WUSA Stages First Title Game Today

When the first WUSA championship game begins today, LaKeysia Beene will stand in front of her net while her role model, Briana Scurry, guards the other.

Beene, with the Bay Area CyberRays, is excited about her steady improvement that gives her a chance to face Scurry and the Atlanta Beat.

“To be in this situation where I’m regarded as her peer is a pretty cool experience,” Beene said before Friday’s practice.

Beene, 23, led the league with eight shutouts to Scurry’s seven, while Scurry, who turns 30 next month, was first in goals-against average at 0.82, edging Beene’s 0.97.

Atlanta was 2-0-1 against Bay Area during the regular season, but the CyberRays used their usual starters only in the first meeting. Both teams had a league-high 37 points. Atlanta finished first with a 10-4-7 record. Bay Area was second at 11-6-4.

Atlanta’s Cindy Parlow sees today’s game as another step in the growth of U.S. women’s soccer.

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“If we wanted to continue to compete internationally, we had to have a top-rate league,” she said. “We got that, and that gives more and more players out there the opportunity to play professional soccer.”

Added Julie Murray of the CyberRays: “We’re all in this for not just ourselves and not just the club but for the future of the league. It’s not just a passion anymore, it’s also a job, and that pumps you up another level.”