2007 USL W-League season

The 2007 W-League Season was the league's 13th.

USL W-League
Season2007
ChampionsWashington Freedom
← 2006
2008 →

The Washington Freedom finished the season as national champions, beating the Atlanta Silverbacks Women 3-1 in the W-League Championship game in Rochester, New York on 7 August 2007.

Ottawa Fury Women finished with the best regular season record in the league, winning 11 out of their 12 games, suffering no losses, and finishing with a +38 goal difference.

Changes from 2006 season

Name changes

Two teams changed their names: The Long Island Lady Riders changed their name to the Long Island Rough Riders, and the San Diego Lady Gauchos changed their name to the San Diego Sunwaves.

New teams

Three teams were added for the season:

Team Name Metro Area Location Previous Affiliation
Virginia Fredericksburg Lady Gunners Northern Virginia area Fredericksburg, VA expansion
New Jersey Jersey Sky Blue Northern New Jersey area Madison, NJ expansion
Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom National Capital area Washington, D.C. associate member (former member of WUSA)

Teams Leaving

Five teams folded after the 2006 season:

Carolina Dynamo Women went on hiatus for this season.

Standings

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

Atlantic Division
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 Atlanta Silverbacks Women 12 9 2 1 25 10 +15 28
2 Richmond Kickers Destiny 12 9 2 1 25 10 +15 28
3 Charlotte Lady Eagles 12 8 2 2 31 10 +21 26
4 Cocoa Expos Women 11 5 3 3 20 8 +12 18[lower-alpha 1]
5 Hampton Roads Piranhas 11 2 8 1 9 22 −13 7[lower-alpha 1]
6 Bradenton Athletics 11 1 9 1 9 32 −23 4[lower-alpha 1]
7 Fredericksburg Lady Gunners 11 1 9 1 6 33 −27 4[lower-alpha 1]
Source:
Notes:
  1. The Fredericksburg at Cocoa and Bradenton at Hampton Roads games were unable to be rescheduled before the end of the season, and were not played due to having no effect on the playoffs.

Midwest Division
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 Minnesota Lightning 12 10 1 1 27 8 +19 31
2 Michigan Hawks 12 8 3 1 27 13 +14 25
3 Cleveland Internationals Women 12 8 4 0 30 16 +14 24
4 Chicago Gaels 12 7 4 1 39 17 +22 22
5 London Gryphons 12 4 8 0 19 41 −22 12
6 Fort Wayne Fever 12 1 9 2 8 27 −19 5
7 West Michigan Firewomen 12 1 10 1 7 25 −18 4
Source:

Northeast Division
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 Washington Freedom 14 12 1 1 48 10 +38 37
2 Jersey Sky Blue 14 12 2 0 48 6 +42 36
3 Northern Virginia Majestics 14 7 6 1 28 26 +2 22
4 Boston Renegades 14 7 7 0 19 31 −12 21
5 New Jersey Wildcats 14 5 5 4 16 13 +3 19
6 Long Island Rough Riders 14 5 7 2 20 24 −4 17
7 New York Magic 14 1 10 3 8 32 −24 6
8 Western Mass Lady Pioneers 14 1 12 1 9 54 −45 4
Source:

Northern Division
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 Ottawa Fury Women 12 11 0 1 47 9 +38 34
2 Toronto Lady Lynx 12 7 3 2 29 16 +13 23
3 Laval Comets 12 7 4 1 35 10 +25 22
4 Rochester Rhinos Women 12 5 7 0 21 28 −7 15
5 Hamilton Avalanche 12 2 10 0 11 42 −31 6
6 Vermont Lady Voltage 12 2 10 0 9 47 −38 6
Source:

Western Conference
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 San Diego Sunwaves 12 8 3 1 28 12 +16 25
2 Seattle Sounders Women 12 7 4 1 21 14 +7 22
3 Vancouver Whitecaps Women 12 6 3 3 24 17 +7 21
4 Fort Collins Force 12 4 7 1 18 31 −13 13
5 Mile High Edge 12 3 7 2 16 26 −10 11
6 Real Colorado Cougars 12 3 7 2 11 18 −7 11
Source:

Playoffs

Format

Four teams qualify from the Central Conference, six from the Eastern Conference, and two from the Western Conference.

The Division Winners in the Central Conference will play the second place team of the other division. In the Eastern Conference, the second and third place team in each division will play, with the winner of that match playing the top team in the other division. Finally, the two winners of the latter matches will play for the Eastern Conference championship. The top two teams in the Western Conference will play each other.

The Rochester Raging Rhinos automatically qualify for the W-League Semifinals as hosts. They will play the highest-ranked Conference Champion in their semifinal, with the other two Conference Champions will play in the other.

Conference Brackets

Central Conference

Central Semifinals Central Championship
      
MW1 Minnesota Minnesota Lightning 4
AT2 Virginia Richmond Kickers Destiny 2
MW1 Minnesota Minnesota Lightning 2
AT1 Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta Silverbacks Women 5
AT1 Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta Silverbacks Women (AET) 4
MW2 Michigan Michigan Hawks 2

Eastern Conference

Eastern Divisional Round Eastern Semifinals Eastern Championship
NE1 Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom 6
NO2 Ontario Toronto Lady Lynx 3 NO2 Ontario Toronto Lady Lynx 1
NO3 Quebec Laval Comets 1 NE1 Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom 1
NO1 Ontario Ottawa Fury Women 0
NO1 Ontario Ottawa Fury Women 4
NE2 New Jersey Jersey Sky Blue 3 NE2 New Jersey Jersey Sky Blue 0
NE3 Virginia Northern Virginia Majestics 1

Western Conference

Western Finals
   
W1 California San Diego Sunwaves 1
W2 Washington (state) Seattle Sounders Women 2

W-League Championship Bracket
Semifinals Championship
      
NE1 Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom 3
H New York (state) Rochester Raging Rhinos 0
NE1 Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom 3
AT1 Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta Silverbacks Women 1
AT1 Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta Silverbacks Women 4
W2 Washington (state) Seattle Sounders Women 1 Consolation
W2 Washington (state) Seattle Sounders Women 2
H New York (state) Rochester Raging Rhinos 1

Divisional Round
Quebec Laval Comets1 – 3Ontario Toronto Lady Lynx
Gagné 7'
Busque Yellow card 54'
Bilodeau Yellow card 83'		 (Report) Marton 47'
Ramsdale Yellow card 48' 57'
Morra 70'
Harrison Yellow card 85'
Attendance: 647
Referee: Patricia Peebles (USA)
Virginia Northern Virginia Majestics1 – 3New Jersey Jersey Sky Blue
Banks 66' (Report) DiPaolo 8'
Dickenmann 19'
Griffin 42'
Ranger Stadium, Drew University
Madison, New Jersey
Attendance: 263
Referee: Hossam Saad (USA)

Conference semifinals
Ontario Toronto Lady Lynx1 – 6Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom
Harrison Yellow card 45'
Romagnuolo Yellow card 75'
Allysha Chapman 78'		 (Report) Lindsey 13' 26'
Welsh 31'
Watson 76'
Hammond 80'
Porto 90'
Attendance: 450
Referee: Marvin Mohring (CAN)
Michigan Michigan Hawks0 – 4Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta Silverbacks Women
Delvecchio Yellow card 59' (Report) Steinmann 14' 74'
45' (OG)
Harbrueger 87'
Macalester Stadium
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: 228
Referee: Jorge Ocontrillo (USA)
Virginia Richmond Kickers Destiny2 – 4
(AET)		Minnesota Minnesota Lightning
Grier Yellow card 68'
Sauerbrunn 79'
J. Parsons 88'
Stephens-David Yellow card 97'		 (Report) Mueller 38'
Smith 69' 103' 110'
Macalester Stadium
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: 1,619
Referee: Mishaun Ahmad (USA)
New Jersey Jersey Sky Blue0 – 4Ontario Ottawa Fury Women
(Report) Taylor 30' 68'
Jeffers Yellow card 44'
Laue 71'
Hamel 77'
Attendance: 450
Referee: Joe Audi (CAN)

Conference finals
Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta Silverbacks Women5 – 2Minnesota Minnesota Lightning
Latham 4' 30'
Schneider 16'
Davey 22'
Harbrueger 69'
Eriksson Yellow card 74'
Hall Yellow card 85'		 (Report) Smith 85' 86' (PK)
Storlien (coach) Red card 90'
Macalester Stadium
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: 1725
Referee: (USA)
Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom1 – 0Ontario Ottawa Fury Women
Welsh 24'
Huffman Yellow card 69'		 (Report) McCormack Yellow card 23'
Hamel Yellow card 61'
Attendance: 305
Referee: Carol Anne Chenard (CAN)
Washington (state) Seattle Sounders Women2 – 1California San Diego Sunwaves
Bridges 34'
Patterson 60'		 (Report) Epsten 30' Yellow card 84'
Attendance: 843
Referee: Marlene Duffy (USA)

W-League Semifinals
Washington (state) Seattle Sounders Women1 – 4Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta Silverbacks Women
Patterson 6' (Report) Latham 44'
Minnax 47'
Buff 68'
Steinmann 80'
Referee: Katherine Dziedzic (USA)
New York (state) Rochester Raging Rhinos0 – 3Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom
Kruze Yellow card 84'
Russell Yellow card 90'		 (Report) Huffman 10'
Moros 29'
Lindsey 53'
Referee: Franco Bevilacqua (USA)

W-League Third-Place Game
New York (state) Rochester Raging Rhinos1 – 2Washington (state) Seattle Sounders Women
Kinmond 70'
Bybee Yellow card 90'		 Report Arrant 51'
Slawson 75'
Smith Yellow card 90'
Referee: Jeffrey Mellen (USA)

W-League Final
Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta Silverbacks Women1 – 3Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom
Schneider Yellow card 59'
Davey 67'
Buff Yellow card 71'
Harbrueger Yellow card 90'		 (Report) Moros 1'
Welsh 40' Yellow card 85'
McCarty 88'
Referee: Dino Sorbara (USA)

References
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