By Meg Linehan The North Carolina Courage stayed on the top of the table on Saturday when they defeated the Boston Breakers 3-1 at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. Despite the dynamic tag team of forwards Lynn Williams and Jessica McDonald both nursing injuries on the sidelines, the Courage didn’t lack for scoring thanks […]

By Meg LinehanThe North Carolina Courage stayed on the top of the table on Saturday when they defeated the Boston Breakers 3-1 at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. Despite the dynamic tag team of forwards Lynn Williams and Jessica McDonald both nursing injuries on the sidelines, the Courage didn’t lack for scoring thanks to Saturday night’s top line of Kristen Hamilton and Ashley Hatch. Hamilton certainly didn’t throw away her shot with her brace against Boston in front of the 3,780 fans attending the team’s Pride Night in North Carolina. She put the Breakers in an early hole in the third minute, then scored her second goal only 10 minutes later. Boston Breakers defender Brooke Elby and goaltender Abby Smith had their hands full denying Hamilton her hat trick in the second half. [Empty Body] [Empty Body] No. 2 draft pick Ashley Hatch scored in the 38th minute, for her second goal in two games. After Smith committed to challenging Hatch at the edge of the box, forward Makenzy Doniak cleaned up Smith’s rebound and got it back to Hatch, who buried it in the back of the net. [Empty Body] Forward Adriana Leon ended the clean sheet for Courage goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland in the 74th minute. Her second goal of the season may have been intended as a cross from the wing, but ended up curling inside the far post past Rowland. [Empty Body] Even with Leon’s goal, it was mostly a night to forget for the Breakers, who continue to struggle on the road. While Smith did allow three goals in the first half, she still had five saves on the night. The Breakers will need to regroup quickly and try to fix their defensive miscues, especially if Allysha Chapman appears on the injury report next week as well. Boston midfielder Rosie White earned her fifth yellow card of the season in Saturday’s match, earning her an automatic one game suspension for yellow card accumulation. The two teams will face off again next weekend, as North Carolina tries to repeat this Saturday’s result next Saturday, June 24 in Boston.