 |
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
Abby Crumpton (left, shown in action during a May friendly against the Boston Aztecs) will likely get her first WPS start tonight. (Photo by Jess Lander) |
If Boston (6-6-3, 21 points) are to take three points off the last place Gold Pride for the first time this year (they’re 0-1-1 against them so far), it will need to rely on several players that have seen limited minutes.
One of those players is fullback Abby Crumpton, who was pressed into action during Wednesday night’s 1-0 home win over Chicago. The 28-year old player, on a developmental contract with the Breakers, played the last 20 minutes after coming on for an injured Heather Mitts. It was her first WPS appearance this season.
Crumpton admitted Friday that she was a bit awestruck when she was called into the game.
“I think I was like, ‘Are you serious?’” she said. “You kind of get used to it not happening. I was prepared to play, but I didn’t think it would happen.”
The fact that Crumpton is on a WPS roster at all is quite a story.
After a standout career at the University of Michigan that saw her leave as the Wolverines’ all-time leading scorer (43 goals and 30 assists for 116 points), Crumpton was selected by the Atlanta Beat in the 2003 WUSA Draft. That year, she was a regular in the team’s midfield.
When the league folded after that season, Crumpton stopped playing competitive soccer, opting to pursue a career in coaching instead. She served as an assistant for Clemson University and her alma mater, and also a head coach for Division II Anderson University in South Carolina.
In 2007 Crumpton decided to give playing another try, spending the next two seasons with the Charlotte Lady Eagles of the USL’s W-League, where she played with current Breakers teammate Kelly Schmedes. In February, Crumpton attended the Breakers’ open tryout, and was officially signed to a developmental contract the next month.
“Being back in this environment is really intense,” she said. “You’re playing with some of the best players in the world.”
Crumpton has been getting some game action with the Boston Aztecs, the Breakers’ WPSL affiliate. She recently scored a hat trick in a 3-0 win over the Adirondack Lynx.
Otherwise, she has trained everyday with the Breakers, waiting for her chance.
“You realize you’re part of the team and it’s part of the job,” Crumpton said. “That’s a role that happens on every team. I know I’m helping my teammates get better by how hard you train.”
A teammate of Crumpton’s on the Beat, Breakers defender Nancy Augustyniak-Goffi said she admires what Crumpton and the other developmental players have brought to the team.
“To be a developmental player, I don’t envy them at all,” Augustyniak-Goffi said. “It’s tough. You train day in and day out, and most of the time you don’t get to play. Some of those players are going to get to play (against Gold Pride), and good for them. They deserve it because they work hard day in and day out, and they’re the ones that prepare the starting lineup for the game.”
With back line starters Scott, LePeilbet and Mitts all away, Crumpton and Augustyniak-Goffi will both start against Gold Pride, likely at the fullback positions. Crumpton said her nerves will be a little more settled than they would have been had she not played against Chicago.
“I think playing Wednesday was a great thing, just to get some experience in a heated game,” Crumpton said. “Although I think it’s always easier to start a game rather than sub into a game like that.”
Gold Pride have fallen on hard times recently, going 0-5-2 in its last seven games to fall five points behind the next lowest team (Chicago) in the standings. The Bay Area club has also been hit hard by international call-ups, with leading scorer Christine Sinclair (Canada) joining midfielder Leslie Osborne, defender Rachel Buehler and keeper Nicole Barnhart (United States) for the countries’ two upcoming friendlies.
That won’t mean, however, the Breakers will be in position to take their opponent lightly.
“Just like Wednesday, we have to come out with the attitude that we need to be blue-collar,” Crumpton said. “If we come out with fire and passion for the game, I think it will hopefully help us to get a win.”
In with the old and new
With so many players away from the team, the Breakers were allowed a roster exception to sign two players on week-long deals.
One is midfielder Stacy Bishop, who started six games and made nine total appearances before being released June 18. She has been playing with her former club team, Tampa Bay Hellenic of the W-League, since then.
Boston has also signed defender Erika Sutton, a former Florida State player who had been playing for W-League side Buffalo Flash.
Mark Goodman can be reached at newsdesk@soccernewengland.com.
Blink
Del.icio.us
Digg
Furl
Google
Simpy
Spurl
Technorati
Y! MyWeb
|
|
|
|
[?] Subscribe To This Site
|
Return to top