Atlanta, GA (Sept. 22, 2009) - Atlanta Beat General Manager Shawn McGee announced the five international players acquired in Tuesday’s 2009 International Draft for Expansion Teams. With Ramona Bachmann, Johanna Rasmussen, Mami Yamaguichi, Maurine Dornelles Goncalves, and Therese Sjögran, the Beat now have 10 players on the roster representing six different countries.

The Philadelphia Independence drew the first pick of the International Draft, but the Atlanta Beat came out with a strong number two pick selecting Ramona Bachmann of Switzerland. Bachmann is a world renowned forward who had previously declined offers from both Germany and other WPS clubs to spend another year with Swedish powerhouse, Umeå IK. She has two Swedish Premier League titles with Umeå, has twice appeared in the UEFA Women’s Cup Final, and was recently voted Player of the Year for Swiss Soccer.

Bachmann will be joined by two fellow Umeå players after the Beat picked-up Johanna Rasumussen of Denmark and Mami Yamaguchi of Japan. Rasmussen, who went fourth overall, is a forward who appeared in the 2007 Women’s World Cup Finals with the Danish Women's National Team.   Her clubmate and midfielder, Yamaguchi, came in as the Beat's third draft pick and a familiar face to U.S women's soccer. 

Yamaguchi recently recorded an assist against the WPS-All Stars in the final game of the inaugural WPS season, and she was the 2007 NCAA MAC Herman Trophy winner while at Florida State University.  The Japanese international has won Swedish Championship gold with Umeå, has experience playing in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, and has also starred at various levels with the Japanese National Team.

With three players from one of the world's best clubs, the Beat set its sights on Brazilian midfielder Maurine Dornelles Goncalves for the eighth overall selection in the draft. Goncalves received a silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was a gold medalist in 2007 Pan American Games. She also earned a bronze medal in the U-20 World Cup and plays for Brazilian club, Santos FC.

To conclude the 2009 International Draft, Atlanta chose Swedish midfielder Therese Sjögran as the Beat's fifth and final selection. Sjögran was named the Women’s Player of the Year for Sweden in 2007 and was named the Carlsberg Player of the Match against Russia in the European Championships.

“I’m thrilled with the selections we made,” said Beat Head Coach Gareth O’Sullivan. “The draft worked out exactly how we had planned, and every player will fit perfectly into our style of play.”

“We are ecstatic,” said General Manager Shawn McGee. “We had a plan coming into this and were able to select every player we targeted. We believe that these players will be the backbone of our team.”

The Beat selected its first six players in last week’s WPS Expansion Draft and had the chance, along with fellow expansion team, Philadelphia Independence, to draft a maximum of five international players in the 2009 International Draft for Expansion Teams. The Beat will complete its roster with local area open tryouts and the 2010 WPS Draft on Jan. 15 of the coming year.

Below are the five Atlanta Beat international draft picks:

1. Ramona Bachmann (Switzerland)

2. Johanna Rasmussen (Denmark)

3. Mami Yamaguchi(Japan)

4. Maurine Dornelles Goncalves(Brazil)

5. Therese Sjögran (Sweden)

6.Sara Larsson - Acquired in WPS Expansion Draft (Sweden)