2002 USL A-League

The 2002 USL A-League was an American Division II league run by the United Soccer League during the summer of 2002.

USL A-League
-2002 Season-

Season	2002
Champions	Milwaukee Rampage (2nd Title)
Premiers	Seattle Sounders (2nd Title)
Matches played	252
Goals scored	751 (2.98 per match)
Best Player	Leighton O'Brien, Seattle Sounders
Top goalscorer	McKinley Tennyson, Portland Timbers, Fadi Afash, Portland Timbers Eduardo Sebrango, Montreal Impact (18 goals each)
Best goalkeeper	Dusty Hudock, Charleston Battery
← 2001 2003 →

League standings

Eastern Conference

Northeast Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	BP	Pts
1	Rochester Raging Rhinos	28	17	8	3	38	25	+13	1	72
2	Montreal Impact	28	16	9	3	39	29	+10	5	72
3	Toronto Lynx	28	10	13	5	37	35	+2	3	48
4	Pittsburgh Riverhounds	28	8	15	5	39	44	−5	4	41

Source: kenn.com

Southeast Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	BP	Pts
1	Charleston Battery	28	19	3	6	46	16	+30	7	89
2	Richmond Kickers	28	13	9	6	44	37	+7	7	65
3	Atlanta Silverbacks	28	13	13	2	47	44	+3	8	62
4	Charlotte Eagles	28	10	14	4	46	46	0	6	50
5	Hampton Roads Mariners	28	6	19	3	25	57	−32	2	29

Source: kenn.com

Western Conference

Central Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	BP	Pts
1	Milwaukee Rampage	28	16	7	5	48	29	+19	6	75
2	Minnesota Thunder	28	14	9	5	55	35	+20	9	70
3	Cincinnati Riverhawks	28	8	20	0	35	68	−33	3	35[a]
4	Indiana Blast	28	6	18	4	29	67	−38	1	29

Source: kenn.com
Notes:

1. Cincinnati lost three point for using an ineligible player (bonus points entry total reflects this deduction)

Pacific Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	BP	Pts
1	Seattle Sounders	28	23	4	1	71	27	+44	14	107
2	Portland Timbers	28	13	12	3	47	39	+8	8	63
3	Vancouver Whitecaps	28	11	12	5	41	39	+2	5	54
4	El Paso Patriots	28	10	11	7	38	48	−10	7	54
5	Calgary Storm	28	4	21	3	26	66	−40	3	22

Source: kenn.com

The 2002 USL A-League points system was 4 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss + 1 bonus point when scoring three or more goals in a game.^[1]

Playoff bracket

	First Round							Conference Semifinals							Conference Finals							Final
								W1	Seattle Sounders	0	2	2
								W5	Vancouver Whitecaps	2	6	8
	W4	Portland Timbers	0	0	0
	W5	Vancouver Whitecaps	1	1	2
															W2	Milwaukee Rampage (a.e.t.)	0	2	2
	Western Conference
															W5	Vancouver Whitecaps	0	1	1
								W2	Milwaukee Rampage	0	2	2
								W3	Minnesota Thunder	0	1	1
	W3	Minnesota Thunder	2	1	3
	W6	El Paso Patriots	1	1	2
																						Milwaukee Rampage (a.e.t.)		2
																						Richmond Kickers		1
								E1	Charleston Battery	2	1	3
								E4	Richmond Kickers	1	3	4
	E4	Richmond Kickers	1	2	3
	E5	Atlanta Silverbacks	1	1	2
															E4	Richmond Kickers (p)	1	0	1 (9)
	Eastern Conference
															E2	Rochester Raging Rhinos	1	0	1 (8)
								E2	Rochester Raging Rhinos	0	1	1
								E3	Montreal Impact	0	0	0
	E3	Montreal Impact (p)	0	1	1 (6)
	E6	Charlotte Eagles	1	0	1 (5)

Playoff first round

Charlotte vs Montreal

September 4, 2002
7:00 PM EST

Charlotte Eagles (NC)	1–0	Montreal Impact (QC)
Dwyane Demmin 17'	Report	30' Adam Braz  67' Nevio Pizzolitto

Transamerica Field, Charlotte, North Carolina

Attendance: 546

September 8, 2002
4:00 PM EST

Montreal Impact (QC)	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Charlotte Eagles (NC)
Eduardo Sebrango 36'
Penalties
Patrick Leduc Giuliano Oliviero Darko Kolic Eduardo Sebrango Gabriel Gervais Mark Rowland	6–5	Andy McDermott Leo Gajardo Dustin Swinehart Jamie Wellington Carlos Calderson Nathan Watkins

Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, Montreal, Quebec

Attendance: 6,883

Montreal advances on penalties after series tied 1–1 on aggregate.

Richmond vs Atlanta

September 5, 2002

Richmond Kickers (VA)	1–1	Atlanta Silverbacks (GA)
Peter Luzak  23' Josh Henderson  86' Peter Luzak 90'	Report	36',  88' James Wall  42' Alan Woods  56' Jason Annicchero  86' Jeff Cassar

Sports Backers Stadium, Richmond, Virginia

Attendance: 1,258

Referee: Todd Perry

September 8, 2002
6:00 PM EST

Atlanta Silverbacks (GA)	1–2	Richmond Kickers (VA)
Philippe Godoy  10' Ryan Leib  20' Jason Annicchero  39' John Barry Nusum  55', 88' Gilbert Jean-Baptiste  66' Byron Mitchell  78'  84'	Report	8' Josh Henderson  13' Bryan Namoff  39' Kevin Knight 45' Kevin Jeffrey  80' Khary Stockton

DeKalb Memorial Stadium, Clarkston, Georgia

Attendance: 351

Referee: Kermit Quisenberry

Richmond advances 3–2 on aggregate.

Minnesota vs El Paso

September 5, 2002

El Paso Patriots (TX)	1–2	Minnesota Thunder (MN)
Johnny Frias 7'		25' Johnny Torres 29' Johnny Menyongar

Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas

Attendance: 1,270

September 7, 2002
8:00 PM EST

Minnesota Thunder (MN)	1–1	El Paso Patriots (TX)
Zafer Kılıçkan 70'		32' (pen.) Jose Abarca

National Sports Center, Blaine, Minnesota

Attendance: 1,567

Minnesota advances 3–2 on aggregate.

Vancouver vs Portland

September 5, 2002
7:05 PM PST

Portland Timbers (OR)	0–1	Vancouver Whitecaps (BC)
Keith Costigan  10' Fadi Afash  68' Brent Sancho  69'	Report	32' Paul Dailly  43' Chris Franks  45' Ollie Heald  68' Nick Dasovic

PGE Park, Portland, Oregon

Attendance: 4,071

September 7, 2002

Vancouver Whitecaps (BC)	1–0	Portland Timbers (OR)
Steve Kindel 52'	Report

Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, British Columbia

Attendance: 4,060

Vancouver Whitecaps advance 2–0 on aggregate.

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference Semifinal 1

September 12, 2002

Montreal Impact (QC)	0–0	Rochester Rhinos (NY)
Eduardo Sebrango  53' Gabriel Gervais  81'	Report	22' Kalin Bankov  30' Bill Sedgwick

Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, Montreal, Quebec

Attendance: 6,354

September 14, 2002
8:00 PM (EST)

Rochester Rhinos (NY)	1–0	Montreal Impact (QC)
Yuri Lavrinenko  26' Bill Sedgwick 62'	Report	43' Patrice Bernier

Frontier Field, Rochester, New York

Attendance: 10,367

The Rochester Rhinos advanced 1–0 on aggregate.

Eastern Conference Semifinal 2

September 13, 2002

Charleston Battery (SC)	2–1	Richmond Kickers (VA)
Justin Evans 63' Paul Conway 87' (pen.)	Report	75' Mike Burke  86' Marco Ferruzzi

Blackbaud Stadium, Charleston, South Carolina

Attendance: 2,379

Referee: Daniel Baruk (USA)

September 15, 2002
6:00 PM (EST)

Richmond Kickers (VA)	3–1	Charleston Battery (SC)
Josh Henderson 8' Kevin Jeffrey 22' Chris Fox  24' David Hayes 36'	Report	4',  45' Mac Cozier  15' Mark Watson

UR Stadium, Richmond, Virginia

Attendance: 2,043

Referee: Mike Stutt (USA)

The Richmond Kickers advanced 4–3 on aggregate.

Western Conference Semifinal 1

September 12, 2002
8:30 (EST)

Minnesota Thunder (MN)	0–0	Milwaukee Rampage (WI)
Mike Gores  42' Don Gramenz  64' Steve Shak  82' Mike Gentile  87'	Report

National Sports Center, Blaine, Minnesota

Attendance: 1,321

September 14, 2002
8:00 (EST)

Milwaukee Rampage (WI)	2–1	Minnesota Thunder (MN)
Miguel Saavedra 20' John Wolyniec 77'		65' Steve Shak

Milwaukee Rampage Sports Complex, Franklin, Wisconsin

Attendance: 3,579

The Milwaukee Rampage advanced 2–1 on aggregate.

Western Conference Semifinal 2

September 13, 2002
7:30 P.M. (PST)

Vancouver Whitecaps (BC)	2–0	Seattle Sounders (WA)
Chris Franks  3' Jason Jordan 44', 90' Jeff Clarke  47'	Report	14' Dick McCormick  78' Viet Nguyen  79' Leighton O'Brien

Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, British Columbia

Attendance: 5,686

Referee: Steve DePiero (USA)

September 15, 2002
5:00 P.M. (PST)

Seattle Sounders (WA)	2–6	Vancouver Whitecaps (BC)
Andrew Gregor  38' Leighton O'Brien  43' Kyle Smith 52' Jason Farrell 60' Scott Jenkins  61'	Report	19', 26', 70' (pen.) Ollie Heald 22' Jeff Clarke 39' Steve Kindel 67' Dave Morris  75' Kevan Cameron 90' Niall Thompson

Memorial Stadium, Seattle, Washington

Attendance: 3,917

Referee: Sandra Hunt (USA)

The Vancouver Whitecaps advanced 8–2 on aggregate.

Conference finals

Eastern Conference

September 19, 2002

Richmond Kickers (VA)	1–1	Rochester Rhinos (NY)
Josh Henderson 49'		28' Lenin Steenkamp

Sports Backers Stadium, Richmond, Virginia

Attendance: 3,327

September 21, 2002

Rochester Rhinos (NY)	0–0 (a.e.t.)	Richmond Kickers (VA)
Penalties
Stoian Mladenov Carlos Zavala Yuri Lavrinenko Temoc Suarez Tommy Tanner Bill Sedgewick Craig Demmin Lenin Steenkamp Greg Simmonds	8–9	Rob Ukrop Paul Lekics Ihor Dotsenko Ray Goodlett David Hayes Mike Burke Tony Williams Kevin Knight Ronnie Pascale

Frontier Field, Rochester, New York

Attendance: 10,148

The Richmond Kickers advanced.

Western Conference

September 19, 2002
7:30 PM PST

Vancouver Whitecaps (BC)	0–0	Milwaukee Rampage (WI)
Ollie Heald  45'	Report

Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, British Columbia

Attendance: 6,056

September 21, 2002
8:00 PM EST

Milwaukee Rampage (WI)	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Vancouver Whitecaps (BC)
Destin Makumbu  43' Matt Bobo 56', 101' Matt Behncke  60' Bobby Brennan  90'	Report	59' Niall Thompson

Milwaukee Rampage Sports Complex, Franklin, Wisconsin

Attendance: 3,223

The Milwaukee Rampage advanced.

Final

September 28, 2002
8:00 PM EST

Milwaukee Rampage (WI)	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Richmond Kickers (VA)
John Wolyniec 45',  62' Steve Bernal  58' David Lara  68' Siniša Angelovski 106'	Report	22' Tony Williams  56'  93' Khary Stockton 59' (pen.) Marco Ferruzzi  62' Kevin Knight  96' Josh Henderson

Milwaukee Rampage Sports Complex, Franklin, Wisconsin

Attendance: 6,189

MPV: John Wolyniec

Points leaders

Rank	Scorer	Club	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
1	McKinley Tennyson	Portland Timbers	24	18	6	42
	Brian Ching	Seattle Sounders	25	16	8	42
3	Leighton O'Brien	Seattle Sounders	27	13	11	37
4	Fadi Afash	Portland Timbers	22	18	0	36
	Eduardo Sebrango	Montreal Impact	28	18	0	36
6	Paul Conway	Charleston Battery	25	13	6	32
7	Johnny Menyongar	Minnesota Thunder	25	10	11	31
8	Johnny Torres	Minnesota Thunder	23	12	5	29
9	Darren Sawatzky	Seattle Sounders	28	9	10	28
10	Dustin Swinehart	Charlotte Eagles	27	10	6	26
	Digital Takawira	Milwaukee Rampage	22	9	8	26
12	Niki Budalic	Toronto Lynx	28	12	1	25
	John Wolyniec	Milwaukee Rampage	26	10	5	25
14	Josh Henderson	Richmond Kickers	23	11	2	24
	Brian Piesner	Atlanta Silverbacks	25	7	10	24

Awards and All A-League teams

All A-League First Team
F: Brian Ching (Seattle Sounders); McKinley Tennyson (Portland Timbers) (Co-Leading Goalscorer); Eduardo Sebrango (Montreal Impact) (Co-Leading Goalscorer)
M: Andrew Gregor (Seattle Sounders); Leighton O'Brien (Seattle Sounders); Brian Piesner (Atlanta Silverbacks); Lenin Steenkamp (Rochester Raging Rhinos)
D: Gabriel Gervais (Montreal Impact); Destin Makumbu (Milwaukee Rampage); Mark Watson (Defender of the Year)
G: Dusty Hudock (Charleston Battery) (Goalkeeper of the Year)
Coach: Brian Schmetzer, Seattle Sounders) (Coach of the Year)

All A-League Second Team^[2]
F: Fadi Afash (Portland Timbers) (Co-Leading Goalscorer); Josh Henderson (Richmond Kickers); Johnny Menyongar (Minnesota Thunder)
M: Mauro Biello (Montreal Impact); Luis da Gama (El Paso Patriots); Jose Gomez (Charlotte Eagles); Steve Kindel (Vancouver Whitecaps)
D: Craig Demmin (Rochester Raging Rhinos); Linval Dixon (Charleston Battery); Mark Schulte (Minnesota Thunder)
G: Preston Burpo (Seattle Sounders)

See also

• 2002 U.S. Open Cup
• 2002 Voyageurs Cup