USL W-League
| W-League | |
|
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| Full name | USL W-League |
| Association | USSF |
| First edition | 1995 |
| hierarchy | 2nd league |
| Teams | 18th |
| master | Los Angeles Blues (2014) |
| Record champions | Los Angeles Blues (4) |
| Website | wleague.uslsoccer.com |
The USL W-League was the second-highest division in US and Canadian women's football . It saw itself as a player development league and existed from 1995 to 2015.
history
The W-League was founded in 1995 as the United States Interregional Women's League and consisted of 18 teams and was administered by the United Soccer Leagues . From 1998 there was also a W-2 league. Since there were already two different leagues in 2001 with the newly founded professional Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) and the W-League (even three with the W-2-League this year), the W-2-League was dispensed with from 2002 . However, since the WUSA contained completely different teams, formed its own system, so to speak, and came to an end in 2003, the W-League remained top-notch until it was replaced as the top division by the Women's Professional Soccer in 2009 . In 2013 this was followed by the National Women's Soccer League , which has since been above the second-rate W-League.
Even if some teams were better amateur teams in the early years, the league provided a professional basis for national and international players. Laura Österberg Kalmari from Finland and Kelly Smith from England are among the most famous European players who have played in the W-League . Between 1995 and 1997 the participating teams were divided into regional groups. In 1998 the league was divided into a W-1 and a W-2 division according to sporting aspects. After WUSA's debut season in 2001, this was reversed. The league's record champions were the Pali Blues from Los Angeles with four championships. The last champions were the Washington Spirit Reserves in 2015 . Many W-League franchises were named after men's teams. Examples of this were the Atlanta Silverbacks Women or the Seattle Sounders Women, whose men's teams played in the country's professional leagues. A total of 127 different women's teams were used in the league between 1995 and 2015, of which only 23 currently exist (as of spring 2016).
Modus 2012
Regular season
In the regular season , each team played a double round against every other team in its own division.
Playoffs
- Eastern Conference: The best four teams qualified for the playoffs, where a winner was determined in the semifinals and finals.
- Central Conference: The teams in places 2 to 5 determined a winner in the semi-finals and finals.
- Western Conference: The best two teams played the conference winner in a final.
The winners of the conference finals and the winners of the Central Conference played out the winner with the semi-finals and finals.
Teams in the 2015 game year
Previous masters
| season | master | Runner-up | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Long Island Lady Riders | Southern California Nitemares | 3-0 |
| 1996 | Maryland Pride | Dallas Lightning | 3-0 |
| 1997 | Long Island Lady Riders | Chicago Cobras | 2: 1 a.d. |
| 1998 | Raleigh Wings | Boston Renegades | 4: 3 |
| 1999 | Raleigh Wings | Chicago Cobras | 3: 2 a.d. |
| 2000 | Chicago Cobras | Raleigh Wings | 1: 1 a.d., 4: 2 a.d. |
| 2001 | Boston Renegades | Vancouver Whitecaps | 5: 1 |
| 2002 | Boston Renegades | Charlotte Lady Eagles | 3-0 |
| 2003 | Hampton Roads piranhas | Chicago Cobras | 1-0 |
| 2004 | Vancouver Whitecaps | New Jersey Wildcats | 0: 0 a.d., 4: 2 i. E. |
| 2005 | New Jersey Wildcats | Ottawa Fury Women | 3-0 |
| 2006 | Vancouver Whitecaps | Ottawa Fury Women | 3-0 |
| 2007 | Washington Freedom | Atlanta Silverbacks Women | 3: 1 |
| 2008 | Pali blues | Indiana FC | 2: 1 |
| 2009 | Pali blues | Washington Freedom | 2: 1 |
| 2010 | Buffalo Flash | Vancouver Whitecaps | 3: 1 |
| 2011 | Atlanta Silverbacks Women | Ottawa Fury Women | 6: 1 |
| 2012 | Ottawa Fury Women | Pali blues | 1: 1 n.V., 4: 3 i. E. |
| 2013 | Pali blues | Laval Comets | 1-0 |
| 2014 | Los Angeles blues | Washington Spirit Reserves | 6: 1 |
| 2015 | Washington Spirit Reserves | Colorado Pride | 2: 1 |
Master of the W-2
| season | master | Runner-up | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Fort Collins Force | Hampton Roads piranhas | 3: 1 |
| 1999 | North Texas FC | Springfield Sirens | 5: 1 |
| 2000 | Springfield Sirens | Charlotte Lady Eagles | 2: 1 |
| 2001 | Charlotte Lady Eagles | Memphis FC | 3: 1 |
Web links
- Official website of the USL W-League ( Memento from November 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- Official website of the US Football Association (English)