Julie Murray scored her fourth goal in four games and LaKeysia Beene notched her sixth straight shutout as the Bay Area CyberRays edged the New York Power, 1-0, July 8, in San Jose, Calif. The win moved the CyberRays (5-4-3 record, 18 points) into a third-place tie with Philadelphia, five points behind the second-place Power (6-2-5, 23). Murray’s 80th-minute goal marked the first in the young series between the two clubs. The earlier match ended 0-0. Beene made just three saves and ran her consecutive shutout minutes to 617 — more than 10 hours of soccer. Both shutout marks are ongoing WUSA records. League MVP candidate Tiffeny Milbrett couldn’t get past the Bay Area’s four-player backline in the rematch. “They were a totally different team today” from the first game of the series, Milbrett said. “This team completely outplayed us. The last time they werenÆt dangerous, and they werenÆt getting players through. This time they were. “Their defense is very organized, and they work together. When we tried to get around one person, there was somebody else there to help. They made it very difficult for us to try to get anything today.” Later in southern California, the host San Diego Spirit got two goals from Nigerian star Mercy Akide in a 3-1 win over Boston. San Diego (4-5-4, 16) moves into fifth place, while Boston (3-6-3, 12) remains in seventh, just one point ahead of Carolina. Akide has scored all three of her goals this season against Boston. “Mercy has always had confidence in her abilities,” Spirit coach Carlos Juarez said of the 2000 African Female Player of the Year. “But she is getting more comfortable with our style of play and she is only getting better.” On July 7, Atlanta (6-1-6 record, 24 points) took sole possession of first place with a 3-2 win over Washington (5-6-2, 17) in front of more than 18,000 fans at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium. Down 2-1, the Beat got an equalizer from Japanese star Homare Sawa and the 81st-minute winner from Kelly Cagle. With the win, Atlanta extends its unbeaten streak to six games. Meanwhile, Carolina won its third game of the season, shutting out Philadelphia, 2-0, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Referee Nancy Lay ejected Philadelphia coach Mark Krikorian for dissent in the 78th. The three points trim seventh-place Boston’s lead to just one over last-place Carolina (3-8-2, 11), though the Breakers have played two less games than the Courage. The third-place Charge (5-5-3, 18) has lost three of its last four games. Following the match, the fans were treated to a brilliant fireworks display. To accommodate the post-game spectacle, the seating at Fetzer was reconfigured for this match. As a result of the reduced capacity, the Courage recorded its first sell-out of the season with a crowd of 5,758. July 7 in Atlanta ATLANTA 3 WASHINGTON 2 Scoring Summary: WAS – Monica Gerardo (Jen Grubb) 11. ATL – Lisa Krzykowski (Nikki Serlenga) 24. WAS – Michelle French 31. ATL – Homare Sawa (Kylie Bivens) 38. ATL – Kelly Cagle (Emily Burt) 81. ATLANTA — Briana Scurry – Capt., Lisa Krzykowski, Dayna Smith, Sharolta Nonen, Nancy Augustyniak, Kylie Bivens, Nikki Serlenga, Homare Sawa (Nikki Lamb, 86), Emily Burt, Kelly Cagle (Kerry Gragg, 83), Cindy Parlow – Capt. (Julie Augustyniak, 89). CAUTIONS: None; EJECTIONS: None. WASHINGTON — Siri Mullinix, Emmy Barr (Justi Baumgardt, 85), Lindsey Stoecker, Amanda Cromwell, Jen Grubb, Bai Jie, Michelle French, Anne Makinen, Monica Gerardo, Pretinha (Tracy Milburn, 61), Mia Hamm. CAUTIONS: None; EJECTIONS: None. Referee: Peter Kokolski. Attendance: 18,887. Weather: 84 degrees, sunny. July 7 in Chapel Hill, N.C. CAROLINA 2 PHILADELPHIA 0 Scoring Summary: CAR û Danielle Fotopoulos (Jaclyn Raveia) 4. CAR û Hege Riise 84. CAROLINA — Bente Nordby, Staci Burt, Jaclyn Raveia, Carla Overbeck, Staci Wilson, Tiffany Roberts, Hege Riise, Erin Baxter, Silvana Burtini (Mikka Hansen, 85), Meredith Florance (Maren Hendershot, 89), Danielle Fotopoulos. CAUTIONS: Danielle Fotopoulos 46; EJECTIONS: None. PHILADELPHIA — Saskia Webber, Heather Mitts, Jennifer Tietjen, Kalli Kamholz, Jenny Benson, Mandy Clemens (Margret Olafsdottir, 69), Laurie Schwoy, Lorrie Fair, Liu Ailing, Rakel Karvelsson (Deidre Enos, 58), Kelly Smith (Rebekah McDowell, 81) CAUTIONS: None; EJECTIONS: Coach Mark Krikorian 78. Referee: Nancy Lay. Attendance: 5,758. Weather: Clear, Warm, 75 degrees. July 8 in San Jose, Calif. BAY AREA 1, NEW YORK 0 Scoring Summary: BAY û Julie Murray (Jacqui Little) 80. BAY AREA — û LaKeysia Beene, Thori Bryan, Kelly Lindsey, Dianne Alagich, Brandi Chastain, Carey Dorn, Tisha Venturini, Sissi, Christina Bell, Katia (Jacqui Little, 77), Julie Murray (Lisa Nanez, 86). CAUTIONS: Christina Bell 37; EJECTIONS: None. NEW YORK — Gao Hong, Christie Pearce, Gro Espeseth, Nel Fettig, Ronnie Fair, Kristy Whelchel (Katie Tracy, 74), Sara Whalen, Jen Lalor (Anne Nielsen, 77), Ann Kristin Aarones (Tammy Pearman, 58), Tiffeny Milbrett, Kerry Connors (Emily Janss, 58). CAUTIONS: None; EJECTIONS: None. Referee: Sandra Hunt. Attendance: 8,001. Weather: Hazy, Breezy û 81 degrees. July 8 in San Diego SAN DIEGO 3 BOSTON 1 Scoring Summary: SD – Shannon MacMillan (Margaret Tietjen, Traci Arkenberg) 5. SD – Mercy Akide (Julie Foudy, Rhiannon Tanaka) 39. SD – Mercy Akide (Fan Yunjie, Shannon MacMillan) 61. BOS – Dagny Mellgren (Kate Sobrero) 73. SAN DIEGO — Jaime Pagliarulo, Margaret Tietjen, Fan Yunjie, Kim Pickup, Rhiannon Tanaka, Shannon Boxx, Traci Arkenberg (Jen Mascaro, 72), Julie Foudy, Shannon MacMillan (Holly Pierce, 89), Erin Montoya (Sherrill Kester, 70), Mercy Akide (Tara Koleski, 83). CAUTIONS: None; EJECTIONS: None. BOSTON — Tracy Ducar, Chrisy McCann, Kim Calkins (Lindsay Massengale, 46), Heather Aldama, Kate Sobrero, Keri Raygor, Kristine Lilly, Elie Foster (Allie Kemp, 46), Dagny Mellgren, Angela Hucles, Florence Omagbemi (Sherice Bartling, 72). CAUTIONS: Florence Omagbemi 26, Heather Aldama 75. EJECTIONS: None. Referee: Keri Seitz. Attendance: 5,739. Weather: Warm, Perfect – 79 degrees.