Looking at the four offensive stars for the Beat, you would think that the United Nations has relocated to the sunny South from drab New York. Sun Wen (the captain of China's national team and co-player of the century) headlines the list. Sun is probably the best ballhandler in the world and can not only finish with the best in the world, she can also distribute the ball. She is still not in full form yet, recoverning from injury. However, in the minutes she has played, she has shown glimpses of the greatness that she will be treating Atlanta fans to (and devestatating opponents with) for the last 2/3 of the season.
Canadian international Charmaine Hooper is fast and exciting. She hustles after every ball. She got a little testy in the last match (admittedly with some reason). However, should she keep her cool (hard I know in the hot Atlanta summer), Hooper can be a dangerous player anywhere within 25 yards of the goal.
Then, there is Japanese international Sawa Homare. Sawa is also the captain of her national squad. She has helped to elevate Japanese women's soccer beyond that of Chinese Taipei and North Korea to become the second strongest in Asia behind China. There is probably no one in the entire WUSA quicker to the ball than Sawa. I think most people didn't know much about her prior to this season. Having followed Asian soccer for many years, I am not surprised at all. Sawa hasn't seen a shot inside 30 yards she doesn't like. She may be better served sometimes looking for Sun, Hooper, or Parlow in the box, but her exciting style of soccer, combined with her speed and ability to handle the ball will entertain Atlanta fans all summer as well as provide offensive firepower.
Then there is American Cindy Parlow. While not the captain of the U.S. national team, she is an important addition to the offensive punch of the Beat. Her size and athletism alone are much to be disruptive to opposing defenses, especially on corner kicks and other set plays inside 40 yards. However, she is a surprisingly good ball handler for her size and can get the ball to Sun, Sawa, and Hooper. She also has a strong shot. Should she become more consistent with it, there are goalkeepers around the league who will regret it.
Atlanta is anchored by Brianna Scurry. She led the Americans to the Olympic goal medal here in Athens in 1996 as well the World Cup in 1999 (both with gold medal match victories over China). Technically, she is not the world's best, that goes to Gao Hong of China and the New York Power. However, her hustle and athletic ability gets her out of trouble that she sometimes gets into. She is as experienced as anyone in the world at the highest levels of soccer.
It is only a matter of time before the floodgates open and Atlanta starts scoring a lot of goals. It is hard to get four players from four different countries speaking three different languages (though Sawa's English is quite good) to get on the same page. Once they get used to working with one another, and Sun gets healthy, look out rest of the WUSA, this Beat team is loaded. If they are only two points behind the leaders not playing nearly up to their talent level, what's going to happen when Sun, Sawa, Hooper, and Parlow start hitting on all cylinders?