Beat closing in on playoff spot

SAN DIEGO - Homare Sawa scored two goals and had an assist to lead the Atlanta Beat to a 4-1 victory over the San Diego Spirit in a WUSA game on Wednesday night. <br> <br> Atlanta (10-7-1) moved a step closer to securing a playoff spot while the loss eliminated the Spirit (4-10-4) from playoff consideration. <br> <br> San Diego took a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute when Julie Fleeting, Scotland&#39;s all-time leading scorer, scored her third goal in five games. <br> <br> The goal came seconds after a corner kick as Julie Foudy got control of a loose ball and passed to Jenny Mascaro, who set up Fleeting. <br> <br> Atlanta tied it in the 25th minute on a goal by Sun Wen, who got her own rebound off of San Diego defender Rhiannon Tanaka and dribbled in and beat Spirit goalie Carly Smolak from 14 yards. <br> <br> Atlanta took a 2-1 lead in the 34th minute on Sawa&#39;s first goal when she converted a pass from Lisa Krzykowski and beat Smolak. <br> <br> The Beat took control just 28 seconds into the second half when Charmaine Hooper gathered in a long ball and beat Smolak. The goal, in the 46th minute, was assisted by Sawa and Cindy Parlow. <br> <br> Sawa notched her second goal - and seventh of the season - when she got her own rebound off a Spirit defender and scored into an open net in the 72nd minute.

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