2009 USL W-League season

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USL W-League
Season2009
ChampionsPali Blues
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The 2009 W-League Season was the league's 15th. The regular season began on May 8 with the Hampton Roads Piranhas defeating the Charlotte Lady Eagles 2–1 in Charlotte. The season ended with 10 games on July 19. The playoffs began on July 22 and ended on August 7.

Pali Blues repeated as W-League champions, defeating the Washington Freedom Reserves in come-from-behind fashion 2–1, which was also how they had won their previous title. Iris Mora was named the Playoffs MVP.

FC Indiana's Laura del Río finished with the most points (40) and goals (18), while her teammate Monica Ocampo led the league in assists (11). Shannon Lynn, also of FC Indiana, led the league in GAA (0.116) and shutouts (10), and only allowed 2 goals the entire regular season.[1]

Changes from 2008 season[]

Name Changes[]

Six teams changed their name in the off-season:

Team Name Metro Area Previous Name
North Carolina Cary Lady Clarets Research Triangle area Carolina RailHawks Women
Illinois Chicago Red Eleven Chicago area Chicago Gaels
Colorado Colorado Force Fort Collins area Fort Collins Force
New Jersey Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues northern New Jersey area Jersey Sky Blue
New York (state) Rochester Ravens Rochester area Rochester Rhinos Women
Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom Reserves Washington, D.C. area Washington Freedom

Expansion Teams[]

Two teams were added for the season:

Team Name Metro Area Location Previous Affiliation
New York (state) Buffalo Flash Buffalo area Buffalo, NY expansion
Quebec Quebec City Amiral SC Quebec City area Quebec City, QC expansion

Teams Leaving[]

Six teams folded after the 2008 season:

Jersey Sky Blue and Washington Freedom both have expansion teams in Women's Professional Soccer. Washington have chosen to keep their reserve squad in the W-League, while Jersey has sold the rights to their W-League team to New York-based , which became Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues.[2]

Standings[]

Orange indicates W-League title and bye into W-League semifinals.
Purple indicates division title clinched
Green indicates playoff berth clinched

Central Conference[]

Great Lakes Division[]

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 Ottawa Fury Women 14 11 1 2 40 9 +31 35
2 Buffalo Flash 14 9 2 3 40 10 +30 30
3 Quebec City Amiral SC 14 9 4 1 29 17 +12 28
4 Toronto Lady Lynx 14 6 4 4 25 17 +8 22
5 Laval Comets 13 7 5 1 21 14 +7 22
6 London Gryphons 14 3 9 2 23 33 −10 11
7 Hamilton Avalanche 14 3 9 2 14 35 −21 11
8 Rochester Ravens 14 0 13 1 5 61 −56 1
Source:[citation needed]

Midwest Division[]

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 FC Indiana 12 10 0 2 63 2 +61 32
2 Chicago Red Eleven 12 10 1 1 37 6 +31 31
3 Minnesota Lightning 12 7 3 2 37 11 +26 23
4 Cleveland Internationals Women 12 4 6 2 15 28 −13 14
5 Fort Wayne Fever 12 3 7 2 19 40 −21 11
6 Kalamazoo Outrage 12 2 8 2 11 39 −28 8
7 West Michigan Firewomen 11 0 10 1 5 61 −56 1
Source:[citation needed]

Eastern Conference[]

Atlantic Division[]

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 Atlanta Silverbacks Women 12 10 1 1 24 3 +21 31
2 Tampa Bay Hellenic 12 8 1 3 24 7 +17 27
3 Charlotte Lady Eagles 12 6 3 3 19 13 +6 21
4 Hampton Roads Piranhas 12 6 6 0 24 18 +6 18
5 Cary Lady Clarets 12 5 6 1 24 23 +1 16
6 Northern Virginia Majestics 12 1 10 1 3 21 −18 4
7 Richmond Kickers Destiny 12 1 10 1 8 41 −33 4
Source:[citation needed]

Northeast Division[]

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues 14 12 0 2 40 9 +31 38
2 Washington Freedom Reserves 14 12 1 1 49 9 +40 37
3 Boston Renegades[a] 14 7 3 4 35 16 +19 25
4 Long Island Rough Riders 14 6 7 1 28 26 +2 19
5 New Jersey Wildcats 14 6 7 1 17 23 −6 19
6 Connecticut Passion 14 4 8 2 20 33 −13 14
7 New York Magic 15 1 11 3 8 45 −37 6
8 Western Mass Lady Pioneers 14 1 13 0 8 44 −36 0[b]
Source:[citation needed]
Notes:
  1. ^ The Boston Renegades qualified for the Eastern Conference playoffs but declined to participate, so the Charlotte Lady Eagles joined as the next most qualified team.
  2. ^ Western Mass forfeited a 1–0 victory to New York due to an ineligible player, and was docked an additional three points.

Western Conference[]

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 Pali Blues 12 9 0 3 25 9 +16 30
2 Colorado Force 12 4 2 6 16 13 +3 18
3 Real Colorado Cougars 12 4 5 3 16 15 +1 15
4 Seattle Sounders Women 12 3 3 6 12 15 −3 15
5 Vancouver Whitecaps Women 12 3 4 5 15 19 −4 14
6 Ventura County Fusion 12 2 5 5 13 22 −9 11
7 Los Angeles Legends 12 2 7 3 15 20 −5 9
Source: [3]

Playoffs[]

Format[]

The Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues earned a bye directly to the W-League Semifinals. The Washington Freedom Reserves were moved into the top spot in the Northeast Division, and the Charlotte Lady Eagles received the division's second playoff spot (the Boston Renegades were the original holders of the second spot, but declined to enter).

The Central Conference will have 5 playoff spots. The second and third place teams from the Great Lakes Division will play each other. The winner will play the Midwest Division champions, while the Great Lakes Division champion will play the second place team of the Midwest Division. The winners of those games will play to determine the conference champion. The Eastern Conference division champions will play the second place team of the opposite division, the winners facing off to determine who goes to the W-League Semifinals. The Western Conference will have their top two teams facing off to determine their conference champion.

The W-League Semifinals will put the regular season champion against the lowest seeded conference champion, and the higher-ranked conference champions against each other. The winners of these games will play in the championship, while the losers will play in the Third Place game.

Conference Brackets[]

Central Conference

Central Divisional Round Central Semifinals Central Championship
MW1 Indiana FC Indiana 3
GL2 New York (state) Buffalo Flash 5 GL2 New York (state) Buffalo Flash 0
GL3 Quebec Quebec City Amiral SC 0 MW1 Indiana FC Indiana 1
GL1 Ontario Ottawa Fury Women 2
GL1 Ontario Ottawa Fury Women 4
MW2 Illinois Chicago Red Eleven 2

Eastern Conference

Eastern Semifinals Eastern Championship
      
NE1 Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom Reserves 2
AT2 Florida Tampa Bay Hellenic 1
NE1 Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom Reserves 2
NE2 North Carolina Charlotte Lady Eagles 1
AT1 Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta Silverbacks Women 1
NE2 North Carolina Charlotte Lady Eagles 2

Western Conference

Western Finals
   
W1 California Pali Blues 5
W2 Colorado Colorado Force 2

W-League Championship Bracket[]

Semifinal Championship
      
NE1 Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom Reserves (AET/PSO) 0 (3)
GL1 Ontario Ottawa Fury Women 0 (1)
NE1 Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom Reserves 1
W1 California Pali Blues 2
WL New York (state) Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues 0
W1 California Pali Blues 4

Divisional Round[]

Quebec Quebec City Arsenal0–5New York (state) Buffalo Flash
Report Ruiz Goal 26'
Sutton Goal 34' Goal 60'
Yellow card 44'
Goal 79'
Goal 81'
Orchard Park High School Field
Orchard Park, New York
Attendance: 500

Conference Semifinals[]

Florida Tampa Bay Hellenic1–2Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom Reserves
Goal 58' (Report) Goal 42'
Goal 67'
RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium
Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 82
Referee: Patrick Baker (USA)
Illinois Chicago Red Eleven2–4Ontario Ottawa Fury Women
Davison Goal 11'
Goal 90'		 Goal 20'
Hearn Goal 31' Goal 76' Goal 82'
Jefferson High School
Lafayette, Indiana
Referee: (USA)
North Carolina Charlotte Lady Eagles2–1Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta Silverbacks Women
Goal 85' Goal 88' (Report) Goal 76'
Yellow card 84'
Yellow card 90'
RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium
Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 917
Referee: Mark Cleland (USA)
New York (state) Buffalo Flash0–3Indiana FC Indiana
Yellow card 45' Leyva Goal 13' Goal 45' (PK)
Del Rio Goal 26'
Jefferson High School
Lafayette, Indiana
Referee: (USA)

Conference Finals[]

North Carolina Charlotte Lady Eagles1–2Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom Reserves
Goal 25'
Yellow card 79'		 (Report) Goal 76'
Goal 85'
RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium
Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 114
Referee: Serdar Ertep (USA)
Colorado Colorado Force2–5California Pali Blues
Marshall Goal 60' Goal 72' (Report) Press Goal 11' Goal 75'
Mora Yellow card 67' Goal 90' Goal 90+'
O'Hara Goal 88'
Stadium by the Sea
Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 342
Referee: Felisha Mariscal (USA)
Ontario Ottawa Fury Women2–1Indiana FC Indiana
Goal 20' (OG)
Goal 76' (OG)		 Goal 11'
Jefferson High School
Lafayette, Indiana
Referee: (USA)

W-League Semifinals[]

California Pali Blues4–0New York (state) Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues
Taylor Goal 14'
Mora Goal 45'
O'Hara Goal 50'
Cheney Goal 65' Yellow card 69'		 (Report) Gunning Yellow card 75'
Newburgh Free Academy Stadium
Newburgh, New York
Attendance: 1,007
Referee: Edwin Cespedas (USA)
Ontario Ottawa Fury Women0 – 0
AET		Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom Reserves
Romagnuolo Yellow card 32'
Percival Yellow card 47'
Yellow card 50'		 (Report)
Penalties
Moorwood Penalty scored
Percival Penalty missed
Wetzel Penalty missed
Penalty missed		 1–3 Penalty scored
Penalty scored Toulouse
Penalty scored
Maryland SoccerPlex
Germantown, Maryland
Referee: Dean Fairweather (USA)

W-League Championship[]

California Pali Blues2–1Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom Reserves
Yellow card 14' Goal 37'
Mora Goal 86'		 Goal 14'
Maryland SoccerPlex
Germantown, Maryland
Referee: (USA)

Awards[]

The finalists for W-League MVP, U19 Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Defender of the Year were announced on August 3, 2009, with the winners to be announced on August 5. The Goalkeeper of the Year was announced on August 3.[4]

Most Valuable Player Finalists[]

U19 Player of the Year Finalists[]

Defender of the Year Finalists[]

Goalkeeper of the Year[]

Coach of the Year Finalists[]

All-League and All-Conference Teams[]

Central Conference[]

F: Laura del Río*, IND; Amber Hearn*, OTT; , MIN
M: Gemma Davison*, CHI; , OTT; Fatima Leyva, IND; Rosa Tantillo*, BUF
D: Jenny Jeffers, CHI; Ria Percival*, OTT; Clare Rustad, TOR
G: Shannon Lynn, IND
Honorable Mention: , D, FW; , D, CLE; Christina Julien, F, LAV; , F, QC; Heather MacDougall, M, HAM; , M, WMi; , M, KAL; , G, LON; , D, ROC

Eastern Conference[]

F: *, HV; , WAS; , WAS
M: , CHA; , CHA; , ATL
D: , BOS; Ashleigh Gunning*, HV; , TB; Brittany Taylor*, HV
G: Michelle Betos*, ATL
Honorable Mention: , G, NV; , M, LI; Shaneka Gordon, F, ; Robyn Jones, G, NJ; , M, NY; , M, WMa; , F, & , F, CON; , D, RIC

Western Conference[]

F: Iris Mora, PAL; Jodi Ann Robinson, VAN
M: Michelle French*, SEA; Tobin Heath, PAL; Nikki Marshall, COL; Carmelina Moscato, VAN; Nikki Washington*, PAL
D: , LA; Kelli Smith, SEA; , PAL
G: Katie Hultin, SEA
Honorable Mention: Kay Hawke, G, VEN, Taryn Hemmings, M, RC

* denotes All-League selections. [4]

See also[]

  • United Soccer Leagues 2009
  • 2009 PDL Season

Source website[]

USL historical stats

References[]

  1. ^ "PDL, W-League Statistical Honors Announced". Archived from the original on 2009-08-02. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  2. ^ "Quickstrike acquires Sky Blue franchise". Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  3. ^ http://www.uslsoccer.com/schedules/2009/13598774.html Archived 2010-09-13 at the Wayback Machine 2009 W-league standings
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "W-League All-League Teams unveiled". Archived from the original on 2009-08-17. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
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