Aug. 25, 2001 – WUSA Founders Cup final at Foxboro Stadium. Bay Area CyberRays 3:3 Atlanta Beat (Att.: 21,078)
Post by frankdellapa@gmail.com
Foxboro Stadium (1971-2001) was designed for NFL games and had no soccer specifications. But the facility ended up with a strong soccer legacy, serving as home to two professional teams (New England Tea Men, New England Revolution); playing host to six 1994 World Cup matches; two MLS Cups (including the inaugural final in 1996); several internationals, including World Cup qualifiers; plus nine matches in the 1999 and 2003 Women’s World Cup; and the initial Women’s United Soccer Association final.
The CyberRays’ Brandi Chastain opened the scoring in the sixth minute, the Beat rallying on goals by Kylie Bivens (11th) and Charmaine Hooper (14th), before the CyberRays’ Julie Murray equalized in the 43rd minute.
Chinese star Sun Wen, who had been playing injured, came off the bench to give the Beat a 3-2 lead with an 83rd-minute goal, Tisha Venturini equalizing in the 86th minute.
Wen and substitute Bryn Blalack missed penalty kicks and Murray sent the deciding shot past former UMass goalkeeper Briana Scurry as the CyberRays took a 3-2 PK victory.
The area also showed the way for women’s soccer at the international level by hosting the first four-figure crowds for U.S. Women’s National Team games during the 1991 New England Sports Museum Challenge Cup in New Britain, Conn., and Medford, Mass.
TODAY IN NEW ENGLAND SOCCER HISTORY