Boston Legacy FC suffered a 4-3 defeat against the Portland Thorns in Rhode Island Sunday.
The game reached peak chaos as the Swans scrambled to recover from an early deficit and had to ultimately settle for zero points after making good headway.
The result keeps Boston (5-9-5) in 12th place with 20 points and moves the Thorns (9-6-4) up two spots to fifth place with 31 points.
Head coach Filipa Patão switched up her 3-5-2 starting lineup to presumably load manage her primary strikers. Casey Murphy started in goal behind Emerson Elgin, Jorelyn Carabali, and Bianca St-Georges on the back line. Lilly Reale and Amanda Allen took the wings with Annie Karich, Alba Caño, and Barbara Olivieri in the midfield. Nichelle Prince and Sammy Smith took the two spots up top.
Here are three thoughts from the match:
Not the Keys to the Game
Patão said earlier in the week that the keys to winning the game would be keeping possession and preventing transitions by not giving Portland space. The Legacy only did some of the former at the start of the game. To their demise, the Swans kept a high line without pressuring or protecting the space in front of their own goal when out of possession.
After a horrendous opening 10 minutes, the Swans were down 3-0. The first goal came in the second minute from a Pietra Tordin direct free kick at the edge of the box. The second goal started with a long ball that Carabali headed in the direction of Marie Müller as Sophia Wilson ran past the defensive line. A quick give-and-go between the two gave Wilson all the space to nutmeg Murphy for the goal. A turnover in the 10th minute led to Tordin sneaking one in from the top of the box as Carabali and St-Georges closed in on her.
Tordin, the league leader in assists, continued to terrorize the Legacy and completed her first career hat trick in the 37th minute. The 22-year-old outran Boston’s back three as a long ball from her keeper landed in front of her. Murphy was off her line, giving Tordin the time and space to chip her.
Portland ended the first half with seven of nine shots on target and 10 touches in the box. Boston had two of four shots on target and seven touches in the box.
The Comeback
Boston's resiliency has been on display several times this season, and Sunday’s performance was another example of that, despite the loss. The Legacy got right to work after the three goals.
St-Georges got Boston on the board in the 31st minute, tapping in a cross from Smith. The team conceded a fourth goal minutes later, but refused to let the deficit impact their demeanor.
Caño received a pass meters from the edge of the box in the 42nd minute and went for the goal, blasting the ball past Arnold. By the end of the first half, Boston had kept 52% possession and was down 4-2.
Everything ramped up in the second half. While there were no tactical changes when in possession, the team made some changes to its play when the opposing team had the advantage, said Patão.
“We close more in the line of 5-4-1, and start to jump with the midfield in the central back,” she said. “And after we jump, [they] don't have enough time to explore the deep because we have the protection on the line, but at the same time, [they won’t] have options close to [them].”
The coach used all five substitutions in Amanda Gutierres (Smith), Nicki Hernandez (Elgin), Aïssata Traoré (Allen), Josefine Hasbo (Caño), and Aleigh Gambone (Olivieri).
BLFC’s third goal in the 82nd minute came courtesy of a Gutierres tap in. Gambone made the run into the box and passed to the striker, who was unmarked and in front of the goal.
With a one-goal game, the coach instructed players to open the field and create more space.
“You need to create numbers out to have to force a cross [and] to have a moment that you put more players inside the box,” she said.
Boston dominated the half and produced numerous opportunities, but they could not get the equalizer. Once again, no matter how many times BLFC entered the final third or were in the box, execution in dire moments was lacking.
The second half resulted in eight shots (four on target) for Boston, and five (zero on target) for Portland. BLFC also had 17 touches in the box (vs Portland’s five) and 83% passing accuracy.
The Emotional Toll
The season has been full of highs and lows for the Boston Legacy. Nineteen games in, the players and coaches are still grappling with the emotions that come with inconsistent results.
“We're all a little bit shocked that this happened,” St-Georges told The Blazing Musket after the game. “This is not us. This is not the team we want to be.”
Gambone, who subbed in at the 78th minute when the score was still 4-2, never doubted her team but knows she and her teammates will have to learn from the outcome.
“At no point in the game did I think we were out of it,” she said. “Maybe in the start of the season goals came a little bit harder for us, and now I think we can produce. And I think that [the deficit] helped show us that.”
Sunday’s result was the worst loss this season, according to the head coach. She thought her team did an amazing job in the last 80 minutes, and she could only blame herself for what occurred at the start of the game.
“I cannot [let] my team suffer three goals in 10 minutes. I need to do something, something different, something that helps the players,” she said. “Right now they need to go to sleep proud of what they did, and ready for work in the next days. We [will] do our reflections and everything that is possible to help our players to avoid having these first 10 minutes that we have today.”
When it comes to dealing with heightened emotions during the match, there is still work to be done.
“That emotional part brings a lot of bad decisions, and this is why I say that we need to change a little bit and be more rational,” Patão said.
Even so, it might as well be the Legacy against the world when the team steps out on the field.
“We already know what to expect in every single game in this league,” the coach said. “Nobody is going to [hand] us nothing. We fight every second.”
Boston Legacy FC will be on the road in the upcoming week and face Racing Louisville on Saturday, August 15.
