Sports stats



Atlanta Beat Drops Season Opener 2-0 to the Philadelphia Charge

April 14, 2002 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
Atlanta Beat News Release


ATLANTA (April 13, 2002) - The Atlanta Beat was defeated 2-0 Saturday night, as 10,070 watched the season opener and first game in Herndon Stadium. English international Kelly Smith and Chinese international Zhao Lihong scored spectacular goals for the Charge in the win. The win also marked the first ever time the Charge has defeated the Beat. The Beat's all time regular season record versus the Charge stands at 1-1-2 and 1-0-0 in the playoffs.

The Beat and Charge tried to find their offensive groove in the first half and managed only three shots a piece. The Beat's best chance came in the 40th minute when Sun Wen found an open space in the penalty area and headed a Julie Augustyniak cross just wide of the left post.

The Charge had its best first half scoring opportunity in the 31st minute when Kelly Smith shot a volley just high from 14 yards out. The opportunity started when Zhao Lihong dribbled past an Atlanta Beat defender and crossed the ball to a wide-open Smith.

The Beat came out firing in the second half, as Homare Sawa came in for Marci Miller. Sawa nearly notched a goal in the 58th minute when she dribbled through three defenders and fired a shot at the Charge goal. Goalkeeper Melissa Moore was quick to react and made the save.

The Charge's first goal came only two minutes later after Beat forward Sun Wen was called for a tripping foul outside of the penalty area. Smith and Zhao executed the free kick to perfection as the latter ran over the ball, faking the shot, and Smith curled a left footed shot into the right upper corner. The goal was the second of Smith's career versus the Beat.

The Charge widened the margin only twelve minutes later on a defensive miscue by the Beat. Two Beat defenders failed to clear the ball out of the penalty area. Zhao intercepted a missed clearance, put the ball on her left foot, and curled a ball into the left upper corner of the goal past a diving Briana Scurry. The goal was the first of Zhao's WUSA career.

The Beat made two substitutions late in the game, bringing in Lisa Krzykowski for Kelly Cagle and Emily Burt for Charmaine Hooper. The match marked the first time Sun Wen has played a full 90 minutes in a regular season WUSA game. She took two shots in the match, both headers that missed just wide left. Newly acquired Liping Wang played the full 90 minutes for the Beat, in the first game of her WUSA career.

The Beat's record stands at 0-1-0 and the Charge's moves to 1-0-0. In 2001 the Beat opened the season undefeated in six games. The Beat heads to Boston for its next match on Saturday, April 20 at 7:00 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on Atlanta's WB-36! The Breakers opened the season today at San Jose and were defeated 2-1 by the CyberRays. Last season the Beat notched its first ever goal and win versus the Breakers on May 5, 2001.

The Beat returns home to Herndon Stadium on April 27, to face the Washington Freedom at 4 p.m. The match versus the Freedom will be broadcast live nationally on PAX-TV. Tickets for Atlanta Beat home games range in price from $8-$20 and can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling the TicketMaster number in your area. In Atlanta, call (404) 249-6400 and from outside Atlanta call 1-800-326-4000. Fans can also find a link to TicketMaster on the Beat's web site at www.theatlantabeat.com.

The Atlanta Beat is one of eight professional women's soccer teams that make up the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the world's premier women's soccer league. In the inaugural 2001 WUSA season, the Beat finished as champions of the regular season and runner-up in the league's championship game, Founders Cup. For more information about the Atlanta Beat visit www.theatlantabeat.com.

• Discuss this story on the Women's United Soccer Association message board...

Women's United Soccer Association Stories from April 14, 2002


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central