The Wait Is Over

Seasons of Love

Dalen Cuff: Welcome to Lifetime's coverage of the National Women's Soccer League. From historic Jordan Field on the campus of Harvard University, the top two teams in the Eastern Conference face off as the Boston Breakers host the Orlando Pride. Good afternoon, I'm Dalen Cuff. When the league schedule was drawn up in December, the Breakers were handed one that on the surface looked manageable, difficult fixtures mixed in with easier ones. Following all the off-season movement in the league and a scheduling request by Boston, the one actually in front of them looks a whole lot different. They are currently in the midst of a two-month stretch that has them playing, in order: Atlanta, at Orlando, North Carolina, Seattle, at Atlanta, Orlando, at Vancouver, at Seattle, and at Los Angeles. Five games into this nine-match run, they have picked up 12 points, losing only the match at Orlando 1-0 on a Lindsey Horan free kick. Today is their chance to avenge that sole defeat of 2022 and they have a weapon today that wasn't utilized on May 13th, Abby Dahlkemper.

A video was played with some highlights of Abby's time with the National Team, the Courage, and the Spirit, along with the concussions she suffered (2020 Olympic final vs. Canada, June 2021 vs. North Carolina, then three weeks later against Seattle). A clip of the challenge she shirked from in the 2021 NWSL final against Vancouver was shown as well, which led to comments from John and Lee discussing first the trade to bring her to Boston and then the road to recovery she took at the Cantu Concussion Center. Following the video, Dalen and Abby talked for a couple of minutes about her present state and the reunion of the UCLA triad on the Breakers, which will play their first full match together since 2014 today against Orlando. Dalen even slipped in a question about the plan for NWSL Final weekend, which Abby responded to with: "Everything's looking good for me to end the season on October 15th as a Dahlkemper and start the off-season the next day as a Mewis."

When the broadcast returned from commercial, Jenn and Kate gave the starting lineups and keys to the match, then the camera panned down to the field for the walk-out, with the Breakers coming to the center of the field in the following order: King (c), Labbe, Chapman, Oyster, Dahlkemper, Mewis, Lavelle, Fleming, Andrews, DiSarcina, Simon. The two teams shook hands as they passed one another, with Steph and Ashlyn doing fist bumps and Sam hugging Lindsey.

The match kicked off with the Pride bringing some pressure onto the Breakers' back line, utilizing Alex Morgan in the wide areas to avoid the Back Bay Triangle of Mewis, Dahlkemper, and Oyster, an area of the field where balls tend to disappear. Boston was able to gain a bit of possession, with Fleming using her magic to destabilize the Orlando defense. A header by DiSarcina was palmed away by Harris, resulting in a corner kick. Abby's return to play meant that she was now the team's designated set-piece taker instead of Morgan, allowing the midfielder to serve as an additional target in the box alongside Sam. Abby's corner curled toward the penalty spot, where Sam's header hit Steph Catley and went out for another corner. Sam and Morgan shuffled to their in-swinger positions and Abby struck a very similar ball to the first one, destined for a far post attempt by Sam. Morgan struck it with her head at the top of the six and sent into the near-post corner to give the Breakers the lead on 38 minutes. She ran toward the corner to celebrate with Abby, followed by the rest of the team. As the players moved back to their end of the pitch, the two of them lagged behind, then stopped in front of the stands and displayed a couple of signs to the crowd, Abby doing a cross-your-heart gesture and Morgan giving the ASL sign for crush. Jenn and Kate commented on the actions while Abby and Morgan returned to their positions, with Sam and Megan giving the defender some lip in jest. Orlando managed one more offensive thrust before halftime, but were unable to equalize.

During the halftime break, Kate told Dalen to track down the person the Breakers were targeting with their demonstration. She then filled Jenn in on the connection between the players and the target, as well as her connection to him. During a stoppage in play early in the second half, Jenn threw it to Dalen for his impromptu interview.