Women’s Professional Soccer (2010-2011)
Tombstone
Born: June 18, 2009 – WPS expansion franchise
Folded: January 30, 2012
First Match: April 11, 2010 (T 0-0 @ Philadelphia Independence)
Final Match: August 14, 2011 (L 2-0 @ Western New York Flash)
WPS Cup Championships: None
Stadium
KSU Soccer Stadium (8,318)
Opened: 2010
Marketing
Team Colors:
Ownership
Owner: T. Fitz Johnson
Best Seller
We earn commissions from purchases made through links in this post
Atlanta Beat WPS-era Logo T
Get Yours Today at American Retro Apparel!
Background
The Atlanta Beat were one of two expansion franchises (along with the Philadelphia Independence) to join the short-lived Women’s Professional Soccer for its second season of action in 2010.
The club was a brand revival of Atlanta’s previous women’s pro team, the 2001-2003 Atlanta Beat of the Women’s United Soccer Association. But aside from purchasing the trademark to the defunct club and re-coloring the WUSA’s franchise’s original logo, the “new” Beat possessed no other formal connections to the prior club. The ownership, players, stadium and front office staff were all entirely new.
Finding The Beat
The Beat’s first major signings came through the 2009 WPS International Draft, a vehicle for the Beat and the Philadelphia Independence to claim the rights to 5 players each. The Beat drafted and signed a trio of players from Swedish club Umea IK: teenage Swiss forward Ramona Bachmann, Danish forward Johanna Rasmussen and Japanese midfielder Mami Yamaguchi.
In the WPS college draft in January 2010 Atlanta held the #1 overall pick. The Beat selected U.S. National Team midfielder Tobin Heath from the University of North Carolina.
New Stadium
Team owner Fitz Johnson was a charismatic U.S. Army veteran, attorney and former defense contractor. Johnson’s sold his family business to Lockheed Martin in April 2008 for an undisclosed but sizable sum. Like the majority of WPS franchise owners, Johnson had soccer-playing daughters. Johnson partnered with Kennesaw State University to build a $16.5 million 8,300-seat soccer-specific stadium to be shared by the university and the Beat.
On Field Struggles
The Beat debuted at KSU Soccer Stadium on May 9, 2010. The team came off a season-0pening road trip with a 0-3-1 record. The crowd of 7,248 was the largest opening day crowd in WPS in 2010. The game itself was a grim foreshadowing of the season ahead. The Beat lost 1-0 on an own goal by Leigh Ann Robinson.
#1 overall pick Tobin Heath, expected to be the team’s most marketable star, suffered an ankle injury in the season’s third game. She missed the rest of the season and never played for Atlanta again. Heath also never played a home game for the Beat. Ramona Bachmann, the Beat’s top pick in the international draft, was also limited by injuries. She scored just one goal in 10 appearances.
The Beat were desperately thin on offense. The club went winless through its first eight matches. In late May, WPS’ St. Louis Athletica franchise abruptly folded in midseason. The league declared all of the St. Louis players to be free agents. Atlanta swooped in to sign 5 players including USWNT stalwarts Lori Chalupny and Hope Solo, English striker Eniola Aluko and defensive standout Tina Ellertson. Women’s soccer bloggers began referring to the club as “Atlantica”.
The midseason infusion of talent from St. Louis wasn’t enough to save head coach Gareth O’Sullivan. He was dismissed with five games remaining in the season and the Beat mired in last place with a 4-10-5 record. Atlanta finished the season at the bottom of the league table with a 5-13-6 mark. The Beat scored the fewest goals in the league (20, tied with Sky Blue FC) and allowed the most (40, in a league of their own).
The Beat averaged 3,690 fans for 12 home dates in 2010.
Demise
Things looked bleak for WPS heading into the league’s third season in 2011. In a span of 11 months the league lost clubs in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Chicago, Bay Area and Washington, DC. The league office was eviscerated as were most team staffs, including Atlanta’s. Especially significant, the league also removed the $20,000 minimum salary standard for players.
The majority of players on the 2011 Beat earned less than the prior season’s league minimum. Other than Lori Chalupny, the Beat parted ways with every major signing from 2010. Gone were Tobin Heath, Hope Solo, Eniola Aluko, Tina Ellertson, Ramona Bachmann, Mami Yamaguchi and Johanna Rasmussen. The team’s only substantial significant addition was U.S. National Team forward Carli Lloyd. But Lloyd would appear in just seven matches.
The 2011 Beat were historically awful. After a 1-1 start, Atlanta finished the season with a 16-game winless streak for a horrid 1-13-4 record. The team scored just 7 goals in 18 matches while conceding 32.
WPS folded after three seasons of play in January 2012. Oddly, the league staged a final college draft just two weeks before closing. The Beat’s final public act was to select emerging U.S. National Team star Sydney Leroux of UCLA with the #1 overall pick.
Downloads
2009 WPS Expansion Draft Mechanics for Atlanta Beat & Philadelphia Independence
5-9-2010 Beat vs. Sky Blue FC Inaugural Home Game Roster Card
5-16-2010 Beat vs. Washington Freedom Roster Card
6-19-2010 Beat vs. Chicago Red Stars Roster Card
7-3-2010 Beat vs. FC Gold Pride Roster Card
8-7-2010 Beat vs. Sky Blue FC Roster Card
9-5-2010 Beat vs. Sky Blue FC Roster Card
Links
###
