2009 USL W-League season

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.

USL W-League
Season2009
ChampionsPali Blues
← 2008
2010 →

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 Mónica 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, New York expansion
Quebec Quebec City Amiral SC Quebec City area Quebec City, Quebec 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 Quickstrike FC, 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

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:

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:

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:

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[lower-alpha 1] 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[lower-alpha 2]
Source:
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 0
GL2 New York (state) Buffalo Flash 5
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 26'
Sutton 34' 60'
Mosebo Yellow card 44'
Lasek 79'
Craft 81'
Attendance: 500

Conference semifinals
Florida Tampa Bay Hellenic1–2Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom Reserves
Gordon 58' (Report) Tegeler 42'
Lenczyk 67'
Attendance: 82
Referee: Patrick Baker (USA)
Illinois Chicago Red Eleven2–4Ontario Ottawa Fury Women
Davison 11'
Cooper 90'		 Evans 20'
Hearn 31' 76' 82'
Referee: (USA)
North Carolina Charlotte Lady Eagles2–1Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta Silverbacks Women
Ozimek 85' 88' (Report) Hall 76'
Yempuku Yellow card 84'
Ford Yellow card 90'
Attendance: 917
Referee: Mark Cleland (USA)
New York (state) Buffalo Flash0–3Indiana FC Indiana
Mosebo Yellow card 45' Leyva 13' 45' (PK)
Del Rio 26'
Referee: (USA)

Conference finals
North Carolina Charlotte Lady Eagles1–2Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom Reserves
Swinehart 25'
Swift Yellow card 79'		 (Report) Lenczyk 76'
85'
Attendance: 114
Referee: Serdar Ertep (USA)
Colorado Colorado Force2–5California Pali Blues
Marshall 60' 72' (Report) Press 11' 75'
Mora Yellow card 67' 90' 90+'
O'Hara 88'
Attendance: 342
Referee: Felisha Mariscal (USA)
Ontario Ottawa Fury Women2–1Indiana FC Indiana
Moore 20' (OG)
Thomas 76' (OG)		 Lyons 11'
Referee: (USA)

W-League Semifinals
California Pali Blues4–0New York (state) Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues
Taylor 14'
Mora 45'
O'Hara 50'
Cheney 65' Yellow card 69'		 (Report) Gunning Yellow card 75'
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'
Evans Yellow card 50'		 (Report)
Penalties
Moorwood soccer ball with check mark
Percival soccer ball with red X
Wetzel soccer ball with red X
Evans soccer ball with red X		 1–3 soccer ball with check mark Matute
soccer ball with check mark Toulouse
soccer ball with check mark Miskel
Referee: Dean Fairweather (USA)

W-League Championship
California Pali Blues2–1Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom Reserves
Billingsley Yellow card 14' 37'
Mora 86'		 Matute 14'
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; Caroline Smith, MIN
M: Gemma Davison*, CHI; Jennifer Hance, OTT; Fatima Leyva, IND; Rosa Tantillo*, BUF
D: Jenny Jeffers, CHI; Ria Percival*, OTT; Clare Rustad, TOR
G: Shannon Lynn, IND
Honorable Mention: Margaret Allgeier, D, FW; Haley Ford, D, CLE; Christina Julien, F, LAV; Melissa Lesage, F, QC; Heather MacDougall, M, HAM; Courtney Nash, M, WMi; Anna Stinson, M, KAL; Jenn Wolbert, G, LON; Casey Zimney, D, ROC

Eastern Conference

F: Angelika Johansson*, HV; Jen Parsons, WAS; Brittany Tegeler, WAS
M: Lindsay Ozimek, CHA; Christina Rife, CHA; Megan Tomlinson, ATL
D: Casey Brown, BOS; Ashleigh Gunning*, HV; Philisha Lewis, TB; Brittany Taylor*, HV
G: Michelle Betos*, ATL
Honorable Mention: Mary Casey, G, NV; Brooke DeRosa, M, LI; Shaneka Gordon, F, HR; Robyn Jones, G, NJ; Courtney McMahon, M, NY; Rachel Richards, M, WMa; Fortuna Velaj, F, & Lindsay Vera, F, CON; Jennifer Woodie, 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: Jenea Gibbons, LA; Kelli Smith, SEA; Leah Tapscott, PAL
G: Katie Hultin, SEA
Honorable Mention: Kay Hawke, G, VEN, Taryn Hemmings, M, RC

* denotes All-League selections. [4]

See also

Source website

USL historical stats

References
  1. "PDL, W-League Statistical Honors Announced". Archived from the original on November 5, 2009. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
  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. "W-League All-League Teams unveiled". Archived from the original on August 6, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
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