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Kelly Smith says she's ready to play through the pain in her right knee to help the Breakers make the playoffs. (Photo by CHRIS ADUAMA/aduama.com) |
A win against Washington would clinch a playoff berth for the club. Should the Breakers take all six points from this road trip, they would put themselves in good stead for a second-place finish, which would give them a bye to the WPS semifinals.
Boston (7-6-4, 25 points) has performed reasonably without Smith that last couple weeks, going 2-1-1 to pick up seven crucial points in the chase for a playoff spot. Smith has been nursing an injury to her right knee and was also in England for 10 days with the national team, although she did not take part in either of its friendlies.
The Breakers probably could have used her Saturday night, as they squandered several scoring opportunities in a 0-0 draw against Sky Blue FC.
“Sitting from the bench, not having any control over the game and wanting to be out there, wanting to have one of those opportunities was frustrating,” Smith said. “But we didn’t lose. We picked up a point, so we’re still in amongst it.”
Smith admitted after Tuesday’s practice her knee isn’t getting better, and likely won’t until the season is over.
“It’s still not 100 percent, but I think it’s just managing it,” Smith said. “We only got three more games before I head back to England, so I’d like to get as many minutes as possible before I leave. It’s just playing through pain, to be honest, tolerating how high I can take the pain threshold. But I’m willing to play though that because I want to play the last remaining games.”
Fitness will also be an issue, as Smith hasn’t played since the Breakers’ 1-0 loss to Sky Blue July 4.
“I haven’t played a competitive game in about four weeks, so my lungs are not gonna be where they were a month ago,” she said. “Obviously, I’m not 90-minute match fit; maybe a half, maybe 50, 60 minutes maximum.”
For DiCicco, the dream scenario is a comfortable win in Washington that would allow him to save Smith for the match against Athletica.
“If things go really well, then we won’t use her at all [tonight],” DiCicco said. “But she’s available to us – not for 90 minutes, for sure, but maybe 30-45 minutes. If we’re doing well, then we can save her for St. Louis. She’ll be that much more ready.”
While the Breakers have had success against Washington this year, having gone 2-0-1 in their three matches, none of the games have been easy. Even Boston’s 3-1 win at Maryland SoccerPlex April 18 was tied with 15 minutes left.
While the majority of the league’s games this have been low-scoring, the Freedom have been the exception. Washington (6-6-5, 23 points) leads WPS in goals scored (26) and conceded (28), and seven of their 17 matches have seen at least one team score three or more goals.
DiCicco, though, says he doesn’t anticipate a shootout tonight.
“I don’t expect it to be a high-scoring game,” DiCicco said. “I expect it to be 1-0, 2-1 or something like that.”
The Freedom boast an impressive attack, led by MVP candidate Sonia Bompastor (4 goals, league-high 6 assists). Forwards Lisa DeVanna and Abby Wambach lead the team with 5 goals apiece, and both DiCicco and Smith mentioned midfielder Homare Sawa as another threat to keep an eye in.
But the Breakers’ defense has been stingy lately, not allowing a goal in their last 323 minutes of play. Conceding early goals had been an issue in games prior to this recent stretch, but even with a great variety of personnel playing due to national team call-ups, the Boston back line has held firm against Chicago, FC Gold Pride and Sky Blue the last three games.
DiCicco credits part of that to the presence of Shrewsbury, Mass. native Maggie Tomecka in the holding midfield role in all of those games.
“I think Maggie Tomecka has been a big difference for us,” DiCicco said. “Winning those head balls in the center and getting a tackle in, those are the things that turn an attack for the other team into an attack for you.”
Tomecka hadn’t started a match this season prior to the July 15 win against Chicago, having served as a substitute in only five of the team’s 14 games prior to that. But she started in the holding spot for four years at North Carolina, and was hoping for a return to that role coming into the season.
“That was my goal, to start by the end of the season, but I really didn’t know if it was gonna happen or not,” Tomecka said. “That really wasn’t in my control, but what was in my control was working hard everyday, so that’s what I did.”
Weber out for the season
Defender Sue Weber had arthroscopic surgery on her right knee Thursday and will not play again this season.
DiCicco said after Saturday’s game the team was trying to rehab Weber’s knee so that she could return to action, but it wasn’t showing enough improvement. Weber started eight matches this season in central defense.
Mark Goodman can be reached at newsdesk@soccernewengland.com.
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