SAN FRANCISCO (June 12, 2009) – In a crucial meeting between two of the league’s three teams currently tied for third place, the Boston Breakers will host the Saint Louis Athletica this Sunday in a Fox Soccer Channel televised match (6pm ET/3pm PT). The Saint Louis Athletica are coming off a successful month in May going 2-1-1 and losing only to the league-leadering Los Angeles Sol, while the Boston Breakers have had two bye weeks in a three-week span and hold a 0-1-2 record since May 2.

In their early April match, Boston defeated Saint Louis, 2-0, posting goals from Kelly Smith and Kristine Lilly. However, the Athletica have since changed their scoreless ways that plagued them for a three-game streak at the start of the season and pose a tremendous threat to Boston’s rank in WPS.

With the maximum points each team can accrue for the remainder of the season tied at 47, Sunday will be a mid-season campaign to stay afloat in the top half of the WPS standings. (The third team tied for third place, the Chicago Red Stars, visit the Washington Freedom on Saturday.)

“It is going to be a complicated game,” said Athletica head coach Jorge Barcellos. “They are coming off a loss and they need to win. Soccer depends on the work you do during the week and we are doing that work right now. We also don’t run away from our characteristics; good touches, work the ball around, mark tightly, plus we have to watch (Kristine) Lilly, (Alex) Scott, (Angela) Hucles and several other players.”

In addition, Barcellos’s team plans to tightly mark Kelly Smith and not give her a sliver of space as she gave them trouble in their initial meeting, tallying a goal and an assist in that game.

Smith has slowed down a bit since Boston’s last match, leaving that May 31 game with a minor knee injury. The Breakers are heading into a four-games in 11 days stretch and do not expect Smith to be available for the full 90 minutes in every match. However, Breakers fans can rest assured she is ready to play this Sunday against Saint Louis.

“Kelly is training and looking better,” said Boston head coach Tony DiCicco. “She has lost a bit of fitness, but is looking confident on the ball.”

Also stirring things up for the Breakers is the loss of forward Christine Latham who will be serving her second-game suspension for elbowing Washington Freedom defender Alex Singer on May 17.

Boston struggled to create chances offensively in their last match, falling to Sky Blue FC, 2-1, with the Boston goal earned on a Sky Blue FC goalkeeper mistake. But, DiCicco is not too concerned, stating they have “great options” for their frontline including Amy Rodriguez, Jenny Nobis, Kelly Schmedes, Maggie Tomecka and of course veteran players, Kristine Lilly and Angela Hucles.

Look for a fast paced game on Sunday as Athletica will try to move the ball quickly and maintain possession, while Boston hopes to counterattack and put their chances away. Tune in to watch WPS Sunday on FSC at 6 pm ET/3 pm PT.

Other Games:

Saturday, June 13

Washington Freedom vs. Chicago Red Stars (4:30 pm ET)
RFK Stadium, Washington D.C.

Chicago travels to Washington in their third of four consecutive road games. The two teams tied 1-1 in mid-April at the Maryland SoccerPlex as Washington played most of the second-half with a man advantage following a red card for two cautions to Red Stars defender Frida Ostberg. The re-match will be played at RFK Stadium as part of an MLS doubleheader. While Lindsay Tarpley was the goal-scorer early in the season for Chicago, it is now Brazilian international Cristiane who has put the Red Stars on the board in two consecutive games. And while Cristiane’s nifty header in the second half against FC Gold Pride led to a draw this past weekend, Chicago is still on a five-game winless streak dating back to April 24 – the longest of the WPS season thus far. Washington dropped its first contest in six games losing to Los Angeles in Week 11 and will try and keep their hold on second place in the WPS Standings with a win at home. Chicago has yet to lose on the road – the only team in WPS unbeaten in away matches. If Sunday’s game between Saint Louis and Boston were to end in a tie, a win by Chicago would move them into second in the table.

Sky Blue FC vs. Los Angeles Sol (7 pm ET – NBC Universal Sports and universalsports.com)
Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ

The two teams have met twice already this season and this will be their final regular season match-up in 2009. So far it’s Marta 3, Sky Blue FC 0. They played in early April in New Jersey at TD Bank Park with Marta scoring twice in a three-minute span to give the Sol a 2-0 victory and last month Los Angeles snatched a narrow 1-0 victory on a late goal by Marta on a play that had some Sky Blue FC fans looking for an offside call. This will be the first meeting at Sky Blue FC’s regular home venue, Yurcak Field, and the Sol bring with them a six-game unbeaten streak that includes the 1-0 victory over the New Jersey side in May. Los Angeles has found a new go-to player in Camille Abily, who has scored goals in four consecutive games and now leads WPS with six goals, while Sky Blue FC is still looking for a consistent offensive threat. Sky Blue FC has scored a league-low six goals on the season, but have shown the ability to surprise the best teams in WPS, defeating Boston and Chicago, when they were second and third in the standings, respectively.