Breakers Practice Blog - 8/7/09

Blog written by Boston Breakers media relations intern Jess Lander.

It is do or die for the Breakers.

Sky Blue FC won their game on Wednesday so the Breakers can’t lose on Sunday, or else their season is over.

Again, if they win, they are definitely in play-offs.

If they tie, they need Sky Blue FC to win in tomorrow’s game against Washington to advance. So, going into Sunday’s game, we’ll know exactly what we need to do and what our chances are.

Needless to say, practice has been a little intense. They even did fitness today. I never understood the need to do fitness at the end of a season. If the players aren’t fit by now, then there is a problem. But still, the girls found a way to make fitness fun, or as fun as you can make it. I could hear squealing and giggling, joking, and playful banter taking place on the field from my seat in the stands.

They worked on some technical stuff too, like juggling and one-touch drills. This was also made into a bit of a game, as each team tried to count the number of sets they completed in each drill, to see who had the most at the end. With this much pressure on them, Tony must figure he needs to lighten the mood just a little bit, but at the same time, keep a competitive edge.

Then the team scrimmaged and I tried to gather any line-up predictions. It looks like Tony might stick to a 4-5-1. Oh, I can see all of your angry comments coming now. I myself am a little perplexed by this formation because the Breakers biggest problem is scoring, something that might be attributed to only playing one forward up top.

Nonetheless, here’s my prediction for Sunday:


Scott Chapman LePeilbet Mitts
Tomecka
Fabiana Monroe Hucles Lilly
Smith
Lipsher wasn’t practicing today, taking it easy on the sideline. Hopefully she’s good for Sunday, but she’s listed as questionable on the injury report, so don’t be too blindsided if she’s not in goal come kick off. I assume he would play Luckenbill in her place, but I personally would like to see Ashley Phillips get a shot. Although, with this game being as important as it is, it’s not really the time to take risks.

Then throughout the scrimmage, Tony kept stopping play to practice free kicks and corners. He seemed to be attempting to prepare for any situation on Sunday. This is when practice finally got entertaining.

Note: There were no babies or hot European footballers walking around. There was Mark, one of our frequent reporters, but he’s no Sydney. (Sorry, Mark, but maybe you should drool and giggle, put everything in site in your mouth and shrink 5 feet and then, maybe you’ll win the cute contest.)

Anyway, the girls were setting up a wall to block the free kick and Latham, easily the loudest on the team, starts yelling “Take it in the face! Lets go! If you’re going to duck, get out of the wall! Take it in the face!”

But I don’t know Latham, coming from someone who actually has taken a free kick to the face, I have since been more than happy to exclude myself from any wall. Then again, maybe that’s one more reason I will never be fit for this level of play. But, if you want a good excuse for a nose job, be my guest.