Boston Legacy FC had a flair for the dramatic Tuesday night to pick up their second win of the season and extend their unbeaten streak to four games.
The Legacy overcame a 1-0 deficit to the Orlando Pride in the second half and Amanda Gutierres buried a penalty kick in the 98th minute — eight minutes into stoppage time — to deliver a 2-1 win in front of 8,182 fans at Gillette Stadium.
“She showed in the moment that we need her. She said, ‘I’m here. I’m going to score this goal,’” Legacy head coach Filipa Patão said. “Sometimes strikers, it’s these moments that they need, a moment to show that I can do it, and I will help my team in some moment. I think she, in some games, she didn’t have luck, because she (had) moments to score. And sometimes when the striker, one game, two games, three games, and you don’t score, you start to not believe that you are capable, but being a little bit frustrated.
“But (Gutierres), (she) stayed every time composed and understanding. … Probably a lot of people say, Boston don’t have a striker, or don’t have a player that can score a lot of goals, but she showed that she just needs to be ready for the right moment and she will score.”
Gutierres also had a hand in the game-tying goal, which came off the foot of Aleigh Gambone in the 72nd minute. Gutierres headed the ball back to Gambone and Gambone tucked the ball into the corner of the net from just inside the 18-yard box.
The Legacy now own a 2-5-3 and for the first time all season they have climbed out of last place in the National Women’s Soccer League. Boston is tied for 11th in the standings with Angel City, Denver Summit and North Carolina Courage out of 16 teams. It’s been a recent run of success for the Legacy after they started their inaugural campaign by losing their first five games and scoring just one goal over that span.
Boston got down by a goal in the 14th minute against Orlando when Brazilian superstar Marta converted a penalty kick for the early 1-0 lead. But Boston’s resiliency shone through as it is the second time this season the Legacy scored in stoppage time in the second half to picked up a win.
The Legacy return to the pitch Friday when they travel out west to take on Bay FC. The game is slated to start at 10 p.m. ET.