Pichon Named WUSA Player Of Month For June

Philadelphia Charge forward Marinette Pichon was named the WUSA Player of the Month for June on Wednesday. Pichon had five goals and one assist for a league best 11 points in the month. She tallied 29 points in the voting on 14 first-place votes and one second-place vote.

Pichon, the reigning WUSA MVP and Offensive Player of the Year, started her scoring spree with a goal on June 7 in a 2-1 Charge win over San Diego. After a scoreless draw against New York on June 11, she tallied another goal and applied the pressure that led to an own goal, as Philadelphia again beat San Diego, 2-0, on June 14. The Frenchwoman added a goal and an assist in a 4-2 loss to the Atlanta Beat on June 22, and then rounded out her award-winning month with both goals in a 2-2 tie versus Boston on June 28.

This is the first time this season that Pichon has taken home the player of the month award. She was also the league's Player of the Month for June 2002.

Pichon has a league-leading 10 goals and 22 points this season. She has a three-game goal-scoring streak, in which she has nine points (4g, 1a). Pichon recorded two consecutive three-plus-point performances during five games in June, and hit the 20-goal mark for her career at the beginning of the month. She became the 10th player in WUSA history to reach the 50-point plateau, tying New York's Tiffeny Milbrett for the fewest games needed to reach the milestone (29 games), until Carolina's Birgit Prinz accomplished the feat later that day in only 27 matches. She is fifth all-time in the WUSA in goals scored (24), is the only player in Charge history to record 10-or-more goals in two consecutive seasons.

In addition, with just six more goals over the next nine games, Pichon would tie Milbrett's single-season goal-scoring record of 16 set in 2001. Thirteen more points would also tie her with Katia for the single-season points record of 36 set in 2002.

Pichon outdistanced Julie Fleeting of San Diego by 17 points to capture the player of the month honor. Fleeting finished with three first-place and six second-place votes for 12 points. Boston's Karina LeBlanc, Washington's Mia Hamm, New York's Shannon Boxx, Atlanta's Cindy Parlow and San Jose's Pretinha also received consideration for the honor.

The Charge take the field again this Saturday, July 5 at 7 p.m. when they host the San Diego Spirit. The contest will feature a number of players who have a chance at the U.S. national team roster, including San Diego's Julie Foudy, Aly Wagner and Jamie Pagliarulo. After the game the Charge will host a fireworks show courtesy of The Lincoln Financial Group. For ticket information call 215-467-GOAL or log onto PhiladelphiaCharge.com for more information.