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FOXBOROUGH - Boston Legacy FC had a tall task in its inaugural match, hosting the reigning NWSL champions Gotham FC on Saturday.
The two sides were deadlocked in the first half as they tried to figure each other out, logging just five shots total in the opening scoreless frame.
The Legacy, however, couldn’t hold off Gotham for good, and a 55th-minute goal from Esther became the decider in the 1-0 loss.
Despite the result, Boston goalkeeper Casey Murphy is confident after the club’s first match.
“I thought a lot of players you could just see the grit, the attitude to just give their all,” Murphy said. “I love that, I love fighters, I love leaving it all out there. We were a man down and we still weren’t going to give up.
“I see so much potential in our group and I’m really excited about every player on this team and what we can bring.”
For how Murphy performed in the Legacy’s first match and what else happened on Saturday at Gillette Stadium, here are six takeaways.
Casey Murphy flexes full skillset
Right away Casey Murphy showed off that she’s a complete goalkeeper. The Legacy were not afraid to go to her as a distributor in open play.
Murphy showed no concern when tasked with the ball at her feet.
When she had to jump in to shot-stopping mode, the 29-year-old was just as effective. In the 24th minute, Gotham got its best look of the first half and Murphy was right on the mark.
The one goal allowed came after a poor clearance left Esther with a wide open look on net. Murphy’s vision was shielded by a defender and the Spaniard was clinical with the finish.
Legacy show aggressive identity early
Filipa Patão has been very clear that she wants her team to play aggressively and physically this season.
From the jump her players were happy to oblige in Saturday’s contest.
No Legacy player was afraid of contact or going to the ground to break up a play. Often it resulted in a deflating clearance, but in others the Swans found themselves in foul trouble.
In the first 40 minutes of play, Alba Caño and Bianca St-Georges each picked up yellow cards for Boston.
That trend continued in the second half for the Legacy with Jorelyn Carabalí picking up a yellow in the 72nd minute.
In the 76th, St-Georges picked up her second yellow and became the first Legacy player to be removed from a game.
Aïssata Traoré impresses up top
One of the main questions surrounding the club was how it would disperse its talented forward group. To start, Patão opted for a two-striker look with Aïssata Traoré and Ella Stevens with Brazilian star Amanda Gutierres beginning the contest on the bench.
Right away, Traoré backed her coach’s decision, putting all kinds of stress on the Gotham defense with her speed. Traoré chased down nearly every ball sent her way and even when she couldn’t, she made sure to stretch out the opposing back line.
Even when Gotham was with the ball, Traoré kept her work rate up, bringing constant pressure.
In the 29th minute, the Malian helped create one of the team’s best chances of the first half. Forcing a turnover, Traoré was quickly tripped, leading to a yellow card and threatening free kick for the Legacy.
Traoré had some missed opportunities when it came to finishing and didn’t tally a goal on Saturday, but for the most part she always found herself in a dangerous position.
Traoré also played nearly the entire match, needing to be subbed out in the 100th minute due to injury.
Fans show out for home opener
On Saturday the Legacy set the record for most tickets sold for an inaugural home opener with 30,207.
“These fans were awesome,” Murphy said. “I felt their energy, I felt their support, and I just felt a lot of pride, repping Boston, and repping the Legacy.
“I’m just excited to get back here and continue to put on good performances for them.”
Fans filled out the majority of the lower bowl with even some upper sections selling a fair amount of tickets.
A surprising lack of Amanda Gutierres
Coming into the season, Gutierres may have been the highest profile player on Boston’s roster. The 24-year-old is coming off a campaign in which she was a Ballon d’Or Féminin nominee after scoring 15 goals for Brazilian club Palmeiras.
When the starting lineup was announced however, Gutierres found herself beginning the season on the bench.
At halftime, she wasn’t even the first forward subbed in, that was Fauzia Najjemba.
The first sighting of Gutierres came in the 69th minute when she was subbed on for Aleigh Gambone.
To close the match, Gutierres created a corner in the 74th minute but did not manage a shot.
Nichelle Prince earns first captaincy
The first person to wear the captain’s arm band for the Legacy was Nichelle Prince.
“Nichelle is a player for us that thinks a lot in the team,” Patão said of Prince. “I think this is great and this is the biggest part of a captain. We are concerned about the others and not just ourselves and Nichelle is this type of player.
“If she needs to run an entire game forward and then come back and help defending and attacking she’s going to do it.”
In addition to serving as a leader, the Canadian showed off her talent as one of the most versatile players on Boston’s roster.
Starting the contest as a right wing-back, Prince found herself contributing both defensively and as an attacking threat out wide. She helped create the first-ever corner for the Legacy after taking the ball up the right wing and playing the ball inside before it was cleared out of bounds.
Prince even showed the ability to play on the left as well, flipping sides with Nicki Hernandez for a few minutes in the first half.
“She’s a players that offers us this effort, offers quality in an outside space,” Patão said of Prince. “She’s very strong in one v one, but she’s very strong to help defend too.
“If we need to close with five she’s going to close, if we need to close just with four, she can stay a little bit more far away. We are very adaptable and our players are very adaptable.”
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