Briana Scurry - Moving On

In 2000, Scurry battled injuries and lost her starting job to Siri Mullinix. She did not appear in the 2000 Olympics, even though she was healed from her injuries, and played in only five games all season, slipping to a 1.19 goals-against average. After that year, Scurry's career totals for the National Team included records for most appearances by a goalie (103), most wins (79) and most shutouts (54).

After the Olympics, Scurry said she wanted to try something new and seriously considered joining the Women's National Basketball Association. Instead, she became a founding member of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). In its inaugural season in 2001, Scurry was assigned to the Atlanta Beat. She held opponents to 0.82 goals per game that season, the league's best average, and won nine games, losing three and drawing six. Her eight shutouts was the second-highest in the league, and after the season she was named goalie on WUSA's Global 11 second team. In the Founders Cup championship game, Scurry got an assist on a goal by Charmaine Hooper.

In 2002 Scurry added five more shutouts to take over the WUSA lead with 13 career shutouts. She allowed 1.33 goals per game, with nine wins, eight losses and a tie. Again, she was named to the league's second team. Scurry also played two more games for the U.S. national team, but she was unable to regain her starter's job from Mullinix.

Scurry donated volunteer time to promote awareness of AIDS and for the Make a Wish Foundation, and she visited many U.S. cities to try to spark interest in soccer among inner-city girls and boys. "I am proud of my heritage," she told Knight Ridder Newspapers in 1998, "and I take very seriously my role of showing African-American youth and people in general that we can excel in any sport or anything."