Philadelphia Charge

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Philadelphia Charge
Philly Charge.PNG
Founded10 April 2000[1]
Name established on
2 November 2000[2]
Dissolved15 September 2003
StadiumVillanova Stadium
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Capacity12,500
OwnerComcast
General ManagerTim Murphy
Head CoachMark Krikorian
LeagueWomen's United Soccer Association
Final season
2003
8th

The Philadelphia Charge was an American women's professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Villanova Stadium on the campus of Villanova University near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

History[]

In spring of 2000, the newly formed Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) announced eight cities were granted franchises to start the league, including Philadelphia.[1] Most of the inaugural teams were owned by major media companies, with the new Philadelphia club operated by locally headquartered Comcast Corporation who invested an initial $5 million into WUSA.[1][3] In November 2000, the club's name and logo was officially announced as the Philadelphia Charge and would play home matches at Villanova Stadium.[4] The logo for the Charge incorporated the Comcast Corp. "C" as part of its marketing efforts.[3] The Charge began preparations for the first team with a 15-person front office and was supported by the Comcast-Spector organization for stadium operations, marketing, promotions, tickets, and merchandise.[3]

By late 2000, the Charge had announced that University of Hartford women's soccer coach, Mark Krikorian, would be appointed the first head coach of the team.[5] Prior to the start of the season, Krikorian would bring on former Swedish international Pia Sundhage and John Natale as assistant coaches.[6]

2001 season[]

See also: 2001 WUSA season
See also: 2001 Philadelphia Charge season

The Charge would begin their first campaign lead by American forward Lorrie Fair, German defender Doris Fitschen, and English forward Kelly Smith.[4] Finishing the inaugural season in fourth, the Charge advanced to the WUSA semi-final playoff match, losing to Atlanta Beat 3–2.

2002 season[]

See also: 2002 WUSA season
See also: 2002 Philadelphia Charge season

Building on their first season, the Charge finished second in the standings for the regular season and lead the league in defense with fewest goals conceded (22). This season also featured the signing of Marinette Pichon, who lead the team in scoring and earning Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year awards.[7] Similar to the first season, the Charge lost in the semi-finals, this time to Washington Freedom. Mark Krikorian also won WUSA Coach of the Year honors from the successful regular season.

2003 season[]

See also: 2003 WUSA season
See also: 2003 Philadelphia Charge season

The Charge's final season featured the team's worst record, finishing last (eighth) in the WUSA regular season standings. This season also began the career of future national team goalkeeper, Hope Solo, who made her professional debut in the Charge's first win of the season at New York Power.

Stadium[]

The Charged played all their home matches at Villanova Stadium, located in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The 12,500 capacity stadium was the only WUSA stadium utilizing artificial turf.[4][8] The Charge players, coaches and front office representatives took part in upgraded turf unveiling ahead of the 2002 season.[9]

Players[]

Several notable U.S. Women's National Team stars made their pro debuts with the Charge, including defender Heather Mitts (2001-2003) and goalkeeper Hope Solo, who appeared in 8 matches as a rookie backup goalkeeper in 2003. Other notables included French international Marinette Pichon, who won the 2002 WUSA Most Valuable Player award for the Charge, and English star Kelly Smith.[10]

2003 Roster[11]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK United States USA
2 MF United States USA Lorrie Fair
3 FW United States USA Emily Burt
5 DF United States USA
6 DF United States USA Jenny Benson
7 MF Finland FIN Anne Makinen
8 FW England ENG Kelly Smith
9 MF Czech Republic CZE Pavlína Ščasná
10 FW United States USA
11 FW France FRA Marinette Pichon
No. Pos. Nation Player
12 MF United States USA
13 DF United States USA Heather Mitts
14 MF United States USA
15 MF United States USA
16 MF Germany GER Melanie Hoffmann
18 GK United States USA Hope Solo
19 DF United States USA
21 FW United States USA
22 MF United States USA
25 MF United States USA

Coach: Mark Krikorian

Year-by-year[]

Year League Regular Season P W D L Pts Playoffs Top Scorer Avg. Attendance
2001 WUSA 4th Place 21 9 4 8 31 Semi-Finals China Liu Ailing (10) 7,153
2002 WUSA 2nd Place 21 11 6 4 39 Semi-Finals France Marinette Pichon (14) 6,880
2003 WUSA 8th Place 21 5 5 11 20 Did Not Qualify France Marinette Pichon (14) 6,764

Source:[1]

Awards[]

In 2001, Philadelphia Charge player, Doris Fitschen was named WUSA Defender of the Year.[12]

In 2002, Philadelphia Charge player, Marinette Pichon was named WUSA's Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year and was the co-recipient with Mia Hamm for Goal of the Year for a scissor kick volley against the San Diego Spirit. Goalkeeper was awarded Goalkeeper of the Year and was named Rookie of the Year. Coach Mark Krikorian took the honor of WUSA Coach of the Year the same year.[13]

In 2003, the Charge was awarded the WUSA Team Fair Play Award and defender, Jenny Benson, was named WUSA Humanitarian of the Year.[14]

League Suspension[]

The Women's United Soccer Association announced on September 15, 2003 that it was suspending operations.[15][16]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Women's soccer in deals". CNNfn. April 10, 2000. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  2. ^ Trecker, Jerry (November 3, 2000). "Wusa: From Heat To Rays". Hartford Courant. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c John George (9 April 2002). "Women's soccer team ready to Charge". bizjournals.com. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "USA: SOCCER - INAUGURAL WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE ANNOUNCES TEAM NAMES, LOGOS". Reuters. 2 November 2000. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  5. ^ Mark Pukalo (20 November 2000). "KRIKORIAN TO TAKE CHARGE OF PHILADELPHIA FRANCHISE". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  6. ^ "WUSA Notes: Assistant coach and front-office hirings". SoccerAmerica. 1 February 2001. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Philadelphia's Pichon takes top honor in WUSA awards". usatoday.com. 22 August 2002. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Villanova Stadium". villanova.com. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  9. ^ "Charge Take Part in Villanova Turf Unveiling". oursportscentral.com. 3 April 2002. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  10. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-06-02. Retrieved 2012-07-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ "2003 Philadelphia Charge Roster". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  12. ^ "Power forward selected as first WUSA MVP". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  13. ^ "Philadelphia's Pichon takes top honor in WUSA awards". USA Today. 22 August 2002. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  14. ^ "Meinert wins most valuable player". USA Today. 21 August 2003. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  15. ^ Michaelis, Vicki (16 September 2003). "WUSA ceases operations after three years". USA Today. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  16. ^ "U.S. WNT Responds to Women's United Soccer Association Suspending Operations". US Soccer. Archived from the original on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.

External links[]

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