2004 USL W-League season

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.

USL W-League
Season2004
ChampionsVancouver Whitecaps Women
2003
2005

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:

Standings

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

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[lower-alpha 1] 3 1 2 0 4 16 12 3
9 St. Louis Archers[lower-alpha 1] 2 0 2 0 18 45 27 0
Source:
Notes:
  1. St. Louis folded after two games, and London played three games as an associate member.

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
                           
  NWE1 Boston Renegades (AET) 1    
  NWE2 Western Mass Lady Pioneers 0    
        NE1 New Jersey Wildcats 2  
            NWE1 Boston Renegades 0    
               
      NE1 New Jersey Wildcats 6
  NC1 Montreal Xtreme 3               NC1 Montreal Xtreme 5
  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

  Semifinal            
  H Ottawa Fury Women 1  
  NE1 New Jersey Wildcats 2   Championship
      NE1 New Jersey Wildcats (AET/PK) 0 (2)
  Semifinal   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

Western Mass Lady Pioneers0 - 1
(AET)
Boston Renegades
Report Welcome  104'
Bowditch Stadium
Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 400
Referee: Niko Bratsis (USA)

Rochester Lady Rhinos0 - 3 Montreal Xtreme
Vieira  14' Report Bilodeau  41'
Morneau  45'
Le Palme  51'
Holland  81'
Attendance: 647
Referee: Carole Anne Chenara (USA)

New Jersey Lady Stallions0 - 1
(AET)
Long Island Lady Riders
Report Stansfield  44'
Prinzevalli  90'
Shulman  104'
Attendance: 1,865
Referee: Richard Sanchez (USA)

Conference semifinals

Charlotte Lady Eagles2 - 0 Hampton Roads Piranhas
Okosieme  19'
Swinehart  63'
Report
Attendance: 565
Referee: Scott Johnson (USA)

Fort Wayne Fever2 - 3 Chicago Cobras
Cinalli  45'  68'
Boland  85' (PK)
Report Graczyk  21'  41'
Lindenmuth  67'
Mooseheart Memorial Stadium
Mooseheart, Illinois
Attendance: 390

Montreal Xtreme5 - 4
(AET)
Long Island Lady Riders
Lesage  6'  17'
Vanderpool  41'  57'
Bilodeau  69'
None  77'
Pinard  117'
Report McCabe  4'
Mustonen  8'
O'Brien  26'
Stansfield  35'
DeCristoforo  63'
Mullen  74'
Attendance: 676
Referee: Teri O'Connor (USA)

Boston Renegades0 - 2 New Jersey Wildcats
Munoz  25'
Frederick  39'
Report Makinen  18'  55' (PK)
Attendance: 676
Referee: John Schleckman

Conference finals

Seattle Sounders Women0 - 1 Vancouver Whitecaps Women
Report Franko  45'
Neil  90'
Attendance: 3,886
Referee: Jill Proctor (USA)

Charlotte Lady Eagles1 - 2
(AET)
Chicago Cobras
Cooper  26' (OG) Report Bogus  81'
Schneider  85'
B. Cooper  100'
Mooseheart Memorial Stadium
Mooseheart, Illinois
Attendance: 110
Referee: Victor Herrera (USA)

Montreal Xtreme5 - 6 New Jersey Wildcats
Walsh  45'
Vaillancourt  47'  55'  90'
Pinard  48'
Hemsley  66'
Report Pichon  16'  21'  44'  79'  85'  89'
Makoski  65'

W-League Semifinals

New Jersey Wildcats2 - 1 Ottawa Fury Women
Pichon  35' (PK),  68'
Makoski  45'
MacNamara  72'
J. Willis  82'
Report Matheson  32'
Robinson  83' (PK)

Chicago Cobras1 - 2 Vancouver Whitecaps Women
Janss  68' Report Neil  53'
Allen  58'

W-League Third Place

W-League Finals

See also

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