Katia Named Player of the Week
Published on June 10, 2002 under Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) News Release
ATLANTA (Monday, June 10, 2002) - San Jose's Katia scored two goals Sunday afternoon to guide the CyberRays to a 3-1 victory over the San Diego Spirit. For her performance, Katia was selected as the WUSA's Player of the Week for the Week ending June 9, 2002.
The Brazilian national team star challenged the San Diego defense all afternoon, registering seven shots against the Spirit. Katia scored her first goal of the match when she beat San Diego defender Fan Yunjie, who was attempting to knock the ball out of bounds . After reaching around Fan for the ball, Katia took off down the line and launched a shot near post past Spirit goalkeeper Jaime Pagliarulo in the 31st minute.
Four minutes later, Katia sealed the match with a spectacular goal that many onlookers labeled as the WUSA's goal of the year. Pretinha chipped a ball into the penalty area where Katia collected it and then volleyed the ball far post leaving CyberRays fans awestruck.
When asked about her performance, Katia responded, "I have been working very hard on scoring goals because in other games. I lost a lot of goals and a lot of chances to score. I don't want to lose goals anymore. When you have the opportunity, you have to score."
Katia nearly had the WUSA's first hat trick of 2002, but San Diego's Shannon MacMillan cleared a 67th-minute header by the CyberRays star off the goal line.
Katia raked in a total of 24 points to outdistance Boston forward Dagny Mellgren's 16 points. Other players who received votes included Atlanta's Briana Scurry (2 pts.), Philadelphia's Marinette Pichon (2 pts.) and Hege Riise of the Carolina Courage (1 pt.). The WUSA's Player of the Week is selected every Monday throughout the regular season by a panel of journalists from the Professional Soccer Reporters Association.
Women's United Soccer Association Stories from June 10, 2002
- Charge Extend Home Unbeaten Streak - Philadelphia Charge
- Carolina Courage Notebook - Carolina Courage
- Katia Named Player of the Week - WUSA
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