(May 1, 2002)

Carolina's Kristen Luckenbill Named WUSA Player Of The Week
 Courage Goalkeeper Ties WUSA Record with 12 Saves in 2-1 Victory at San Jose 

ATLANTA GA (May 1, 2002) Carolina goalkeeper Kristen Luckenbill continued her stellar play in the WUSA this past weekend, tying a league record with 12 saves as the Courage defeated the San Jose CyberRays 2-1 Saturday evening at Spartan Stadium. Luckenbill's spectacular performance was honored today as she was selected as the WUSA's Player of the Week for the Week ending April 28, 2002.

San Jose peppered Luckenbill with a WUSA 2002 season-high 15 shots on goal. The second-year player from Dartmouth rejected a goal-bound shot by Pretinha with a brilliant diving save to her right in the ninth minute. She also denied Katia in the 28th minute by stopping back-to-back close-range shots by the Brazilian forward. Katia later scored the CyberRays lone goal on a left-footed rocket from eight yards in the 71st minute.

Despite having played in one fewer match than nearly every other goalkeeper in the league, Luckenbill has the most saves (19) and has the highest save percentage (90.5%) in the WUSA. "Luckenbill gives the team confidence with her shot-stopping and her ability to come up with big saves at crucial times," said Courage Head Coach Marcia McDermott following Saturday's victory at San Jose. "She was outstanding against San Diego, and again today."

Luckenbill, who captured 30 points in the voting, outdistanced San Diego's Shauna Rohbock (22 pts.), Boston midfielder Bettina Weigmann (8 pts.), Philadelphia forward Kelly Smith (2 pts.) and Atlanta goalkeeper Brian Scurry (1 pt.). The WUSA's Player of the Week is selected every Monday throughout the regular season by a panel of journalists from the Professional Soccer Reporters Association.

[Source: Dan Courtemanche - (404) 269-8269, dan.courtemanche@cox.com, www.WUSA.com, Paul Dodson - (404) 269-8017, Darren Hawks - (973) 218-1674, WUSA Communications]