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Sky Blue FC

Flash Defeat Sky Blue FC with 89th Minute Goal

August 1, 2015 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Sky Blue FC News Release


Piscataway, N.J. - Sky Blue FC (3-7-5, 14 points) returned to action on Saturday night, falling to the Western New York Flash (5-7-3, 15 points) at Yurcak Field, 2-1. The game-winner in this match came in heartbreaking fashion, with Western New York earning the deciding goal in the 89^th minute.

"This is a tough result to swallow," said Jim Gabarra, Sky Blue FC Technical Director & Head Coach. "A draw would have been a fair result because we created a lot of chances tonight. We just needed to be a little bit more patient and move the ball more quickly. Unfortunately, we were unable to maintain the type of tempo that we needed to secure the point."

Sky Blue FC created numerous opportunities on the offensive end of the field over the first half-hour of this contest, but Flash netminder Chantel Jones and the Western New York back line consistently found themselves properly positioned to keep the ball clean of the net.

Eventually, it was the Flash that got itself on the scoreboard in the 34^th minute, taking advantage of a ball that was played back to Sky Blue FC goalkeeper Brittany Cameron through the air from defender Kristin Grubka. Cameron had to play the ball off her head and was unable to track down the ball after a collision in front of the goal. The recipient of the ensuing open net chance was Western New York striker Lady Andrade, who quickly struck the ball home to make it 1-0 in favor of the visiting side.

Sky Blue FC was able to level this contest in the 52^nd minute, making good on a play that started off a Flash corner kick. There to clear away the chance was Australian defender Caitlin Foord, who struck the ball in a 3v1 fast break opportunity for Sky Blue FC. The recipient of the clearance was Kelley O'Hara, who ran forward with Sam Kerr and Foord flanking her. O'Hara then touched left to Kerr, who waited just long enough for O'Hara to break into open space before one-timing it back to her. O'Hara then tapped the ball forward and rifled a right-footed blast that froze Jones and made it an even 1-1 game.

The game-winning tally in this matched occurred in the 89^th minute, with the visiting Flash finishing a sequence off a throw-in. After a ball landed at her feet on the right side of the penalty, forward Lynn Williams spun around a defender before placing a ball into the air for the far post. There awaiting the distribution was 79^th minute substitute Elizabeth Eddy, who put a diving header on the cross that hit the back of the net.

With the score, Western New York would eventually Yurcak Field with the 2-1 win and a critical three points to bring a halt to their five-match winless streak.

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