Wednesday night, Sky Blue FC unexpectedly defeated Saint Louis Athletica 1-0 in the inaugural WPS playoff semifinals and move on to face powerhouse LA Sol in the finals on August 22.
Defender Keeley Dowling scored the lone goal in the 30th minute, her first of the season.
Sky Blue defeated Washington Freedom 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs.
Striker Natasha Kai was the goal leader for Sky Blue with six tallies
Sky Blue becomes underdog story of 2009
Sky Blue became an underdog story and was not expected to make the playoffs after a rough season that included many early season losses and two coaching changes.
Defender Christie Rampone became player coach late in the season after Kelly Lindsey resigned. Before becoming interim coach, Lindsey was assistant to original coach and general manager Ian Sawyers, removed early in the season.
Sky Blue became "thorn in our side" says DiCicco
Sky Blue became an unexpected threat to Boston Breakers and were the only team to defeat the Breakers three times, even when Sky Blue was at the bottom of the table.
In their fourth and final match with the New Jersey team on July 25, Boston managed to tie Sky Blue 0-0, but the rivalry between the two East Coast teams steadily grew throughout the season.
"They were the greatest thorn in our side because they played us well," said Breakers coach Tony DiCicco. "Natasha Kai hurt us with goals, they played us well, they played us with high energy, looked for their opportunities, and we just didn’t play well enough against them."
"We didn’t win a game against New Jersey so that kind of makes me mad," said Breakers' captain Kristine Lilly, "that’s kind of frustrating. Each team battled each other, some more so, but I would have liked to get more points [from Sky Blue]. I think we got one point from New Jersey but we should have got a lot more than that."
The Boston Breakers finished the season fifth out of seven teams, with 25 points and 18 goals. Sky Blue finished fourth with 26 points and 19 goals, and the close rivalry is certain to create exciting games between the two East Coast teams next season.
The WPS playoff finals featuring Sky Blue FC vs. LA Sol will be held at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California on Saturday, August 22 at 3:30 and broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel.
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