2009 USL W-League season

The 2009 W-League Season was the league's 15th. The regular season began on May 8 with the Hampton Roads Piranhas defeating the Charlotte Lady Eagles 2–1 in Charlotte. The season ended with 10 games on July 19. The playoffs began on July 22 and ended on August 7.

USL W-League

Season	2009
Champions	Pali Blues (2nd Title)
Regular Season title	Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues (1st Title)
Best Player	Angelika Johansson Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues
Top goalscorer	Laura del Río FC Indiana (18 Goals)
Best goalkeeper	Michelle Betos Atlanta Silverbacks Women
← 2008 2010 →

Pali Blues repeated as W-League champions, defeating the Washington Freedom Reserves in come-from-behind fashion 2–1, which was also how they had won their previous title. Iris Mora was named the Playoffs MVP.

FC Indiana's Laura del Río finished with the most points (40) and goals (18), while her teammate Mónica Ocampo led the league in assists (11). Shannon Lynn, also of FC Indiana, led the league in GAA (0.116) and shutouts (10), and only allowed 2 goals the entire regular season.^[1]

Changes from 2008 season

Name Changes

Six teams changed their name in the off-season:

Team Name	Metro Area	Previous Name
Cary Lady Clarets	Research Triangle area	Carolina RailHawks Women
Chicago Red Eleven	Chicago area	Chicago Gaels
Colorado Force	Fort Collins area	Fort Collins Force
Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues	northern New Jersey area	Jersey Sky Blue
Rochester Ravens	Rochester area	Rochester Rhinos Women
Washington Freedom Reserves	Washington, D.C. area	Washington Freedom

Expansion Teams

Two teams were added for the season:

Team Name	Metro Area	Location	Previous Affiliation
Buffalo Flash	Buffalo area	Buffalo, New York	expansion
Quebec City Amiral SC	Quebec City area	Quebec City, Quebec	expansion

Teams Leaving

Six teams folded after the 2008 season:

• Bradenton Athletics
• Carolina Dynamo
• Fredericksburg Lady Gunners
• Michigan Hawks
• Vermont Lady Voltage
• West Virginia Illusion

Jersey Sky Blue and Washington Freedom both have expansion teams in Women's Professional Soccer. Washington have chosen to keep their reserve squad in the W-League, while Jersey has sold the rights to their W-League team to New York-based Quickstrike FC, which became Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues.^[2]

Standings

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

Central Conference

Great Lakes Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Ottawa Fury Women	14	11	1	2	40	9	+31	35
2	Buffalo Flash	14	9	2	3	40	10	+30	30
3	Quebec City Amiral SC	14	9	4	1	29	17	+12	28
4	Toronto Lady Lynx	14	6	4	4	25	17	+8	22
5	Laval Comets	13	7	5	1	21	14	+7	22
6	London Gryphons	14	3	9	2	23	33	−10	11
7	Hamilton Avalanche	14	3	9	2	14	35	−21	11
8	Rochester Ravens	14	0	13	1	5	61	−56	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Midwest Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	FC Indiana	12	10	0	2	63	2	+61	32
2	Chicago Red Eleven	12	10	1	1	37	6	+31	31
3	Minnesota Lightning	12	7	3	2	37	11	+26	23
4	Cleveland Internationals Women	12	4	6	2	15	28	−13	14
5	Fort Wayne Fever	12	3	7	2	19	40	−21	11
6	Kalamazoo Outrage	12	2	8	2	11	39	−28	8
7	West Michigan Firewomen	11	0	10	1	5	61	−56	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Atlanta Silverbacks Women	12	10	1	1	24	3	+21	31
2	Tampa Bay Hellenic	12	8	1	3	24	7	+17	27
3	Charlotte Lady Eagles	12	6	3	3	19	13	+6	21
4	Hampton Roads Piranhas	12	6	6	0	24	18	+6	18
5	Cary Lady Clarets	12	5	6	1	24	23	+1	16
6	Northern Virginia Majestics	12	1	10	1	3	21	−18	4
7	Richmond Kickers Destiny	12	1	10	1	8	41	−33	4

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Northeast Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues	14	12	0	2	40	9	+31	38
2	Washington Freedom Reserves	14	12	1	1	49	9	+40	37
3	Boston Renegades[a]	14	7	3	4	35	16	+19	25
4	Long Island Rough Riders	14	6	7	1	28	26	+2	19
5	New Jersey Wildcats	14	6	7	1	17	23	−6	19
6	Connecticut Passion	14	4	8	2	20	33	−13	14
7	New York Magic	15	1	11	3	8	45	−37	6
8	Western Mass Lady Pioneers	14	1	13	0	8	44	−36	0[b]

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

1. The Boston Renegades qualified for the Eastern Conference playoffs but declined to participate, so the Charlotte Lady Eagles joined as the next most qualified team.
2. Western Mass forfeited a 1–0 victory to New York due to an ineligible player, and was docked an additional three points.

Western Conference

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Pali Blues	12	9	0	3	25	9	+16	30
2	Colorado Force	12	4	2	6	16	13	+3	18
3	Real Colorado Cougars	12	4	5	3	16	15	+1	15
4	Seattle Sounders Women	12	3	3	6	12	15	−3	15
5	Vancouver Whitecaps Women	12	3	4	5	15	19	−4	14
6	Ventura County Fusion	12	2	5	5	13	22	−9	11
7	Los Angeles Legends	12	2	7	3	15	20	−5	9

Source: ^[3]

Playoffs

Format

The Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues earned a bye directly to the W-League Semifinals. The Washington Freedom Reserves were moved into the top spot in the Northeast Division, and the Charlotte Lady Eagles received the division's second playoff spot (the Boston Renegades were the original holders of the second spot, but declined to enter).

The Central Conference will have 5 playoff spots. The second and third place teams from the Great Lakes Division will play each other. The winner will play the Midwest Division champions, while the Great Lakes Division champion will play the second place team of the Midwest Division. The winners of those games will play to determine the conference champion. The Eastern Conference division champions will play the second place team of the opposite division, the winners facing off to determine who goes to the W-League Semifinals. The Western Conference will have their top two teams facing off to determine their conference champion.

The W-League Semifinals will put the regular season champion against the lowest seeded conference champion, and the higher-ranked conference champions against each other. The winners of these games will play in the championship, while the losers will play in the Third Place game.

Conference Brackets

Central Conference

Central Divisional Round

Central Semifinals

Central Championship

MW1

FC Indiana

3

GL2

Buffalo Flash

0

GL2

Buffalo Flash

5

GL3

Quebec City Amiral SC

0

MW1

FC Indiana

1

GL1

Ottawa Fury Women

2

GL1

Ottawa Fury Women

4

MW2

Chicago Red Eleven

2

Eastern Conference

	Eastern Semifinals					Eastern Championship
	NE1	Washington Freedom Reserves	2
	AT2	Tampa Bay Hellenic	1
						NE1	Washington Freedom Reserves	2
						NE2	Charlotte Lady Eagles	1
	AT1	Atlanta Silverbacks Women	1
	NE2	Charlotte Lady Eagles	2

Western Conference

	Western Finals
	W1	Pali Blues	5
	W2	Colorado Force	2

W-League Championship Bracket

	Semifinal					Championship
	NE1	Washington Freedom Reserves (AET/PSO)	0 (3)
	GL1	Ottawa Fury Women	0 (1)
						NE1	Washington Freedom Reserves	1
						W1	Pali Blues	2
	WL	Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues	0
	W1	Pali Blues	4

Divisional Round

July 22, 2009
7:00 PM EDT

Buffalo Flash	5–0	Quebec City Arsenal
Ruiz 26' Sutton 34' 60' Mosebo  44' Lasek 79' Craft 81'	Report

Orchard Park High School Field
Orchard Park, New York

Attendance: 500

Conference semifinals

July 24, 2009
5:00 PM EDT

Washington Freedom Reserves	2–1	Tampa Bay Hellenic
Tegeler 42' Lenczyk 67'	(Report)	Gordon 58'

RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium
Atlanta

Attendance: 82

Referee: Patrick Baker (USA)

---

July 24, 2009
5:00 PM EDT

Ottawa Fury Women	4–2	Chicago Red Eleven
Evans 20' Hearn 31' 76' 82'		Davison 11' Cooper 90'

Jefferson High School
Lafayette, Indiana

Referee: (USA)

---

July 24, 2009
7:30 PM EDT

Atlanta Silverbacks Women	1–2	Charlotte Lady Eagles
Hall 76' Yempuku  84' Ford  90'	(Report)	Ozimek 85' 88'

RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium
Atlanta

Attendance: 917

Referee: Mark Cleland (USA)

---

July 24, 2009
7:30 PM EDT

FC Indiana	3–0	Buffalo Flash
Leyva 13' 45' (PK) Del Rio 26'		Mosebo  45'

Jefferson High School
Lafayette, Indiana

Referee: (USA)

Conference finals

July 25, 2009
7:30 PM EDT

Washington Freedom Reserves	2–1	Charlotte Lady Eagles
Lenczyk 76' 85'	(Report)	Swinehart 25' Swift  79'

RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium
Atlanta

Attendance: 114

Referee: Serdar Ertep (USA)

---

July 25, 2009
7:00 PM PDT

Pali Blues	5–2	Colorado Force
Press 11' 75' Mora  67' 90' 90+' O'Hara 88'	(Report)	Marshall 60' 72'

Stadium by the Sea
Los Angeles

Attendance: 342

Referee: Felisha Mariscal (USA)

---

July 26, 2009
7:30 PM EDT

FC Indiana	1–2	Ottawa Fury Women
Lyons 11'		Moore 20' (OG) Thomas 76' (OG)

Jefferson High School
Lafayette, Indiana

Referee: (USA)

W-League Semifinals

July 31, 2009
7:30 PM EDT

Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues	0–4	Pali Blues
Gunning  75'	(Report)	Taylor 14' Mora 45' O'Hara 50' Cheney 65'  69'

Newburgh Free Academy Stadium
Newburgh, New York

Attendance: 1,007

Referee: Edwin Cespedas (USA)

---

August 1, 2009
6:00 EDT

Washington Freedom Reserves	0 – 0 AET	Ottawa Fury Women
	(Report)	Romagnuolo  32' Percival  47' Evans  50'
Penalties
Matute Toulouse Miskel	3–1	Moorwood Percival Wetzel Evans

Maryland SoccerPlex
Germantown, Maryland

Referee: Dean Fairweather (USA)

W-League Championship

August 7, 2009
7:30 PM EDT

Washington Freedom Reserves	1–2	Pali Blues
Matute 14'		Billingsley  14' 37' Mora 86'

Maryland SoccerPlex
Germantown, Maryland

Referee: (USA)

Awards

The finalists for W-League MVP, U19 Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Defender of the Year were announced on August 3, 2009, with the winners to be announced on August 5. The Goalkeeper of the Year was announced on August 3.^[4]

Most Valuable Player Finalists

• Angelika Johansson, F, Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues (Winner)
• Laura del Río, F, FC Indiana
• Amber Hearn, F, Ottawa Fury Women

U19 Player of the Year Finalists

• Chanté Sandiford, G, Washington Freedom Reserves (Winner)
• Sarah Chapman, M, Tampa Bay Hellenic
• Fortuna Velaj, F, Connecticut Passion

Defender of the Year Finalists

• Brittany Taylor, Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues (Winner)
• Ashleigh Gunning, Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues
• Ria Percival, Ottawa Fury Women

Goalkeeper of the Year

• Michelle Betos, Atlanta Silverbacks Women

Coach of the Year Finalists

• Fabien Cottin, Quebec City Arsenal (Winner)
• Tony Anglin, Chicago Red Eleven
• George Fotopoulos, Tampa Bay Hellenic
• Jesse Kolmel, Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues

All-League and All-Conference teams

Central Conference

F: Laura del Río*, IND; Amber Hearn*, OTT; Caroline Smith, MIN
M: Gemma Davison*, CHI; Jennifer Hance, OTT; Fatima Leyva, IND; Rosa Tantillo*, BUF
D: Jenny Jeffers, CHI; Ria Percival*, OTT; Clare Rustad, TOR
G: Shannon Lynn, IND
Honorable Mention: Margaret Allgeier, D, FW; Haley Ford, D, CLE; Christina Julien, F, LAV; Melissa Lesage, F, QC; Heather MacDougall, M, HAM; Courtney Nash, M, WMi; Anna Stinson, M, KAL; Jenn Wolbert, G, LON; Casey Zimney, D, ROC

Eastern Conference

F: Angelika Johansson*, HV; Jen Parsons, WAS; Brittany Tegeler, WAS
M: Lindsay Ozimek, CHA; Christina Rife, CHA; Megan Tomlinson, ATL
D: Casey Brown, BOS; Ashleigh Gunning*, HV; Philisha Lewis, TB; Brittany Taylor*, HV
G: Michelle Betos*, ATL
Honorable Mention: Mary Casey, G, NV; Brooke DeRosa, M, LI; Shaneka Gordon, F, HR; Robyn Jones, G, NJ; Courtney McMahon, M, NY; Rachel Richards, M, WMa; Fortuna Velaj, F, & Lindsay Vera, F, CON; Jennifer Woodie, D, RIC

Western Conference

F: Iris Mora, PAL; Jodi Ann Robinson, VAN
M: Michelle French*, SEA; Tobin Heath, PAL; Nikki Marshall, COL; Carmelina Moscato, VAN; Nikki Washington*, PAL
D: Jenea Gibbons, LA; Kelli Smith, SEA; Leah Tapscott, PAL
G: Katie Hultin, SEA
Honorable Mention: Kay Hawke, G, VEN, Taryn Hemmings, M, RC

* denotes All-League selections. ^[4]

See also

• United Soccer Leagues 2009
• 2009 PDL Season

Source website

USL historical stats