Boston Legacy FC defeated the Portland Thorns 4-2 in a game chaotic enough to spark a rivalry.
It was the Swans’ (8-14-5) turn to go to the Thorns’ (12-8-7) home and score a barrage of goals. The win brings Boston up to 13th place with 29 points. Portland is still in playoff contention but was knocked down to seventh place with 43 points by the end of the weekend. The top eight clubs will move on to the postseason, and only eight points separate the third and 10th place teams with three games left to play.
Head coach Filipa Patão had her team in a 4-4-2 formation with Casey Murphy in goal, and Nicki Hernandez, Lilly Reale, Laís Araújo, and Bianca St-Georges on the defensive line. Barbara Olivieri, Annie Karich, Alba Caño, and Aïssata Traoré were in the midfield behind Nichelle Prince and Sarah Schupansky.
Here are four thoughts from the game:
NWSL After Dark
For the uninitiated, the term is used for late-night matches that reach peak chaos, and this may have been the most quintessential “After Dark” matchup the Legacy has been involved in.
It was only expected considering the teams’ first face-off in August created just as much havoc. The 4-3 loss included three goals in the first 10 minutes and was the first of a four-game losing streak for the Legacy.
This time around, Boston returned the favor and handed Portland its second home loss of the season.
The game got off to a contentious start with the Thorns immediately matching the Legacy’s aggression. Portland forward Sophia Wilson proved to be the most dangerous player in the opening minutes as she was the first to make runs up to the final third during counterattacks.
Wilson’s threat culminated in the 23rd minute when she received her second career red card and was sent off for a hair pull on Araújo (welcome back, Laís!).
Boston recorded 14 shots in the first half; the Thorns’ one-player disadvantage limited the team to four shots and 39% possession in the opening half.
Boston committed 11 fouls during the game, seven in the first half and four in the second. Portland recorded the same amount, with five in the first half and six in the second.
Portland was shown three yellow cards and Boston received two. The Legacy’s second yellow went to Murphy, who crashed into Pietra Tordin in the box. The foul resulted in the eighth penalty kick that BLFC has conceded this season.
Ella Stevens credited her fellow co-captains for trying to keep the team collected amid all the fouls and the raucous environment of Providence Park.
“We just keep our heads, keep coming together, talking,” Stevens said after the game. “I think Niche, Bianca, Casey, everyone is doing a really good job of just keeping everyone focused on the next play and not on all the extra that was going on.”
An Ugly Second Half
The Thorns presented more of a challenge in the second half despite being a player down. Tordin, who scored a hat trick in the first go-around, was equally menacing on Saturday, leading her team in shots (4/6 on target) and touches in the box (9).
After Tordin converted her penalty kick in the 59th minute, her team had the Legacy scrambling in its own half. Boston’s head coach looked to her substitutes in an attempt to regain control of the game.
“When we started to feel that some of the players were losing challenges, [not having] the same capacity to recover, to run, to win the first and the second ball, we needed to switch,” she said.
One of the last substitutes was Amanda Gutierres, who entered the game in the 85th minute and proceeded to score a brace. Portland’s Shae Harvey cut the lead down to 3-2 between Guti’s goals, giving her team a trickle of hope for a late comeback, but the Brazilian was quick to shut it down.
Patão was disappointed with the way her team handled the closing half. As the Thorns started playing more long balls, the Legacy failed to stay compact and gave the opponents too much space.
“In these types of moments, we need to adapt fast,” Patão said after the game. “It’s getting one more midfielder close to the line and [not putting ourselves in the situation] of challenging balls [without having] one more player behind.”
Saturday was another learning experience for the young team and a prime example of why maturity is important in a match, the coach said.
Portland closed the match with 45% possession, 24 touches in the box, and 10 shots in the second half. Boston had 11 touches in the box and eight shots in the final 45.
Guti Goals (et al.)
Karich and Caño are the only BLFC outfield players that have started all games this season. The two are good friends off the field, and the connection translates to their play on the field. It’s only fitting that Karich’s first Legacy assist was for a Caño goal. The Spanish midfielder showed composure in the box, drilling a half volley past Portland keeper Mackenzie Arnold to open the scoring in the 35th minute.
Schupansky scored her first goal for the Legacy minutes later after her shot from outside the box deflected off a Thorns defender and bounced off the post and into the net.
The Legacy struggled to get out of its own half in the second 45, but Amanda Gutierres subbed in with minutes left in the match and immediately sealed the game. In the 88th minute, Stevens sent a long ball ahead of Guti; with Arnold out of the box, all the striker had to do was swing it into the empty net.
During stoppage time, St-Georges collected a loose ball in the box and passed the ball to Gutierres in front of the goal. The tap-in secured the Legacy’s 4-2 win and marked the team's eighth second-half stoppage-time goal.
Gutierres struggled to come into her own this season, but has earned the “super sub” title with her nearly identical performances against the Thorns and the Washington Spirit. She scored a brace within minutes in both games after subbing in at the 85th and 84th minute, respectively. She has also scored six goals coming off the bench, the most for any NWSL player in a single season, according to Opta.
Like Traoré, Guti has now scored seven goals in the latter part of the season. She seems to have snuck into the leading goalscorer race (which wasn’t even close three weeks ago), and needs one more to match Traoré’s 10 goals.
Patão said Friday that the Brazilian has been dealing with a back issue that is limiting her playing time. Guti’s minutes have been sparse since July, but she has produced more than three times as many goals as in the first half of the season.
“[She’s] making my life complicated,” the coach said postgame. “We know that Aïssata is scoring goals, Niche is performing well, Sammy is scoring some goals too, and Guti, what she's doing is, ‘Coach, I'm here. You can count on me, and every time that I [go on] the pitch, I'm scoring.’”
If you’ve been following the team, you know how often the coach changes her lineups. She maintains that player minutes depend on performance and fitness. So how does she decide who to start when multiple players in similar positions are doing well?
“All the players give different things inside the game, so we need to … understand who is going to be the player that's going to bring us more success in regard to what the opponents do,” Patão said Saturday. “In the final moment of the day, what matters is the performance of the team. It’s not one player or two players that matter, it’s all the group and the success of the club.”
Here’s to more players making the coach’s life difficult.
Defensive Returns
After seeing the progress Araújo and Kaká have made in training, Patão took the opportunity to rest Jorelyn Carabali and Deja Davis and play the two Brazilians.
Araújo was named to the starting lineup on Saturday after being out for nearly three months due to a thigh injury. The captain won seven of nine duels, had seven recoveries, four interceptions, and two clearances, and also attempted two shots during set pieces.
Kaká replaced Araújo in the 60th minute, making her first appearance since the Legacy’s second game on March 21. The 27-year-old was sidelined after fracturing her ankle and rupturing a ligament during training then undergoing surgery at the end of March. The centerback had 100% accuracy on 22 passes, won three of six duels, and recorded three recoveries, two clearances, and one interception.
“Laís played very well in the first half in possession, giving some feedback and composure in our defensive line, and Kaka went in the same position; she did an amazing job even staying so much time out of games,” said the coach.
Boston Legacy FC will face Racing Louisville on Friday, October 16 at 8 p.m. in its final home game at Gillette Stadium.
