Philadelphia Charge

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.

Philadelphia Charge
FoundedApril 10, 2000[1]
Name established on
November 2, 2000[2]
DissolvedSeptember 15, 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

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]

The Philadelphia Charge conducting sports performance training at Aspiring Champions in King of Prussia, PA with certified sports trainers, Antonio Davis and Maine Prince. Both attending Penn State University and studied Exercise and Sports Science. Eventually after the team dissolved, Antonio Davis opened The Premiere Sports Academy in King of Prussia, PA. Sports Performance Trainer. Maine Prince, opened Philadelphia Sports Training Center in 2005, with his wife Justina Prince, a 2-time Academic All-American Soccer Player from Moravian University in Bethlehem, PA. The 85,000 square foot sports training facility located in Aston, PA was the premiere sports performance training facility for professional athletes, college athletes, high school athletes, and weekend warriors.[7] Until sold in 2011 for over one billion dollars and is now the largest movie studio in Pennsylvania called Sun Center Studios. [8] Following the sale of the building for Philadelphia Sports Training Center, Maine Prince opened a fulltime sports agency called Prince Management Group.[9] The Philadelphia Charge was the city of Philadelphia's most recognizable sports venture conceived by the late, Ed Snider, owner of Comcast (as well as owner of the Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia Sixers - at that time).

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.[10] 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][11] The Charge players, coaches and front office representatives took part in upgraded turf unveiling ahead of the 2002 season.[12]

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.[13]

2003 Roster[14]

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 Melissa Moore
2 MF United States USA Lorrie Fair
3 FW United States USA Emily Burt
5 DF United States USA Karyn Hall
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 Deliah Arrington
11 FW France FRA Marinette Pichon
No. Pos. Nation Player
12 MF United States USA Erin Misaki
13 DF United States USA Heather Mitts
14 MF United States USA Rachel Kruze
15 MF United States USA Stacey Tullock
16 MF Germany GER Melanie Hoffmann
18 GK United States USA Hope Solo
19 DF United States USA Alexa Borisjuk
21 FW United States USA Trina Maso de Moya
22 MF United States USA Mary McVeigh
25 MF United States USA Jennifer Tietjen-Prozzo

Coach: Mark Krikorian

Year-by-year
Year League Regular season P W D L Pts Playoffs Top scorer Avg. attendance
2001 WUSA 4th Place2194831 Semi-Finals China Liu Ailing (10) 7,153
2002 WUSA 2nd Place21116439 Semi-Finals France Marinette Pichon (14) 6,880
2003 WUSA 8th Place21551120 Did not qualify France Marinette Pichon (14) 6,764

Source:

Awards

In 2001, Philadelphia Charge player, Doris Fitschen was named WUSA Defender of the Year.[15]

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 Melissa Moore was awarded Goalkeeper of the Year and Stacey Tullock was named Rookie of the Year. Coach Mark Krikorian took the honor of WUSA Coach of the Year the same year.[16]

In 2003, the Charge was awarded the WUSA Team Fair Play Award and defender, Jenny Benson, was named WUSA Humanitarian of the Year.[17]

League Suspension

The Women's United Soccer Association announced on September 15, 2003 that it was suspending operations.[18][19]

See also

References
  1. "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. John George (April 9, 2002). "Women's soccer team ready to Charge". bizjournals.com. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  4. "USA: SOCCER - INAUGURAL WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE ANNOUNCES TEAM NAMES, LOGOS". Reuters. November 2, 2000. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  5. Mark Pukalo (November 20, 2000). "KRIKORIAN TO TAKE CHARGE OF PHILADELPHIA FRANCHISE". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  6. "WUSA Notes: Assistant coach and front-office hirings". SoccerAmerica. February 1, 2001. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  7. "phillysportstc.com - Smart casual and sporty style". phillysportstc.com. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  8. "SunCenter Studios".
  9. "Prince Management Group". princemanagementgroup.net. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  10. "Philadelphia's Pichon takes top honor in WUSA awards". usatoday.com. August 22, 2002. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  11. "Villanova Stadium". villanova.com. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  12. "Charge Take Part in Villanova Turf Unveiling". oursportscentral.com. April 3, 2002. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  13. "June 8, 2002 – Philadelphia Charge vs. Washington Freedom at Fun While It Lasted". Archived from the original on June 2, 2013. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  14. "2003 Philadelphia Charge Roster". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  15. "Power forward selected as first WUSA MVP". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  16. "Philadelphia's Pichon takes top honor in WUSA awards". USA Today. August 22, 2002. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  17. "Meinert wins most valuable player". USA Today. August 21, 2003. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  18. Michaelis, Vicki (September 16, 2003). "WUSA ceases operations after three years". USA Today. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  19. "U.S. WNT Responds to Women's United Soccer Association Suspending Operations". US Soccer. Archived from the original on July 27, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
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