Katia scored twice as San Jose netted three second-half goals Wednesday night to beat Atlanta for the first time, climbing from fifth to third in the WUSA standings with a 3-1 triumph at Spartan Stadium. The rematch of last year's championship game, a meeting between .500 clubs struggling to score goals, turned around on Ian Sawyers' tactical substitutions late in the first half. The CyberRays (6-5-3, 21 points) had never beaten Atlanta (6-7-1, 19 points) in the previous seven meetings. Their victory in the Founders Cup final last August, achieved on penalty kicks, officially counts as a tie. Katia and Boston's Dagny Mellgren, who scored twice in Boston's 3-2 win Wednesday over visiting San Diego, have scored 10 goals this season. Only Philadelphia's Marinette Pichon, with 12, has scored more. Maren Meinert assisted on all three Breakers goals and joined Pichon as the league's top scorer with 25 points. The German forward has 11 assists, a WUSA single-season record. In Wednesday's WUSA action: Boston 3 San Diego 2: Angela Hucles and Mellgren scored early goals and the Breakers (4-6-5, 17 points) held on as the Spirit (3-8-3, 12 points) tried to rally from a 3-0 deficit before 5,540 at Nickerson Field. San Diego had beaten Boston on Saturday, 5-4, in Southern California. Tracy Ducar, making her 2002 debut, stopped three shots to earn the victory. Scottish forward Julie Fleeting, playing in her first WUSA match, assisted on San Diego's first goal. San Diego pulled goalkeeper Jaime Pagliarulo at halftime for the second successive match after Hucles beat her with a 30-yard drive in the third minute and Mellgren finished a ball in the box in the 12th. Mellgren got her second seven minutes into the second half, beating Carly Smolak to the far post from a Bettina Wiegmann long ball. The Spirit rallied as Shannon MacMillan scored from a Fleeting feed in the 58th minute — the Scotswoman earning an assist four minutes into her WUSA career — and Foudy headed in a MacMillan free kick in the 79th. Foudy has scored three of her four career WUSA goals in the past four days. San Jose 3 Atlanta 1: Katia scored with two drives into the lower-left corner and Tisha Venturini-Hoch netted her third goal in five games as the CyberRays vaulted past Atlanta and Washington in the standings before 5,933 at Spartan Stadium. San Jose and Washington have 21 points, but the CyberRays lead the tiebreaker — head-to-head action — on goal differential. The season series will be determined in San Jose on July 21. Atlanta struck quickly, going ahead on Homare Sawa's third-minute strike, and dictated play for all of the first half, permitting the 'Rays few good looks at the goal. Sawyers made two changes in the final five minutes of the first half, going to a more attacking lineup. He brought Kim Clark on for Michelle French, moving Brandi Chastain from forward to left back, and inserted Lisa Nanez for defensive midfielder Carey Dorn. The 'Rays, limited to three shots in the first half — just one of them on goal, a weak roller from Pretinha — had the better of play the final 45 minutes. Katia evened the score in the 51st minute after outmaneuvering Julie Augustyniak for a clear shot, Venturini-Hoch headed home a Sissi free kick 10 minutes later, and Katia first-timed a Clark pass from the top of the box in the 66th. WEDNESDAY'S SUMMARIES July 10 at Boston Boston 3 San Diego 2. Goals: Hucles (Wiegmann, Meinert) 3, Mellgren (Lilly, Meinert) 12, Mellgren (Meinert, Wiegmann) 52; MacMillan (Fleeting) 58, Foudy (MacMillan) 79. Boston — Ducar; Kluegel, Sobrero, McCann, Aldama; Hucles, Sanchez, Lilly, Wiegmann (Dacey, 72); Meinert (Yohe, 57), Mellgren. San Diego — Pagliarulo (Smolak, 46); Sauer, Fawcett, Fan, Kraus; Boxx (Pickup, 80), Lindsey, Foudy; MacMillan, Kester (Fleeting, 54), Zhang. Yellow cards — Boston: Sobrero 23, Aldama 57. Referee — Erich Simmons. A — 5,540. July 10 at San Jose San Jose 3 Atlanta 1. Goals: Katia 51, Venturini-Hoch (Sissi) 61, Katia (Clark) 68; Sawa (N. Augustyniak, Burt) 3. San Jose — Beene; Alagich, Bryan, Lindsey, French (Clark, 42); Dorn (Nanez, 44); Venturini-Hoch, Sissi, Pretinha (Wagner, 82); Katia (Hendershot-Brown, 89), Chastain. Atlanta — Wilson; N. Augustyniak, Cromwell (Cagle, 71), Nonen (Krzykowski, 76), J. Augustyniak; Miller, Serlenga; Bivens, Sawa; Burt (Sun, 69), Parlow. Yellow cards — San Jose: Lindsey 87; N. Augustyniak 60, Nanez 62. Referee — Misail Tsapos. A — 5,933. STANDINGS 1. Philadelphia 9-1-3, 30 points; 2. Carolina 9-2-3, 30; 3. San Jose 6-5-3, 21; 4. Washington 6-5-3, 21; 5. Atlanta 6-7-1, 19; 6. Boston 4-6-5, 17; 7. San Diego 3-8-3, 12; 8. New York 2-11-1, 7. THIS WEEKEND'S SCHEDULE
Saturday, July 13
Atlanta at New York, 4 p.m.
Boston at Carolina, 7 p.m. Sunday, July 14
Philadelphia at Washington, 4 p.m.
San Jose at San Diego, 8 p.m. All times EDT. LEADING SCORERS
(G-A–Pts)
1. Marinette Pichon (Philadelphia) 12-1–25
Maren Meinert (Boston) 7-11–25
3. Tiffeny Milbrett (New York) 8-8–24
4. Dagny Mellgren (Boston) 10-2–22
5. Katia (San Jose) 10-1–21
Danielle Fotopoulos (Carolina) 8-5–21
7. Hege Riise (Carolina) 5-10–20
8. Birgit Prinz (Carolina) 7-5–19
Kristine Lilly (Boston) 5-9–19
10. Abby Wambach (Washington) 6-5–17