San Diego Spirit

	2001 SAN DIEGO SPIRIT POINTS LEADERS PLAYER POS G A PTS 1 Shannon MacMillan M 12 6 30 2 Mercy Akide F 4 4 12 3 Tara Koleski F 4 3 11 4 Shannon Boxx M 3 4 10 5 Julie Foudy M 0 7 7 6 Jen Mascaro F-M 2 2 6 7 Margaret Tietjen M 0 5 5 8 Traci Arkenberg F 1 2 4 9 Fan Yunjie D 1 1 3 10 Joy Fawcett D 1 0 2

The Spirit, the early favorites, struggled early in the season, then made a playoff run that fell short in the final week of the season. The Spirit finished 7-7-7 with 28 points, only three points behind the fourth-place Philadelphia Charge.

When Joy Fawcett announced that she was going to give birth to her third child (it's a girl, Madilyn Rae), the team lost one of the very best players in the world. She returned in July to help with the stretch run.

The trade for Bente Nordby and Wen Lirong appears to have helped a team that surged down the stretch.

Leading the way for the San Diego Spirit was U.S. National Team captain Julie Foudy, an emotional, spiritual and physical leader on the highest levels.

Shannon MacMillan was a consistent scoring treat and was among the league leaders in offensive stats. Mercy Akide, the Nigerian star, started from midseason on and looked like the one-two punch with MacMillan that the Spirit needed.

Team Information Address: 2650 Camino Del Rio North, #200 San Diego, CA 92108 Home Venue: Torero Stadium, University of San Diego, 7,000 capacity Telephone: (619) 692-9872 Fax: (619) 692-8144 Owner/Investor: Cox Communications General Manager: Kevin T. Crow Head Coach: Carlos Juarez Official Web Site: www.sandiegospirit.com

The Spirit's other internationals have all proven themselves on the highest levels. Nigeria striker Akide is one of the best her country has ever produced. And Fan Yunjie, the Chinese central defender, welcomed Chinese National teammate Wen to the center of the defense.