The Wait Is Over

We Meet Again

Following a 1-1 draw between the North Carolina Courage and the Atlanta Storm, Lifetime switched to the second game of the first-ever doubleheader on the network, pitting the Boston Breakers against the Chicago Red Stars in their only 2022 regular-season match-up. Both teams have started the season with a pair of shutout wins, with the Breakers scoring eight over their first two games and the Red Stars backing up their opening-day win versus Philadelphia with a gritty 1-0 victory in Kansas City.

Stephanie Yang: Welcome to Lifetime's coverage of the NWSL. From Jordan Field on the campus of Harvard University comes a top-of-the-table fixture between the Boston Breakers and the Chicago Red Stars. Good evening, I'm Stephanie Yang. Both teams come into tonight's battle on a high. Chicago is off to its best start in a few years, due in no small part to the addition of Kristie Mewis this off-season. Boston is doing what everyone expected after this off-season's roster shuffling. They have defeated both Sky Blue and Philadelphia by 4-0 scorelines, with Steph Labbe getting the clean sheet in the opener and Libby Stout shutting out the Charge last week. Let's go to the booth and join tonight's announcing team, Jack Edwards  and former Breaker Cat Whitehill.

Jack: Thank you, Steph. Although this is only Week 3 of the NWSL season, we might be seeing a preview tonight of the final on October 15th. Cat, what must each team do to pick up all three points?

Cat: Chicago needs to really pay attention to all the interplay that happens in the midfield between Jessie Fleming, Morgan Andrews, and Rose Lavelle. Boston's task is to manage the little moments that have seemed to slip past them against the top teams in the league. Whichever one can get the opening tally will stand a good chance of winning.

Jack: The starting lineups, brought to you by Brigham and Women's Hospital. The Red Stars will trot out their standard first XI. Alyssa Naeher in goal, a backline of Arin Gilliland, Katie Naughton, Cari Rocarro, and Casey Short, with Danielle Colaprico playing behind the threesome of Sarah Stratigakis, Vanessa DiBernardo, and Kristie Mewis. Stephanie McCaffrey and Sofia Huerta man the forward spots. For Boston, Steph Labbe is back between the pipes after getting last week off. The back four sees more shuffling, as Meagan Stassi makes her first start at right back. Julie King and Megan Oyster are the center backs, with Allysha Chapman on the left. Sam Mewis, with three goals in her first two games this season, anchors a midfield that includes Rose Lavelle, Jessie Fleming, and Morgan Andrews. Another change for the Breakers is up top, as Kayla Duran is getting the start today alongside Kyah Simon in place of Midge Purce.

Chicago kicks off left-to-right and immediately puts pressure on the rookie right back, as Mewis beats her to the endline before having her cross picked out of the sky by Labbe. The Breakers make a foray of their own through the tricky ball-handling of Lavelle, whose too-long through-pass to Simon ends up in the hands of Naeher. The match calms down considerably after the first five minutes and both teams settle into their standard modes of operation. The first real scoring chance comes in the 18th minute, when Huerta rips a shot that Labbe has to tip over the crossbar, resulting in a corner kick. A powerful header from McCaffrey on Mewis' corner is pawed away by the Canadian #1, giving up another corner. Gilliland overhits it, putting it out for a throw-in. Boston's best chance of the half would come in the 33rd minute when Fleming dribbles past Colaprico and takes a shot that nicks the right upper 90 on the wrong side of the bars. Two minutes of stoppage time in the first half are played and the teams go to halftime knotted at zeroes.

Neither team makes an adjustment to start the second half. More ebb-and-flow between the two sides would result in a pair of lasers punched away by Naeher and an upper 90 screamer that Labbe somehow is able to tip off the underside of the crossbar, then secure before it hits the ground, staying out of the net. The Red Stars would finally open the scoring in the 71st minute when a cross from DiBernardo is initially given up on by Labbe and Stassi, only to find Mewis perfectly time her run and position to meet it on the edge of the six, four yards off the end line. A one-time flick slips between the goalkeeper and the near post to put Chicago ahead, 1-0. The Breakers substitute Purce for Andrews and press Fleming slightly to the left and bring Lavelle in slightly, opening up space for Stassi and Chapman to make runs down the flanks. This move would pay off in the 84th minute as Stassi carries the ball up the right touchline past midfield, then strikes a cross that Purce meets level with the penalty spot and heads back across Naeher to tie up the match. Both teams struggle to find that last gear after the equalizer and a 1-1 draw is the result.