Carolina Courage Notebook
May 15, 2002 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
Carolina Courage News Release
ALL-TIME SERIES RECORD: Washington leads series 2-0-1.
SERIES HISTORY: Last season, Carolina traveled to Washington once and hosted the Freedom twice. Washington outscored Carolina 6-3 and out-shot the Courage 48-25 in three meetings.
4/28/01 (@ Carolina, L 1-2) This contest was hyped up because of Mia Hamm's return to Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, where she had never lost a match. In the first meeting, the Courage struck early. Silvana Burtini received an assist from Hege Riise to score the first goal of the game in the 8th minute. No more goals were scored till late in the second half when, in the 82nd minute Freedom forward Pretinha scored a goal off of an assist from Mia Hamm. Then in injury minutes Hamm scored the game winner unassisted.
5/19/01 (@ Carolina, T 2-2) Washington dominated the first half with two unanswered goals; one by Pretinha (4) in the 8th minute assisted by French (1) and Milburn(2), and one unassisted by Amanda Cromwell in the 38th minute. Carolina came charging back in the second half however, with goals by Mikka Hansen (1) in the 49th minute, assisted by defender Staci Burt (1). Hege Riise scored a goal in the 61st minute, but the Courage was unable to muster enough offense to take the lead and had to settle for a tie.
6/30/01 (@ Washington L 0-2) Playing without its internationals, the Courage was simply dominated by Washington. The Freedom out-shot Carolina 22-4 and held an 11-1 advantage in shots on goal. Contributing to the Courage's woes was the early ejection of Kristin Luckenbill for handling a ball outside of the box. The Courage played the final 53 minutes one player down. Monica Gerardo scored the first goal of the match in the 33rd minute, assisted by Bai Jie. Then Bai Jie added a goal of her own five minutes later, thanks to a nice pass from midfielder Jen Grubb.
NEXT HOME GAME:
Join the Carolina Courage in the next home game against first place Philadelphia on Saturday, May 25th at 7:00 p.m. It's Autograph Night, so the first 1,500 fans will receive a Courage team poster.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:
5/11: Philadelphia 3, Washington 1 @ Washington
New York 3, Atlanta 3 @ Atlanta
5/12: San Diego 1, San Jose 1 @ San Jose
THIS WEEK'S GAMES:
5/18: Carolina @ Washington, 4pm
Atlanta @ San Jose, 4 pm
Boston @ New York, 7 pm
5/19: Philadelphia @ San Diego, 8 pm
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
"We know that we have to be able to play games without Hege, so this was a step for us in terms of proving our ability to play without her."
Courage Head Coach Marcia McDermott on playing without Norwegian playmaker Hege Riise.
COURAGE INJURY UPDATE:
OUT: none
DOUBTFUL: Carla Overbeck (knee-r, post surgery recovery)
QUESTIONABLE: none
PROBABLE: none
Week in Review:
Huge Crowd Turns Out For Carolina Courage Fanfest: The 1st Annual Carolina Courage Fanfest took place on Saturday, April 20 from 3 â 7 pm at the Amphitheatre at Regency Park in Cary. An estimated crowd of 3,000 took part in the festivities. The entire Carolina Courage team was on hand to meet fans, sign autographs, and conduct mini soccer demonstrations. Rockabilly quartet, The Cigar Store Indians performed two high-energy sets and had the crowd dancing on the stage. TEAM NOTES
Luckenbill Rules The Roost: The Courage's Kristin Luckenbill is one the main reasons the Courage are unbeaten so far this season. "Lucks" boasts the WUSA's best goals against average (0.75) and save percentage (91.9%).
Norwegians Return: The Courage will receive a boost this weekend when its Norwegian midfield tandem of Hege Riise and Unni Lehn return from national team duty in Norway. Riise has proven critical to the Courage's fortunes since joining the WUSA. Without Riise in the lineup, the Courage has never won, losing twice and drawing twice.
Someday My Prinz Will Come: The Courage will have to wait until after the UEFA Women's Cup Final until German Player of the Year Birgit Prinz joins the squad. Prinz's German club FFC Frankfurt will battle Umea of Sweden on May 23rd to crown the first-ever European club champion. Prinz is staying sharp in the meantime, playing for Bundesliga leader Frankfurt. In action over the weekend, Prinz paced her club to its fourth consecutive Bundesliga Cup title, by pouring in three goals in Frankfurt's 5-0 dismantling of Hamburg in Berlin.
COURAGE IN THE COMMUNITY:
(5/15) On Wednesday, Courage players Danielle Slaton, Nel Fettig, and Staci Burt present awards to the winners of the Golf Channel's Drive Chip and Putt golf skills competition.
(5/16) On Thursday, Tiffany Roberts will speak at the Sacred Heart Cathedral School's Annual Sports Banquet in Raleigh.
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Women's United Soccer Association Stories from May 15, 2002
- Tullock Joins Charge - Philadelphia Charge
- Carolina Courage Notebook - Carolina Courage
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