Beat Stars Named Finalists for Top US Soccer Award

December 12, 2002 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
Atlanta Beat News Release


ATLANTA (December 12, 2002) - Atlanta Beat stars Cindy Parlow and Briana Scurry were today named among the finalists for the 2002 Chevy Male and Female Athlete of Year awards. The award is the top honor given by U.S. Soccer to an athlete each year.

This year Parlow and Scurry played key roles in the Atlanta Beat's run to the playoffs and each helped lead the U.S. Women's National Team to a berth in the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup. Parlow finished 2002 tied for second on the National Team in scoring with 11 goals and two assists for 24 points. With the offensive numbers she recorded this year, Parlow now has 115 caps and 57 goals, moving her into sixth place on the all-time goal-scoring list.

She scored six goals across four consecutive games, sandwiched by two-goal games on July 21 (a 4-0 win over Norway) and Oct. 2 (a 4-0 win over Australia). She also scored a total of five goals in the 2002 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup, including a hat trick in the 7-0 semi-final win over Costa Rica that earned the U.S. a berth in the 2003 Women's World Cup. This season for the Atlanta Beat Parlow ranked third on the team in scoring with five goals and four assists for 14 points.

Scurry made her return to the U.S. Women's National Team in 2002, after an almost two year absence due to injury and loss of form. She's now making a bid to become the number one goalkeeper for the U.S. at the 2003 Women's World Cup. Scurry made her return in a 4-0 win over Norway in Blaine, Minnesota on July 21 and then went on to allow only two goals in eight matches in 2002, recording three shutouts and a 0.30 Goals Against Average on the year.

She posted an undefeated record of 7-0-0 in 2002, raising her all-time record win total to 86. She was the national team's number one keeper in both the 2002 Nike U.S. Women's Cup and the 2002 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup. With eight appearances in 2002, she increased her all-time record cap total to 111. This season for the Beat, she helped lead the team to the playoffs for the second consecutive year, with a 9-8-1 record and 1.33 GAA, as well as a league leading six shutouts.

U.S. Soccer's Chevy Male and Female Athletes of the Year awards are the oldest and most prestigious awards of their type, dating back to 1984 for the Men and 1985 for the Women. The finalists for each award were nominated on the basis of: a) competing and excelling at the highest level (both at the National Team level and the professional level) during the calendar year, b) exhibiting decorum on and off the field which reflects well on U.S. Soccer, and c) contributing toward the growth, development, credibility and popularization of soccer in the United States.

Online votes will be tallied and will be equivalent to 50 percent of the total votes. As in years past, 100 votes will be compiled from members of the national media and U.S. Soccer representatives (from National Team coaches to the National Board of Directors). Ballots will be accepted until Monday, January 6, 2003, at which time the votes will be tallied. U.S. Soccer, in conjunction with Chevrolet, will then announce the winners of the four awards at separate press conferences in January.

List of Nominees for Chevy Female Athlete of the Year Mia Hamm - F - WNT / Washington Freedom (WUSA) Shannon MacMillan - M/F - WNT / San Diego Spirit (WUSA) Tiffeny Milbrett - F - WNT / New York Power (WUSA) Cindy Parlow - F - WNT / Atlanta Beat (WUSA) Danielle Slaton - D - WNT / Carolina Courage (WUSA) Briana Scurry - GK - WNT / Atlanta Beat (WUSA) Aly Wagner - M - WNT / Santa Clara (NCAA)

The Atlanta Beat is also in the running for two U.S. Soccer "Best of" awards. Herndon Stadium is a finalist for Best Soccer Stadium amongst several of the largest and most famous stadiums in the country including, the Rose Bowl, RFK Stadium and the new SAFECO Field. The Beat were also named a finalist in the Best Soccer Promotion for the Twins Mania Night that marked the first time in all of professional sports that two sets of twins (the Beat's Augustyniak's and the Freedom's Little's) faced each other on the field at the same time.

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. Just in time for the holidays, the Beat has presented the 5-Game Beat Pack and the Atlanta Beat Holiday Camp. For more information call 1-877-SOCCER-1 or log onto www.theatlantabeat.com.



Women's United Soccer Association Stories from December 12, 2002


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