Charge Lose Pichon in 1-1 Tie

(VILLANOVA)---The Philadelphia Charge were dealt a devastating blow in an already frustrating season, losing 2002 WUSA MVP Marinette Pichon in the game’s final minutes en route to a 1-1 tie against the San Diego Spirit.

The Philadelphia Charge, struggling for offense with the early season loss of Kelly Smith, now must find away to account for the absence of Pichon. With ten of the team’s nineteen goals, the team will look for Melanie Hoffman (3G, 5A) and Stacey Tullock (1G, 4A) to pick up the slack.

But Pichon does more than just score; her tenacious style of play forces teams to mark one of the league’s marquee players which frees up space on the field for her teammates.

Tullock, the beneficiary of Pichon’s presence, had four shots tonight, including the team’s only goal in extra time.

I just had to time my run and I timed it pretty well and put it away, said Tullock on scoring her second goal of the season and one of the few not scored by Pichon.

The play started with Rachel Kruse getting the ball at the 30 yard line, finding late-game susbstitute, Trina Maso de Moya in the box. Her perfect service to Tullock knotted the score as Pichon was being wheeled off at the other end of the field.

Mark Krikorian’s game plan tonight was to get Tullock more touches in hopes of generating offense and the Charge head coach was pleased with the end result.

Stacey is very good on the ball and the more she and Anne (Makinen) have the ball, the better off we are…particularly in the second half, said Krikorian.

They played man-to-man and our tactic was to run at them, said Tullock. That forces them to make a decision which opens up space for both Pichon and Melanie (Hoffman).

The early report from the hospital was that Pichon had a lower back contusion. Her status for Wednesday’s game against Washington is unknown and she will undergo re-evaluation in the morning.

Anytime you lose one of your players it is cause for concern, said Charge Head Coach Mark Krikorian, who has a stronger team on the injury list than on the field.

Christine Latham broke the deadlock in the game’s 80th minute. For Latham, (4G, 2A), it was her third goal in the last two games. My team is just working hard and giving me good balls to finish…good services make it real easy to score, said Latham who has accounted for her team’s last three goals in the same period.

The Philadelphia Charge, desperately needing a win if they hope to salvage a disappointing season, missed an opportunity to narrow the distance between them and seventh-place San Jose. The team must now play three games against the league’s top teams in the course of 11 days.

For Krikorian and the Charge, the question remains; how do you overcome the physical and psychological loss of a player of Pichon’s caliber.

SCOREBOARD:
	1	2	F
SD	0	1	1
PHL	0	1	1

SCORING: 1. SD Latham (Fawcett, Sullivan) 80th minute, 2. PHL Tullock (Maso de Mayo, Kruse) 92 + minute.

SHOTS:
	1	2	F
SD	5	6	11
PHL	5	9	14

SHOTS ON GOAL:
	1	2	F
SD	1	4	5
PHL	0	4	4

FOULS:
	1	2	F
SD	7	5	12
PHL	8	1	9

CORNER KICKS:
	1	2	F
SD	0	1	1
PHL	1	3	4

OFFSIDE:
	1	2	F
SD	4	4	8
PHL	0	2	2

INJURY LIST:

OUT: PHL: Kelly Smith (right knee); Deliah Arrington (right knee); Heather Mitts (tibia fracture); Alexa Borisjuk (hamstring); Pavlina Scasna (left foot); Erin Misaki )right groin). SD: Shannon MacMilllan.

GAME OFFICIALS:
Referee: Misail Tsapos
Referee’s Assistant: Melanie Johnson
Referee’s Assistant: Standord Nagle
4th Official: Martha Sinclair

ATTENDANCE: 8,602

NOTES:

1. The San Diego Spirit is 13-1-7 when scoring first; 10-0-4 when leading at the half, and 13-0-0 when leading at the 75th minute.