2008 USL W-League season

The 2008 W-League Season was the league's 14th. The regular season began on May 10, 2008, and ended on July 20.

USL W-League

Season	2008
Champions	Pali Blues (1st Title)
Regular Season title	Pali Blues (1st Title)
Top goalscorer	Sarah Steinmann Atlanta Silverbacks Women (19 Goals)
Best goalkeeper	Valerie Henderson Pali Blues
← 2007 2009 →

Pali Blues finished the season as national champions, beating FC Indiana 2–1 in the W-League Championship game in Virginia Beach, Virginia on 2 August 2008.

The Pali Blues also finished with the best regular season record in the league, winning all 12 of their matches, and finishing with a +35 goal difference.

Atlanta Silverbacks Women's striker Sarah Steinmann was the league's top scorer, with 19 goals. FC Indiana's Laura Del Rio led the league with 13 assists, while Pali Blues goalkeeper Valerie Henderson enjoyed the best goalkeeping statistics, with a goals-against average of 0.142 per game, and posting 6 shutouts.

Changes from 2007 season

Nine teams were added for the season:

Team Name	Metro Area	Location	Previous Affiliation
Carolina Dynamo	Greensboro area	Greensboro, NC	expansion
Carolina RailHawks	Research Triangle area	Cary, NC	expansion
Connecticut Passion	Hartford and New Haven areas	Berlin, CT	expansion
FC Indiana	Indianapolis area	Indianapolis, IN	previously in WPSL
Kalamazoo Outrage	Kalamazoo area	Kalamazoo, MI	expansion
Los Angeles Legends	suburban Los Angeles area	Azusa, CA	expansion
Pali Blues	Los Angeles area	Los Angeles, CA	expansion
Tampa Bay Hellenic	Tampa Bay area	Tampa, FL	expansion
West Virginia Illusion	Morgantown/North-Central West Virginia areas	Fairmont, WV	expansion

Three teams folded after the 2007 season: Mile High Edge, and San Diego Sunwaves. Cocoa Expos Women left the league for the WPSL.

Standings

Orange indicates W-League title and bye into W-League semifinals.
Blue indicates division title clinched
Green indicates playoff berth clinched

Central Conference

Midwest Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	FC Indiana	14	13	0	1	67	3	+64	40
2	Chicago Gaels	14	11	3	0	39	9	+30	33
3	Minnesota Lightning	14	9	3	2	32	19	+13	29
4	Cleveland Internationals Women	14	8	4	2	31	23	+8	26
5	Michigan Hawks	14	4	9	1	12	33	−21	13
6	Kalamazoo Outrage	14	2	10	2	6	36	−30	8
7	Fort Wayne Fever	13	2	10	1	16	39	−23	7[a]
8	West Michigan Firewomen	13	1	11	1	11	52	−41	4[a]

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

1. Fort Wayne and West Michigan did not play each other a second time, as the game could not be rescheduled before July 20 and would not affect the playoffs.

Northern Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Ottawa Fury Women	14	13	1	0	51	7	+44	39
2	Toronto Lady Lynx	14	11	2	1	40	14	+26	34
3	Laval Comets	14	9	4	1	39	17	+22	28
4	Rochester Rhinos Women	14	6	6	2	18	33	−15	20
5	Hamilton Avalanche	14	5	6	3	19	21	−2	18
6	Western Mass Lady Pioneers	14	3	9	2	18	34	−16	11
7	London Gryphons	14	3	9	2	15	35	−20	11
8	Vermont Lady Voltage	14	0	13	1	5	44	−39	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Atlanta Silverbacks Women	14	13	0	1	50	6	+44	40
2	Charlotte Lady Eagles	14	11	2	1	44	13	+31	34
3	Tampa Bay Hellenic	14	8	4	2	27	16	+11	26
4	Hampton Roads Piranhas	14	7	6	1	29	19	+10	22
5	Carolina RailHawks	14	7	6	1	22	17	+5	22
6	Richmond Kickers Destiny	14	6	8	0	18	28	−10	18
7	Carolina Dynamo	14	4	8	2	23	30	−7	14
8	Bradenton Athletics	14	2	12	0	11	52	−41	6
9	West Virginia Illusion	14	1	13	0	6	46	−40	3

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Northeast Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Washington Freedom	14	11	1	2	32	7	+25	35
2	Long Island Rough Riders	14	9	3	2	28	13	+15	29
3	Boston Renegades	14	9	3	2	32	12	+20	29
4	Jersey Sky Blue	14	8	4	2	14	10	+4	26
5	Connecticut Passion	14	7	5	2	24	23	+1	23
6	Northern Virginia Majestics	14	3	6	5	17	23	−6	14
7	New York Magic	14	3	7	4	14	23	−9	13
8	New Jersey Wildcats	14	2	10	2	17	35	−18	8
9	Fredericksburg Lady Gunners	14	0	13	1	5	37	−32	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Western Conference

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Pali Blues	12	12	0	0	39	4	+35	36
2	Vancouver Whitecaps Women	12	7	2	3	21	18	+3	24
3	Seattle Sounders Women	12	5	3	4	19	11	+8	19
4	Real Colorado Cougars	12	5	4	3	15	19	−4	18
5	Fort Collins Force	12	3	6	3	15	19	−4	12
6	Los Angeles Legends	12	1	9	2	11	26	−15	5
7	Ventura County Fusion	12	1	10	1	9	32	−23	4

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Playoffs

Format

Five teams each from the Central and Eastern Conferences, and two from the Western Conference, qualify for the playoffs.

In the Central Conference, the second and third place teams from the Northern Division play a one-leg playoff with the winner advancing to the Conference Semifinals, where they will play the Midwest Division champion. The other semifinal will have the second place team from the Midwest Division playing the Northern Division champion.

In the Eastern Conference, the second and third place teams from the Northeast Division play a one-leg playoff with the winner advancing to play the Atlantic Division champion. The other semifinal will have the second place team from the Atlantic Division playing the Northeast Division champion.

The two teams in the Western Conference will play each other to advance to the W-League Semifinals.

The Regular Season champion, Pali Blues, receive a bye into the W-League semifinals, with the second and third place teams from the Western Conference receiving playoff berths.

Conference Brackets

Central Conference

Central Divisional Round

Central Semifinals

Central Championship

MW1

FC Indiana

5

NO3

Laval Comets

1

NO2

Toronto Lady Lynx

0

NO3

Laval Comets

2

MW1

FC Indiana (AET)

4

NO1

Ottawa Fury Women

3

NO1

Ottawa Fury Women

3

MW2

Chicago Gaels

2

Eastern Conference

Eastern Divisional Round

Eastern Semifinals

Eastern Championship

AT1

Atlanta Silverbacks Women

1

NE2

Long Island Rough Riders

0

NE2

Long Island Rough Riders

1

NE3

Boston Renegades

0

AT1

Atlanta Silverbacks Women

1

NE1

Washington Freedom (AET)

2

NE1

Washington Freedom (AET)

6

AT2

Charlotte Lady Eagles

5

Western Conference

	Western Finals
	W1	Vancouver Whitecaps Women	0
	W2	Seattle Sounders Women	1

Pali captured the W-League regular season title and bye into W-League semifinals, enabling Vancouver to take their spot in the Conference Playoffs, and allowing Seattle to clinch a playoff berth.

W-League Championship Bracket

	Semifinals					Championship
	WL	Pali Blues	2
	NE1	Washington Freedom	0
						WL	Pali Blues	2
						MW1	FC Indiana	1
	MW1	FC Indiana	1
	W2	Seattle Sounders Women	0			Consolation
						NE1	Washington Freedom	2
						W1	Seattle Sounders Women	0

Divisional Rounds

July 23, 2008
7:00 ET

Long Island Rough Riders	1 – 0	Boston Renegades
DeRosa	(Report)

St. Anthony's High School
South Huntington, New York

Attendance: 387

Referee: Samir Souidi (USA)

---

July 23, 2008
7:30 ET

Toronto Lady Lynx	0 – 2	Laval Comets
Chapman  40'  89' Afonso  66'	(Report)	Gagné 8' 40' Walsh  89'

Centennial Park Stadium
Toronto, Ontario

Attendance: 344

Referee: Michael Izzo (CAN)

Conference semifinals

July 25, 2008
4:00 ET

Ottawa Fury Women	3 – 2	Chicago Gaels
Taylor 12' 62' (PK) Powell 15'	(Report)	Mutters  12' Spacht 26' Trevillian  74' Maynard 89' (PK)

Varsity Soccer Complex
West Lafayette, Indiana

Attendance: 50

Referee: Tony Deldis (USA)

---

July 25, 2008
5:00 ET

Washington Freedom	6 – 5 (AET)	Charlotte Lady Eagles
Welsh 2' 16' 103' Keller 22' Moros 70' (PK) Janss 97'	(Report)	Rife 11' Schmedes 29' Murphy 59' 107' Lyons 66'

RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium
Atlanta, Georgia

Attendance: 152

Referee: William Deland (USA)

---

July 25, 2008
6:30 ET

FC Indiana	5 – 1	Laval Comets
Hamel 14' Sesselmann 16' 25'  27' Parker 63' Phewa 72'	(Report)	Gagné 55' (PK)

Varsity Soccer Complex
West Lafayette, Indiana

Attendance: 128

Referee: Andrew Scott (USA)

---

July 25, 2008
8:00 ET

Atlanta Silverbacks Women	1 – 0	Long Island Rough Riders
Latham 51' Buff  70' Harbrueger  90'	(Report)	Fitzgerald (coach)  82' Speck  90'

RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium
Atlanta, Georgia

Attendance: 485

Referee: Patrick Baker (USA)

Conference finals

July 26, 2008
7:00 ET

Vancouver Whitecaps Women	0 – 1	Seattle Sounders Women
	(Report)	Baysa 67'  84'

Swangard Stadium
Burnaby, British Columbia

Attendance: 4,991

Referee: Darci Kurse (USA)

---

July 26, 2008
8:00 ET

Atlanta Silverbacks Women	1 – 2 (AET)	Washington Freedom
Bobo  16' Latham 23' Phillips  73'	(Report)	Golebiowski  48' Welsh 77'  90' Andrzejewski 118'

RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium
Atlanta, Georgia

Attendance: 428

Referee: Tony Russo (USA)

---

July 27, 2008
6:30 ET

FC Indiana	4 – 3 (AET)	Ottawa Fury Women
Sesselmann 15' Nault  63' Del Rio 90+2' 96' Phewa 101'	(Report)	Kennedy  27' Milyak 53' (OG) Hance 65' Avner  85' Taylor 116' (PK) Raber  120'

Varsity Soccer Complex
West Lafayette, Indiana

Referee: (USA)

W-League Semifinals

July 31, 2008
5:00 PM ET

FC Indiana	1 – 0	Seattle Sounders Women
Phewa  16' Leyva 87'

Foster Field
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Referee: Debbie Coleman (USA)

---

July 31, 2008
8:00 PM ET

Pali Blues	2 – 0	Washington Freedom
Adams 26' 82'	Report	Welsh  76'

Foster Field
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Attendance: 427

Referee: Meredith Hackett (USA)

W-League Third-Place Game

August 2, 2008
4:30 PM ET

Washington Freedom	2 – 0	Seattle Sounders Women
Welsh 11'  40' Huffman  76' Andrzejewski 86'

Foster Field
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Referee: Shawn Fitch (USA)

W-League Finals

August 2, 2008
7:30 PM ET

Pali Blues	2 – 1	FC Indiana
Wilson  49' LePeilbet 83' Pasqui 88'		O'Rourke 47'

Foster Field
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Attendance: 558

Referee: Sandra Serafini (USA)