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Spirit Falls Before Record Crowd

May 5, 2002 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
San Diego Spirit News Release


SAN DIEGO (Sunday, May 5, 2002) - The San Diego Spirit had been to the summit six times before in franchise history, and each time they had failed to go above the .500 mark. Tonight, San Diego lost another opportunity to reach new heights, as they were shutout by the Washington Freedom before a franchise-record crowd of 6,311 at Torero Stadium. Three different Freedom players notched goals to lead Washington to its first-ever win against San Diego. Washington (2-2-0, 6 pts) took an early lead in the 22nd minute, in fact, it was the first time in series history that the Freedom had led the Spirit, a span totaling 292 minutes. The lead was courtesy of a spectacular shot by Freedom forward Jacqui Little that skimmed underneath the crossbar and bounced gently off the post and into the side netting from 18-yards away. "I meant to cross it and this time it went perfectly in, but hey, a goal is a goal," said Little.

The Freedom were not done scoring in the first half, as 1st-round draft pick forward Abby Wambach one-touched a shot past the diving Spirit goalkeeper Jaime Pagliarulo for her first professional goal in the 38th minute off a pass from Skylar Little. The goal was set up by Little's hard work, as she turned defender Fan Yunjie around after receiving a ball from Monica Gerardo, Little then took the ball deep to the end line and found a streaking Wambach with a pass back to the penalty spot for the score.

San Diego (1-2-1, 4) never mounted any serious attacks against Freedom goalkeeper Dawn Greathouse, despite out-shooting them 13-11. "The loss was a combination of our impatience, Washington playing well, and us playing poorly," said Spirit head coach Carlos Juarez. "There is no sugar coating this, we just didn't play well."

Gearardo finished the evening, burying a penalty kick past Pagliarulo for the third Freedom goal in the 71st minute. The penalty kick was awarded after Spirit substitute Flo Omagbemi was called for touching Wambach from behind in the box, sending the 5-10 forward to the plush grass surface of Torero Stadium. The three goals scored by Washington set a team record.

The San Diego players had made a commitment not to start the season slowly, but they now stand at 1-2-1, failing to win and gain sole possession of second place. "Give credit to Washington for playing a great game," said Spirit captain Julie Foudy. "We learned our lesson last season about not getting down after a loss. We know that the next game we have to mix it up better."

The Spirit had very few bright spots in the loss that was the worst since a 3-0 blanking by Philadelphia on July 13. Shannon Boxx extended her games started streak to 25, while forward Tara Koleski made her first 2002 appearance as a sub in the 55th minute.

The Spirit travels to the Bay Area next Sunday, May 12 to challenge the defending WUSA champion San Jose CyberRays for a 3:00 p.m. match. The game will be aired live on Channel 4 San Diego beginning at 3:00 p.m.



Women's United Soccer Association Stories from May 5, 2002


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