KENNESAW, GA (August 28, 2010) – The Atlanta Beat (5-11-5) scored in their fourth straight match Saturday night as they returned home to KSU Soccer Stadium in front of 4, 289 fans. Midfielder Angie Kerr tallied her first goal of the season as the Beat fell 6-1 to the Bay Area’s FC Gold Pride (14-3-4).

The Beat attacked early, finding English forward Eniola Aluko over the top in a footrace with the Bay Area defense. Aluko, named Women’s Professional Soccer’s Player of the Week for Week 19, took the ball endline to serve a low driven ball to Mami Yamaguchi who volleyed just wide left of the goal.

Midfielder Lori Chalupny also had an early chance when she took a shot from the right corner of the 18-yard-box that Pride goalkeeper Brittany Cameron caught on the goal line. The Beat’s first half attack was target driven looking to find Yamaguchi to feet and Aluko in behind the opposing backline.

The Bay Area attack looked for through balls to Marta and bending diagonal balls over the top. Pride Midfielder Tiffeny Milbrett scored the opening goal on assist from Shannon Box in the 43rd minute of play, giving the Pride a 1-0 halftime lead. In the early part of the second half, the Pride’s Camile Abily scored the second goal of the match unassisted in the 51st after Beat goalkeeper Hope Solo made a diving save on a one v. one with Marta. The save landed at the corner of the six-yard-box where Abily made the finish.

The Beat notched their lone goal of the match when midfielder Angie Kerr sent a driven ball in from the left side of the field. Pride goalkeeper Brittany Cameron came out to make a play on the challenge for the goal with Aluko when the ball found the back of the net in the 65th.

The Pride rebounded quickly as Marta ran onto a ball, in behind, to net her first goal of the match just a minute later. The Brazilian forward found her second in the 70th minute after Kelley O’Hara dummied square ball on the six for Marta to finish. The game’s final goals came in the 72nd off a strike from O’Hara and in the 88th by Christine Sinclair. 

Despite tonight’s loss, the Beat are still in the hunt for a playoff berth. The Beat have scored at least one goal in seven of their last nine games, earning three-game and five-game scoring streaks.

The Beat return to action on Wednesday, Sept. 1 at 6:30 PM at KSU Soccer Stadium. CALL 678-298-4780 FOR TICKETS.

QUOTEABLES

Coach Gallanis
In the second half...
We made 2 errors-totally defensive errors. They stopped communicating and stopped participating. They just weren't working as a unit. I think a lot of the goals were mistakes. We lost the ball in the back third and they advantaged us.

Philosophy...
Our philosophy hasn't changed, we just got to tighten everything up. They're the ones that are playing and they just got to continue to communicate as a unit. They stopped communicating which meant that the players weren't on the same page. If you're a great team, but there's no communication, you're going to lose.

I think as far as football we played better than them throughout the whole field. We're just going to continue to work hard. I don't know what happened in the results in the other games. We're just going to play well as a team, and tighten up. They know the mistakes they made, so I'm sure they are going to come out on Monday and work on those these things and take it into Wednesday.

Coach Albertin Montoya
"We put so much hard work into being the best in this league. Winning the leagues regular season, we had a chance to win the championship and it obviously felt very good. The players have really played their heart out. Tonight we were playing without a lot of pressure and that really allowed us to get into a great rhythm.

Atlanta, although it was 6-1, is an excellent team. I was looking at their roster from the goalkeeper all the way to the forwards. They're dangerous and that’s a great test.

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About the Atlanta Beat
The Atlanta Beat joins Women’s Professional Soccer as one of two expansion teams in the 2010 season. Atlanta entrepreneur Fitz Johnson secured the rights to the Atlanta team in September 2008 before naming Shawn McGee as General Manager and Gareth O’Sullivan as Head Coach in the summer of the following year. On June 18, 2009, the Atlanta Beat officially became a WPS franchise as Johnson, McGee, WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci and former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin unveiled the team name, logo and colors. The Beat acquired its first official players through the 2009 WPS Expansion Draft and 2009 International Draft in mid-September before completing its roster with the 2010 WPS Draft in January. Atlanta’s new team takes on the same name as the market’s former Women’s United Soccer Association club which was the only WUSA team to reach the playoffs in every season. The Beat's colors are Ferrari Red, Championship Gold, and Black.

About Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS)
Headquartered in San Francisco, Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) is the world’s premier soccer league for women with seven teams across the United States featuring the best players from around the world. WPS completed its inaugural season in August 2009 as Sky Blue FC of New Jersey became the first-ever WPS Champions. In 2010, seven teams will each play 24-game schedules from April 10-September 12 including five original WPS teams – Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Gold Pride (Bay Area), Sky Blue FC (NJ/NY) and Washington Freedom – and two expansion teams Atlanta Beat and Philadelphia Independence. The top four finishers in the regular season will qualify for the 2010 WPS Playoffs scheduled for September 19-26. For more information, visit the WPS official website at www.womensprosoccer.com or follow all the news at www.twitter.com/womensprosoccer.

About WellStar
WellStar Health System is the official jersey sponsor and Healthcare provider for the Atlanta Beat’s inaugural season. WellStar, a not-for-profit health system, includes Cobb, Douglas, Kennestone, Paulding and Windy Hill hospitals; WellStar Physicians Group; Urgent Care Centers; Health Place; Homecare; Hospice; Atherton Place; Paulding Nursing Center; and WellStar Foundation. For more information, call 770-956-STAR or visit www.wellstar.org.