Sports stats



San Diego Spirit Signs Top Scottish Forward

June 11, 2002 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
San Diego Spirit News Release


SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Spirit have filled its fourth and final spot for an international player, signing Scotland forward Julie Fleeting for the remainder of the season. At age 21, the 5-foot-9 Fleeting is already Scotland's all-time greatest player, having scored 78 goals in 58 appearances for her national team.

Fleeting recently helped Scotland win Group 5 in European World Cup Qualifying. She scored 10 goals while playing in five of the six group games, giving Scotland a chance to reach the upper tier in Europe, thereby earning a chance to qualify for the 2007 Women's World Cup.

She comes to the Spirit from Ayr United, a club in Scotland's top women's league, where she played the last nine years, scoring nearly 300 goals during that time. Fleeting debuted for Scotland at the age of 15 against Wales, traveled with the national team to Brazil a month later and has racked up impressive goal scoring numbers ever since.

"I'm very excited at the opportunity and I'm looking forward to the challenge of playing with and against the best players in the world," said Fleeting, who becomes the second player from the UK in the WUSA along with England's Kelly Smith. "I think it's also quite exciting for the people over here (in Scotland) to see a female player reaching this level. It shows the young Scottish girls that their efforts can pay off if they work hard."

Fleeting's father Jim played one season for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1978. He played in Soccer Bowl '78 that year, losing to the New York Cosmos. The senior Fleeting also played professionally in England for Norwich City and in Scotland for Ayr United. He also coached in the Scottish Premier League with Kilmarnock.

Fleeting began playing club soccer at the age of 10 with the Cunninghame boys as the only girl in the league. At age 11, and again as the only girl, she helped her St. Winnins Primary School win the Scottish school championship, a competition of over 1,000 schools. The championship game was played at Ibrox Stadium, home of the world-famous Glasgow Rangers. She played with boys until the age of 12, before moving to Ayr United.

Although Fleeting has signed a player contract with the WUSA, her signing is contingent on the finalization of her official work visa. The process will be completed in the near future and Fleeting is expected to join the Spirit shortly.

In other player news, the Spirit waived forward Tara Koleski and elevated reserve goalkeeper Shelley Finger to the active roster. The 5-foot-3 Koleski played in 19 matches last season and scored four goals. So far this season, she had seen action in just three matches, playing 100 minutes without registering a point. When Fleeting arrives, the Spirit will have to waive a player on the active roster to make room for her.



Women's United Soccer Association Stories from June 11, 2002


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