Beat Heads West Looking to Extend Current Winning Streak

Published on July 30, 2002 under Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
Atlanta Beat News Release


With only 4 games remaining in the 2002 WUSA regular season, the Beat sits squarely in the middle of a heated playoff race for one of the coveted 4 playoff spots. Going into the 17th week of the season, the Beat is in 4th place with 28 points - just 1 point behind the 3rd place Freedom - and needing to earn 9 points out of a possible 12.

Riding a 3 game winning streak, the Beat goes into the final stretch of the regular season where they'll face the Spirit twice, both home and away, as well as a road match-up against the Freedom and a home match versus the Charge.

Recap of Week 16 Beat 1, Courage 0 Atlanta Beat (9-7-1, 28 pts) vs. Carolina Courage (10-4-3, 33 pts) July 27, 2002 Herndon Stadium - Atlanta

The Beat went into the match versus the Carolina Courage with a two game winning streak on the line and more importantly three points on the line. The Beat stood in 4th place in the WUSA standings with the Washington Freedom one point ahead and the San Jose CyberRays three points back. Both the Freedom and CyberRays won their games on Saturday, leaving the Beat fighting to hold on to its 4th place spot.

The Courage, standing alone in 2nd place, has been the Beat's biggest nemesis as they have defeated Atlanta in four of five meetings. The Beat had only earned one point ever versus Carolina, in a 2-2 tie last season. The teams seemed to be feeling each other's defense out in the early going. The Courage got things going late in the first half when Birgit Prinz dribbled through the Beat defense and shot wide right from 12 yards out. Prinz would have another chance on a breakaway but her shot hit the right post.

The score was deadlocked 0-0 at the half, but the Beat came out firing in the second half. Defender Lisa Krzykowski started the Beat's scoring play in the 68th minute when she dribbled the ball up the field and passed to Emily Burt at the top of the penalty box. Burt laid a one-time pass to Charmaine Hooper and the Beat's leading scorer did the rest. Hooper touched the ball to the right and unleashed a curling shot into the top right corner of the goal. The goal was Hooper's 9th of the season, third in as many games and league leading 6th game winner.

The Courage tried to fight back, but the Beat's defense was too strong in the end. The team that had been the Beat's biggest nemesis could not get through the tough defense and Briana Scurry recorded her league leading 5th shutout of the season.

Tom Stone Quotes on Match versus the Courage: "Not only has the Courage been a very challenging team for us, but it's a crucial time in the year. We focused on ourselves this week instead of our opponent and I think that paid off. In the past we've though about how tough they are and this time we just talked about our game and what we needed to do."

"Hooper scored an unbelievable goal. That's what she does - she scores goals."

"There were a lot of fouls at the end of the game. It's not surprising though. There are a lot of great athletes on the field and Carolina hasn't lost many games this year, so they're not going to go down without a fight."

Week 17 Preview Atlanta Beat (9-7-1, 28 pts) vs. San Diego Spirit (4-9-4, 16 pts) Wednesday, July 31, 2002, 10 p.m. EST
Atlanta Broadcast: No Atlanta Broadcast
All-time Regular Season Series record (Atlanta Beat 2-1-1) Key Players Out: None

The Beat hits the road this week to face the San Diego Spirit at Torero Stadium on Wednesday, July 31 at 10 p.m. EST. In the teams first meeting on June 1, the Beat came away with a 2-0 win as Briana Scurry recorded her third shutout of the season. In a game where the Beat dominated the midfield, Charmaine Hooper and Homare Sawa each recorded a goal from the creative efforts of Nikki Serlenga and Kylie Bivens.

The Spirit showed only one quality chance to rattle the Beat, when Shannon MacMillan struck a fierce free kick that Briana Scurry just managed to touch away. If the Spirit wants to overcome the Beat, they will have to get past the tough defense that plagued them in their previous game.

MacMillan and Zhang Ouying each have five goals for the Spirit and present a threat up top for San Diego, but the player Atlanta will have to watch for is Julie Fleeting, who has tallied two goals and one assist in her last three games.

The Beat currently stands at 9-7-1 with 28 points on the season and in a heated battle for the playoffs. The Beat, Washington Freedom and San Jose CyberRays are seemingly battling for the final two spots in the WUSA standings. The Charge and Courage stand atop the league, but the Beat is only five points out of second place. Atlanta must have a strong showing in the next four games of the season as only the top four positions move through to the playoffs. The Beat will face the San Diego Spirit in the final regular season meeting at home on Wednesday, August 7 at 7 p.m.

Key matchup: Beat forward Charmaine Hooper versus Spirit defender Joy Fawcett. The Spirit will look to play the spoiler role with the Beat comes to town on Wednesday. To do that the Spirit's defense, led by Fawcett, will have to stop Hooper, who's scored a goal in three straight games. Hooper leads the league with six game winning goals, including one against the Spirit the last time these teams met.

Head Coach Tom Stone quotes on match versus the Spirit: "We're hoping we can field eleven people that have their legs on Wednesday. We really spent ourselves in Saturday's game. It's going to be a real challenge to get across the country and have a good game on Wednesday."

Atlanta Beat Training Schedule:
Tuesday, July 30: 12 p.m. Torero Stadium (San Diego)
Friday, August 2: 12-1 p.m., RFK auxiliary fields (Washington D.C.)
Saturday, August 3: 9-10 a.m., RFK auxiliary fields (Washington D.C.)

Atlanta Beat Notes: Charmaine Hooper Notches Another Game Winner an Extends Scoring Streak

Hooper has scored in three straight WUSA matches and four if you count Canada's 2-2 draw with Norway a week and a half ago. The goal versus the Courage was Hooper's league leading 6th game winner of the season, a new WUSA record. Hooper could top her earlier streak of three straight games with a goal if she scores on Wednesday. The league's longest goal scoring streak of the season is five games, accomplished by Carolina's Birgit Prinz.

Emily Burt and Hooper Combine for Goals

Beat forward Emily Burt has recorded an assist in four straight matches, the last three on goals for Charmaine Hooper. Burt, who had only three assists all of last season, has surpassed that total and is looking to set a season record with an assist in her fifth straight match. The league's best this season is four straight games with an assist, accomplished by teammate Nikki Serlenga, and three others.

Briana Scurry Returns to WUSA Action with a Shutout; Currently WUSA's All-time Leader

Scurry, who missed two straight games with a virus and then another while on call with the U.S. Women's National Team, posted her league leading 5th shutout of the season and has four more games to surpass her total from last season of seven shutouts. Scurry is currently the WUSA's all-time leader with 12 shutouts. San Jose goalkeeper LaKeysia Beene ranks second in all-time shutouts with 11.

Beat Could Surpass Last Season's Win Total; Currently Tied for Most Ever Wins in the WUSA

With a win on Wednesday the Beat could tie its win total from 2001(10 games) and on Sunday, could surpass last season's win total with a victory over the Washington Freedom. The Beat currently ahs nine wins and is tied with the Philadelphia Charge for the most wins in league history. Both the Charge and the Beat have 19 wins in the two seasons combined.

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Women's United Soccer Association Stories from July 30, 2002


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