2004 USL W-League season
| Season | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Vancouver Whitecaps Women (1st Title) |
| Regular Season title | New Jersey Wildcats (1st Title) |
← 2003 2005 → | |
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.
Changes from 2003 season
Name changes
One team changed their name in the off-season:
| Team Name | Metro Area | Previous Name |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina Dynamo | Greensboro area | Greensboro Twisters |
Expansion teams
Fourteen teams were added for the season:
| Team Name | Metro Area | Location | Previous Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradenton Athletics | Sun Coast area | Bradenton, FL | expansion |
| Calgary Wildfire | Calgary area | Calgary, AB | expansion |
| Cleveland Internationals Women | Cleveland area | Cleveland, CA | expansion |
| Detroit Jaguars | Detroit area | Livonia, ON | expansion |
| Edmonton Aviators Women | Edmonton area | Edmonton, AB | expansion |
| Fort Wayne Fever | Fort Wayne area | Fort Wayne, IN | expansion |
| London Gryphons | London area | London, ON | expansion |
| Montreal Xtreme | Montreal area | Montreal, QC | expansion |
| Rhode Island Stingrays | Providence area | Providence, RI | WPSL |
| Richmond Kickers Destiny | Richmond area | Richmond, VA | expansion |
| St. Louis Archers | St. Louis area | St. Louis, MO | expansion |
| Sudbury Canadians | Sudbury area | Sudbury, ON | expansion |
| Western Mass Lady Pioneers | Springfield area | Ludlow, MA | expansion |
| West Michigan Firewomen | Grand Rapids area | Grand Rapids, MI | expansion |
Teams leaving
Two teams folded after the 2004 season:
- New Jersey Lady Stallions
- Northern Kentucky TC Stars
Standings
Orange indicates bye into W-League semifinals as host.
Blue indicates division title clinched
Green indicates playoff berth clinched
Central Conference
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[a] | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 16 | −12 | 3 |
| 9 | St. Louis Archers[a] | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 45 | −27 | 0 |
Source:
Notes:
Notes:
Eastern Conference
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 | Chicago Cobras | 3 | |||||||
| MW2 | Fort Wayne Fever | 2 | |||||||
| MW | Chicago Cobras (AET) | 3 | |||||||
| A2 | Charlotte Lady Eagles | 2 | |||||||
| A1 | Hampton Roads Piranhas | 0 | |||||||
| A2 | Charlotte Lady Eagles | 2 | |||||||
Eastern Conference
| Division Finals | Eastern Semifinals | Eastern Championship | ||||||||||||
| NE1 | New Jersey Wildcats | 2 | ||||||||||||
| NWE1 | Boston Renegades | 0 | ||||||||||||
| NWE1 | Boston Renegades (AET) | 1 | ||||||||||||
| NWE2 | Western Mass Lady Pioneers | 0 | ||||||||||||
| NE1 | New Jersey Wildcats | 6 | ||||||||||||
| NC1 | Montreal Xtreme | 5 | ||||||||||||
| NC1 | Montreal Xtreme | 3 | ||||||||||||
| NC2 | Rochester Ravens | 0 | ||||||||||||
| NC1 | Montreal Xtreme (AET) | 6 | ||||||||||||
| NE2 | Long Island Lady Riders | 5 | ||||||||||||
| NE2 | Long Island Lady Riders (AET) | 1 | ||||||||||||
| NE3 | New Jersey Lady Stallions | 0 | ||||||||||||
Western Conference
| Western Finals | ||||
| W1 | Vancouver Whitecaps Women | 1 | ||
| W2 | Seattle Sounders Women | 0 | ||
W-League Championship Bracket
| Semifinals | Championship | ||||||||
| H | Ottawa Fury Women | 1 | |||||||
| NE1 | New Jersey Wildcats | 2 | |||||||
| NE1 | New Jersey Wildcats (AET/PK) | 0 (2) | |||||||
| W1 | Vancouver Whitecaps Women | 0 (4) | |||||||
| W1 | Vancouver Whitecaps Women | 2 | |||||||
| MW1 | Chicago Cobras | 1 | Third Place | ||||||
| H | Ottawa Fury Women | 1 | |||||||
| MW1 | Chicago Cobras | 0 | |||||||
Divisional Round
| Boston Renegades | 1 - 0 (AET) | Western Mass Lady Pioneers |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome 104' | Report |
| Montreal Xtreme | 3 - 0 | Rochester Lady Rhinos |
|---|---|---|
| Bilodeau 41' Morneau 45' Le Palme 51' Holland 81' |
Report | Vieira 14' |
| Long Island Lady Riders | 1 - 0 (AET) | New Jersey Lady Stallions |
|---|---|---|
| Stansfield 44' Prinzevalli 90' Shulman 104' |
Report |
Conference semifinals
| Hampton Roads Piranhas | 0 - 2 | Charlotte Lady Eagles |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Okosieme 19' Swinehart 63' |
| Chicago Cobras | 3–2 | Fort Wayne Fever |
|---|---|---|
| Graczyk 21' 41' Lindenmuth 67' |
Report | Cinalli 45' 68' Boland 85' (PK) |
Mooseheart Memorial Stadium
Mooseheart, Illinois
Mooseheart, Illinois
Attendance: 390
| Long Island Lady Riders | 4 - 5 (AET) | Montreal Xtreme |
|---|---|---|
| McCabe 4' Mustonen 8' O'Brien 26' Stansfield 35' DeCristoforo 63' Mullen 74' |
Report | Lesage 6' 17' Vanderpool 41' 57' Bilodeau 69' None 77' Pinard 117' |
| New Jersey Wildcats | 2 - 0 | Boston Renegades |
|---|---|---|
| Makinen 18' 55' (PK) | Report | Munoz 25' Frederick 39' |
Conference finals
| Vancouver Whitecaps Women | 1 - 0 | Seattle Sounders Women |
|---|---|---|
| Franko 45' Neil 90' |
Report |
| Chicago Cobras | 2 - 1 (AET) | Charlotte Lady Eagles |
|---|---|---|
| Bogus 81' Schneider 85' B. Cooper 100' |
Report | Cooper 26' (OG) |
| New Jersey Wildcats | 6 - 5 | Montreal Xtreme |
|---|---|---|
| Pichon 16' 21' 44' 79' 85' 89' Makoski 65' |
Report | Walsh 45' Vaillancourt 47' 55' 90' Pinard 48' Hemsley 66' |
W-League Semifinals
| Ottawa Fury Women | 1 - 2 | New Jersey Wildcats |
|---|---|---|
| Matheson 32' Robinson 83' (PK) |
Report | Pichon 35' (PK), 68' Makoski 45' MacNamara 72' J. Willis 82' |
Attendance: 850
| Vancouver Whitecaps Women | 2 - 1 | Chicago Cobras |
|---|---|---|
| Neil 53' Allen 58' |
Report | Janss 68' |
Attendance: 850
W-League Third Place
W-League Finals
| New Jersey Wildcats | 0 - 0 | Vancouver Whitecaps Women |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| Makinen Pichon St. Louis Makoski |
2 – 4 | Franko Neil Lang McLeod |
See also
- United Soccer Leagues 2004
- 2004 PDL Season