Beat Takes Stanford Midfielder with First Pick; Focuses on Defense and Speed Throughout Draft

Published on February 2, 2003 under Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
Atlanta Beat News Release


ATLANTA (February 2, 2003) - With defense and speed the focus of the 2003 WUSA draft, the Atlanta Beat selected defensive minded, central midfielder Callie Withers from Stanford University with its first pick, 5th overall. The Beat followed up its first round pick by selecting Leslie Gaston, a defender from the University of North Carolina with the 10th overall selection, second in the round two. The Beat took speedy forward Abby Crumpton, from the University of Michigan, with the 13th overall selection, 5th in round two.

With its final two selections in the 2003 WUSA draft, the Beat took forward Katie Antongiovanni from the University of Denver in the third round, 21st overall and Sandra Kayulu from the University of Hartford in the fourth and final round with the 29th overall selection.

"We are very excited to be bringing in players of this caliber to this year's squad," said Atlanta Beat Head Coach Tom Stone. "The player pool to select from is getting deeper every year and the quality of players coming out of college is getting stronger. This season we have five draft picks coming in that will all have the opportunity to make an impact on our team."

2003 Atlanta Beat Draft Picks

Callie Withers - a 5'9'' midfielder, was a first team All-American selection in 2002. She led the Cardinal defense, which allowed only 13 goals while scoring 163 in 2002, and dominated play in the air. Withers is a Human Biology major and was a member of the Scholar All-America Team in 2002.

Leslie Gaston - a 5'5'' defender, was a third team All-America selection in 2002. She helped lead the Tarheels defense to a 0.68 goals against average and a berth in the NCAA Final Four in 2002. Gaston was also named to the All-South Region first team in 2002 as a right back and central defender.

Abby Crumpton - a 5'6'' forward, was the 2002 Big Ten Athlete of the Year and was a second team All-American selection. She helped lead the University of Michigan to its best ever ranking (11th) and had 11 goals and 13 assists for 35 points in 2002. Crumpton finished her collegiate career as Michigan's all-time leading scorer with 116 points off 43 goals and 30 assists.

Katie Antongiovanni - a 5'4'' forward, was a first team All-Central Region selection in 2002 and a second team selection in 2001. Transferred to the University of Denver from Iowa State, where she was a first team All-Big XII selection in 2000 and was the Big XII Rookie of the Year in 1999.

Sandra Kayulu - a 5'7'' midfielder from Winchester, Massachusetts, was named to the All-America East first team in 2002 and 2001. She was the America East Player of the Year in 2001 and was named to the All New England first team in the same season.

As expected, with the first selection in the 2003 WUSA draft, the San Diego Spirit drafted Aly Wagner from Santa Clara University. Wagner was the winner of the 2002 MAC Hermann Award, given to the top player in the nation. She also helped lead the Broncos to the 2002 NCAA championship game and helped the Broncos capture the title in 2001. Wagner is a starter for the U.S. Women's National Team and most recently helped the U.S. Women win the Four Nations Tournament in China.

With the second overall selection the New York Power took Penn State forward Christie Welsh and the Boston Breakers selected midfielder Devvyn Hawkins with the third overall selection. The Philadelphia Charge held three selections in the first round and drafted University of Washington goalkeeper Hope Solo with the fourth overall pick, Clemson forward Deliah Arrington sixth overall and Dartmouth midfielder Mary McVeigh seventh overall. With the final selection in the first round, eighth overall, the Carolina Courage drafted University of Nebraska defender Breanna Boyd.

The Atlanta Beat's 2003 schedule is here and the Beat opens up at home on April 5, 2003, versus the New York Power. Full season tickets as well as a special Five-Game Beat Pack, that features tickets to the most popular games in 2003, are currently available at prices starting at just $99 for all 11 games and $45 for the Five Pack. Individual game tickets will go on sale in February 2003. Call 1-877-SOCCER-1 for additional details and to learn more about all the exciting benefits of being a Beat Season Ticket Holder or Five-Game Beat Pack Member.

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. For more information call 1-877-SOCCER-1 or log onto www.theatlantabeat.com.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Women's United Soccer Association Stories from February 2, 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