Breakers gear up for Ireland after successful tournament

LYNN – The Lynn Breakers U-18 Girls Soccer team fared well last weekend at the Massachusetts Tournament of Champions.The Breakers won two games and lost one to finish their season 13-2 including tournament play. The Lynn team easily won its first game, 5-0, over Gateway Regional from the Pioneer Valley. Lynn dominated from the start with five different players scoring goals. Franki Galeazzi, Rachael Roy and Ali Sloan scored in the first half followed up with second half goals by Meghan Phelan and Veronica Uk.The Breakers dropped their second game 1-0 to perennial soccer powerhouse Dartmouth in an aggressive back and forth battle. Both teams featured crisp passing, ball control and speed throughout the contest. Lynn had several good scoring opportunities, but seemed snake-bitten and couldn’t find the back of the net.The Lynn team closed out its tournament run with a decisive 2-1 win of Worcester County Champion Dudley. The Breakers controlled play throughout, building a two-goal advantage with both goals by Galeazzi. The Breakers also had two goals disallowed by the referee during the contest before Dudley scored a late goal.Athough the season has ended, the Breakers will now prepare for international play. At the end of the month the team (one of 3 teams from the United States with Philadelphia and New York) will play in the 25th Emerald Cup in Limerick, Ireland. It will be the first time a youth soccer team from Lynn has played in Europe against international competition.The Breakers will play one or two scrimmages locally before leaving to test their skill against a higher level of European competition.”This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for an incredible group of girls from Lynn,” coach Tim Phelan said. “They are not only great soccer players, but even better people. I am very proud of them.