First Place Beat Hits the Road for Two Games of a Five Game Road Stretch

Published on July 14, 2003 under Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
Atlanta Beat News Release


ATLANTA (July 14, 2003) - The Atlanta Beat heads to Philadelphia to face the Charge on Wednesday and then heads straight to Boston to prepare for a Saturday match versus the Breakers, who trail Atlanta by only three points. The Beat is coming off a dramatic 2-1 victory over the Washington Freedom on Saturday, July 12.

Beat goalkeeper Melanie Wilson earned her first win of the season on Saturday, and first year players Ifeoma Dieke and Conny Pohlers scored goals to lead the Beat to victory. The Beat's overall record stands at 8-3-4 with 28 points.

Atlanta Beat @ Philadelphia Charge Preview - Wed., July 16, 7 p.m. ET, - Villanova Stadium The Atlanta Beat will face off against the Philadelphia Charge on Wednesday, July 16 at Villanova Stadium, in the first of five straight road matches. The road stretch is the longest in team history, as it begins in Philadelphia this Wednesday and ends with a match in San Jose on August 6.

The Beat and Charge have met only once this season, with Atlanta winning 4-2 at home on Sunday, June 22. The Charge scored first in the match, but Atlanta came back and got a hat trick from Cindy Parlow to seal the victory. The Beat's all-time record versus Philadelphia stands at 3-2-2, with Atlanta winning the last two. The Charge comes into the match completely on the opposite end of table from the Beat, with a 3-8-4 record and 13 points.

The Charge, who sit in last place, and the Beat are the only two teams to make the playoffs in each of the first two seasons of the WUSA's existence. If the playoffs would begin today, the Charge would be out and the Beat would be the only team to make it all three seasons.

Key matchup: Beat midfielder Cindy Parlow vs. Charge midfielder Stacey Tullock - Parlow missed Saturday's game versus the Freedom due to national team commitments, but will be back in action against the team she recorded her first WUSA hat trick against. Parlow has been a key player for the Beat in the second half of the season, controlling the midfield and helping to lead the attack. Tullock is the leader of the Charge midfield. Tullock and Parlow each have notched three goals and four assists on the season.

Atlanta Beat @ Boston Breakers Preview - Sat., July 19, 4 p.m. ET, - Nickerson Field The Beat and Breakers have met twice this season, with Atlanta rolling to two victories. The first victory was a pummeling, that came in the Beat's second match of the season. Rookie forward Maribel Dominguez scored three goals in leading the Beat to a 6-0 win the Breakers. The second meeting came in Boston on May 25, with Atlanta getting two goals from Charmaine Hooper and one from Homare Sawa, as the Beat won 3-1.

The Breakers come into the match in second place, three points behind the Beat, with a 7-4-4- record and 25 points. Boston is undefeated in the team's last four matches and has lost only once in the past seven games. The Breakers are led by a dynamic attacking trio, that Beat head coach Tom Stone has dubbed, "The Triangle of Death." The triangle includes forward Dagny Mellgren and midfielders Maren Meinert and Kristine Lilly.

Mellgren and Meinert are tied for the league lead in points scored with 22. Mellgren has notched 10 goals and two assists, while Meinert has eight goals and six assists. The duo combined twice to help lead the World Stars to a 3-2 victory in the WUSA All-Star game in June. Meinert notched two goals and an assist and earned MVP honors in the game.

Key matchup: Beat defender Nancy Augustyniak vs. Breakers midfielder Dagny Mellgren - Augustyniak has helped lead the Beat to the best record in the league thus far, and to the best goals against average. She'll have to be on her game, along with the rest of the defensive unit, to stop Mellgren and company. Mellgren is tied for the league lead in goals with 10 and has 22 points on the season.

Tom Stone's Quotes on the Upcoming Road Trip: "Thinking that since we now have a full roster, we'll coast through the end of the season, is thinking that will produce losses. The reality is that every game is a battle and we recognize that this is the longest road trip we've ever had and it's going to take every player on our roster to get points."

"Philadelphia is a much better team than their record says. We'll have a lot of things going against us this week, including limited rest, a small field and turf to contend with, so we'll need everyone to rally for these games."

On playing against Boston - "Boston has great leadership, including the captains of each all-star team, and good leadership is what you need down the stretch. Both of our games versus Boston this season were closer than the scores reflected, and since we've already won the season series, I'm sure they will be looking at this game as an opportunity to get one back."

Beat 2, Freedom 1 - Game Recap - July 12, 2003

With many of the Beat's and Freedom's stars out of the match due to national team commitments, each team got production from role players, but it was the Beat that edged the Freedom 2-1. The Beat got on the scoreboard in the 26th minute on a goal from Ifeoma Dieke, her first ever WUSA goal. Charmaine Hooper and Conny Pohlers were credited with assists on the play.

Washington answered almost immediately on a long-range strike from defender Jen Grubb. After hitting a free kick directly into the Beat wall, Grubb shot the rebound from 26 yards out into the top left corner of the goal. The game was tied at the half, but it took only four minutes into second half, for the Beat to go up for good.

Dieke and Pohlers would combine for the game winner in the 49th minute, when Dieke put an incredible move on a Freedom defender to get free on the left end line. The ball was then poked away by Grubb, but right into the path of Pohlers, who dribbled by two Freedom defenders, before shooting the ball into the right corner of the goal.

Melanie Wilson, the Beat's backup keeper, made a great fingertip save in the closing minutes to preserve the victory. The win was the fourth of her WUSA career and the first this season.

Injury Report - (Week, July 15 - July 19, 2003)
Abby Crumpton - groin strain (doubtful)

Additional Notes

Japan Defeats Mexico to Earn Final Berth in 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup Japan became the 16th and final team to qualify for the FIFA Women's World Cup USA 2003 by virtue of a 2-0 victory over Mexico on Saturday, in Tokyo's National Stadium. Japan and Mexico had played to a 2-2 draw on July 5, in front of 75,000 fans in Mexico City in the first leg of their two-leg playoff.

For Japan, the victory qualifies the country for their fourth consecutive FIFA Women's World Cup, bringing to eight the total number of teams that have played in each FIFA Women's World Cup tournament since the inaugural 1991 competition (along with Brazil, China, Germany, Nigeria, Norway, Sweden and the United States).

Midfielder Homare Sawa of the WUSA's Atlanta Beat scored the opening goal past Mexican goalkeeper Pamela Tajonar on a header in the 56th minute on an assist from Emi Yamamoto. Mexico was still in it toward the end of the match, but an 83rd minute goal from second-half substitute Karina Maruyama clinched the triumph for the Japanese.

Joining Forces Again

The Beat will be able to field a full squad this week, for the first time since June 28, in a 1-0 win over the Washington Freedom. Since then, the Beat's Homare Sawa and Maribel Dominguez have been battling each other for the final berth in the 2003 Women's World Cup and each missed three WUSA games during the qualifying series. Kylie Bivens missed the July 9 match while training with the U.S. Women's National team last week, and Cindy Parlow and Briana Scurry missed Saturday's match versus the Freedom, while on call with the U.S. Women. Sawa, the Beat's offensive MVP in 2003, has missed six matches this season due to national team commitments, yet still ranks 5th on the team in scoring with three goals and two assists. Dominguez has missed three matches and still ranks 2nd on the team and is tied for 4th in the league in scoring with seven goals and four assists for 18 points. All together, the Beat has had a full squad for only eight of 15 games this season. There have been seven games in which Beat players were on call with their national teams and were not available for the WUSA match.

Newcomers Valuable to the Beat The Atlanta Beat's newcomers are arguably the best crop first year players in league this season. Three first year players rank among the top five on the team in scoring and five first year players have combined for 14 goals, 13 assists and 40 points, out of 92 points the Beat has registered this season. Maribel Dominguez, Conny Pohlers and Leslie Gaston are regular starters on the team and have combined for 33 starts, 10 goals, 10 assists and 30 points. Beat rookies Abby Crumpton and Ifeoma Dieke have provided valuable minutes off the bench for the Atlanta, combining for 10 starts, four goals and two assists for 10 points. Rounding out the Beat's rookies are Kristin Warren, Callie Withers and Tara Minnax. Warren and Withers have successfully filled roles for Atlanta with players on national team duty, and Minnax is still trying to break through for more playing time.

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



Women's United Soccer Association Stories from July 14, 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