The Atlanta Beat was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Bobby Dodd Stadium on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology in its first year of operation before moving to Herndon Stadium, on the campus of Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia.
History The team began play in 2001, and reached the playoffs in each of the WUSA's three seasons — the only team in the league to do so. They advanced to the Founders Cup in both 2001 and 2003, losing on both occasions.
The Beat's "founding players" were Briana Scurry, Cindy Parlow, and Nikki Serlenga of the USA women's national team. The Beat had the #1 pick in the inaugural WUSA draft, and selected China's Sun Wen, star of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. Their first goal was scored by Japan star midfielder Homare Sawa.
The coach of the Atlanta Beat was Tom Stone.
League Suspension The WUSA announced on September 15, 2003, that it was suspending operations. Several former Beat players went on to play for the Atlanta Silverbacks Women in the W-League, and five – Briana Scurry, Sharolta Nonen, Homare Sawa, Nancy Augustyniak, and Ifeoma Dieke—played in Women's Professional Soccer.
It was announced on October 7, 2009, that a newly formed version of the Atlanta Beat would be joining WPS.Atlanta to Join Women's Professional Soccer in 2010 On June 17, 2009, the new Atlanta Beat announced that Shawn McGee would be the General Manager of the recently reformed team.Atlanta Women’s Professional Soccer Team Names Shawn McGee General Manager
Players (All-Time Roster) #NamePositionDay of BirthHeightHometownCollege3Emily BurtFApril 25, 19755' 8"Menlo Park, CaliforniaStanford University33Callie WithersMMay 29, 19815' 8"Palo Alto, CaliforniaStanford University22Ifeoma DiekeDFebruary 25, 19815' 7"Glasgow, ScotlandFlorida International University15Julie AugustyniakDFebruary 1, 19795' 5"Peachtree City, GAClemson University29Leslie GastonDAugust 9, 19805' 5"Montgomery, ALUniversity of North Carolina25Nancy AugustyniakDFebruary 1, 19795' 5"Peachtree City, GAClemson University6Sharolta NonenDDecember 30, 19775' 6"Vancouver, BC, CanadaUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln11Abby CrumptonFApril 6, 19815' 6"Rochester Hills, MIUniversity of Michigan10Charmaine HooperFJanuary 15, 19685' 7"Ottawa, ON, CanadaNorth Carolina State University12Cindy ParlowFMay 8, 19785' 11"Memphis, TNUniversity of North Carolina13Maribel DominguezFNovember 18, 19785' 4"Mexico City, Mexico 9Sun WenFApril 6, 19735' 5"Shanghai, ChinaFudan University1Briana ScurryGKSeptember 7, 19715' 8"Dayton, MNUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst24Melanie WilsonGKOctober 5, 19785' 9"Memphis, TNTexas A&M University18Aleisha Rose MJuly 28, 19825' 10" Brigham Young University8Homare SawaMSeptember 6, 19785' 4"Tokyo, Japan19Kristin WarrenMDecember 17, 19805' 7"Littleton, COUniversity of Denver4Kylie BivensMOctober 24, 19785' 5"Upland, CASanta Clara University16Marci MillerMDecember 4, 19755' 7"St. Charles, ILSouthern Methodist UniversityNicky ThrasherF5' 6"El Paso, TXTexas A&M University2Wendy DillingerDDecember 9, 19745' 7"St. Charles, MOIndiana University5Nikki Serlenga MJune 20, 1978 5' 5"Santa Clara University21Lisa KrzykowskiMSeptember 10, 19765' 7"Cedarburg, WIUniversity of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
See also
Women's professional sports List of soccer clubs in the United States Women's association football
References
External links Atlanta Beat (WUSA) (archived)