Boston Legacy vs Utah Royals: 4 Thoughts

Boston Legacy FC made its return to Gillette Stadium on Saturday, and though the team lost 2-1 to the Utah Royals.

Boston now sits at the bottom of the table and is the only team with zero points.

The silver linings: The performance in the second half was the best yet, and hinted at what a cohesive, consistent team could produce. Aïssata Traoré was finally able to find the back of the net and scored the Legacy’s first-ever goal. No one is surprised.

Head coach Filipa Patão had her team in a 3-4-3 diamond formation. Casey Murphy started in the net and was supported by Jorelyn Carabalí, Laurel Ansbrow, and Bianca St-Georges in the backline. Annie Karich served as the central midfielder with Bárbara Olivieri on her left and Alba Caño on her right. Ella Stevens was at the top of the midfield behind a forward line of Sammy Smith, Traoré, and Fauzia Najjemba.

Here are four thoughts from the game.

A Tale of Two Halves

It was nearly impossible for either team to gain momentum considering the referee was constantly blowing his whistle. There were a total of 21 fouls called in the first half. The incessant stop-and-go action from all the ensuing set pieces made for a choppy game.

Utah took 15 free kicks, one of which resulted in a goal. The direct free kick was played short, and Tatumn Milazzo took advantage of the space in front of the unmanned back post to receive the cross and tap the ball in.

Boston was able to make runs into the box, often courtesy of Traoré, but fell short when trying to convert.

The whistles kept coming in the second half. Annie Karich fouled Utah’s Mina Tanaka in the box in the 49th minute, resulting in a penalty goal for the Royals. Everything was pointing to a repeat of the first half until Boston made substitutions. Gutierres came in for Stevens at the 54th minute, and had an immediate impact as soon as she stepped onto the field. It took mere moments for the Brazilian to effortlessly carry the ball up the field and create chances in the box.

The Legacy began taking control of the game and pressing higher. The team received an extra push after Nichelle Prince, Aleigh Gambone, and Josefine Hasbo replaced Najjemba, Olivieri, and Caño in the 70th minute.

A throw in and two passes from Gambone and Gutierres in Boston’s defensive half gave Traoré everything she needed to sprint up the field and poke in the Legacy’s first goal.

The Legacy was unable to equalize despite its continued plays into the box and having a few more set pieces at the end of the half.

Patão believes her team creates enough chances to be able to score multiple goals, but the final piece is still missing.

“I think we need to be a little bit more mature in the last third,” she said in the post-game press conference. “We have the opportunities, we have the moments, but we don't have the clarity. We don't have the capacity to win the last moment, the final pass, the last decision.”

Boston took a total of 11 shots, two of which were on target.

The State of Refereeing

Traoré was visibly frustrated when nothing was called after being tripped in the 10th and 13th minute. In the first instance, Traoré was tripped in the box but the referee let the play go on. In response to why there was no call, match officials said the “Utah player made contact with the ball which dispossessed the attacker in a fair manner.”

Though there was no initial call on the field for the second instance, VAR intervened minutes later. Still, there was no foul, according to Referee Elvis Osmanovic. Match officials later wrote, “The contact was fair and no offense was committed by [the] Utah player.”

The referee spoke with players from both teams several times in what seemed like attempts to assuage or warn the players. The game ended with eight yellow cards (four for each team), 25 Boston fouls, and 15 Utah fouls. 

Patão bluntly criticized the league’s refereeing after the game, saying the constant calls on soft fouls impedes the fluidity of the game.

The Gutierres/Traoré Combination

Each game we see more chemistry between these two players, and it seems like the two strikers are on their way to complementing each other perfectly. Gutierres and Traoré have the ability to break through lines and advance the attack, but the final execution in the box still needs to improve.

Patão had to remind Traoré during halftime to focus on the factors she can control. 

“Aïssata can handle the contact, she can continue,” the coach said. “She needs to understand that sometimes you are stronger, you're going to handle the contact [and] continue because you're going to score the goal, and [it’ll] probably be a completely different game if we score first.”

As the coach said a year ago, she wants her team to be “chameleonic” and be able to adapt to the game’s circumstances to ensure a smoother run of play.

Bring on the Boston Hate

Casey Murphy just got to the city, but she already understands the Boston ethos. 

In response to the amount of yellows handed out, Murphy said her team’s intensity will not subside.

“We want people to come to Boston, play at Gillette and hate it,” she said after the game. “Regardless if we win or lose, we want them to hate playing us. … We're going to leave it all out there, from the first whistle to the final whistle every single weekend.”

If that’s not a classic Masshole response, I don’t know what is.