Charge Sit Alone Atop WUSA
May 13, 2002 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
Philadelphia Charge News Release
Erin Martin made her first start of the year pay off with a pair of first-half goals, as the Philadelphia Charge remained unbeaten and atop the WUSA standings with a 3-1 win over the Washington Freedom Saturday afternoon. The Charge (4-0-0, 12 pts) controlled play on their home turf in front of 8,185 fans, taking an early lead and never allowing the Freedom (2-3-0) a window back into the game. The four straight wins for the Charge is the longest winning streak in WUSA history.
Goalkeeper Melissa Moore kept her career-high four-game winning streak intact with a six-save performance in maintaining her goals-against average at 1.00. Midfielder Kelly Smith added a goal and an assist to increase her WUSA record point-scoring streak to seven games.
The Charge completed a two-game homestand undefeated, outscoring their opponents 7-3 over that span. For the season, the Charge have outscored their opposition 11-4. For the contest, Washington out-shot Philadelphia by a 14-11 margin
Upcoming Opponent
The Charge will next travel to San Diego to face the Spirit on Sunday, May 19 starting at 8 p.m. (ET). Last season the Charge were 2-0-1 against the Spirit, winning the lone game in San Diego, 2-0. Philly has outscored the Spirit 6-1 all-time with former Charge defender Doris Fitschen leading Philly with three goals for six points. Midfielder Kelly Smith is the active leader in points against the Spirit with two goals for four points. Last year, Tara Koleski scored the lone goal for the Spirit against the Charge.
In the last game against the Spirit, Smith's goal in the 75th minute of play forced a 1-1 draw back on August 9 at Villanova Stadium. The tie put the Charge into the inaugural WUSA Semifinals. San Diego snapped a scoreless tie in the 47th minute when Julie Foudy found Koleski streaking into the penalty box. The forward blasted a left-footed shot that beat Charge goalkeeper Melissa Moore to the far post.
Koleski's goal was her fourth in as many games and ended a 227-minute Spirit scoreless streak vs. Philadelphia. The Charge had won the first two meetings by a combined margin of 5-0.
Philadelphia evened the score in the 75th minute as Mandy Clemens dribbled in and out of trouble near the endline before feeding it back to Smith. The English National Team member passed up a shot to dribble left before burying a line drive into the far corner of the net past a helpless Bente Nordby. It was Smith's fourth goal of the year and first in five games.
CHARGE NEWS & NOTES:
Smith Named Player of the Week, Extends Record Point-Scoring Streak Charge midfielder Kelly Smith was named the WUSA Player of the Week Monday after posting a goal and an assist in Philadelphia's 3-1 win over the Washington Freedom this past Saturday. The honor was the first of the season and second of Smith's career. The Englishwoman, who was the first Player of the Week in WUSA history, is also the first Charge player to receive the award this year. As a matter a fact, Smith and teammate Liu Ailing are the only two Charge players to ever receive WUSA Player of the Week accolades. Liu did it three times a season ago. Currently, Smith has scored three goals and recorded two assists to lead Philly with eight points this season. Dating back to last year, she has a seven-game regular-season point-scoring streak, having registered four goals and four assists over that span. The streak is a WUSA record. Including the postseason, Smith has an eight-game point-scoring streak, as she tallied a goal in the Charge's 3-2 double-overtime loss to the Atlanta Beat in the semifinal round last year.
My Favorite Martin
Charge forward Erin Martin made the most of her spot start this past weekend, recording the first two goals in Philadelphia's 3-1 win over the Freedom. The effort was good enough for Martin to finish second to Smith in Player of the Week voting. She also tripled her career-scoring total with the pair of tallies, increasing her career goal mark to three. Martin had played in just one game, playing 24 minutes, earlier this season. But with regular Marinette Pichon returning to Philadelphia late the night before because of National Team duty, Martin received the start. Charge Head Coach Mark Krikorian has nothing but praise for Martin's performance, calling her "the best pure finisher on the team."
Home Cooking
This season the Charge are 2-0 at Villanova Stadium, having outscored their opponents 7-3. Dating back to last season, the Charge are 3-0-1 in their last three as the host and 6-1-2 in their last eight. The club's lone loss over that nine-game span came to the Breakers on July 19. All-time Philadelphia is 7-3-2 at home.
Charging out of the Gate
The Charge set a WUSA record on Saturday, winning their fourth straight contest. No other team in league history has ever won four in a row, but a number of teams have gone four consecutive games without a loss. Philadelphia's previous best winning streak was two straight, set twice last year. Their longest unbeaten streak last season was four games.
Charge on TV
The Charge will have a total of 16 games televised 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.
Upcoming Promotions
Date Item Amount Opponent Time
Saturday, June 1 Team Photo courtesy of PECO First 5,000 fans San Jose 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 8 Heather Mitts Bobblehead 3,000 (14 & under) Washington 4:00 p.m.
Doll courtesy of Got Milk? Saturday, June 15 Charge Ties 1,200 (14 & under) Boston 7:00 p.m.
Get Your Tickets Now!
The Philadelphia Charge are slated to play 11 games at Villanova Stadium this season, which is one more than the club's inaugural campaign. To order your season tickets, Fan/Family Packs, group tickets and/or birthday party packages call the Charge ticket office at 215-467-GOAL. You can also order single game tickets by calling Ticketmaster at 215-336-2000 or 856-338-9000 or 302-984-2000.
PhiladelphiaCharge.com
For all the latest news, notes, stats and features log on to PhiladelphiaCharge.com.
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Women's United Soccer Association Stories from May 13, 2002
- Charge Off to Record Start - WUSA
- Spirit Weekly - San Diego Spirit
- Atlanta Beat Weekly - Atlanta Beat
- Charge Sit Alone Atop WUSA - Philadelphia Charge
- Smith Earns Player of the Week Honors - Philadelphia Charge
- Kelly Smith Named Player of the Week - WUSA
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