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Boston coach eyes success for WUSA
BOSTON (AP) -- Jay Hoffman's goal as coach of the Boston Breakers isn't simply for his women's soccer team to win games. He wants their new league to be successful, too. Starting on Saturday night in Carolina, his team in the Women's United Soccer Association will play 21 games. He hopes that by the last game on Aug. 12, women's soccer will be much more popular in the country than when the season began. "This league creates an absolutely great environment, creates a lot of enthusiasm for the game," Hoffman said after Thursday's practice. "It gives players a great chance to make a living and work at their passion." Each of the eight teams has three U.S. National Team players. The Breakers have Kristine Lilly, who has made the most appearances for the U.S. national team, Kate Sobrero and goalkeeper Tracy Ducar. All three were on the U.S. team that won the 1999 World Cup. The Breakers also have Dagny Mellgren, who had the winning goal in Norway's win over the United States in the gold-medal game at last year's Olympics. "You also realize that there's going to be some of these [other] young players that are certainly going to flourish," Hoffman said. "You're not going to win in these games with just one or two people. It's not that kind of game." It's too early to tell how the Breakers compare with the other seven teams -- Atlanta, Bay Area, Carolina, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego and Washington. "It's been a good preseason," Hoffman said. "The difficult part for some of the players is, outside of some of the international players and some national players, none of them has ever been in a seven-week preseason [camp]." So they're eager to play games. And local fans, it seems want to see them. Hoffman said the home opener on May 5 against the Atlanta Beat at Boston University's Nickerson Field is nearing a sellout of 10,800. The U.S. men's soccer league, MLS, is in its sion and hasn't achieved mainstream popularity. But there are a number of better men's leagues throughout the world -- and the WUSA doesn't have as much international competition. "It's a difficult situation to compare the two," Hoffman said. "I felt that what made the 1999 World Cup team so successful was the quality of the play that was on the field and the players developed such a great relationship with the country. People said, "I've seen those people. I've taken a picture with them. I need to support them."' Now those people have another chance. "Soccer is not part of our culture, but it's getting closer," Hoffman said. "I think the core group of players in the league said, 'This is going to be our legacy, the fact that we are going to create a league where women players can flourish.' "
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