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Beat Defeats Courage 2-1 in Chattanooga

April 6, 2002 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
Atlanta Beat News Release


The Atlanta Beat Defeated the Carolina Courage 2-1 in Final Tune Up Before Season Opens April 13 Versus Philadelphia -Emily Burt Notched Two Goals in the First Ever Win for the Beat Versus the Courage-

Chattanooga, Tenn. (April 6, 2002) - The Atlanta Beat defeated the Carolina Courage for the first time ever, 2-1 in the Beat's final tune up match before opening day. Beat forward Emily Burt notched both goals in the win. The Beat opens the 2002 WUSA season on Saturday, April 13 at 7 p.m. versus the Philadelphia Charge.

The Beat jumped out to an early lead on a Burt goal in the 8th minute. The scoring play began when a Beat corner kick was cleared out of the area. Beat midfielder and Chinese International Liping Wang raced the ball down and passed it out to forward Kelly Cagle, who then crossed the ball from the left side to the back post. Burt raced past the defense, touched it by Courage keeper Kristin Luckenbill and shot the ball into the open net.

The Courage's best chance in the early going was in the 20th minute when Katie Barnes sent an in-swinging corner kick to the far post that nearly curled in the goal. Beat forward Burt cleared the ball off the line, but directly to Courage forward Kim Yankowski, who shot the ball with her first touch from 12 yards out. Goalkeeper Briana Scurry dove to her left for a save and deflected the ball off the crossbar and then caught it on the way down.

In the 22nd minute of the first half Courage forward Danielle Fotopoulos played forward Hege Riise a through ball into the area. The through ball was flicked past Briana Scurry and Riise, with an open goal, shot the ball high.

The action was fast paced in the first half with both teams having numerous scoring chances, and the Courage out shooting the Beat 8 to 4 in the half.

The Beat opened the second half with another strike from Burt. Beat midfielder Nikki Serlenga settled a Courage clearance and played a looping ball over the head of defender Danielle Slaton. Burt took one touch and blasted a shot past second half sub Emily Oleksiuk. Burt's second goal of the game extended the Beat's lead to 2-0.

The Courage narrowed the gap in the 71st minute off a well-taken set piece by Hege Riise. The play was set up after Riise was fouled 22 yards outside of the penalty area. Riise lined up the kick and struck a curling ball into the upper left corner of the goal past Beat goalkeeper Melanie Wilson, who came on at halftime for Briana Scurry.

The exhibition match was the Beat's final preparoty competition versus a WUSA opponent before the season opener on April 13 versus the Philadelphia Charge, a rematch of last year's WUSA semifinal, which the Beat won in overtime on a Cindy Parlow golden goal.

The Beat played tonight's match without the services of leading scorer Charmaine Hooper, central defender Sharolta Nonen and central midfielder Homare Sawa, who are in France playing in a tournament with their national teams. The trio of stars will return to Atlanta for next week's opener.

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.

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