Power Weekly Notes
July 28, 2003 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
New York Power News Release
New York, NY - The New York Power will round out their home schedule this Friday as they host the second place Boston Breakers at Mitchel Athletic Complex. The Breakers are tied for second with the Washington Freedom, but hold the tie breaker. New York currently sits in a fourth place tie with the San Diego Spirit, but the Spirit hold the tie breaker. The Power will close out the 2003 regular-season with a road trip to Atlanta to take on the first place Beat.
When they go up against Boston, New York will try to finish the season with a six game unbeaten streak at home.
Upcoming Week: June 25 Power vs. Boston Breakers @ Boston. Season Series: New York leads 1-0-0; All-time Regular Season Series: Series tied 4-4-0; Top Scorers: New York - Tiffeny Milbrett (6g - 5a = 17pts); Boston - Maren Meinert (6g - 6a = 18pts). Power Key Players Out: New York - D Sara Whalen (ACL); M Anita Rapp (National Team Duty - Norway). Power-Breakers Notes: The Power swept the series in 2001, while Boston swept the series in 2002. The Power will look to stop Dagny Mellgren, who has recorded seven goals against them. The Power won the first meeting this year, defeating Boston, 3-2, at Mitchel Athletic Complex on May 10, 2003. Maren Meinert recorded both goals for Boston. Boston won the second meeting, 2-1, on a game-winning goal by Angela Hucles.
Key Matchup: New York F Tiffeny Milbrett vs. Boston D Kate Sobrero: Sobrero will have her hands full trying to keep Milbrett off the score sheet. Milbrett has scored six goals and added five assists against Boston, in eight games. Milbrett assisted on two goals the first time these two teams met.
Power Head Coach Tom Sermanni on Boston: "Boston is a very good offensive club, that can score a lot of goals. They are playing real well right now and should be a good test for us."
POWER INJURY UPDATE
OUT: D Sara Whalen (ACL), F Christie Welsh (L Calf Strain), F Tammy Pearman (L Knee Sprain)
DOUBTFUL: none
QUESTIONABLE: F Tiffeny Milbrett (L Hamstring), D/M Kristy Whelchel (R Knee Inflammation)
PROBABLE: G Saskia Webber (Stomach Virus)
Power Quotes:
Power Head Coach Tom Sermanni: "I am delighted, really delighted. I would have loved a win, but I will take a draw under these circumstances."
"I thought that the four back players did a tremendous job tonight. I think it is the best we have defended against one of the top teams in the league."
"I thought we did much better holding the ball tonight and did a great job holding the defensive line tonight."
New York Head Coach Tom Sermanni On Next Week - "We are still hanging on here...we go against Boston next week. Hopefully we will have our full complement of players and be prepared to play."
New York Head Coach Tom Sermanni On The Playoff Standings - "If someone asked me after our first 3 games, that with two games to go we would still be in the hunt for the top 4 spots in the league I would have been delighted."
New York Head Coach Tom Sermanni On The Effort Of Defender Kristy Whelchel - "Outstanding, considering she hasn't played for ten months and she has played only 20 minutes in the last couple games combined. To come out tonight and last the entire night was a huge effort."
New York Defender Margaret Tietjen - "We came out, we played with our hearts, we played together and we played hard. It was a good game for us."
"We were constantly putting their team under pressure, and we were gunning for a goal and we were maintaining possession."
New York Defender Kristy Whelchel - "I'm pleasantly surprised with my performance tonight. I thought at best I would be able to give 45 minutes, so to come out play for as long as I did was great."
Power Notes:
Someone Will Win
In eight matches against the Boston Breakers, no game has ended in a tie.
Stopping Boston's Internationals
The key against the Breakers will be the Power's defensive unit stopping the high-scoring tandem of Maren Meinert and Dagny Mellgren. Meinert has torched the Power with six goals and six assists for 18 career points, while Mellgren has tallied seven goals in the series. The Power will also try to contain Kristine Lilly who has recorded eight assists against New York.
Home Cooking
With the tie against Atlanta, last week, the Power have now gone five games at home without a loss, a new team record. The Power will look to extend the streak against Boston.
Spreading the Wealth
With Shannon Boxx's goal against Atlanta, she became the 13th different Power player to score a goal this season, a new WUSA record. The Philadelphia Charge had 12 different players score back in 2001.
Warning Summary
Both Christie Welsh and Shannon Boxx were on the latest Yellow Card Warning Summary. If Welsh receives a yellow card in the next four games played, or Boxx in the next game played, they will be suspended for one game due to four non-consecutive yellow cards accumulated.
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Women's United Soccer Association Stories from July 28, 2003
- CyberRays still in charge of their own playoff fate - San Jose CyberRays
- Who Will Clinch First? - WUSA
- Power Weekly Notes - New York Power
- Beat Only a Single Point Away from Clinching Playoff Berth - Atlanta Beat
- James Named Player of the Week - WUSA
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