WASHINGTON (AP) -- No doubt about it, Mia Hamm is back.

In her return from the most serious injury of her career, Hamm scored a game-winning, highlight-reel goal as the Washington Freedom beat the Boston Breakers 2-1 Wednesday night.

Dancing and darting in the left side of the box -- and with a huge brace on her left knee -- Hamm unleashed a 10-yard rocket into the back right corner of the net in the 72nd minute, just seven minutes after she entered the game to a rousing ovation.

"It felt good to get back out there,'' Hamm said. "I'm not game-fit by any means. I'm just trying to work myself back in. The move I put on in the first three minutes I was in, I don't know if I could've done that in the last three. I'll take it and move on from here.''

Hamm scored on her first real scoring opportunity. Working on the left flank, her first shot was blocked back to her feet. She then put a move on defender Jena Kluegel and hit the mark -- and she celebrated by running 40 yards with one arm raised before landing in the arms of teammate Skylar Little.

"It was a great shot,'' said Boston defender Kate Sobrero, Hamm's longtime teammate on the U.S. national team. "That's the sign of a great player. They're not satisfied with what they've done in the past. It matters what they do that day.''

Hamm had knee surgery on Feb. 26 and had not played this season. Given that her debut season with the Freedom was a disappointment last year -- she scored just six goals and the team tied for last place in the WUSA -- the return of the greatest goal scorer in international soccer history was anticipated with as much anxiousness as excitement.

"This is an injury that takes at least six months to recover from. It doesn't mean I can't play,'' Hamm said. "I just have to understand that certain aspects of my game aren't going to be what they used to be yet. If I can come in and make a difference in the time that I play, then that's worth it.''

If there was anything Hamm hated worse than playing, it was the fact that the Freedom (3-4-3) were losing while she was out. Her goal helped end a five-game winless streak and energized what was becoming a painfully slow second half as the players wilted in the humidity and kept play in the midfield.

"We came out flat, without any emotion,'' Hamm said. "When you don't have an emotional commitment, all you're going to be doing is playing uphill. We tried to get that back in the second half, and I think we did -- motivated by different things.''

Hamm is also expected to give the team a boost at the gate. Washington's average attendance was more 3,000 behind last year's league-leading average of 14,421 going into the game. Wednesday night's crowd was a franchise-low 4,399 despite Hamm's return, although attendance is typically smaller during midweek games.

Dagny Mellgren opened the scoring for Boston (2-4-4) with her sixth goal, tying her for the league lead with San Jose's Katia, in the fourth minute. Maren Meinert got her league-leading sixth assist on the play, feeding Mellgren down the middle of the box with a pass that split the Freedom defense.

Washington's Abby Wambach tied the game in the final minute of the first half, taking a pass that substitute Anne Makinen that threaded through several slow-reacting Breakers defenders in the box. It was Wambach's fourth goal of the season.