Boston Sports Then and Now

Jordan's love for soccer started at an early age.

The league is built based on the down-to-earth nature and approachability of its athletes. “Getting Silly with the Breakers” is a fun-filled way to create a comfortable bond between the fans and the professional athletes who are the Boston Breakers.

A special thanks to Erica Hunt, the communications director for the team, as well as the players themselves for making this approach possible.

It is difficult for Art and Lindy Angeli to calculate exactly how many hours have been spent watching their daughter, Jordan, play soccer over the years. One would estimate that an infinite number of cold mornings in the Colorado fall were spent packing the Angeli family into the back of the mini-van to see their little “soccer star” play.

A parent wouldn’t be a parent if they didn’t sit and dream about their budding “Kristine Lilly” some day growing up to play with, well, Kristine Lilly. Not one of us hasn’t cheered our child on as they broke down the wing and wondered if their kid might just have the stuff to make it all the way. Read the rest of this entry →

JNO and her party guests turned the night upside down while celebrating number 26.

On the 22nd day of March during a wide-ranging span of years throughout history, the Heavens parted and out dropped the likes of many famous individuals from various walks of life including: comedian Chico Marx (1887), actor Karl Malden (1912), “Captain Kirk” William Shatner (1931), Canadian figure skater Elvis Stojko (1972), actress Reese Witherspoon (1976), composer Andrew Lloyd Weber (1948) and sportscaster Bob Costas (1952). Each spent this day celebrating the anniversary of their birth some number of years ago.

Little did Boston Breakers’ midfielder Jen Nobis know that when parents Pam and Mike Nobis headed for that little hospital in Quincy, Illinois on that fateful day in 1984, that she would end up sharing her special day with such an illustrious group.

With Marx and Malden laid safely to rest and Captain Kirk, Stojko, Witherspoon, Weber and Costas undoubtedly celebrating with family, the star of the Breakers got together with a couple of her closest friends, Darci and Kim, and celebrated birthday number 26 this week, 1980’s style. Read the rest of this entry →

Coach Tony DiCicco and Lisa Cole address team prior to pre-season game vs. Boston College

With two weeks of training camp in the rear view mirror and the team bus driving towards their opening contest against the Washington Freedom on April 10, Coach Tony DiCicco’s Boston Breaker squad has departed the confines of the training bubble at Harvard University and are traveling south down Rte. 95 to the warmer climate which accompanies springtime in Florida.

Their current roster of 23 players will be trimmed a bit further in the next three weeks as DiCicco and his coaching staff decides on the top eighteen athletes to start the season as the 2010 addition of Boston’s entry in Women’s Professional Soccer. DiCicco will keep another four players in addition to his final choices to make up the team’s developmental squad.

The early days of camp become a testament to the players commitment to arrive at camp physically fit. Early season muscle aches and nagging injuries can become a factor and have an effect on the ultimate make-up of the team. Read the rest of this entry →

Breakers break camp.

After only four days of pre-season training camp under the “bubble” at Harvard University, Boston Breakers coach Tony DiCicco and his staff have made their first cut downs from the opening roster of 32.

On Thursday afternoon the Breakers released four players from their pre-season roster, including Anna Caniglia (Nebraska), Samantha Diaz-Motosas (University of South Carolina), Rebecca Mays (Southern Illinois), and Carly Peetz (Nebraska) from training camp.

Peetz was a sixth round pick (number 52 overall) in the WPS Draft held in January, while Caniglia, Diaz-Motosas and Mays participated in camp as undrafted free agents. Read the rest of this entry →

Reynolds was one of five Broncos selected in the 2010 WPS draft

The following is part of a weekly series in which writer Todd Civin presents the lighter side of the Boston Breakers of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS).

The league is built based on the down-to-earth nature and approachability of its athletes. “Getting Silly with the Breakers” is a fun-filled way to create a comfortable bond between the fans and the professional athletes who are the Boston Breakers.

A special thanks to Erica Hunt, the communications director for the team, as well as the players themselves for making this approach possible.

Only two days removed from her first official full team workout as a professional soccer player, I suspect that there are still a lot of things going through the mind of Boston Breakers’ rookie defender, Katherine Reynolds.

A new team, a new city, new teammates. and her first training camp is an awful lot of adjusting for any of the 65 newbies attempting to make the squads of the eight Women’s Professional Soccer teams. Read the rest of this entry →

Breakers' Jordan Angeli

The league is built based on the down-to-earth nature and approachability of its athletes. “Getting Silly with the Breakers” is a fun-filled way to create a comfortable bond between the fans and the professional athletes who are the Boston Breakers.

A special thanks to Erica Hunt, the communications director for the team, as well as the players themselves for making this approach possible.

Boston Breakers rookie defender, Jordan Angeli, tweeted the following last night in anticipation for her initial day as an official member of Women’s Professional Soccer, “First day with the Breakers tomorrow.”

For most little girls the thought of starting work as a professional soccer player, would probably be mind boggling. For the little red headed girl from Lakewood, Colorado, the thought is a lesson in dedication and perseverance.

Angeli, who was named the 2009 West Coast Conference (WCC) defender of the year while playing for the Santa Clara Broncos, has waited for this day for six years after being forced to red-shirt the 2007 and 2008 seasons due to debilitating knee injuries.

Angeli, who scored twelve goals as a sophomore in 2005, suffered a torn ACL in her left knee before her senior season in 2007. After months of grueling rehab, the same ligament gave away as she prepared for her second senior season in 2008.

Third time is a charm they say as her injury is now a distant memory. She came back as strong as ever during her “third” senior campaign, leading the Broncos to a 14-7-2 record.  While starting all 23 games for Santa Clara, she led the team in goals (7), points (17), and game winners (4) while scoring the game-winning goal in overtime on two occasions (Sept. 6 at Georgetown, and Oct. 18 at St. Mary’s). Read the rest of this entry →