WUSA Playoffs Set for Aug. 16-17

August 7, 2003 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) News Release


ATLANTA (Thursday, August 7, 2003) - The dates, times and host cities are set for the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) Playoffs.

The WUSA Playoff Semifinals will be a one-game affair on August 16 and 17. PAX TV will broadcast the first semifinal on Saturday, August 16 at 4 pm ET and ESPN2 will carry the second semifinal on Sunday, August 17 at 6 pm ET. A brief look at the WUSA postseason follows:

Date Matchup Time Network (live)
August 16 Washington/San Diego at Boston 4:00 pm ET PAX
August 17 Washington/San Diego at Atlanta 6:00 pm ET ESPN2

After Wednesday evening's WUSA results, Atlanta and Boston clinched home-field advantage in the playoffs, while San Diego and Washington secured playoff berths. The final weekend of the regular season (Aug. 9-10) will determine the order (1-4) how the four teams will be seeded in the playoffs.

Following the one-game WUSA Playoff Semifinals, the winners advance to Founders Cup III in San Diego on Sunday, August 24 to battle for the WUSA title. ESPN2 will broadcast the championship game live from Torero Stadium at 4:00 pm ET.

ATLANTA IS THE ONLY THREE-TIME PLAYOFF CLUB: Briana Scurry, Cindy Parlow and their Beat teammates enter the playoffs for the third consecutive season. Atlanta is the only team to advance to the postseason in all three years of the WUSA's history. Head Coach Tom Stone's club advanced to Founders Cup I before losing to San Jose in a penalty kick shootout. The Beat lost in overtime at Carolina in the 2002 WUSA Playoff Semifinals. Including the Beat's 3-2 overtime win over Philadelphia in the 2001 WUSA Playoff Semifinals, Atlanta has gone to overtime in all three of the Beat's WUSA postseason matches.

BOSTON ON A HOT STREAK: The Boston Breakers enter Sunday's match against San Jose riding a nine-match unbeaten streak. Since losing to Carolina on June 21, Boston is 4-0-5. In fact, Boston is 6-1-5 in its last 12 games.

FIRST TIME FOR SAN DIEGO: After missing out on the playoffs during the WUSA's first two seasons, the San Diego Spirit will make their WUSA postseason debut in 2003. The Spirit has an added incentive, as Founders Cup III will be played at the club's home stadium on August 24.

ATLANTA UNBEATEN AGAINST ALL PLAYOFF TEAMS: On paper, Atlanta's chances of advancing to Founders Cup III in San Diego look very positive. The Beat is 5-0-3 against Boston, San Diego and Washington in 2003. A look at how the team's match up against each other follows (NOTE: Washington is at San Diego on August 9): vs vs vs vs TEAM ATL BOS SD WAS Atlanta Beat --- 2-0-1 1-0-2 2-0-1 Boston Breakers 0-2-1 --- 1-0-2 1-0-2 San Diego Spirit 0-1-2 0-1-2 --- 1-1-0 Washington Freedom 0-2-1 0-1-2 1-1-0 ---

8 OF THE WUSA'S TOP 10 SCORERS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS: The top offensive players in the WUSA will look to showcase their skills in the league's postseason as eight of the top 10 WUSA scorers (as of Aug. 7) will compete in the playoffs, including the top seven scorers. A look at the scoring leaders follows:

WUSA SCORING LEADERS

PLAYER TEAM GP GOALS ASTS PTS
1 Hamm, Mia WAS 18 11 11 33
2 Wambach, Abby WAS 17 13 6 32
3 Mellgren, Dagny BOS 19 14 2 30
Pichon, Marinette PHI 17 14 2 30
5 Meinert, Maren BOS 20 9 10 28
6 Hooper, Charmaine ATL 20 9 7 25
7 Fleeting, Julie SD 17 10 4 24
8 Prinz, Birgit CAR 19 10 3 23
9 Fotopoulos, Danielle CAR 12 7 6 20
10 Dominguez, Maribel ATL 17 7 4 18



Women's United Soccer Association Stories from August 7, 2003


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