As I said a few weeks ago, this middle part of the season would be key for the Beat. Good play would set up the Beat for the rest of the season. Titles can be lost in the middle of any season with poor play. Good play can successfully set up a team for the stretch run and into the playoffs. Fortunately, the later is what occurred for the Beat.
Of the five matches, three were at home, two were on the road. In soccer, if you can reliably get your three points at home and one point in road matches, you will do well. This has been the recipe for Atlanta's ascension into first place. This stretch started with a tough match-up against the Washington Freedom. This is a team with a lot of talent and was right up there with the top teams at this point in the season. Atlanta pulled out a tough, and exciting win. What happened to the two teams afterward illustrates my point regarding the middle of the season. Atlanta followed up this win with a streak that would bring them into first place. Washington has fallen out of the top four and will be struggling for a playoff spot. Atlanta followed this with another victory, over San Diego at home.
The next two matches were on the road, one at Carolina and one at Philadelphia. Carolina has played Atlanta tough this year, and although Carolina scored first, Atlanta came back to earn a draw and a road point. Following that, the cement carpet in Philadelphia was the venue for a match against the Charge. Sawa scored what looked like a game winner late, but Liu scored in added time, leading to another one-point road draw for the Beat.
Another match at home against the Freedom was the other bookend for this group of matches. The Beat cam from behind twice to go into halftime tied 2-2. Atlanta stiffened up its defense and scored the game winner in the second half, giving Atlanta three points and first place.
The theme for the middle of the season has been depth. Sun only played in one match due to nagging ankle problems. Scurry missed a couple of matches due to injury. Hooper and Parlow each missed two matches, one each to national team duty, one each to a red card suspension. Miller came down with a season-ending injury and Marci Miller is also out. In the most unusual event, Amy Walsh (Canadian National Team captain) was injured in an ill-advised friendly between Canada and the United States. She collided with Beat teammate Cindy Parlow in the match. However, the Beat depth came through. Emily Burt has been sensational up front. Cagle and Cragg have also played well up front. Kylie Bivens has become an important force for the Beat as an offensive minded defender. Melanie Wilson played well in goal for Scurry. This depth has been wonderful for the Beat. Coach Stone has done a wonderful job of taking advantage of the opportunities presented by some of the injury/card problems of the Beat. As a coach, it is nice to know what your reserves can do in a pressure situation.
Another theme has been resiliance. This is a team with a strong heart. They came from behind three times. They scored in the final twenty minutes in each of the five matches, and they rebounded from a tough late goal by Liu Ailing at Philadelphia with a gritty win against the Freedom. This team has the toughness, character, and depth to be a strong contender for the first WUSA crown.
During the next fifth of the season, the Beat have two road matches and two at Bobby Dodd. Two of those are a home and home series against the second-place New York Power. A home match against the Bay Area Cyber Rays and a visit to Carolina are also featured.
Eight points during the next four matches would be wonderful. A road draw at New York would be a wonderful result. It would deprive the Power of a chance to move ahead of the Beat on their home field and it would continue the momenteum of road draws. Road draws accompanied with home wins put you in a very strong position. A home match against the rapidly improving Cyber Rays could turn out to be an important match. If the Rays can get past a difficult road schedule this weekend, they may be in position to make a run at the top two with a win against the Beat. Obviously, the Beat are playing well at home now, having scored eight goals in their last three home matches. This is followed by a very important home match against the Power. A home win will be vital here. This is followed by another trip to Carolina. A win would be nice here, because the Beat would not want to have losing record against the worst team in the league. However, a road draw would be sufficient should Atlanta do what it needs to do. A win would be wonderful, a draw acceptible.
The Beat successfully put itself in position with a successful mid-season run. They are in a strong position to gain a home match for the first round of the playoffs. They have done what they need to do. Our depth is the best in the league, and Sun Wen, the best player in the league is getting healthy. I expect good things for these next four matches, preparing the Beat for the stretch run.