WUSA news & notes

by WUSA Press Release
Published on July 18, 2001 under Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)

WUSA Press Release

WUSA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - MIA HAMM, WASHINGTON
The Washington Freedom's Mia Hamm was named WUSA Player of the Week for week 13 action. Hamm led the Freedom, scoring three goals in two games and totaling 8 shots on goal. On Thursday, July 12, while hosting Bay Area, Hamm scored the first of her two goals in the game off a free kick in the 8th minute of play. The Freedom star struck again in the 81st minute on another free kick. Hamm added another goal in the Freedom's 2-1 win Sunday against New York. Striking early in the 16th minute, she used a diving header to put her team ahead with the first goal of the match. It is the second time this season Hamm has been named Player of the Week, capturing the honor in the second week of the season.

WEEK 13 WRAP-UP

Atlanta Beat 3, New York Power 0
Thursday, July 12 at Mitchel Field, Uniondale, NY

Boston Breakers 2, Carolina Courage 1
Thursday, July 12 at Nickerson Field, Boston, MA

Bay Area CyberRays 3, Washington Freedom 2
Thursday, July 12 at RFK Stadium, Washington, DC

Philadelphia Charge 3, San Diego Spirit 0
Friday, July 13 at Villanova Stadium, Philadelphia, PA

Carolina Courage 2, San Diego Spirit 0
Sunday, July 15 at Fetzer Field, Chapel Hill, NC

Washington Freedom 2, New York Power 1
Sunday, July 15 at RFK Stadium, Washington, DC

Bay Area CyberRays 2, Boston Breakers 0
Sunday, July 15 at Nickerson Field, Boston, MA

BEANTOWN HERE WE COME
The WUSA announced last week that Foxboro Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., will serve as the site for the Inaugural WUSA Championship Game, which will be played on Saturday, August 25, 2001 at 2:00 p.m. (ET). The two participants in the Inaugural WUSA Championship Game will be determined in the WUSA Semi-Final games played on August 18th. The top four teams in the WUSA standings will advance to the WUSA Semi-Final games with the top seed hosting the fourth seed and the second seed hosting the third seed. Both the Semi-Final games and the Inaugural WUSA Championship Game will be nationally televised live on TNT. The winner of the Inaugural WUSA Championship Game will receive the Founders Cup, currently being designed by Tiffany's, which was named in honor of the WUSA's 20 Founding Players who helped launch the league.

JOY TO THE SPIRIT, FAWCETT'S BACK
WUSA Founding Player Joy Fawcett returned to action this past weekend for the San Diego Spirit after giving birth just last month. Fawcett entered the game at Carolina's Fetzer Field in the 60th minute of play and recorded one shot on goal in her 30 minutes of action.

Fawcett, who gave birth to her third daughter Madilyn Rae on June 5, last played competitively in a match on November 11, 2000. Fawcett was cleared to play by team doctors and had been training with the team since being activated on June 26. Fawcett is expected to make her home debut in a nationally televised match on July 29 against the Atlanta Beat.

BEENE COUNTER
When Mia Hamm bent her free kick around the CyberRays' wall in the eighth minute of last Thursday night's game against the Washington Freedom, it firmly fixed two numbers that WUSA goalkeepers now will be shooting at. CyberRays' goalie LaKeysia Beene had been extending her record number of consecutive shutout games and her record number of consecutive shutout minutes since surpassing Briana Scurry's previous records while facing the Carolina Courage on June 17. The solid numbers on those records now stand at six consecutive games, 624 consecutive shutout minutes (10 hours, 24 minutes).

It's no embarrassment to be scored upon by Hamm, the all-time leading goal-scorer in international soccer. But Beene also faced a withering attack by the Freedom, particularly in the second half when Washington launched 17 shots, 11 of them on goal. Both those numbers are records for a CyberRays' opponent in one half. The 12 shots Beene faced in the game were second only to the 15 she faced from the New York Power on June 10 when the teams deadlocked 0-0. Beene's nine saves against Washington tied the team-record nine she had in the Power game.

MIA ON THE SPORTS MACHINE
Current WUSA Player of the Week, Washington Freedom F/M Mia Hamm will be featured on the George Michael Sports Machine on this coming Thursday, July 19. The feature will air locally in Washington, D.C. on WRC-TV at 5:50 pm.

SIGNING UP "THE DUCK"
AFLAC, the "Fortune 500" supplemental insurance company that insures more than 40 million people worldwide, has signed on as a sponsor for the remainder of the inaugural season of the WUSA. As the "Official Supplemental Insurance Company" of the WUSA, AFLAC's fully integrated sponsorship package of benefits includes official rights to the WUSA trademarks and logos; on-air advertising in each game televised nationally on TNT and CNNSI; on-air billboards and graphics; branding on a team uniform; on-field signage; an AFLAC Trivia question on each nationally televised game; internet exposure on WUSA.com; and sampling opportunities.

CAROLINA B-TO-B
Local businesses will have the opportunity to generate leads and make new contacts against the backdrop of Women's United Soccer Association action at the 1st Annual Carolina Courage Business-to-Business Networking Reception set for Thursday, July 26. The event will allow organization to learn about business opportunities they might not otherwise encounter in an informal and fun environment. Attendees will come together at a catered tent reception inside historic Fetzer Field at 5:30 p.m., just prior to the game between the Courage and the first-place Atlanta Beat.

Women's United Soccer Association Stories from July 18, 2001

• WUSA news & notes - OSC Original by WUSA Press Release

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