Sports stats



Beat Looks to Get Back on Winning Track in Showdown Versus San Diego

May 5, 2003 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
Atlanta Beat News Release


ATLANTA (May 5, 2003) - The Atlanta Beat sits in 3rd place in the WUSA standings, with a 2-1-1 record and seven points. The Beat is tied in points with the San Diego Spirit, but leads on goal differential. The Beat's first loss of the season came on Saturday, May 3, in a 1-0 decision to the San Jose CyberRays.

Atlanta will face off against the San Diego Spirit on Saturday, May 10, at 7 p.m. in Atlanta. The Spirit has an identical record and is undefeated in three games.

Atlanta Beat vs. San Diego Spirit Preview - Saturday, May 10, 7 p.m. Herndon Stadium - ATLANTA

The Beat and Spirit face off Saturday in the first of three regular season meetings in 2003. The Beat heads into the match coming off its first loss of the 2003 season, while the Spirit is undefeated in the team's last three games. San Diego has recorded wins over the New York Power and San Jose CyberRays and most recently fought for a tie versus the Boston Breakers. The Spirit lost their first game of the season, a 2-1 decision to the Breakers.

The Beat versus Spirit matchup is one of the most heated rivalries in the WUSA. The all-time series between Atlanta and San Diego stands at 3-2-1 in favor of the Beat. The Beat won two out of three meetings versus San Diego in 2002, but lost the last time the teams met. With a playoff berth on the line, the Beat fell to the Spirit 1-0 on August 7, 2002, in Atlanta. The Spirit got its goal from Julie Foudy that day and almost knocked the Beat out of the playoffs. The Beat needed a win heading into the final game of the regular season and got it versus the Philadelphia Charge.

The Beat versus Spirit rivalry got off to its start in 2001, when the teams played in three very physical and closely contested games. The Beat and Spirit split the 2001 series 1-1-1, but more notably, it was highlighted by the rough and tumble play of each team's superstars. Although the Beat took two of three games in 2002, the Spirit will be gunning for Atlanta in 2003. The Beat defense will have to key in on the explosive Shannon MacMillan and Scottish forward Julie Fleeting, who lead the Spirit's attack.

Key matchup - Beat midfielders Homare Sawa and Nikki Serlenga versus Spirit midfielders Julie Foudy and Aly Wagner. The Beat versus Spirit matchup has been very closely contested through two seasons. This season promises to be no different. The midfields of each team have been responsible for each team's success in games, helping to provide the playmaking and even some scoring. With the addition of rising star Wagner and the veteran leadership of Foudy, the Spirit's midfield is poised and ready for success. The Beat's hard nose style, provided by Serlenga and Miller, and creativity provided by Sawa, may be too much for the Spirit to handle in this matchup.

Tom Stone's Quotes on preparing for the match versus San Diego:

"Well, you always learn things about yourselves after a loss, so this week should be very productive for us."

"The Spirit is much improved, as we saw in preseason this year. They are a great possession team and have more speed in the attack than most teams. We have to attack them early and we must have the aggressive mentality, which has served us well over the last two years."

"The key match up is probably in the midfield. Even with all the attacking players on both front lines, the results in the past seemed to have hinged on who dominated midfield."

Beat vs. CyberRays Recap - Saturday, May 3, 7:00 p.m., Herndon Stadium - ATLANTA The Atlanta Beat dropped its first game of the 2003 season in a 1-0 loss to the CyberRays. The Beat created some early chances, but could not hit the back of the net.

The CyberRays, one of the best teams in the league on set pieces, used a second half free kick to secure the win. Brazilian midfielder Sissi sent a cross, off the free kick, to the back post. Defender Brandi Chastain eluded defenders and headed home the game winner.

The loss moved the Beat's record to 2-1-1 and after starting 2-0-0 with 11 goals in the first two games, the Beat has scored only one goal in its past two contests. Maribel Dominguez saw her three game goal scoring streak end and Charmaine Hooper and Abby Crumpton saw their three game point scoring streaks end.

Tom Stone's Quotes on match versus San Jose: "We certainly created more real chances than San Jose, but the quality of finishing that we've had in the final third, was not there."

"It's early and we've hopefully learned some valuable lessons, in terms of assertiveness and what to do in a close game, something we have not had much of so far. We didn't have any major breakdowns versus San Jose, so we address our needs and get ready for the Spirit this week. "

Injury Report

Kylie Bivens - Out (left ankle sprain)
Ifeoma Dieke - probable (right hamstring strain)

Additional Notes

Beat Offense and Defense Ranks 1st in the WUSA

The Atlanta Beat's offense and defense has been stellar in the opening four games of the 2003 WUSA season. Through four games the Beat has scored 12 goals and has only allowed two goals. The Beat is averaging 3.00 goals per game and allowing only .50 goals per game. Through four games in 2002 the Beat had scored only two goals and had allowed six, while in 2001 the Beat had scored only one goal through four games and allowed two.

Beat Newcomers Contributing Valuable Minutes and Points

During the 2002 season, only two newcomers recorded minutes for the Beat throughout the entire season and neither were draft selections. Liping Wang recorded 835 minutes and one goal and two assists for four points. She was an international acquisition. Reserve player Anne Remy recorded one minute of playing time in 2002. This season, seven newcomers including three draft selections have recorded minutes and three have registered at least one point. Through only four games, Beat newcomers have recorded 980 minutes and 18 points.

Rookie forward and off season international acquisition, Maribel Dominguez, leads the group with 360 minutes played and 12 points. 2003 draft selection Abby Crumpton has notched two goals and one assist and has played 286 minutes. Draft selection Leslie Gaston has become a starter at the left marking back position and has played 144 minutes and registered an assist. The other players new to the Beat's roster that have seen time in 2003 are Ifeoma Dieke (138 min.), Conny Pohlers (35 min.), Katie Antongiovanni (9 min.) and Kristin Warren (8 min.).

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

Women's United Soccer Association Stories from May 5, 2003


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