Saturday, April 19, 2003 - Boston Breakers at Carolina Courage - 7:00 p.m. (ET) - Triangle TV (Carolina); (Season Series: First Meeting) (All-time Series History: Series Tied 2-2-2) Boston is coming off its worst defeat in team history (6-0 loss at Atlanta - April 12). Carolina is looking for its first points of the 2003 season. The Courage is coming off a bye week after falling to Washington 2-1 on April 5. The Breakers were unable to find the back of the net for the first time in 2003 on Saturday. The last meeting between these two clubs resulted in a 2-1 victory for the Courage at SAS Stadium on July 13. An own goal by Boston's Angela Hucles extended the Breaker's road-losing streak to five games. Key Players to Watch: Boston's Maren Meinert (1g, 2 pts.) has three goals and four assists during her career versus Carolina. Forward Dagny Mellgren (1g, 2 pts.) has also had some success versus the Courage, registering three goals in five games. Midfielder Kristine Lilly (1a, 1 pt.) had her WUSA record 11-game point-scoring streak snapped last weekend. Lilly has notched a goal and three assists all-time versus Carolina (in six games). Courage forward Birgit Prinz (1g, 2 pts.) notched Carolina's lone goal during the team's season opener on April 5. In two meeting versus the Breakers, Prinz has tallied a goal and an assist. Forward Danielle Fotopoulos (1a, 1pt.) has netted three goals and an assist versus Boston all-time. "Fotop" is the only player to play in every Carolina game (43) in team history. Goalkeeper Meghann Burke (0-1-0, 2.00 GAA) will likely get her second career WUSA start while Kristin Luckenbill recovers from thumb surgery. Key Matchup: (Boston midfielder Kristine Lilly versus Carolina midfielder Tiffany Roberts) - The attacking ability of Lilly will give Boston plenty of scoring opportunities during the entire match. Roberts will need to prevent Lilly from getting involved in the Breakers' attack by having a strong defensive presence in midfield. Roberts' ability to shut down Boston's top playmaker (26 assists all-time for the Breakers) will be key in Carolina's bid for its first win of the season. The "Inside Scoop": The all-time series history between these two clubs is tied at 2-2-2. Both teams have registered eight goals in the series. Neither team has the edge in Carolina with the series tied 1-1-1. During the 2002 season, Carolina recorded a 1-0-2 record versus the Breakers. Four of the six total matches between these two teams have been decided by one goal. They Said it: "We're going to have to keep their forwards in check, especially Dagny Mellgren who has been on fire the last month. Offensively, we think we have the ability to get in behind their backline. However, to do so, we will need to win the battle in midfield, which is where games are won and lost." - Carolina Courage Head Coach Jay Entlich on Boston. Referee: Faith Rossi. Assistant Referees: Melanie Johnson, Kim Oberle. 4th Official: Charles G. Mitchell.
Dagny's Favorite EPL Player Det var et veldig godt spørsmål (That is a very good question.) Since there are Norwegians I really like playing on both clubs it makes it a bit difficult for me, but in the end, I will be rooting for...... ...... Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Manchester United over Henning Berg, Stig Inge Bjørnebye, Egil Østenstad and the Blackburn Rovers. On a side note, I thought it was very cool that Ole Gunnar got the start today over David Beckham in one of the most important matches that Manchester United played this season. The "Spice Boy" was warming up in the second half when Solskjær did his best Beckham impersonation bending in a perfect cross that Ryan Giggs headed home. Beckham proceeded to sit back down and Ole Gunnar ended up playing the entire 90 minutes for Man. Utd. BTW - this is sort of Breakers related since Solskjær is Dagny Mellgren's favorite player in the EPL.
Canadian national team commitments are no longer a problem for Boston's Karina LeBlanc and Carolina's Breanna Boyd. Nigeria will not arrive in the US to play Canada on Friday and Sunday.
Super Falcons star Florence Omagbemi will play her first game for new club Hampton Roads Piranhas on the 30th of April in an official WUSA exhibition game against WUSA side Washington Freedom. Kelly Golebiowski, the Piranhas leading scorer from the 2001 and 2002 team, will make her first appearance back in Hampton Roads as a member of the Freedom, since being signed by the WUSA this year.