Charge Off to Another Fast Start, Sit in First
April 29, 2002 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
Philadelphia Charge News Release
Kelly Smith's penalty kick goal in the 89th minute proved to be the game-winner as the Philadelphia Charge defeated the New York Power, 2-1, at Mitchel Athletic Complex Saturday night. Mary-Frances Monroe also scored, registering her first WUSA goal, for the Charge, who improved to 2-0 and remained in a tie for first place with the Carolina Courage with six points each.
Smith's goal was setup when Power goalkeeper Saskia Webber was red carded for taking down Marinette Pichon on a breakaway in the box. The penalty led to the game-winning goal by Smith, who beat Webber's replacement Nicole Williams to the left. Webber made three saves as she was facing her old club for the first time since being traded to New York from Philadelphia in the off-season.
Philadelphia's Melissa Moore made three saves for the Charge, who moved to 2-1-1 all-time against the Power. Smith now has two goals this season, having also registered a goal in Philadelphia's season-opener.
"We're off to a great start," Charge Head Coach Mark Krikorian said. "Pichon played well tonight, helping us to victory. Our brand of soccer is exciting to watch. We came out and hustled tonight. This was a nice win and now we can return home, where we should play even better."
Philadelphia will make its home debut next time out on Saturday, May 4 at Villanova Stadium. The Charge will battle the Boston Breakers starting at 7 p.m. when the first 2,000 kids 14 and under in attendance will receive a limited edition Lorrie Fair Bobblehead Doll.
The Charge had to play the game without starting forward Mandy Clemens and starting midfielder Lorrie Fair. Both players were called up the U.S. national team for a match against Finland in San Jose, Calif.
Just 17 minutes into the game the Power got on the board first. Emily Stauffer sent a lofted pass up the middle of the Charge defense and from 18 yards out, Emily Janns volleyed the ball over the head of Moore and into the back of the net.
The Charge responded at the 32-minute mark when Monroe put home a loose ball following a corner kick by midfielder Zhao Lihong. Zhao laced the corner into the six-yard box, causing confusion, as Erica Iverson and Jennifer Tietjen forced Webber to punch the ball instead of catching it. Webber couldn't get a good touch on the ball and Frances put home the loose ball from the penalty spot.
The goal was the first for Monroe, who was the second-round pick by the Charge in this year's WUSA Draft out of UCLA. Monroe, who had spent three years at UConn prior to transferring to UCLA, was born on Long Island (West Islip, NY) and spent most of her childhood there before moving to Connecticut.
Upcoming Opponent
The Charge will next play their home opener at Villanova Stadium on Saturday, May 4 against the Boston Breakers starting at 7 p.m.
This will be the first meeting of the season between the Charge and Breakers and fourth all-time. Last season, Boston won two of the three meetings against Philadelphia. In the lone contest at Villanova Stadium, the Breakers escaped victorious, 2-1, thanks to two goals by Dagny Mellgren. After Kelly Smith tied the contest in the 77th minute, Mellgren scored the game-winner just eight minutes later to dispose of the Charge.
The Charge scored five goals against the Breakers last season. Liu Ailing and former Charge midfielder Laurie Schwoy led Philly with a pair of goals each. Dagny Mellgren had a team-leading four tallies versus the Charge a season ago. Maren Meinert and Keri Raygor had the other two goals for Boston.
This year, the Charge and Breakers will again meet three times, with Philadelphia hosting Boston twice. The two teams meet again on June 15 at Villanova Stadium and then wrap up the season series on July 27 in Boston.
Philadelphia will have the services of starting midfielder Lorrie Fair and starting forward Mandy Clemens back for the game after missing the last contest because of national team duty.
Home Openers
The Charge will be playing their home opener on Saturday. Last year the club won its first game at Villanova Stadium, 3-2, against the Cyberrays on its way to a 5-3-2 mark at home. With the new AstroPlay turf at Villanova this season, the Charge expect to be even better than they were on the old Astroturf last year.
Playing with the Lead
The Charge are a tough team to mount a comeback against, maybe the toughest in the league. After scoring the game's first goal, Philadelphia is 8-1 all-time. The Charge are also 6-0 all-time when carrying a lead into halftime.
Smith Scores Again
Kelly Smith has scored a goal in each of the Charge's two games this season. She currently leads the club with four points and has registered six goals and three assists all-time. Her goal on Saturday night in Philly's 2-1 win over the Power moved her into sole possession of second place on the club's scoring list. The Englishwomen trails Liu Ailing (10g, 2a 22 pts) by only seven points for the team lead.
No Assistance Needed
The four Charge goals this season have been unassisted. Two of the tallies have been a result of penalties, while the other two were scored on loose balls in the box. Last year, 11 of the 35 goals by the Charge were unassisted, with five of the first eight tallies of the season coming without an assist.
Ailing off to Slow Start
Liu Ailing, the Charge's leading scorer from last season, has yet to record a point for Philly this season. This is nothing new for Liu, who also went the first five games of last season without a goal.
Moore-velous
Charge GK Melissa Moore has a miniscule 0.5 goals-against average this season. She is 2-0, having allowed only one goal thus far. For her career, Moore has posted a 7-3-1 record with a paltry 0.84 goals-against average.
Pichon Leaving for France
Charge starting forward Marinette Pichon will be leaving the Charge for the second time this season due to French national team duty. Pichon will be leaving the day after the Charge's home opener on May 4 for a World Cup qualifier against Norway and will be returning prior to the club's May 11 game against Washington at Villanova Stadium. Pichon has not scored this season for the Charge, but has played well and sparked a number of offensive chances for the team.
Pichon Voted French Female Athlete of the Year
For the second consecutive year, forward Marinette Pichon was voted the French Female Athlete of the Year. Pichon has yet to score with the Charge, but she did set-up the game-winner on Saturday when she was taken out in the box by Power's Saskia Webber in the 89th minute.
International Flavor
The Charge have been able to field some of the best international players in the World in their brief history. As a result, international players have combined to score 22 of the team's 39 all-time goals. Liu Ailing of China is the highest scoring international player in Charge history, scoring 10 goals in the 2001 season. She hasn't scored yet this season, but combined with fellow countrywoman Zhao Lihong, Chinese players have scored 11 of the 22 international goals.
Charging out of the Gate
The Charge are building a tradition of playing well in the month of April. Last season, the club was 1-0-1 in the month and after the 2002 season-opening win against Atlanta and the win in New York, the Charge improved to 3-0-1 in April. Philadelphia has outscored its opponents 6-1 over that span as well.
On the Road
For the second straight season the Charge have played their first two games on the road. For most teams this might spell trouble, but for Philly there is no place like the road to start a season. The Charge are 3-0-1 in the four games, outscoring their opponents 6-1. Kelly Smith has tallied three of those six goals.
Charge on TV
The Charge will have a total of 16 games televised live in the 2002 season. Four of the club's games will be aired nationally on PAX-TV, while 12 others will be aired between Comcast SportsNet and CN8, the Comcast Network. This is the second straight year that the Charge have been broadcast on CN8 and Comcast SportsNet. Last season, a total of nine games were aired locally between the two networks, with this season's total increasing by three.
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Women's United Soccer Association Stories from April 29, 2002
- San Diego Finishes April at 1-1-1 - San Diego Spirit
- Charge Implementing New Security Measures - Philadelphia Charge
- Charge Off to Another Fast Start, Sit in First - Philadelphia Charge
- SAS, CASL, Carolina Courage Announce Partnership - Carolina Courage
- Carolina's Luckenbill Named Player of the Week - WUSA
- Atlanta Beat Weekly - Atlanta Beat
- Courage Notebook - Carolina Courage
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