| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Spirit 1, Power 1
Thursday July 24, 2003SAN DIEGO (AP) Julie Fleeting's unassisted goal in the 58th minute helped the San Diego Spirit tie New York Power 1-1 on Wednesday night.
The Spirit (6-5-7) remained in a third-place tie with Washington, which tied Boston earlier Wednesday. Each team has 25 points in the standings, but the Freedom has played one fewer game.
The tie kept the fifth-place Power (7-8-3) from being swept in the three-game season series with the Spirit.
Fleeting scored her team-high ninth goal after the ball was redirected in the penalty area by defender Jaclyn Raveia. The shot was deflected amid a crowd of players to the right corner of the net.
Tiffeny Milbrett scored New York's goal in the fourth minute.
Anita Rapp set up Milbrett's fifth goal of the season when she blocked a San Diego kick in the penalty area, recovered the ball with a spin move, and then directed a crossing pass to Milbrett ahead of defender Joy Fawcett.
Fleeting nearly scored for San Diego in the 27th minute, but her shot hit the left goal post. Teammate Julie Foudy fired a shot off the rebound but it sailed wide.
The Spirit trailed at halftime despite having a 12-3 edge in shots. San Diego finished with a 22-5 advantage.
Power goalkeeper Saskia Webber made six saves, while Jenni Branam had just one for the Spirit.
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