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| Saturday, May 12, 2001 20:30 EST |
Breakers salvage 2-2 tie
[Associated Press]
WASHINGTON – Thousands of men's soccer fans strolled in
early. The ones watching a women's game for the first time were no
doubt taken aback by two powerful goals and a stunning comeback by
the Boston Breakers.
Defender Keri Raygor scored the tying goal with an 18-yard
rocket in second-half injury time, and men's and women's soccer got
assists from each other as the Washington Freedom and Breakers tied
2-2 Saturday in the opening game of the first WUSA-MLS
doubleheader.
The Freedom led 2-0 on goals by Tracey Milburn and Pretinha
before long shots by Germany's Maren Meinert and Raygor salvaged
the tie. Raygor, scoring her first WUSA goal, came forward to chest
down a pass from Dagny Mellgren and put an untouchable shot in the
upper left corner of the net just before time expired.
"The last five minutes, when you're down a goal, you've got to
take chances," said Raygor, who has spent the last five years
toiling for the minor league Silicon Valley Red Devils.
Some 35,000 fans, one of the bigger crowds to watch a regular
season soccer game at RFK Stadium, were expected for the
doubleheader despite heavy rain that fell just before the opening
kickoff. There were already 21,682 in the stadium by halftime of
the women's game, offering proof that it deserved the mantel of
equal billing.
"I wouldn't have come to a United game on it own," said
35-year-old Jennifer Bryson of Arlington, Va. "I wanted to come to
the women's game. I'm happy to stay for a second soccer game."
United maintained the doubleheader was a way to for the
6-year-old men's club to help out the first-year Freedom, but it
was clear that each team attracted fans who normally would never
see the other sex play.
The die-hard, drum-banging United fans arrived in the second
half, changing the feel of the stadium as they mingled among the
soccer moms and dads.
"You can't beat the price, 2-for-1," said Ernesto Castedo, 25,
of Springfield, Va., wearing a United jersey as he watched his
first women's game. "It's something new."
"You've got our fan base in the beginning," Washington
goalkeeper Siri Mullinix said. "And as the game started to end, it
was like a different environment. You have the D.C. United fans
coming in, a lot more music and drums. You've got to stay
focused."
The fans saw the Freedom dominate the first half with its most
polished and entertaining performance yet. Mia Hamm moved from the
wing to center midfield, China's Bai Jie was on the flank in her
first start, and Milburn started at forward in place of Roseli.
Milburn scored a breakaway goal in the 20th minute. She took the
ball from Lindsay Massengale, who couldn't handle an ill-advised
pass from Kimberly Calkins, and beat goalkeeper Tracy Ducar to the
far post.
Mullinix made a spectacular one-armed save against Mellgren
similar to the one she couldn't quite make against the Norwegian in
the U.S. team's overtime loss in the gold-medal game at last year's
Sydney Olympics.
"It was the same thing basically, except I was closer to the
line at the Olympics," Mullinix said. "I was focused. I knew what
she could do."
The Freedom scored again in the 54th minute when Milburn and
Pretinha beat the offside trap for a 2-on-0. Milburn chased Skylar
Little's long ball and fed her Brazilian teammate for Pretinha's
third goal.
The Breakers played with U.S. national team defender Kate
Sobrero, who had a muscle strain, leaving U.S. star Kristine Lilly
to direct traffic.
The tone changed immediately after Freedom's second goal, when
Meinert took a pass from Mellgren and put a shot in the upper right
corner in the 58th minute.
Beat, Spirit play to 1-1 tie
ATLANTA – A fancy throw-in from Kim Pickup in the 83rd
minute eluded a crowd and bounced into the net off Atlanta Beat
goalkeeper Briana Scurry to give the San Diego Spirit a 1-1 tie
Saturday.
In danger of being shut out for the third time in four games,
San Diego (1-1-2) pulled even when Pickup launched one a front-flip
throw-in. It seemed to deflect off Scurry's hand, and it compounded
the goalkeeper's mistake of kicking an uncontested loose ball out
of bounds to set up the throw-in.
Pickup, a gymnast when she was younger, said she has been using
the flip throw-in since she was 10 and can toss it 50 or 60 yards.
Atlanta (1-0-3 despite just two goals all season) scored in the
52rd minute when Charmaine Hooper dived to head in a low pass from
Nikki Serlenger inside the left goal post.
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