The Boston Legacy Kick Off Their Inaugural Season
The Boston Legacy kicked off their inaugural season at Gilette Stadium on March 14, facing last year’s championship victors, the Gotham Football Club (Gotham FC). The game followed with the Legacy falling one short of Gotham, resulting in a 1-0 loss in their first game as an organization. The team won in other ways, attracting a crowd of 30,207 fans, marking the second largest in-house attendance for a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team’s inaugural home opener.
The Legacy took the road to Houston on March 21 for their first away game of the season. The game resulted with an unfortunate 3-0 loss for the team. Boston Legacy head coach Filipa Patão elaborated on the loss in the post-game press conference, “We need to grow a little bit more.” For a young, brand-new team, this could be seen as a building season for the Legacy, skill- and chemistry-wise.
The Legacy have struggled finding their groove, leaving their second home game of the season with a 2-1 loss to the Utah Royals. Forward Aïssata Traore made Legacy Football Club history, scoring the first ever goal for the franchise. Legacy teammate Ella Stevens commended Traore’s tenacity: “I think there were a lot of frustrations in the game, and for her to just keep her head down and keep working is just testament to her character.”
For their fourth game of the season, the San Diego Wave created a tough battle for the Legacy, yet again coming up one short for a 1-0 loss.
During the construction of the team’s home stadium, White Stadium, the team faces relocation challenges. While it is still in the building phase, in was announced that the Legacy would play their first season at Gilette. Although, with the FIFA world cup kicking off in June, the team will be temporarily relocated to Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
