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Spirit Falls to Beat, 2-0, at Torero Stadium

June 1, 2002 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
San Diego Spirit News Release


SAN DIEGO (Saturday, June 1, 2002) - The San Diego Spirit fell to 2-4-2 (8 pts.) with a 2-0 loss to the Atlanta Beat in front of 5,815 fans at Torero Stadium. Charmaine Hooper scored in the first half and Homare Sawa added a goal in the second half, her first of the season, as the Spirit put on a lackluster offensive showing.

The Spirit, which moved into the second third of the season, actually put in a solid first half, but gave up the game's first goal in the 21st minute. The early goal didn't bode well for the Spirit, which is 1-11-4 lifetime after giving up the first goal. Midfielder Lori Lindsey tripped over ball in midfield and the Beat quickly capitalized on the mistake as Sawa beat the Spirit's offside trap with a perfect pass. Hooper raced in on goal and let the ball slip a bit in front of her, getting into a 50/50 tackle with sliding Spirit goalkeeper Jaime Pagliarulo. Hooper got to the ball a split-second sooner, forcing the ball through Pagliarulo and into the net.

"We played well in the first 45 minutes and against the run of play they got a goal," said Spirit head coach Carlos Juarez. "We lost the ball in the middle of the field, they countered, they scored and we are down 1-0. At that point, I thought we were okay and the second half we came out flat and sluggish in the first 10-15 minutes and the second goal sealed it for them. I not sure if we were outplayed, but they are playing well and they are on their way up."

The Spirit had its best chance of the half in the 30th minute as Sherrill Kester's cross found a wide open Lindsey in front of the goal, but her volley off the fast-moving pass went high over the net. Lindsey got another chance in the 36th minute as Shannon MacMillan dummied a cross, letting in bounce behind her, but under pressure from a Beat defender, the rookie midfielder fired her shot wide right from 16 yards out.

The Beat had a great chance to take the lead in the 38th minute as a slick head flick from Hooper put Parlow behind the Spirit defense, but Paglariuo was quick off her line and smothered Parlow's blast with her body.

"We just have to take it game by game," said Pagliarulo. "We have put ourselves in a hole. We will really have to concentrate and focus on next weekend."

The Spirit could create little offensively in the second half as a tough Beat defense took control of the game. The Beat almost doubled its lead in the 52nd minute as Hooper pushed through a Fan Yunjie tackle in the right side of the penalty area, rounded Pagliarulo, but then blasted her shot off right goal post while shooting at an open net.

While the Spirit put only three shots on goal for the entire game, they did keep Beat goalkeeper Briana Scurry busy, forcing her into 11 catch/punches for the match. With the Beat defense proving tough to penetrate, Sawa effectively put the game away in the 74th minute, courtesy of Kylie Bivens, who dribbled down the right flank before sending a perfect cross to the far post. Sawa pounded her volley first-time into the net from seven yards out to seal the game.

The Spirit had its best chance to pull a goal back in 79th minute, but MacMillan's dangerous free kick from left side of penalty area drew a flying save from Scurry, who pushed the ball over the crossbar. The match improved the Beat's unbeaten streak to four games as they moved to 4-3-1 (13 pts.) and possibly into second place, depending on the outcome of other matches today.

"Everyone expected great things from us in the beginning," said Atlanta head coach Tom Stone. "We just really did not attack our first two games, we were kind of non-existent. It is just mentality now and the other thing that has changed is that Hooper and (Cindy) Parlow got healthy."

The Spirit will go on the road next weekend to face the San Jose CyberRays at Spartan Stadium, site a dramatic late game equalizer from Sherrill Kester on May 12 in a 1-1 tie.

"I'll have to look at the video of this game and study the intangibles, in terms of how hard we are playing," Said Juarez. "Are we creating enough chances? Are we defending well enough? Are we coming out are ready to play? It will not be like starting over again, but when you lose, everything is magnified. We have to take this defeat and put it in perspective. We have to come back and battle."

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