2003 USL W-League season

USL W-League
Season 2003
Champions Hampton Roads Piranhas
← 2002
2004 →

The 2003 W-League Season was the league's 9th.

Changes from 2002 season

Format changes

The league went to the standard FIFA match points format: 3 points for a win (down from the previous 4), 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss, and eliminated bonus points for 3 or more goals scored.

Name changes

One team changed their name in the off-season:

Team Name Metro Area Previous Name
British Columbia Vancouver Whitecaps Women Vancouver area Vancouver Breakers

Expansion teams

One teams were added for the season:

Team Name Metro Area Location Previous Affiliation
Ohio Columbus Lady Shooting Stars Columbus area Columbus, OH expansion

Teams leaving

Three teams went to the WPSL:

Seven teams folded after the 2002 season:

Standings

Blue indicates division title clinched
Green indicates playoff berth clinched

Central Conference

Atlantic Division

Place Team P W L T GF GA GD Points
1 Hampton Roads Piranhas 12 12 0 0 33 5 +28 36
2 Charlotte Lady Eagles 12 9 3 0 35 11 +24 27
3 Northern Virginia Majestics 12 5 7 0 16 21 -5 15
4 Asheville Splash 12 3 9 0 14 24 -10 9
5 Greensboro Twisters 12 2 10 0 8 34 -26 6

Midwest Division

Place Team P W L T GF GA GD Points
1 Chicago Cobras 12 10 1 1 33 8 +25 31
2 Northern Kentucky TC Stars 12 5 5 2 16 21 -5 17
3 Columbus Lady Shooting Stars 12 4 5 3 11 15 -4 15
4 Cincinnati Ladyhawks 12 4 7 1 12 17 -5 13
5 Windy City Bluez 12 3 8 1 18 29 -11 10

Eastern Conference

Northeast Division

Place Team P W L T GF GA GD Points
1 New Jersey Lady Stallions 14 11 3 0 36 11 +25 33
2 Long Island Lady Riders 14 9 5 0 35 21 +14 27
3 New Jersey Wildcats 14 7 7 0 29 20 +9 21
4 New York Magic 14 7 7 0 33 25 +8 21
5 South Jersey Banshees* 14 1 13 0 8 48 -40 0

* - South Jersey had 3 points deducted for violations.

Northern Division

Place Team P W L T GF GA GD Points
1 Boston Renegades 14 13 0 1 60 5 +55 39
2 Ottawa Fury Women 14 11 2 1 61 9 +52 34
3 Toronto Inferno 14 6 7 1 32 31 +1 25
4 New Hampshire Lady Phantoms 14 3 11 0 21 53 -32 9
5 Rochester Ravens 14 0 13 1 4 96 -91 1

Western Conference

Place Team P W L T GF GA GD Points
1 Vancouver Whitecaps Women 12 10 1 1 51 10 +41 31
2 Seattle Sounders Women 12 8 3 1 35 8 +27 25
3 Denver Lady Cougars 12 6 4 2 36 24 +12 20
4 Arizona Heatwave 12 6 6 0 21 24 -3 18
5 Fort Collins Force 12 3 8 1 16 39 -23 10
6 Mile High Mustangs 12 0 11 1 5 62 -57 1

Playoffs

Format

Four teams from both the Central and Eastern Conferences and two from the Western Conference qualified for the playoffs. All playoff matchups were in single-leg elimination tournament format with the higher seeded team hosting until the national semifinals. Seeding was determined by league record, with Boston Renegades seeded first with 39 points. The host of the national semifinals was determined by bids at the 2002 USL Annual General Meeting.

In the Central and Eastern Conferences, the top two teams from each division played, and then divisional winners played for the conference championship and to advance to the national semifinals.

The top two teams in the Western Conference, having only one division, played each other to advance to the W-League Semifinals.

The Hampton Roads Piranhas received a bye into the W-League national semifinals as host, with the third-place team from the Atlantic Division receiving a playoff berth.[1] The W-League championship final was televised live on Fox Sports World.

Conference Brackets

Central Conference

Divisional Championships Central Championship
      
MW1 Illinois Chicago Cobras 9
MW2 Kentucky Northern Kentucky TC Stars 1
MW1 Illinois Chicago Cobras 3
AT1 North Carolina Charlotte Lady Eagles 1
AT1 North Carolina Charlotte Lady Eagles 4
AT2 Virginia Northern Virginia Majestics 1

Eastern Conference

Divisional Championships Eastern Championship
      
NO1 Massachusetts Boston Renegades 2
NO2 Ontario Ottawa Fury Women 3
NO2 Ontario Ottawa Fury Women 4
NE1 New Jersey New Jersey Lady Stallions 2
NE1 New Jersey New Jersey Lady Stallions 4
NE2 New York (state) Long Island Lady Riders 2

Western Conference

Western Finals
   
W1 British Columbia Vancouver Whitecaps Women (AET/PK) 2 (1)
W2 Washington (state) Seattle Sounders Women 2 (3)

W-League Championship Bracket

  Semifinal            
  WL  Virginia Hampton Roads Piranhas 4  
  W2  Washington (state) Seattle Sounders Women 1   Championship
      WL  Virginia Hampton Roads Piranhas 1
  Semifinal   MW1  Illinois Chicago Cobras 0
  MW1  Illinois Chicago Cobras 3
  NO2  Ontario Ottawa Fury Women 0   Third Place
    W2  Washington (state) Seattle Sounders Women 4
    NO2  Ontario Ottawa Fury Women 1

Divisional Championships


v

Referee: (USA)


v

Referee: (USA)


v

Referee: (USA)


v

Referee: (USA)

Conference championships

August 2, 2003
22:00 EDT
Washington (state) Seattle Sounders Women 2 - 2
(AET) 		British Columbia Vancouver Whitecaps Women
Frimpong  42'  43'
Forslund  105'		 Report Andrews  9'
Neil  65'
  Penalties  
McIntosh
Rodrick
Van Blommestein 		1 - 3 Hicks
Timko
Lang
Potis
Swangard Stadium
Burnaby, British Columbia
Attendance: 4,089
Referee: Martin Reid (USA)

August 3, 2003
14:00 EDT
Chicago Cobras 3 - 1 Charlotte Lady Eagles
Patrice Feulner  6'
Molly Greene  69'
Julianne Sitch  72'		 Report Christina Murphy  60'
Mooseheart Memorial Stadium
Referee: (USA)

August 3, 2003
16:00 EDT
Ottawa Fury Women 4 - 2 New Jersey Lady Stallions
Aishatu Alfa  11', 15', 53'
Eilish McConville  75'		 Report[2] Esmeralda Negron  30'
Sue Flamini  37'
Keith Harris Stadium
Attendance: 800
Referee: (USA)

W-League Semifinals

August 8, 2003
17:00 PM EDT
Washington (state) Seattle Sounders Women 1 - 4 Virginia Hampton Roads Piranhas
Frimpong  15' Report Pedersen  3'
Boroski  46'  55'
Omagbemi  55'
Hibbs  71'
Ritchie  90'
Landstown HS Stadium
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Attendance: 1,006
Referee: Chip Boatright (USA)

August 8, 2003
19:30 PM EDT
Chicago Cobras 3 - 0 Ottawa Fury Women
Kristen Graczyk  12', 90'
Julianne Sitch  58'		 Report[3]

W-League Third Place

August 10, 2003
14:30 PM EDT
Ontario Ottawa Fury Women 1 - 4 Washington (state) Seattle Sounders Women
Alfa  65' Report Frimpong  2'  6'
Mueller  11'
Kimble  54'
Milyak  82'
Landstown HS Stadium
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Attendance: 1,237
Referee: Dan Stead (USA)

W-League Championship

August 10, 2003
17:00 PM EDT
Hampton Roads Piranhas 1 - 0 Chicago Cobras
Mercy Akide  96' Report[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Demosphere International Inc. (August 1, 2003). "W-League Conference Finals set". uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2003. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  2. ↑ Demosphere International Inc. (August 3, 2003). "Ottawa wins Eastern Conference title". uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2004. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  3. ↑ Demosphere International Inc. (August 8, 2003). "Chicago advances to W-League final". uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2003. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  4. ↑ Demosphere International Inc. (August 10, 2003). "Piranhas win W-League title in OT". uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on October 3, 2003. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
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