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Spirit Falls to Freedom, 1-0, at RFK Stadium

July 27, 2002 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
San Diego Spirit News Release


WASHINGTON, D.C. (Saturday, July 27, 2002) - The San Diego Spirit played a solid match but couldn't find a way around goalkeeper Siri Mullinix and fell to the Washington Freedom, 1-0, on slick turf at RFK Stadium. The Spirit dropped 4-9-4 (16 points) on the season while Freedom moved to 8-5-5 (29 points) and a step closer to a coveted playoff spot. The match was televised live nationally on PAX TV.

A mid-game rainstorm that eventually gave way to sunshine made the turf a bit slippery, but it didn't bother either team, both of which played quality soccer throughout the match. The Spirit actually out-shot the Freedom 11-10 and had six shots on goal to just three for the Freedom, but the difference in the game was a beautiful 67th minute goal from rookie striker Abby Wambach. The 5-foot-10 forward collected a short pass from Mia Hamm inside the penalty area and rifled a shot under the crossbar and over flying Spirit goalkeeper Carly Smolak.

"This is a game we had to win," said interim head coach Kevin Crow. "A loss or a tie did not do us any good. At the end of the day, we just did not play well enough to win."

The Spirit had a great chance to change the complexion of the match in just the 8th minute when Sherrill Kester lofted a cross into the penalty area from right wing. In her only mistake of the game, Mullinix rushed out of her goal, only to miss the ball, and it bounced to Shannon MacMillan. The Spirit forward had an instant to react to the ball and only got a piece of it on her first-time volley, sending the ball rolling towards the net. As the ball nipped at the goal line, Freedom defender Jenn Grubb came sliding in to clear it away.

The Freedom had just one good scoring chance in the first half, that coming in the 36th minute when Pu Wei sent a header over the crossbar off a cross from German international Steffi Jones.

Hamm, still not 100% recovered from pre-season knee surgery, entered the game at halftime and had a great chance in the 55th minute as Skylar Little rounded Amy Sauer in the right side of the penalty area. Little played a short pass back to Hamm, but she blasted her shot over the crossbar from 12 yards away. Hamm another chance off a free kick in the 65th, but Smolak gobbled up the skipping shot. Two minutes later, Wambach tallied after Ann Cook had got the ball to Hamm after a nice dribble run. Hamm slipped a short chip to Wambach, who collected and then shot as she was falling down.

The Spirit had three good chances in the last 20 minutes, but Mullinix was there to save each time. In the 71st minute, substitute Shannon Boxx turned inside from just outside the right corner of the penalty are and cracked a sizzling left-footed shot that Mullinix pushed off the crossbar with flying save. In the 73rd minute, substitute Margaret Tietjen took a soft shot from the top of the penalty area, but it was headed into the lower right corner before Mullinix scrambled to save.

One minute after that, a ball popped to Jenny Mascaro inside the penalty are and she got some heat on her shot, only to see it pushed away by Mullinix, who also had a nice punch off dangerous cross in the second half and came off her line quickly clear the ball away and diffuse a Spirit break in the first.

"They came out on top today with a great goal," said MacMillan. "They were very organized and in the defense and when they went up a goal it just made it harder to score. They were man marking out there and I was trying to create space in the final third, but they stayed organized and had someone on me at all times."

Spirit forward Julie Fleeting, who had registered at least a point in the first three games of her WUSA career, was held without a point for the first time.

Spirit goalkeeper Carly Smolak got her third consecutive start and played a solid game, although she had to make just two saves, and took her first ever loss as a starter. After beating the Freedom in two out of three games last year, and tying one, San Diego ends this year with a 0-3-0 record against Washington while scoring zero goals to Washington's eight.

The Spirit returns home for a Wednesday night match against the Atlanta Beat on July 31 with kickoff set for 7 p.m. PT at Torero Stadium. It will be the second-to-last home game of the season for the Spirit, which finishes up the 2002 campaign at home on Aug. 11 vs. the Carolina Courage.

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