Atlanta Beat Sign Cat Whitehill
December 20, 2010 - Women's Professional Soccer (WPS)
Atlanta Beat News Release
KENNESAW, GA (December 20, 2010 ) - Atlanta Beat General Manager Shawn McGee today announced the signing of free agent and Women's Professional Soccer All-Star, Cat Whitehill to the 2011 roster. Whitehill, a Birmingham, Ala. native, has two years of Women's Professional Soccer experience, is an Olympic gold medalist and was a part of two NCAA Division - I national titles.
Whitehill began her professional career in 2009 when the WPS Allocation of the United States Women's National Team (USWNT or WNT) sent her to the Washington Freedom where she spent both 2009 and 2010 seasons. With the Freedom, this two-time All-Star started and played in every match available (19 in 2009 and 23 in 2010) and was named a co-captain in 2010. She scored her first WPS goal against Sky Blue FC on May 23, 2009, and later added two assists and two more goals to that tally. She is credited for assisting Abby Wambach's first-ever WPS goal in the Inaugural 2009 WPS season, and she put away a goal and two assists in 2010.
"Cat is obviously going to bring something to the team that was missing in last year's defense," said Beat head coach James Galanis. "She is a player that reads the game well and anticipates opportunities to attack. She is able to smother the other team's offense and is exceptional at reading the game. She has played at the highest level and is going to bring priceless experience to our team."
Whitehill has competed in two FIFA Women's World Cups, appearing with the USWNT in both 2003 and 2007 where she became the only defender to ever score two goals in the same tournament. She was a member of the gold medal winning team at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, and her international career includes 11 goals with 134 caps earned.
As a collegiate athlete at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Whitehill became the most decorated women's soccer player in Tarheel's history, winning NCAA Division - I National Championships in 2000 and 2003 and the Honda Sports Award in 2004. She became a two-time NCAA Tournament Defensive MVP (2000, 2003), a three-time ACC All-American (2001, 2002, 2003), and a four-time NSCAA All-American (2000-2003). In her final season at UNC, she won the prestigious M.A.C. Herman Trophy, which is the official NSCAA national player-of-the-year award.
Whitehill reports for preseason training on March 1, 2011.
Note: All team transactions must be approved by WPS before becoming official.
Season Seats for the Atlanta Beat start as low as $100 for all 10 home games. Group discounts and flexi-passes are available by calling 678-298-4780. Visit www.theatlantabeat.com for more information.
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- Atlanta Beat Sign Cat Whitehill - Atlanta Beat
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