CyberRays try to break 3-loss streak at Washington

June 16, 2003 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
San Jose CyberRays News Release


SAN JOSE (June 16, 2003) – The CyberRays head to Washington, D.C., on Sunday for their fifth game in a six-game stretch on the East Coast of the US of A. They are in the midst of the first three-game losing streak in team history.

Week 11 in review: Second straight loss to New York

Playing without four starters missing either for national team duty or injury, the CyberRays lost their second consecutive match to the New York Power 3-1 Saturday.

Coming in Week 12: Let's take a mulligan

It will be tough in Washington, where the CyberRays have won only once. The Freedom is in second place by one point, but also has played one less game than the No.1 Boston Breakers. Season series: 0-1-0. All-time series: 3-4-0, (1-2-0 in Washington). Top scorers: CyberRays – Pretinha (3g+2a=8pts); Washington – Mia Hamm (6g+5a=17pts). Practice this week at West Valley College: 10 a.m. Tuesday, 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, 10 a.m. Thursday and Friday, travel to Washington on Saturday.

CyberRays-Washington series notes: Washington took the first game of the 2003 series with a 2-0 victory April 19 at Spartan Stadium. The crowd of 17,032 was the largest home crowd in CyberRays' history. ... The CyberRays' only victory at RFK Stadium came July 12, 2001, when Katia scored in second-half injury time for a 3-2 victory. That game also featured a pair of Mia Hamm free kick goals, the first of which, in the eighth minute, ended GK LaKeysia Beene's WUSA-record shutout streaks at six games and 624 minutes. Key matchup: Washington forward Abby Wambach against CyberRays defender Thori Bryan. A week after they were teammates in the USA-Ireland friendly, they will be pitted against each other.

Ian Sawyers on Washington: ``We've got our hands full. We're coming off a bunch of losses. The players have been training hard in practice, but that's not translating in games. We've got to get some goals.''

Game notes

Record losing streak: Saturday's loss to the New York Power was the third consecutive loss by the CyberRays. It's the first time the CyberRays have ever lost three straight games. The CyberRays had a two-game losing streak in 2002 in the season's second and third games, 2-1 losses to the Washington Freedom and Carolina Courage. The team also lost two games in a row in 2001 when it lost consecutive games to the Boston Breakers and Atlanta Beat on May 16 and 27. That ended a 1-4-1 start to the season, and the CyberRays then posted a 10-game unbeaten streak. The only previous three-game stretch in which the CyberRays did not win was the first three games of 2001 when they opened 0-2-1.

New York takes series: The loss to New York gave the Power its season series against the CyberRays, the tie-breaker in case the two teams should finish the regular season tied in standings points. The CyberRays have already clinched their series against the Philadelphia Charge by winning the first two of their three regular-season matches. In the only other CyberRays series that has gone two games this season, the team is tied with Atlanta at one victory apiece.

Looking ahead to the Women's World Cup: As many as 14 players in Sunday's match could be playing in the World Cup this fall for their respective home countries:

CyberRays (home country) Washington Freedom (home country)

D Dianne Alagich (Australia) F Abby Wambach (USA)

GK LaKeysia Beene (USA) M Mia Hamm (USA)

D Thori Bryan (USA) M Kelly Golebiowski (Australia)

D Brandi Chastain (USA) M Steffi Jones (Germany)

F Katia (Brazil) D Sandra Minnert (Germany)

F/M Pretinha (Brazil) GK Siri Mullinix (USA)

M Sissi (Brazil) GK Nicci Wright (Canada)

No offense: Katie Antongiovanni's goal in the 84th minute Saturday against the New York ended a stretch of 293 minutes during which the CyberRays were scoreless. Pretinha had the CyberRays' previous goal, and it came in the 61st minute of a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia Charge on May 24. Since then the Boston Breakers and New York Power had shut out the CyberRays in consecutive games. Antongiovanni makes her mark: With her appearance and goal Saturday, Katie Antongiovanni became the youngest player in CyberRays history to play and score a goal at the age of 21 years, 208 days. Previously, Kelly Lindsey was the youngest player ever to appear for the CyberRays at the age of 21 years, 223 days when she played in the WUSA Inaugural Game on April 14, 2001. Antongiovanni's predecessor as the youngest CyberRay to score a goal was the team's other Katie, Katie Barnes, who scored in the CyberRays' season opener this year at the age of 22 years, 219 days. The Katies share another distinction. Both are rookies picked up as free agents who scored goals in their first CyberRays' appearances. Antongiovanni, drafted by the Atlanta Beat, played nine minutes of Atlanta's season opener but became a free agent when she was moved from Atlanta's reserve to its developmental roster on May 17.

Katia's out: Katia picked up her fourth yellow card of the season in the 36th minute Saturday against New York. She will be suspended for the game against Washington. Brandi Chastain, who missed the eighth game of 2001 after accumulating four cards, is the only previous CyberRay to be suspended. The only other players with yellow cards currently on their records are Dianne Alagich, who picked up her first of the season in the 81st minute against New York, and Brandi Chastain. Five other CyberRays – Katie Barnes, Betsy Barr, Amanda Cromwell and Keri Sanchez – have had yellows wiped from their slates by playing four consecutive games without being booked. Barr had her total of two yellow cards erased Saturday by avoiding a booking. The CyberRays are tied with the Atlanta Beat for most yellow cards with 13.

Blame it on the bossa nova: Pretinha was credited with an assist on Katie Antongiovanni's goal against New York, keeping alive the streak of at least one of the CyberRays' Brazilians being involved (scoring or assisting) on every goal of 2003. The last goal scored by the CyberRays without Brazilian input was July 27, 2002, when Lisa Nañez scored the first goal unassisted in a 4-1 victory over New York. That was 16 goals ago.

Bring back beene: Goalkeeper LaKeysia Beene missed her first start of 2003 Saturday because of national team duty. It was the third CyberRays game Beene has missed in the team's history, and the CyberRays are 0-3 in those games. The only other minutes she has missed were when she was subbed out in the 58th minute of a 1-0 victory over the Washington Freedom on July 22, 2001 because of an injury. Here's the history:

Date Opponent Result Reason missed game

8/9/01 Atlanta Beat 0-4 L coach's decision

7/21/02 Washington Freedom 2-3 L national team duty

6/14/03 New York Power 1-3 L national team duty

Sister vs. sister: Betsy Barr, the CyberRays midfielder and first pick in this year's WUSA Draft, is a sister of Washington Freedom defender Emmy Barr, who has been in the league since the inaugural season. Emmy played her college soccer at Santa Clara, Betsy finished her Portland career in December by winning the NCAA championship. They are the daughters of former San Francisco Giants pitcher Jim Barr and grew up near Sacramento in Granite Bay, Calif.

Ex-Washingtonians: The CyberRays' roster includes three players who have also played for the Washington Freedom. They are Pretinha, who played the 2001 season for Washington before coming to San Jose in a trade; Michelle French, who also played the WUSA's first season in Washington before a trade; and Ann Cook, who played for the CyberRays in 2001, went to Washington in the trade for French, and returned to San Jose this season after being waived by the Freedom. French became the first WUSA player to score against a former team with her goal April 21, 2001 in Washington in a 2-1 loss to the Freedom.

CyberRays injury update

M Betsy Barr (L adductor strain), D Dianne Alagich (L knee sprain) and F Pretinha (groin strain) are questionable; D Kelly Lindsey (R knee sprain) and M Sissi (bruised and separated rib) are out.



Women's United Soccer Association Stories from June 16, 2003


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