2003 USL W-League season

The 2003 W-League Season was the 9th season of the USL W-League, the second-highest division of women's soccer in the United States. The Boston Renegades were the defending champions. The Hampton Roads Piranhas were crowned champions after defeating the Chicago Cobras in the Championship game.

USL W-League

Season	2003
Champions	Hampton Roads Piranhas (1st Title)
Regular Season title	Boston Renegades (1st Title)
Best Player	Phebe Trotman Vancouver Whitecaps Women
Top goalscorer	Carrie Kveton Boston Renegades Jeanette Akerlund Ottawa Fury Women (14 goals each)
Best goalkeeper	Meredith Flaherty Hampton Roads Piranhas
← 2002 2004 →

Changes from the 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.^[1]

Name changes

One team changed their name in the off-season:^[1]

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

Expansion teams

One team joined the league ahead of the start of the season:^[1]

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

Teams leaving

Two teams left to join the WPSL:^[1]

• Maryland Pride
• Rhode Island Rays

Eight teams folded after the 2002 season:^[1]

• Albuquerque Crush
• Jacksonville Jade
• Kansas City Mystics
• Kentucky Fillies
• Memphis Mercury
• Oklahoma Outrage
• Tampa Bay Xtreme
• Texas Odyssey

Standings

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	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

Source: ^[2][1]

Midwest Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
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

Source: ^[2][1]

Eastern Conference

Northeast Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
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[a]

Source: ^[2][1]
Notes:

1. South Jersey had 3 points deducted for violations.

Northern Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Boston Renegades	14	13	0	1	60	5	+55	40
2	Ottawa Fury Women	14	11	2	1	61	9	+52	34
3	Toronto Inferno	14	6	7	1	32	31	+1	19
4	New Hampshire Lady Phantoms	14	3	11	0	21	53	−32	9
5	Rochester Ravens	14	0	13	1	4	96	−92	1

Source: ^[2][1]

Western Conference

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
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

Source: ^[2][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 the 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 semifinals.

As hosts, the Hampton Roads Piranhas received a bye into the W-League national semifinals, with the third-place team from the Atlantic Division receiving a playoff berth.^[3] The W-League Championship final was televised live on Fox Sports World.^[3]

Conference Brackets

Central Conference

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

Eastern Conference

	Divisional Championships					Eastern Championship
	NO1	Boston Renegades	2
	NO2	Ottawa Fury Women	3
						NO2	Ottawa Fury Women	4
						NE1	New Jersey Lady Stallions	2
	NE1	New Jersey Lady Stallions	4
	NE2	Long Island Lady Riders	2

Western Conference

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

W-League Championship Bracket

	Semifinals					Championship
	WL	Hampton Roads Piranhas	4
	W2	Seattle Sounders Women	1
						WL	Hampton Roads Piranhas	1
						MW1	Chicago Cobras	0
	MW1	Chicago Cobras	3
	NO2	Ottawa Fury Women	0			Third Place
						W2	Seattle Sounders Women	4
						NO2	Ottawa Fury Women	1

Divisional Championships

July 31, 2003
14:00 EDT

Chicago Cobras	9 − 1	Northern Kentucky TC Stars
Sitch 14' Cooper 18', 49', 59' Grubb 28' (pen.) Feulner 66' Graczyk 67', 83', 89'	Report	Hoffbauer 69'

Mooseheart Memorial Stadium
Mooseheart, Illinois

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July 31, 2003

Charlotte Lady Eagles	4 − 1	Northern Virginia Majestics
Timbers 39', 47', 62' Swinehart 66'	Report	McBean 45'

E. E. Waddell High School
Charlotte, North Carolina

Attendance: 523

---

July 31, 2003

Boston Renegades	2 − 3	Ottawa Fury Women
Totman 40' Rahko 87'	Report	Vermeulen 44' (pen.) Alfa 79' Akerlund 82'

Bowditch Field
Framingham, Massachusetts

---

July 30, 2003

New Jersey Lady Stallions	4 − 2	Long Island Lady Riders
Negron 16' Mathelier 47', 56' Sinram 77'	Report Report 2	Forde 28' Bracco 45'

DePaul High School
Wayne, New Jersey

Attendance: 100

Conference championships

August 2, 2003
22:00 EDT

Vancouver Whitecaps Women	2 − 2 (AET)	Seattle Sounders Women
Andrews 9' Neil 65'	Report	Frimpong 42', 43'
Penalties
Hicks Timko Lang Potis	1 − 3	McIntosh Rodrick Van Blommestein

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
Feulner 6' Greene 67' Sitch 72'	Report	Murphy 60'

Mooseheart Memorial Stadium
Mooseheart, Illinois

---

August 3, 2003
16:00 EDT

Ottawa Fury Women	4 − 2	New Jersey Lady Stallions
Alfa 11', 15', 53' McConville 75'	Report	Negron 30' Flamini 37'

Keith Harris Stadium
Ottawa, Ontario

Attendance: 800

W-League Semifinals

August 8, 2003
17:00 PM EDT

Hampton Roads Piranhas	4 − 1	Seattle Sounders Women
Borski 46', 55' Hibbs 73' Ritchie 90'	Report	Frimpong 15'

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
Graczyk 12', 90' Sitch 58'	Report

Landstown HS Stadium
Virginia Beach, Virginia

W-League Third Place

August 10, 2003
14:30 PM EDT

Ottawa Fury Women	4 − 1	Seattle Sounders Women
Frimpong 2', 6' Mueller 11' Milyak 82'	Report	Alfa 65'

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
Akide 96'	Report

Landstown HS Stadium
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Attendance: 1,237

Season statistics

• Scoring Champion: Jeanette Akerlund (Ottawa Fury Women) and Kelly Parker (Ottawa Fury Women) (32 points)^[4]
• Goal Scoring Champion: Jeanette Akerlund (Ottawa Fury Women) and Carrie Kveton (Boston Renegades) (14 goals)^[4]
• Assist Leader: Rhian Wilkinson (Ottawa Fury Women) (7 assists)^[4]

Top scorers Rank Player Club Goals[5] 1 Carrie Kveton Boston Renegades 14 Jeanette Akerlund Ottawa Fury Women 3 Phebe Trotman Vancouver Whitecaps Women 13 Kelly Parker Ottawa Fury Women 5 Jessica Reifer New York Magic 10 Mary Everett Denver Lady Cougars Noelle Meeke New York Magic 8 Diana Artuso Vancouver Whitecaps Women 8 Melissa Shulman Long Island Lady Riders Carolyn Theurer Denver Lady Cougars

Top assists Rank Player Club Goals[5] 1 Rhian Wilkinson Ottawa Fury Women 7 2 Abby Leopold Boston Renegades 6 Megan Beasley Denver Lady Cougars Melissa Bennett Seattle Sounders Women Caitlin Fisher Boston Renegades Carolyn Theurer Denver Lady Cougars Kelly Parker Ottawa Fury Women 8 Kelly Haxton Vancouver Whitecaps Women 5 Mercy Akide Hampton Roads Piranhas Martina Franko Vancouver Whitecaps Women

Awards

• Most Valuable Player: Phebe Trotman (Vancouver Whitecaps Women)^[6]
• Rookie of the Year: Stacey Stocco (Boston Renegades)^[7]
• Defender of the Year: Fanta Cooper (Chicago Cobras)^[7]
• Coach of the Year: Mike Nesci (Chicago Cobras)^[7]
• Goalkeeper of the Year: Meredith Flaherty (Hampton Roads Piranhas)^[4]
• Championship MVP: Mercy Akide (Hampton Roads Piranhas)^[8]

The W-League Championship All-Tournament Team was announced on August 10, 2003:^[8]

F: Tina Frimpong (Seattle Sounders Women), Kristen Graczyk (Chicago Cobras), Mercy Akide (Hampton Roads Piranhas)
M: Melissa Bennett (Seattle Sounders Women), Florence Omagbemi (Hampton Roads Piranhas), Darci Borski (Hampton Roads Piranhas), Kelly Parker (Ottawa Fury Women)
D: Jenna Szyluk (Hampton Roads Piranhas), Fanta Cooper (Chicago Cobras), Josha Krueger (Chicago Cobras)
G: Meredith Flaherty (Hampton Roads Piranhas)

All-League and All-Conference Teams

The All-Conference Teams were announced on August 1, 2003.^[9] The All-League Team was announced on August 4.^[4]

Central Conference

G: Meredith Flaherty (Hampton Roads Piranhas) *
D: Fanta Cooper (Chicago Cobras) *, Deanna Kriedel (Charlotte Lady Eagles), Erin Showalter (Cincinnati Ladyhawks)
M: Florence Omagbemi (Hampton Roads Piranhas), Elizabeth Ramsey (Chicago Cobras), Julianne Sitch (Chicago Cobras) *, Sarah Wall (Columbus Lady Shooting Stars)
F: Mercy Akide (Hampton Roads Piranhas) *, Andrea Cunningham (Cincinnati Ladyhawks), Annette Kent (Windy City Bluez)

Eastern Conference

G: Meghan Frey (Boston Renegades)
D: Linda Consolante (Ottawa Fury Women), Francesca DeCristoforo (Long Island Lady Riders) *, Caitlin Fisher (Boston Renegades)
M: Sue Flamini (New Jersey Stallions), Kelly Parker (Ottawa Fury Women) *, Melissa Shulman (Long Island Lady Riders), Stacey Stocco (Boston Renegades) *
F: Jeanette Akerlund (Ottawa Fury Women), Carrie Kveton (Boston Renegades), Jessica Reifer (New York Magic) *

Western Conference

G: Megan Miller (Seattle Sounders Women)
D: Sasha Andrews (Vancouver Whitecaps Women) *, Shannon Forslund (Seattle Sounders Women), Amy Gray Denver Lady Cougars
M: Kacy Beitel (Denver Lady Cougars), Tara Kidwell (Fort Collins Force), Andrea Neil (Vancouver Whitecaps Women), Tracey Spinelli (Arizona Heatwave) *
F: Janelle Munnis (Seattle Sounders Women), Carolyn Theurer (Denver Lady Cougars), Phebe Trotman (Vancouver Whitecaps Women) *

* denotes All-League player

See also

• 2003 PDL Season