Dagny Mellgren recorded her first WUSA hat trick and the Boston Breakers pulled again within three points of first-place Atlanta with a 3-1 victory Sunday over visiting Philadelphia before 5,060 at Nickerson Field.

Mellgren tallied in the 16th, 45th and 65th minutes — her eighth, ninth and 10th goals of the season — for the Breakers (7-4-4, 25 points), who are 4-1-2 in their past seven matches and unbeaten in their past four.

The Norwegian forward is the third player to score a hat trick against Philly this season, joining Washington's Abby Wambach and Atlanta's Cindy Parlow.

The last-place Charge (3-8-4, 13 points), its roster decimated by injuries, lost its third in a row and extended its winless streak to five games.

Philadelphia native Darci Borski, on a short-term ''supplemental'' contract with the Charge, ended Boston's shutout hopes with an 81st-minute goal. Fellow ''supplemental'' player Beth McNamara played 90 minutes for Philly.

Mellgren and Maren Meinert, who had an assist on Mellgren's second goal, joined injured Charge forward Marinette Pichon atop the WUSA scoring chart. All have 22 points.

SUNDAY'S SUMMARY

July 13 at Boston

Boston 3 Philadelphia 1. Goals: Mellgren (Monroe, Mugneret-Beghe) 16, Mellgren (Meinert, Kluegel) 45, Mellgren (Gulbrandsen) 65; Borski (Maso de Moya) 81.

Boston — LeBlanc; McCann, Hawkins, Aldama; Monroe; Mugneret-Beghe (O'Grady, 70), Popper (Gulbrandsen, 46), McDowell, Kluegel; Meinert, Mellgren.

Philadelphia — Moore; Kruze, McVeigh, Tietjen-Prozzo, Benson (Borski, 72); Makinen; Misaki, Tullock, McNamara; Burt (Hall, 64), Hoffmann (Maso de Moya, 56).

Yellow card — Philadelphia: Benson 60.

Referee — Todd Perry.

A — 5,060.

WUSA STANDINGS

Pl W-L-T Pts (GF-GA)
1. Atlanta 15 8-3-4 28 (30-13)
2. Boston 15 7-4-4 25 (25-24)
3. New York 16 7-7-2 23 (28-35)
4. Washington 14 6-5-3 21 (27-23)
5. San Diego 15 5-4-6 21 (21-20)
6. Carolina 15 5-7-3 18 (25-27)
7. San Jose 15 5-8-2 17 (17-20)
8. Philadelphia 15 3-8-4 13 (22-33)

THIS WEEK'S GAMES
Sunday, July 13
Boston 3 Philadelphia 1

Wednesday, July 9
Atlanta 2 San Diego 0
Washington 4 Philadelphia 2

Saturday, July 12
Atlanta 2 Washington 1
Carolina 1 New York 2

NEXT WEEK'S GAMES
Wednesday, July 16
Atlanta at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Washington at San Diego, 10 p.m.

Saturday, July 19
Atlanta at Boston, 4 p.m. (PAX TV)
New York at Washington, 6:30 p.m.
San Diego at Carolina, 7 p.m.

Sunday, July 20
Philadelphia at San Jose, 6 p.m.

All times Eastern

LEADING SCORERS

G-A–Pts
1. Maren Meinert (Boston) 8-6–22
Dagny Mellgren (Boston) 10-2–22
Marinette Pichon (Philadelphia) 10-2–22
3. Mia Hamm (Washington) 7-7–21
Charmaine Hooper (Atlanta) 7-7–21
Birgit Prinz (Carolina) 9-3–21
7. Danielle Fotopoulos (Carolina) 7-6–20
8. Maribel Dominguez (Atlanta) 7-4–18
Abby Wambach (Washington) 7-4–18
10. Julie Fleeting (San Diego) 7-3–17
11. Pretinha (San Jose) 5-5–15
12. Melanie Hoffmann (Philadelphia) 4-5–13
Tiffeny Milbrett (New York) 4-5–13
14. Christie Welsh (New York) 6-0–12
15 Conny Pohlers (Atlanta) 3-5–11
16. Christine Latham (San Diego) 4-2–10
Cindy Parlow (Atlanta) 3-4–10
Sissi (San Jose) 3-4–10
Stacey Tullock (Philadelphia) 3-4–10
20. Jacqui Little (Washington) 2-5–9
Lindsay Stoecker (Washington) 4-1–9
22. Abby Crumpton (Atlanta) 3-2–8
Krista Davey (New York) 3-2–8
Julie Foudy (San Jose) 3-2–8
Homare Sawa (Atlanta) 3-2–8
26. Shannon Boxx (New York) 0-7–7
Venus James (Carolina) 3-1–7
Emily Janss (New York) 3-1–7
Anita Rapp (New York) 2-3–7
Margaret Tietjen (New York) 1-5–7
Aly Wagner (San Diego) 2-3–7
32. Kelly Golebiowski (Washington) 2-2–6
Angela Hucles (Boston) 1-4–6
Katia (San Jose) 2-2–6
Joanne Peters (New York) 2-2–6
Zhang Ouying (San Diego) 1-4–6
37. Justi Baumgardt (New York) 1-3–5
Erin Baxter (Carolina) 2-1–5
Kylie Bivens (Atlanta) 1-3–5
Brandi Chastain (San Jose) 1-3–5
Unni Lehn (Carolina) 0-5–5
Lori Lindsey (Washington) 2-1–5
Shannon MacMillan (San Diego) 1-3–5
Jaclyn Raveia (New York) 2-1–5
Cheryl Salisbury (New York) 2-1–5
Allie Sullivan (San Diego) 1-3–5
Tisha Venturini-Hoch (San Jose) 2-1–5
48. Danielle Borgman (Carolina) 2-0–4
Nel Fettig (Carolina) 1-2–4
Monica Gonzalez (Boston) 1-2–4
Steffi Jones (Washington) 1-2–4
Jena Kluegel (Boston) 0-4–4
Mary-Frances Monroe (Philadelphia) 1-2–4
Tammy Pearman (New York) 1-2–4
Keri Sanchez (San Jose) 1-2–4
Nikki Serlenga (Atlanta) 1-2–4

Goals
1. Dagny Mellgren (Boston) 10
Marinette Pichon (Philadelphia) 10
3. Birgit Prinz (Carolina) 9
4. Maren Meinert (Boston) 8
5. Maribel Dominguez (Atlanta) 7
Julie Fleeting (San Diego) 7
Danielle Fotopoulos (Carolina) 7
Mia Hamm (Washington) 7
Charmaine Hooper (Atlanta) 7
Abby Wambach (Washington) 7

Assists
1. Shannon Boxx (New York) 7
Mia Hamm (Washington) 7
Charmaine Hooper (Atlanta) 7
4. Danielle Fotopoulos (Carolina) 6
Maren Meinert (Boston) 6
6. Melanie Hoffman (Philadelphia) 5
Unni Lehn (Carolina) 5
Jacqui Little (Washington) 5
Tiffeny Milbrett (New York) 5
Pretinha (San Jose) 5
Margaret Tietjen (New York) 5