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Beat Closes in on Playoffs; Scurry Records 20th Career Shutout

July 21, 2003 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
Atlanta Beat News Release


ATLANTA (July 21, 2003) - The Atlanta Beat sits in first place in the WUSA with a 9-3-5 record and 32 points, six points ahead of the Boston Breakers in second place. Atlanta posted two shutouts, on the road last week, versus the Philadelphia Charge and the Boston Breakers and next will travel to New York.

The Beat faces the Power at Mitchel Athletic Complex on Saturday, where Atlanta is 3-0-0 all-time. With four games remaining, the Beat needs only four points to clinch a playoff berth and seven points to clinch a home game in the post season.

Atlanta Beat @ New York Power Preview - Sat., July 26, 7 p.m. ET, - Mitchel Athletic Complex The Atlanta Beat travels to New York for a Saturday game versus the Power at Mitchel Athletic Complex, in Uniondale, NY. The Beat and Power have met only once this season, with the Beat thumping the Power on opening day 5-0 at Herndon Stadium. The Power has had an up and down season, yet they currently sit only one point out of a playoff spot, behind the Spirit and Freedom, and three points behind the Breakers.

The Beat gets a week to rest in between games, after notching two shutouts within four days last week. The Power will face the San Diego Spirit on the road Wednesday and then will play the Beat on Saturday at home in New York. The Beat has never lost to the Power, 5-0-2 all-time, and has defeated New York in all three meetings at Mitchel Athletic Complex. In seven meetings to date, the Beat has outscored the Power by a whopping 19 goals to five goals for New York.

Saturday's match is the middle game of a five game road stretch, the longest in league and team history. Atlanta has lost only one game on the road this season, at 2-1-4, and the Power is 3-3-2 at home.

Key matchup: Beat forward Charmaine Hooper vs. Power defender Christie Pearce - Hooper leads the team in scoring with seven goals and seven assists for 21 points. Hooper's late season heroics have lifted Atlanta into the playoffs in the last two seasons. This season, she's hit her stride in the second half of the season and is looking to carry the Beat into the post season for a third year in a row. Pearce, a member of the U.S. Women's National Team and three-year Power starter, is the leader of the defense and will look to limit Hooper's chances on goal.

Tom Stone's Quotes on match versus New York:

"The biggest key to this weekend's game is recognizing that New York is a much improved team from when we faced them on opening day. They are playing well and playing with great confidence."

"We've also got to recognize that Milbrett can turn her game on at any time, so we just have to keep playing as hard as we can. This team (the Beat) enjoys playing on the road and understands what it takes to get points away from home."

Beat 0, Breakers 0 - Game Recap - July 12, 2003 Atlanta and Boston played to a 0-0 tie on Saturday, with the Beat dominating the game, but Boston getting an incredible performance from goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc. The Beat forced the pressure on the Breakers early and often, as Atlanta tried to sweep the season series versus Boston.

The Beat had won each of the first two meetings of the 2003 regular season, the first 6-0 and the second 3-1. Atlanta went into the game with a three-game winning streak, after blanking the Charge 1-0 on Wednesday. The Beat had the better chances in the first half, taking eight shots to the Breakers two. LeBlanc made big saves on shots from Charmaine Hooper in the 16th minute and Homare Sawa in the 45th minute. Cindy Parlow had a header saved off the line by Kristine Lilly in the closing minutes of the first half.

The second half was not much different, as the Beat again out shot the Breakers and forced LeBlanc to come up with big saves again. LeBlanc made key saves on a Maribel Dominguez shot and Sawa shot in the second half, on shots that were sure goals.

LeBlanc made seven saves on the day and the Beat out shot the Breakers 11-3. The shutout was the 8th of the season for Atlanta and the 7th recorded by Briana Scurry.

Tom Stone's quotes on match versus Boston:

"Boston is a very good team and we knew coming in that they absolutely needed this game. We got everything Boston had to offer and I'm proud that we were able to weather the storm and get a point out of it, especially with this being our fourth game in 10 days.''

"I was telling my team that I'm so proud of them over the past 10 days and they're kicking their feet and grumbling under their breath because they tied today. I may be happier than they are."

Injury Report - (Week, July 21 - July 26, 2003)
Abby Crumpton - groin strain (questionable)
Sharolta Nonen - right ankle sprain (questionable)

Additional Notes

Scurry Keeps on Keepin' Em Out

Atlanta Beat goalkeeper Briana Scurry is having her best WUSA season and quite possibly the best of her career. The number one keeper for the Beat, as well as for the U.S. Women's National Team, has recorded seven shutouts this season and has 20 in her WUSA career. Scurry leads the league in wins (8), shutouts (7), winning percentage (.667), save percentage (81.5) and is the only goalkeeper allowing under one goal per game in a minimum 500 minutes played (0.80 GAA).

Charmaine Hooper, The Beat's Iron Woman

Charmaine Hooper, the Beat's leading scorer the past two seasons, is on pace again to lead the Beat in scoring and at age 35 is the second oldest player in the league. Hooper has seven goals and seven assists and ranks in the top 10 in scoring in the league, as she has the past two seasons. Last week, Hooper played the full 90 minutes in both of the Beat's games and then flew to Ottawa Saturday evening and proceeded to play the entire game in Canada's 2-1 win over Brazil Sunday afternoon. She even set up the game-winning goal against Brazil.

Atlanta Closing in on Records

With four games remaining, the Beat has a chance to break multiple team and league records. The Beat recorded 11 wins in 2002, the most in the team's short history, and with four games remaining can seemingly pass that number. The Carolina Courage, who won 12 games in 2002, holds the regular season record. The Beat's record for regular season goals scored is 34, set last season. The Beat has scored 31 goals to date and can pass the previous record by scoring one goal per game in the final four. Atlanta holds the league record for fewest goals allowed during the regular season, giving up only 21 in 2001 (1.00 goals per game). Currently, the Beat has allowed only 13 goals through 17 games (0.76 GAA). If holding to the team's current goals against average, the Beat would shatter their previous mark and become the only team to allow less than one goal per game throughout a regular season.

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