2004 USL W-League season

The 2004 W-League Season was the league's 10th. The Vancouver Whitecaps Women won the W-League title, defeating the New Jersey Wildcats 4-2 in Ottawa.

USL W-League
Season2004
ChampionsVancouver Whitecaps Women
← 2003
2005 →

Changes from 2003 season

Name changes

One team changed their name in the off-season:

Team Name Metro Area Previous Name
North Carolina Carolina Dynamo Greensboro area Greensboro Twisters

Expansion teams

Fourteen teams were added for the season:

Team Name Metro Area Location Previous Affiliation
Florida Bradenton Athletics Sun Coast area Bradenton, FL expansion
Alberta Calgary Wildfire Calgary area Calgary, AB expansion
Ohio Cleveland Internationals Women Cleveland area Cleveland, CA expansion
Michigan Detroit Jaguars Detroit area Livonia, ON expansion
Alberta Edmonton Aviators Women Edmonton area Edmonton, AB expansion
Indiana Fort Wayne Fever Fort Wayne area Fort Wayne, IN expansion
Ontario London Gryphons London area London, ON expansion
Quebec Montreal Xtreme Montreal area Montreal, QC expansion
Rhode Island Rhode Island Stingrays Providence area Providence, RI WPSL
Virginia Richmond Kickers Destiny Richmond area Richmond, VA expansion
Missouri St. Louis Archers St. Louis area St. Louis, MO expansion
Ontario Sudbury Canadians Sudbury area Sudbury, ON expansion
Massachusetts Western Mass Lady Pioneers Springfield area Ludlow, MA expansion
Michigan West Michigan Firewomen Grand Rapids area Grand Rapids, MI expansion

Teams leaving

Two teams folded after the 2004 season:

Standings

Orange indicates bye into W-League semifinals as host.
Blue indicates division title clinched
Green indicates playoff berth clinched

Atlantic Division
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 Hampton Roads Piranhas 14 12 1 1 30 8 +22 37
2 Charlotte Lady Eagles 14 11 2 1 45 16 +29 34
3 Asheville Splash 14 7 4 3 32 13 +19 24
4 Richmond Kickers Destiny 14 5 7 2 32 29 +3 17
5 Carolina Dynamo Women 14 5 8 1 24 35 −11 16
6 Northern Virginia Majestics 14 2 11 1 17 44 −27 7
7 Bradenton Athletics 14 2 11 1 18 53 −35 7
Source:

Midwest Division
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 Chicago Cobras 13 12 0 1 42 12 +30 37
2 Fort Wayne Fever 13 10 2 1 48 16 +32 31
3 Detroit Jaguars 13 8 5 0 33 18 +15 24
4 Cleveland Internationals Women 13 7 6 0 27 16 +11 21
5 Cincinnati Ladyhawks 13 4 9 0 14 28 −14 12
6 Windy City Bluez 13 4 9 0 21 39 −18 12
7 West Michigan Firewomen 13 1 12 0 6 36 −30 3
8 London Gryphons[lower-alpha 1] 3 1 2 0 4 16 −12 3
9 St. Louis Archers[lower-alpha 1] 2 0 2 0 18 45 −27 0
Source:
Notes:
  1. St. Louis folded after two games, and London played three games as an associate member.

New England Division
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 Boston Renegades 14 10 4 0 56 28 +28 30
2 Western Mass Lady Pioneers 14 7 7 0 30 23 +7 21
3 New Hampshire Lady Phantoms 14 3 11 0 13 40 −27 9
4 Rhode Island Stingrays 14 2 12 0 10 68 −58 6
Source:

North Central Division
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 Ottawa Fury Women 14 13 1 0 68 7 +61 39
2 Montreal Xtreme 14 11 3 0 57 19 +38 33
3 Rochester Ravens 14 8 6 0 33 26 +7 24
4 Toronto Inferno 14 3 11 0 13 38 −25 9
5 Sudbury Canadians 14 1 13 0 15 77 −62 3
Source:

Northeast Division
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 New Jersey Wildcats 14 14 0 0 76 5 +71 42
2 Long Island Lady Riders 14 11 3 0 48 29 +19 33
3 New Jersey Lady Stallions 14 10 4 0 44 22 +22 30
4 New York Magic 14 3 11 0 13 47 −34 9
5 South Jersey Banshees 14 2 12 0 13 65 −52 6
Source:

Western Conference
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 Vancouver Whitecaps Women 14 13 0 1 57 11 +46 40
2 Seattle Sounders Women 14 11 2 1 44 12 +32 34
3 Edmonton Aviators Women 14 7 5 2 21 16 +5 23
4 Denver Lady Cougars 14 6 7 1 24 25 −1 19
5 Arizona Heatwave 14 6 7 1 25 36 −11 19
6 Mile High Mustangs 14 4 7 3 18 34 −16 15
7 Calgary Wildfire 14 2 12 0 13 41 −28 6
8 Fort Collins Force 14 1 10 3 18 45 −27 6
Source:

Playoffs

Format

Seven teams each from the Eastern Conference, four teams from the Central Conference and two from the Western Conference qualify for the playoffs. The Ottawa Fury Women received a bye into the W-League semifinals as hosts. All matchups are in a one-leg format.

In the Central Conference, the Division champions play the second-place team from the same division, who will play each other to advance to the W-League Semifinals.

In the Eastern Conference, the top two teams in each division play each other, except for the Division champion with the best record, that receives a bye to the Conference Semifinals, and Ottawa, who has a bye to the W-League Semifinals. The team with the worst record in the Conference Semifinals plays the team with the Divisional Finals bye, and the other two teams play each other. The winners play to advance to the W-League Semifinals.

The two teams in the Western Conference will play each other to advance to the W-League Semifinals.

Conference Brackets

Central Conference

Divisional Finals Central Finals
      
MW1 Illinois Chicago Cobras 3
MW2 Indiana Fort Wayne Fever 2
MW Illinois Chicago Cobras (AET) 3
A2 North Carolina Charlotte Lady Eagles 2
A1 Virginia Hampton Roads Piranhas 0
A2 North Carolina Charlotte Lady Eagles 2

Eastern Conference

Division Finals Eastern Semifinals Eastern Championship
         
NE1 New Jersey New Jersey Wildcats 2
NWE1 Massachusetts Boston Renegades 0
NWE1 Massachusetts Boston Renegades (AET) 1
NWE2 Massachusetts Western Mass Lady Pioneers 0
NE1 New Jersey New Jersey Wildcats 6
NC1 Quebec Montreal Xtreme 5
NC1 Quebec Montreal Xtreme 3
NC2 New York (state) Rochester Ravens 0
NC1 Quebec Montreal Xtreme (AET) 6
NE2 New York (state) Long Island Lady Riders 5
NE2 New York (state) Long Island Lady Riders (AET) 1
NE3 New Jersey New Jersey Lady Stallions 0

Western Conference

Western Finals
   
W1 British Columbia Vancouver Whitecaps Women 1
W2 Washington (state) Seattle Sounders Women 0

W-League Championship Bracket
Semifinals Championship
      
H Ontario Ottawa Fury Women 1
NE1 New Jersey New Jersey Wildcats 2
NE1 New Jersey New Jersey Wildcats (AET/PK) 0 (2)
W1 British Columbia Vancouver Whitecaps Women 0 (4)
W1 British Columbia Vancouver Whitecaps Women 2
MW1 Illinois Chicago Cobras 1 Third Place
H Ontario Ottawa Fury Women 1
MW1 Illinois Chicago Cobras 0

Divisional Round
Massachusetts Western Mass Lady Pioneers0 - 1
(AET)		Massachusetts Boston Renegades
Report Welcome 104'
Bowditch Stadium
Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 400
Referee: Niko Bratsis (USA)
New York (state) Rochester Lady Rhinos0 - 3Quebec Montreal Xtreme
Vieira Yellow card 14' Report Bilodeau Yellow card 41'
Morneau 45'
Le Palme 51'
Holland 81'
Attendance: 647
Referee: Carole Anne Chenara (USA)
New Jersey New Jersey Lady Stallions0 - 1
(AET)		New York (state) Long Island Lady Riders
Report Stansfield Yellow card 44'
Prinzevalli Yellow card 90'
Shulman 104'
Attendance: 1,865
Referee: Richard Sanchez (USA)

Conference semifinals
North Carolina Charlotte Lady Eagles2 - 0Virginia Hampton Roads Piranhas
Okosieme 19'
Swinehart 63'		 Report
Attendance: 565
Referee: Scott Johnson (USA)
Indiana Fort Wayne Fever2–3Illinois Chicago Cobras
Cinalli 45' Yellow card 68'
Boland 85' (PK)		 Report Graczyk 21' 41'
Lindenmuth 67'
Mooseheart Memorial Stadium
Mooseheart, Illinois
Attendance: 390
Quebec Montreal Xtreme5 - 4
(AET)		New York (state) Long Island Lady Riders
Lesage 6' 17'
Vanderpool 41' 57'
Bilodeau Yellow card 69'
None Yellow card 77'
Pinard 117'		 Report McCabe 4'
Mustonen 8'
O'Brien 26'
Stansfield 35'
DeCristoforo Yellow card 63'
Mullen Yellow card 74'
Attendance: 676
Referee: Teri O'Connor (USA)
Massachusetts Boston Renegades0 - 2New Jersey New Jersey Wildcats
Munoz Yellow card 25'
Frederick Yellow card 39'		 Report Makinen 18' 55' (PK)
Attendance: 676
Referee: John Schleckman

Conference finals
Washington (state) Seattle Sounders Women0 - 1British Columbia Vancouver Whitecaps Women
Report Franko 45'
Neil Yellow card 90'
Attendance: 3,886
Referee: Jill Proctor (USA)
North Carolina Charlotte Lady Eagles1 - 2
(AET)		Illinois Chicago Cobras
Cooper 26' (OG) Report Bogus 81'
Schneider Yellow card 85'
B. Cooper 100'
Mooseheart Memorial Stadium
Mooseheart, Illinois
Attendance: 110
Referee: Victor Herrera (USA)
Quebec Montreal Xtreme5 - 6New Jersey New Jersey Wildcats
Walsh 45'
Vaillancourt 47' 55' 90'
Pinard Yellow card 48'
Hemsley 66'		 Report Pichon 16' 21' 44' Yellow card 79' 85' 89'
Makoski 65'
Attendance: 645
Referee: Hossam Saad (USA)

W-League Semifinals
New Jersey New Jersey Wildcats2 - 1Ontario Ottawa Fury Women
Pichon 35' (PK), 68'
Makoski Yellow card 45'
MacNamara Yellow card 72'
J. Willis Yellow card 82'		 Report Matheson Red card 32'
Robinson 83' (PK)
Attendance: 850
Illinois Chicago Cobras1 - 2British Columbia Vancouver Whitecaps Women
Janss 68' Report Neil 53'
Allen 58'
Attendance: 850

W-League Third Place
Illinois Chicago Cobras0 - 1Ontario Ottawa Fury Women
Report Vermeulen 11'

W-League Finals
New Jersey New Jersey Wildcats0 - 0British Columbia Vancouver Whitecaps Women
Report
Penalties
Makinen soccer ball with red X
Pichon soccer ball with red X
St. Louis soccer ball with check mark
Makoski soccer ball with check mark		 2 – 4 soccer ball with check mark Franko
soccer ball with check mark Neil
soccer ball with check mark Lang
soccer ball with check mark McLeod

See also
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