2001: With seven goals in the CyberRays' inaugural season, Katia is the team's top returning scorer. She averaged 0.75 points per game, 14th best in the WUSA. Her goal in the 59th minute of the CyberRays' home-opening tie with the Boston Breakers on April 29 was the first official goal in team history. She scored the only goal of the game in the Aug. 5 victory over the New York Power that clinched home-field advantage in the CyberRays' semifinal game. She led the WUSA in game-winning goals with 5, almost half the team total of 11 victories. Katia closed the regular season with a goal in each of the last three games, which tied for third in the league for the longest goal-scoring streak. Of the six goals the CyberRays scored in their two playoff games, Katia assisted on three. Katia had more shots on goal (46) than any WUSA player but the San Diego Spirit's Shannon MacMillan (50) and hit the crossbar or post five times, second only to the Washington Freedom's Mia Hamm, who banged seven shots off the woodwork. She ranked third in the league in total shots with 75 behind MacMillan and Kristine Lilly of the Boston Breakers. Six of Katia's goals came in the second half, the earliest in the 35th minute.
Previous experience: Katia scored 158 goals in five seasons of Brazilian League matches, ranking as the No.1 goal scorer every season. She was tied for 13th in scoring in the '99 World Cup and fourth in scoring at the Sydney Olympics with a pair of goals in each tournament. She began her international career as a key member of the Brazilian team in the 1995 Women's World Cup in Sweden, then played all five of her country's matches in the Atlanta Olympics.
Personal: Katia Cilene Teixeira da Silva. Born in Rio de Janeiro. Father Orlando Rodrigues, an auto mechanic, died before she was born; mother Maria das Dores Gomes is a homemaker. A former track and field athlete in the heptathlon who finished as high as fifth in the South American championships and broke the Brazilian national record six times.
2001 Regular Season Statistics
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