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May 12, 2003
San
Jose's Brazilians Unleash Their Fury
San Jose,
California
May 11, 2003
By Raphael
Padua
After scoring
only three goals in their first three games, the San Jose CyberRays
turned loose their trio of Brazilians against the defending champion
Carolina Courage during a 3-1 victory in front of 6,189 spectators
on a chilly Saturday evening at Spartan Stadium.
After 52 minutes
of scoreless soccer, forwards Pretinha and Katia and playmaking
midfielder Sissi each scored their first goals of the
season within a 14-minute span, giving the 2001- champion CyberRays
(3-2-0, 9 points) breathing room in a game for the first time
this season with a 3-0 cushion. Midfielder Michelle French also
played a big role, assisting on the second and third goals with
crosses from the left flank.
Ex-CyberRay
forward/midfielder Venus James, who received a warm ovation from
the crowd while entering as a substitute late in the match, scored
a consolation goal for the reeling Courage (0-4-0, 0) during
a scramble in the box with nearly three minutes elapsed in added
time.
The 3-1 win
elevated the home club past Atlanta (2-1-2, 8 pts.) and San Diego
(2-1-2, 8 pts.) into third place tie with New York (3-3-0,
9 pts.) behind front-running Washington (4-0- 1, 13 pts.) and
Boston (3-1-2, 11 pts.).
"Scoring
like we did tonight always breeds confidence," CyberRays
coach Ian Sawyers said. "But winning breeds confidence
as well, and building momentum off (two) consecutive wins is
great going into Atlanta next Saturday."
Sawyers wasn't
happy with his team's performance in the first half, but was
pleased with its play during the final 45 minutes. "We
came out flat, and I asked the players at halftime if they were
leg
weary or a little tired from the week's training," Sawyers
said. "They said they were fine, and I asked them to be
more dynamic in their movement in the second half, especially
in their flank play..Pretinha
did a great job in the second half. She made it difficult for
Carolina to find answers while continuously getting behind their
back line. It's something she works on weekly. She's coming into
her own."
Pretinha scored
in the 53rd minute, creating an opening for herself after a give-and-go
with Katia in the middle of the box. She easily
beat goalkeeper Kristin Luckenbill from approximately 12 yards.
Luckenbill, who had four saves, was making her
first appearance of the season after undergoing surgery for a
torn ligament in her right thumb nearly two months ago.
In the 65th
minute, French took a pass down the left flank from Sissi and
delivered the ball to Katia, who finished from just outside
the six-yard line.
"I had
been working very hard to have a game like this," said Katia,
who led the team in scoring last season with 36 points on 15
goals and six assists. "I felt like I had this monkey on
my back. I kept talking with this monkey, telling him,
'You have to get our of here, man. I have to score some goals.'
Tonight,
he backed off and let me score a goal."
Sissi, who
came off the bench as a second-half replacement for Tisha Venturini-Hoch
for the second straight week, shot another French
cross into the back of the net from eight yards out to complete
San Jose's scoring. The Brazilian midfielder
would rather play the whole game, "but if it helps the team
(to be a substitute), that's fine," said Sissi. "Helping
the team is the most important thing."
Said Katia, "Once
she came into the game, she gave us this great energy."
Sawyers wasn't
tipping his hand as to whether he'll stick with the same midfield
strategy against Atlanta.
"Tish
played well against Atlanta (last week ina 1-0 San Jose win),
and Sissi came in and made a difference last week and (they)
did the same thing tonight," said Sawyers. "I'll have
to take a look at these things before I make a decision on who
starts next Saturday at Atlanta."
When asked
if Sissi may become a super sub, Sawyers replied, "I'll
never call Sissi a sub." Sawyers said
his Brazilians are on a different level when they're communicating
on the field. "Pretenhia
and Katia see each other so well, and Sissi is kind of the glue
that keeps everything together," the coach said. "When
they're going well, like they were tonight, defenses have a hard
time reading them."
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A tribute
was paid to Brandi Chastain's late parents, Lark Saturday's game.
Both died unexpectedly within eight months of each other,
57-year-old Roger on April 8 from complications resulting from
a torn aorta, and Lark from an aneurysm on Sept. 7 at age 56.
More than $43,000 was raised by the CyberRays organization in
the names of Mr. and Mrs. Chastain for
the Children's Cancer Research Fund, Silicon Valley Children's
Hospital Foundation and Soccer for Hope.
Among the
contributors were the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A's from
their community funds.
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