By Scott French, Senior Editor

WINNING DEBUT: Four WUSA coaches made their debuts on Saturday, but only one — Boston's Pia Sundhage — emerged victorious. Her Breakers, with goals by Dagny Mellgren and Maren Meinert and superb play from Monica Gonzalez in the back and French newcomer Stephanie Mugneret-Beghe on the right flank, took advantage of San Diego's ailing back line and spoiled Spirit coach Omid Namazi's introduction, 2-1.

The game's key figure, Spirit defender Joy Fawcett, was on the bench after bone spurs were removed from her right ankle in an unexpected procedure on Friday. Her absence forced Namazi to abandon his planned three-defender alignment — with Fawcett the centerpiece — and the Spirit started in a defensive 4-5-1 formation.

Sundhage, upon reading that Fawcett was out, dropped her plan to play a possession game, instead employing a direct attack to keep San Diego's backline under pressure. ''When you are used to playing with a certain player in the back and that person is gone,'' Sundhage said, ''you get a little vulnerable.'' The tactics worked: The Breakers controlled action most of the way.

BAD TO WORSE: New New York coach Tom Sermanni, his roster shortened by injuries and Australia's World Cup qualifying campaign, endured a nightmare start. Atlanta, coming off the best preseason camp in the league, demolished the Power, 5-0, as Kylie Bivens, Charmaine Hooper and Mexican debutant Maribel Dominguez each contributed a goal and an assist.

The Power, trying to rebound from a 3-17-1 season in which it surrendered 62 goals, was without backline anchor Cheryl Salisbury. She and Power teammate Joanne Peters were home in Australia, where the Matildas opened Oceania's World Cup qualifying tournament with a 19-0 rout of Samoa.

BEST GOAL: Hard to beat Mia Hamm's 59th-minute winner to lift visiting Washington to a 2-1 win over Carolina and rookie coach Jay Entlich in a Founders Cup rematch.

It started at the back, with Siri Mullinix hurling the ball to Emmy Barr. Six passes — Barr to Fettig to Stoecker to Lindsey to Wambach to Stoecker to Hamm — and a quick burst up the left flank, and Hamm, about 22 yards from the end line, lofted the ball toward the net.

''I was trying to serve the ball into the box,'' she claimed, but it instead sailed toward the upper-right corner. Rookie goalkeeper Meghann Burke tracked it while she retreated from the near post, and she swiped at it as it feathered down, slapping it just inside the post.

NEW BEGINNING: Katie Barnes, waived March 24 by Carolina, ''thought my career was pretty much over.'' San Jose gave her another chance, and she responded by sparking the CyberRays past Philadelphia, 1-0.

The former West Virginia University All-American owned the right flank, provided constant service for Brazilians Sissi, Katia and Pretinha, and she netted the lone goal, a 32nd-minute strike from Katia's feed. It was Barnes' first career WUSA goal.

''I'm relieved to get that monkey off my back,'' said Barnes, who played in 15 games as a Courage rookie in 2002. ''I'm blessed to be playing here and making the most of it.''

WUSA SUMMARIES WEEK 1: Freedom wins the rematch

April 5 at Cary, N.C.
CAROLINA (0-1-0, 0 points) 1 WASHINGTON (1-0-0, 3 points) 2.
Goals: Prinz (Fotopoulos, Riise) 6; Wambach (Hamm) 44, Hamm (Stoecker, Wambach) 59.
Att: 6,061.

April 5 at Atlanta
ATLANTA (1-0-0, 3 points) 5 NEW YORK (0-1-0, 0 points) 0.
Goals: Bivens (Gaston) 18, own goal Jones 23, Dominguez (Hooper, Sawa) 48, Hooper 80, Crumpton (Bivens, Dominguez) 84.
Att.: 8,967.

April 5 at San Diego
SAN DIEGO (0-1-0, 0 points) 1 BOSTON (1-0-0, 3 points) 2.
Goals: Latham 89; Mellgren (Gonzalez, Lilly) 8, Meinert (Popper) 68.
Att.: 6,161.

Aug. 5 at San Jose
SAN JOSE (1-0-0, 3 points) 1 PHILADELPHIA (0-1-0, 0 points) 0.
Goal: Barnes (Katia, Pretinha)32.
Att.: 6,042.