Power Weekly Notes
Published on April 28, 2003 under Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
New York Power News Release
Last Week in Review: April 26 New York Power 3, Carolina Courage 1 @ Carolina
Behind two goals by Tiffeny Milbrett, the Power defeated the Courage 3-1 in Carolina. The Power's first round draft choice, Christie Welsh, tallied her first WUSA goal, while goalkeeper Carly Smolak picked up her first win in a Power uniform after being traded from San Diego in the off-season.
Upcoming Week: Power vs. Philadelphia Charge @ Philadelphia.
Season Series: First Meeting. All-time Regular Season Series: Philadelphia leads 3-2-1. Top Scorers: New York - Tiffeny Milbrett (6g - 0a = 12pts); Philadelphia - Marinette Pichon (3g - 0a = 6pts). Power Key Players Out: New York - D Sara Whalen (ACL); D Kristy Whelchel (ACL); D Lauren Orlandos (Hamstring Strains); D Cheryl Salisbury (Calf Strain - R). Power-Charge Notes: The Power will look to extend a one-game winning streak over the Charge. At Philadelphia, the Charge holds a 2-1-0 record. Power forward Tiffeny Milbrett has tallied six goals against the Charge, including two game-winning goals. Power midfielder Emily Janss has two goals in four games against the Charge. Five of the six matches between the two clubs have been decided by a goal or less.
Key Matchup: New York D Christie Pearce vs. Philadelphia F Marinette Pichon: Pearce will have her hands full with the speedy French striker.. Pearce and her defensive mates will look to keep Pichon in check. In the second match-up last season, Pichon recorded a hat-trick against the Power. In the third meeting, Pearce was assigned to man-mark Pichon and held her scoreless as the Power came back from a two-goal deficit, to win 3-2.
Power Head Coach Tom Sermanni on Philadelphia: "Philadelphia is a very good club, with a great striker in (Marinette) Pichon and a very good defense. In the past, this has been a great, close match-up."
POWER INJURY UPDATE
OUT: D Sara Whalen (ACL - R); D Kristy Whelchel (ACL - R); D Lauren Orlandos (Hamstring Strains); D Cheryl Salisbury (Calf Strain - R) DOUBTFUL: none QUESTIONABLE: GK Saskia Webber (Calf Strain - R) PROBABLE: none
Power Quotes:
New York Head Coach Tom Sermanni - "(Getting the first goal) was huge, because that's the first time we have gotten the first goal. It was strange. I think we went into a coma after that because I think the players were in a little bit of shock. We lost our rhythm a little bit after that. In fairness, Carolina really pushed us. They pushed us late in the game as well."
"It's vital (talking about the win). Particularly in the New York situation, the longer you go winless the more pressure the players feel, the more frustrated they get, and you get a loss of confidence. But the spirit in the camp has been very high and the performance in the last two games has been very good."
"We can't suddenly think that since we've won, now we can relax. We will critically assess this performance. There were good aspects and we created some very, very good chances. But there were some crude aspects of our performance tonight. We have to get ready for next Saturday."
New York's Tiffeny Milbrett - "It's just great for us. We've been working so hard ever since Tommy came on board to really plug the gaps in our defense as unit. Tonight's win was because we defended very well. It's great to see that we were finally a good defensive team."
"It's just been a long day. We had to get up pretty early and you're preparing for your first game, probably since last night so you don't get the best sleep because you're excited and then to come here. It's just like you're non-stop on, makes for a very long day. I think I'll sleep very well tonight."
Power Notes:
Milbrett Named MET-Rx Player of the Week
Tiffeny Milbrett has been selected as the league's MET-Rx Player of the Week for the week ending April 27, 2003. The U.S. national team forward scored twice as the Power defeated Carolina 3-1 at SAS Soccer Park on April 26.
Starting the day in Washington, DC with the National Team, Milbrett along with Christie Pearce, jumped a flight to Carey, NC to just make the starting lineup for the Power. Milbrett, the WUSA's all-time leading scorer with 67 points, scored her first goal in the 42 minute, when she took a pass from Justi Baumgardt and one-touched it past a diving Maite Zabala, which ended up being the game-winning goal. She would put the game away in the 73rd minute, when she took a free-kick just outside the penalty area and nailed a world-class bending shot over the Courage wall and past Zabala.
Milbrett captured 42 points in the voting (16 first place, 10 second place) to defeat Boston's Maren Meinert (35 pts.), Washington's Kelly Golebiowski (7 pts.), Atlanta's Kylie Bivens (2 pts.), San Diego's Julie Fleeting (2 pts.) and Washington's Siri Mullinix (2 pts.) The MET-Rx Player of the Week is selected every Monday throughout the regular season by a panel of journalists from the Professional Soccer Reporters Association.
MET-Rx is the official protein-based sports supplement of the WUSA. MET-Rx Sports Nutrition. "Goals Set. Goals Met."
Power Defender Christie Pearce To Be On WUSA.COM Chat This Week:
New York defender Christie Pearce will be the featured guest on this week's WUSA.com live web chat on Tuesday, April 29. The chat will begin at 8:00 p.m. (ET)/5:00 p.m. (PT) and will last approximately 30 minutes. Fans can submit questions before and during the chat. For more information, log on to www.WUSA.com.
Injury Bug The injury bug has hit the Power, especially on the defensive end. As of Thursday, April 24, defenders Sara Whalen (ACL Tear - R), Kristy Whelchel (ACL Tear - R), Lauren Orlandos (hamstring strains) and Cheryl Salisbury (right calf strain) are all out for the match against Philadelphia.
First Win
Power Head Coach Tom Sermanni recorded his first WUSA victory when the Power defeated the Carolina Courage, 3-1 on April 26.
National TV
The Power's match against Philadelphia will be broadcasted live on PAX TV, the national TV broadcaster of the WUSA. The Power have a 4-5-2 overall record and a 2-3-1 road record when playing on national TV.
Milestones
With two more goals, Tiffeny Milbrett will be the first player to reach 30 career goals. Milbrett needs 33 more points to reach 100 career points in the WUSA.
Impact of "The Trade"
Four games into the season, the impact of the San Diego/New York trade is evident. The Power have been starting four players involved in that trade in Christie Welsh, Margaret Tietjen, Carly Smolak, and Shannon Boxx. Tietjen recorded the first assist of 2003 for New York and leads the team with two assists, while Welsh has recorded a goal and Smolak a win for the Power. Boxx has been a force in the midfield and also defensively for New York, also picking up an assist this year.
Women's United Soccer Association Stories from April 28, 2003
- Over One Hurdle, Team's Confidence Begins to Grow - San Diego Spirit
- Beat Remains Undefeated; Prepares for May 3 Home Match versus San Jose - Atlanta Beat
- Three Play Two - WUSA
- Milbrett Named Player of the Week - WUSA
- Power Weekly Notes - New York Power
- CyberRays head into tough 3-game stretch - San Jose CyberRays
- Pickup's throw-in stops CyberRays 2-1 - San Jose CyberRays
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