Atlanta Beat (WPS)

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Atlanta Beat
AtlantaBeat.PNG
Full nameAtlanta Beat
Nickname(s)Beat
Founded2009
Stadium KSU Soccer Stadium
Capacity8,300
Owner Flag of the United States.svg Fitz Johnson
General manager Flag of the United States.svg Shawn McGee
Head coach James Galanis
League Women's Professional Soccer

The Atlanta Beat was an American soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia that competed on a professional level. The team joined Women's Professional Soccer as an expansion team in 2010, and played its home games at Kennesaw State University Soccer Stadium, the result of a public-private partnership between the team and Kennesaw State University. [1] The club took the name and logo of the former Atlanta Beat (WUSA) of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association.

Contents

History

Name and colors

The team's name was announced to be the Beat on June 18, 2009. The name was determined by a fan poll, with Attack, Beat, and Storm as the options.

The new Beat logo was the same design as the previous WUSA logo, with the two shades of blue being replaced by Gold and Ferrari Red. [2]

Building the team

Atlanta began building its team at the 2009 WPS Expansion Draft on September 15, 2009, [3] where it selected six players from the existing seven WPS teams, getting four players from the teams that finished first and second in the league's inaugural season. A week later, Atlanta selected five international players [4] in the 2009 WPS International Draft, including three players from Umea IK, and thus now have exclusive negotiating rights to those players among WPS teams.

Inaugural season

The Beat ended the 2010 season in last place with 5 wins, 13 losses, and 6 ties. [5]

2011 season

The Atlanta Beat started off the 2011 season on April 9 in a game against the Boston Breakers in front of over slightly 4,000 spectators at KLS Stadium. The Beat lost 1–4 to Boston with their lone goal coming from Carli Lloyd in a penalty kick in the 78th minute. [6]

Players

2011 roster

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Katherine Reynolds
MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA India Trotter
MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Lori Chalupny
DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Keeley Dowling
DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Cat Whitehill
DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Heather Mitts
DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Kia McNeill
FW Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Lauren Sesselmann
MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Carli Lloyd
GK Flag of the United States.svg  USA Allison Lipsher
MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Angela Salem
MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Colleen Flanagan
No.Pos.NationPlayer
DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Megan Jesolva
MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Julianne Sitch
FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Meghan Lenczyk
MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Kacey White
MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Kylie Wright
GK Flag of the United States.svg  USA Katie Fraine
FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Katie Bethke
GK Flag of the United States.svg  USA Allison Whitworth
FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Analisa Marquez
MF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Kelly Parker
MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Lyndsey Patterson
MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Bianca D'Agostino

League suspension

On January 30, 2012, Women's Professional Soccer announced suspension of the 2012 season, citing several internal organization struggles as the primary cause. Some of these included an ongoing legal battle with an ex-franchise owner and the lack of resources invested into the league. [7] [8]

See also

References

  1. Ellis, Ralph (April 15, 2010). "KSU hopes to raise profile with new soccer stadium". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  2. "Atlanta Beat Announced as Ninth Team in Women's Professional Soccer". WPS. June 18, 2009. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
  3. "Beat find attacking options and experience in Expansion Draft". WPS. September 17, 2009. Archived from the original on September 22, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
  4. "Atlanta Drafts International Players". WPS. June 18, 2009. Archived from the original on September 27, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
  5. "Atlanta Beat readies for inaugural season". GA Voice. April 30, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  6. "Boston Breakers 4–1 Atlanta Beat: Breakers kick-off season in dominating fashion". Equalizer Soccer. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  7. "WPS suspends 2012 season". ESPN. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  8. "Suspended season brings uncertainty". ESPN. Archived from the original on February 3, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2012.