The Philadelphia Charge was an American women's professional soccer team that played in the

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Un ...

. The team played at

Villanova Stadium Villanova Stadium is a 12,500 seat stadium located on the campus of Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA. History Villanova Stadium was originally built in 1927 and dedicated on October 8, 1927. The stadium plays host to a wide va ...

on the campus of

Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Penns ...

near

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

History

In spring of 2000, the newly formed

(WUSA) announced eight cities were granted franchises to start the league, including

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. Most of the inaugural teams were owned by major media companies, with the new Philadelphia club operated by locally headquartered

Comcast Corporation Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

who invested an initial $5 million into WUSA. In November 2000, the club's name and logo was officially announced as the Philadelphia Charge and would play home matches at

. The logo for the Charge incorporated the Comcast Corp. "C" as part of its marketing efforts. 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. By late 2000, the Charge had announced that

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. The university attracts students from 48 states and 43 countries. The university and it ...

women's soccer coach, Mark Krikorian, would be appointed the first head coach of the team. Prior to the start of the season, Krikorian would bring on former Swedish international

Pia Sundhage Pia Mariane Sundhage (, born 13 February 1960) is a Swedish football manager and former professional player. She is the head coach of the Brazil women's national team. As a player, Sundhage played most of her career as a forward and retired a ...

and John Natale as assistant coaches.

2001 season

The Charge would begin their first campaign lead by American forward

Lorrie Fair Lorraine Ming Fair (born August 5, 1978) is a retired American professional soccer midfielder who was a member of the World Cup Champion United States national soccer team. Over the span of ten years, she was a part of one World Cup Team and ...

, German defender

Doris Fitschen Doris Fitschen (born 25 October 1968) is a German former footballer who played as a midfielder. Together with Martina Voss and Silvia Neid, she is considered the most successful German women's footballer, having won seven national titles and s ...

, and English forward

Kelly Smith Kelly Jayne Smith (born 29 October 1978) is an English former football forward who spent three spells with FA WSL club Arsenal Ladies. After moving to the United States, Smith broke records with Seton Hall University then played professionall ...

. Finishing the inaugural season in fourth, the Charge advanced to the WUSA semi-final playoff match, losing to Atlanta Beat 3–2.

2002 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 Marinette Pichon (born 26 November 1975) is a French former football player. Biography Pichon had a dysfunctional childhood with an alcoholic father. Career She started her career at Saint-Memmie Olympique, then signed on to the Women's ...

, who lead the team in scoring and earning Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year awards. Similar to the first season, the Charge lost in the semi-finals, this time to

Washington Freedom Washington Freedom was an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Germantown, Maryland, that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The Freedom was founded in 2001 as a member of the defunct Women's Uni ...

. Mark Krikorian also won WUSA Coach of the Year honors from the successful regular season.

2003 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 A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

goalkeeper,

Hope Solo Hope Amelia Stevens (; born July 30, 1981) is an American former soccer goalkeeper. She was a goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team from 2000 to 2016, and is a World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Afte ...

, who made her professional debut in the Charge's first win of the season at

New York Power The New York Power was an American professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first professional soccer league for women in the United States. The team played at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondal ...

Stadium

The Charged played all their home matches at

, located in

Villanova, Pennsylvania Villanova is a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It straddles Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County and Radnor Township in Delaware County. It is located at the center of the Philadelphia Main Line, a series of Philadelphia suburbs l ...

. The 12,500 capacity stadium was the only WUSA stadium utilizing artificial turf. The Charge players, coaches and front office representatives took part in upgraded turf unveiling ahead of the 2002 season.

Players

Several notable U.S. Women's National Team stars made their pro debuts with the Charge, including defender

Heather Mitts Heather Mitts Feeley (born Heather Blaine Mitts; June 9, 1978) is an American former professional soccer defender. Mitts played college soccer for the University of Florida, and thereafter, she played professionally in the Women's Professional ...

(2001-2003) and goalkeeper

, who appeared in 8 matches as a rookie backup goalkeeper in 2003. Other notables included French international

, who won the 2002 WUSA Most Valuable Player award for the Charge, and English star

. 2003 Roster Coach: Mark Krikorian

Year-by-year

Sourc

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Awards

In 2001, Philadelphia Charge player,

was named WUSA Defender of the Year. In 2002, Philadelphia Charge player,

was named WUSA's Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year and was the co-recipient with

Mia Hamm Mariel Margaret Hamm-Garciaparra (; born March 17, 1972) is an American retired professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Hailed as a soccer icon, she played as a forward for the ...

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

League Suspension

The

announced on September 15, 2003 that it was suspending operations.

References

External links

Philadelphia Charge website (archive.org)
{{Women's United Soccer Association Defunct soccer clubs in Pennsylvania Women's soccer clubs in the United States

Charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

C Soccer clubs in Pennsylvania Women's United Soccer Association teams 2000 establishments in Pennsylvania 2003 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Association football clubs disestablished in 2003 Association football clubs established in 2000