2001: Sissi was the CyberRays' playmaker and midfield star, leading the team and tying for the league lead in assists with 10. She ranked third on the team in scoring with one goal and 10 assists for 12 points, her goal coming May 6 against the Philadelphia Charge. Her most productive game offensively was July 15 when she assisted on both goals in a 2-0 victory over the Breakers in Boston. Her five game-winning assists were the most in the WUSA. There were only four occasions in the WUSA's inaugural season in which a player put together three consecutive games with an assist, and Sissi was credited with two of them. Sissi and Thori Bryan were the only CyberRays to start all 21 regular season games, and Sissi ranked second in minutes played with 1,825 of a possible 1,890. Off the field Sissi and her shaved head became a fan favorite, and was persuaded by teammates not to let her hair grow out as she had originally planned because her shaved head was a trademark. She shaved her head prior to the 1999 Women's World Cup to fulfill a promise she made to God. That promise - to provide housing for her family in Brazil - was fulfilled in June 2001. After seeing the computer-animated movie Toy Story 2, she became enamored with the Jessie character and carried a Jessie doll on CyberRays road trips.
Previous experience: Sissi and China's Sun Wen were the co-scoring leaders of the 1999 Women's World Cup with seven goals each. Sissi played in all three Women's World Cups and both Olympic women's soccer tournaments. She was particularly effective scoring on free kicks, which she did twice in the '99 World Cup. She opened the '99 World Cup with a hat trick against Mexico, scored a pair of goals against Italy and her golden goal in the 104th minute broke a 3-3 tie against Nigeria in the quarterfinals to send her team to the semifinals against Team USA.
Personal: Sisleide do Amor Lima. Born in Esplanada, Brazil. Father Antonio is retired; mother Vanilda is a homemaker. Sissi is a former school teacher.
2001 Regular Season Statistics
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