads the game well, she’s pretty technical,” he said. “She needs to have a little bit more bite. But she’s pretty fit, and I think she’s going to have a chance to get into a professional game here before the season’s over.”
And that’s what this was about for the Aztecs, who, as a result of their team’s affiliation with the Breakers, can be called up to the WPS side at any time.
“This is why we came here,” said Aztec midfielder Kristen Habenicht, who joined Boston this year after two seasons with the Long Island Rough Riders. “To play with them, just seeing the level they’re at - that’s where we want to be. It was a great honor playing against them, and maybe some of us can play with them.”
Aztec player/coach Meotis Erikson, who played for the Breakers in WUSA, said it was important for her players to get a first-hand glimpse of the caliber of play in the professional ranks.
“There’s a number of girls on our team who are aspiring to play for the Breakers,” Erikson said. “So for those players who are looking to play in the WPS, it gives them a great idea of where they need to be, what they need to work on. I think, for our players, it’s nothing but a win-win situation.”
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The Breakers talk strategy at halftime of Thursday night's friendly. (Photo by Mark Goodman) |
Both coaches said their team has reaped benefits from the relationship. The Breakers’ developmental players - Tomecka, keeper Ashley Phillips and defenders Ariel Harris and Abby Crumpton - will all play for Aztec this season.
Phillips started for Aztec Thursday night, with the Breakers starting their No. 2 keeper, Allison Lipsher, in net. Lipsher, Mundy, Tomecka, Nobis, Crumpton, midfielder Kasey Moore and defenders Sue Weber and Nancy Augustyniak-Goffi played the full 90 minutes for the Breakers. Of those players, only Moore and Weber have started more than one match this season.
The players shifted positions throughout the match, including Tomecka, who started in her normal midfield spot but also played defender and forward. It was while playing up that she assisted on Schmedes’s second goal.
“This was a good opportunity for some of us that don’t usually get to start to get some playing time,” Tomecka said. “I really enjoyed it. I like playing all over the field, wherever the team needs me.”
From an Aztec perspective, the relationship with the Breakers has raised the team’s profile, attracting some solid talent to the club.
“Last year and the year before, it almost felt like we had to beg people to come our way,” Erikson said. “This year we were turning people away and we were able to be very selective when putting our roster together.”
Mark Goodman can be reached at newsdesk@soccernewengland.com.
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