WEST CHESTER, PA (April 11, 2010) – The Atlanta Beat and Philadelphia Independence tied 0-0 at Ferrell Stadium Sunday night as the two Women’s Professional Soccer expansion teams opened their inaugural campaigns in front of over 6,000 fans.

“I am obviously pleased with our performance today,” said Beat head coach Gareth O’Sullivan. “It was a very even game where we had the better of the early chances, and for long periods of time, we looked like we were going to score.”

The Beat’s first chance came nine minutes in when midfielder Angie Kerr went 1 v. 1 with Philadelphia goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc. Kerr struck just wide-right of the target but created the first of several near finishes for the Beat as fifteen minutes later, midfielder Amanda Cinalli connected on a header that hit the post.

Following an evenly matched first-half, Atlanta had fired two shots less than Philadelphia (4-6 respectively) and had suffered seven fouls to one.

In the second half, Kerr forced LeBlanc to make a diving save in the 60th minute, “and Rasmussen had some good, clear-cut chances as well,” said O’Sullivan. “That being said, it was a close enough game that we could have lost it right at the end.”

Atlanta Beat defender Kia McNeill earned a yellow card on a hard tackle with under a minute remaining in regulation before Philadelphia had one last attempt in the 93rd. Beat goalkeeper Allison Whitworth came out to save an Amy Rodriguez breakaway in the final seconds of the game to preserve the scoreless tie.

“At the end of the day, it’s a point away from home for us ,” said O’Sullivan. “We feel like we could have gotten a bit more out of it; but, when you think about the big picture, it’s a good result.”

Atlanta Beat (0-0-1) vs. Philadelphia Independence (0-0-1)

Sunday, April 11, 2010 — Ferrell Stadium SCORING SUMMARY:
Team 1 2 F
ATL: 0 0 0
PHL: 0 0 0

ATLANTA BEAT — Allison Whitworth, Lauren Sesselmann, Kia McNeill, Leigh Ann Robinson, Stacy Bishop, McCall Zerboni (Mundy 68),Tobin Heath (Larkin 90), Angie Kerr, Mami Yamaguchi, Johanna Rasmussen, Amanda Cinalli

Substitutes Not Used: Tracy Hamm, Brett Maron

PHILADELPHIA INDEPENDENCE — Karina LeBlanc, Estelle Johnson (Gina DiMartino 68), Sara Larsson, Nikki Kryzsik, Holmfridur Mangusdottir, Lori Lindsey (Johanna Lohman 84), Jen Buczkowski, Caroline Seger, Amy Rodriguez, Lianne Sanderson, Lyndsey Patterson (Karina Maruyama 57)

Substitutes Not Used: Danesha Adams, Val Henderson, Sarah Senty, Katherine Reynolds, Carrie Patterson

TEAM STATS:
ATL, PHL
Shots 8, 12
Shots on Goal 5, 11
Fouls 4, 12
Offsides 1, 0
Corner Kicks 2, 4
Saves 9, 5

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
Kia McNeill (Atlanta) – Yellow Card (unsporting behavior)