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Breakers Fall to Houston Dash on Late Penalty

April 20, 2014 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Boston Breakers News Release


HANOVER, Mass. (April 20, 2014) - The Boston Breakers fell to the Houston Dash Sunday night in their 2014 National Women's Soccer League home opener. The Dash came back from a 2-1 deficit to take a 3-2 win in front of 2,018 fans at Harvard Stadium.

"It's a tough pill to swallow tonight. Credit to Houston for hanging in. I think we stepped it up at the start of the second half and had the run of play, but we really didn't create enough scoring chances from that," Breakers Head Coach Tom Durkin said. "Coming home, our expectations were a little bit higher. I think at the end of the day, we can play better than what we played today. It was a tough loss."

Dash midfielder Teresa Noyola scored the game-winning goal in the 85th on a penalty kick. Breakers defender Courtney Jones was called for a foul in the box when she went to clear the ball and inadvertently hit a Houston player. Five minutes earlier, Noyola scored the equalizer for Houston, a right-footed shot into the top corner.

The Breakers took a 1-0 lead early, just one minute into the match. Heather O'Reilly latched onto a Lisa De Vanna through ball and followed up her initial attempt to give Boston a 1-0 advantage.

The goal was O'Reilly's 10th goal of her professional career, which began in 2009 with Sky Blue FC. Later in the half, O'Reilly nearly linked up with Kaylyn Kyle for a two-goal advantage, but her hanging cross just evaded Kyle at the back post.

Breakers keeper Alyssa Naeher wasn't tested too often in the first half, and didn't face a shot on goal. She ended the match with two saves. Five minutes into the second half, Ella Masar tied the match for Houston, putting in a rebound off a shot by Tiffany McCarty. McCarty broke down the right and forced a diving save from Naeher, but Masar swooped in and flicked in the rebound.

The Breakers took their second lead of the game in the 70th minute. A left-footed cross by O'Reilly went into the box, and Joanna Lohman outmuscled her defender, getting up high to head it past Houston keeper Erin McLeod for her first goal of the year.

The Breakers return to action Sunday night at Harvard Stadium, facing rivals Sky Blue FC at 7 p.m. ET. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.breakerstickets.com.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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