2005 USL W-League season
| Season | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Champions | New Jersey Wildcats |
← 2004 2006 → | |
The 2005 W-League Season was the USL W-League's 11th season.
Changes from 2004 season
[edit]Name changes
[edit]Three teams changed their name in the off-season:
| Team name | Metro area | Previous name |
|---|---|---|
 Chicago Gaels
|
Chicago area | Chicago Cobras |
 Mile High Edge
|
Boulder area | Mile High Mustangs |
| Real Colorado Cougars
|
Denver area | Denver Lady Cougars |
Expansion teams
[edit]Five teams were added for the season:
| Team name | Metro area | Location | Previous affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|
 Atlanta Silverbacks Women
|
Atlanta area | Atlanta, GA | expansion |
 Central Florida Krush
|
Orlando area | Winter Park, FL | expansion |
 San Diego Gauchos Women
|
San Diego area | San Diego, CA | expansion |
 Toronto Lady Lynx
|
Toronto area | Toronto, ON | expansion |
 Vermont Lady Voltage
|
Burlington area | St. Albans, VT | expansion |
Teams leaving
[edit]One team left for the WPSL:
Eight teams folded after the 2004 season:
- Asheville Splash
- Calgary Wildfire
- Columbus Lady Shooting Stars
- Edmonton Aviators Women
- Montreal Xtreme
- Rhode Island Lady Stingrays
- Toronto Inferno
- Windy City Bluez
Standings
[edit]Orange indicates W-League title and bye into W-League semifinals.
Blue indicates division title clinched
Green indicates playoff berth clinched
Central Conference
[edit]Atlantic Division
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlotte Lady Eagles | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 37 | 11 | +26 | 34 |
| 2 | Central Florida Kraze | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 32 | 13 | +19 | 33 |
| 3 | Atlanta Silverbacks Women | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 30 | 20 | +10 | 25 |
| 4 | Hampton Roads Piranhas | 14 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 28 | 29 | −1 | 18 |
| 5 | Richmond Kickers Destiny | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 23 | −3 | 18 |
| 6 | Northern Virginia Majestics | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 22 | 33 | −11 | 15 |
| 7 | Bradenton Athletics | 14 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 25 | −13 | 15 |
| 8 | Carolina Dynamo Women | 14 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 10 | 37 | −27 | 5 |
Midwest Division
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Detroit Jaguars | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 38 | 13 | +25 | 33 |
| 2 | Cleveland Internationals Women | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 36 | 20 | +16 | 27 |
| 3 | London Gryphons | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 31 | 18 | +13 | 26 |
| 4 | Cincinnati Ladyhawks | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 33 | 40 | −7 | 19 |
| 5 | Fort Wayne Fever | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 24 | 36 | −12 | 15 |
| 6 | Chicago Gaels | 14 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 27 | 38 | −11 | 14 |
| 7 | West Michigan Firewomen | 14 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 21 | 45 | −24 | 10 |
Eastern Conference
[edit]Northeast Division
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey Wildcats | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 57 | 2 | +55 | 39 |
| 2 | Boston Renegades | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 43 | 23 | +20 | 27 |
| 3 | Long Island Rough Riders | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 21 | 14 | +7 | 24 |
| 4 | Western Mass Lady Pioneers | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 16 | +1 | 22 |
| 5 | New York Magic | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 19 | 26 | −7 | 16 |
| 6 | New Hampshire Lady Phantoms | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 14 | 56 | −42 | 6[a] |
| 7 | South Jersey Banshees | 14 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 57 | −51 | 3 |
Notes:
- ^ New Hampshire was docked 3 points for violations.
Northern Division
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ottawa Fury Women | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 64 | 7 | +57 | 39 |
| 2 | Toronto Lady Lynx | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 44 | 16 | +28 | 33 |
| 3 | Vermont Lady Voltage | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 21 |
| 4 | Sudbury Canadians | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 50 | −35 | 9 |
| 5 | Rochester Ravens | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 14 | 50 | −36 | 9 |
Western Conference
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver Whitecaps Women | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 4 | +43 | 39 |
| 2 | Arizona Heatwave | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 40 | 17 | +23 | 31 |
| 3 | Mile High Edge | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 20 | +20 | 30 |
| 4 | Real Colorado Cougars | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 26 | 24 | +2 | 22 |
| 5 | Seattle Sounders Women | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 25 | 27 | −2 | 16 |
| 6 | Fort Collins Force | 14 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 13 | 44 | −31 | 7 |
| 7 | San Diego Gauchos Women | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 59 | −55 | 0 |
Playoffs
[edit]Format
[edit]Five teams from the Eastern Conference, four teams from the Central Conference and two from the Western Conference qualify for the playoffs. All match-ups are in a one-leg format.
In the Central Conference, the division champions play the second-place team from the opposite division.
In the Eastern Conference, the division champion with the best record receives a bye, and will play the winner of the teams with the 4th and 5th-best conference records. The other division champion will play the seventh-place team, and plays the winner of the third-place and sixth-place teams.
The two teams in the Western Conference will play each other to advance to the W-League Semifinals.
The regular season champion, New Jersey Wildcats, received a bye into the W-League semifinals, with the eighth-place team from the Eastern Conference receiving a playoff berth.
Conference brackets
[edit]Central Conference
| Central Semifinals | Central Championship | ||||||||
| A1 |  Charlotte Lady Eagles
| 6 | |||||||
| MW2 |  Cleveland Internationals Women
| 2 | |||||||
| A1 | Charlotte Lady Eagles
| 0 | |||||||
| A2 | Central Florida Krush
| 1 | |||||||
| MW1 |  Detroit Jaguars
| 2 | |||||||
| A2 | Central Florida Krush
| 3 | |||||||
Eastern Conference
| Eastern Quarterfinals | Eastern Semifinals | Eastern Championship | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Ottawa Fury Women
| 5 | ||||||||||||
| E4 |  Long Island Rough Riders
| 1 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Long Island Rough Riders
| 3 | ||||||||||||
| E5 |  Western Mass Lady Pioneers
| 1 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Ottawa Fury Women
| 2 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Toronto Lady Lynx
| 0 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Boston Renegades
| 4 | ||||||||||||
| E7 | New York Magic
| 0 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Boston Renegades
| 1 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Toronto Lady Lynx
| 2 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Toronto Lady Lynx
| 6 | ||||||||||||
| E6 | Vermont Lady Voltage
| 0 | ||||||||||||
Western Conference
| Western Finals | ||||
| W1 |  Vancouver Whitecaps Women
| 4 | ||
| W2 |  Arizona Heatwave
| 0 | ||
W-League Championship bracket
[edit]| Semifinals | Championship | ||||||||
| H |  New Jersey Wildcats
| 2 | |||||||
| W1 | Vancouver Whitecaps Women
| 1 | |||||||
| H | New Jersey Wildcats
| 3 | |||||||
| E1 | Ottawa Fury Women
| 0 | |||||||
| E1 | Ottawa Fury Women
| 2 | |||||||
| A2 | Central Florida Krush
| 1 | Third Place | ||||||
| W1 | Vancouver Whitecaps Women
| 3 | |||||||
| A2 | Central Florida Krush
| 1 | |||||||