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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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina Carolina Dynamo | Greensboro area | Greensboro, NC | expansion |
| North Carolina Carolina RailHawks | Research Triangle area | Cary, NC | expansion |
| Connecticut Connecticut Passion | Hartford and New Haven areas | Berlin, CT | expansion |
| Indiana FC Indiana | Indianapolis area | Indianapolis, IN | previously in WPSL |
| Michigan Kalamazoo Outrage | Kalamazoo area | Kalamazoo, MI | expansion |
| California Los Angeles Legends | suburban Los Angeles area | Azusa, CA | expansion |
| California Pali Blues | Los Angeles area | Los Angeles, CA | expansion |
| Florida Tampa Bay Hellenic | Tampa Bay area | Tampa, FL | expansion |
| West Virginia 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
Northern Division
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
Northeast Division
Western Conference
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
| RD1-seed1=NO2 | RD1-team1=Ontario Toronto Lady Lynx | RD1-score1=0 | RD1-seed2=NO3 | RD1-team2=Quebec Laval Comets | RD1-score2=2 | RD2-seed1=MW1 | RD2-team1=Indiana FC Indiana | RD2-score1=5 | RD2-seed2=NO3 | RD2-team2=Quebec Laval Comets | RD2-score2=1 | RD2-seed3=NO1 | RD2-team3=Ontario Ottawa Fury Women | RD2-score3=3 | RD2-seed4=MW2 | RD2-team4=Illinois Chicago Gaels | RD2-score4=2 | RD3-seed1=MW1 | RD3-team1=Indiana FC Indiana (AET) | RD3-score1=4 | RD3-seed2=NO1 | RD3-team2=Ontario Ottawa Fury Women | RD3-score2=3
Eastern Conference | RD1-seed1=NE2 | RD1-team1=New York Long Island Rough Riders | RD1-score1=1 | RD1-seed2=NE3 | RD1-team2=Massachusetts Boston Renegades | RD1-score2=0 | RD2-seed1=AT1 | RD2-team1=Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta Silverbacks Women | RD2-score1=1 | RD2-seed2=NE2 | RD2-team2=New York Long Island Rough Riders | RD2-score2=0 | RD2-seed3=NE1 | RD2-team3=Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom (AET) | RD2-score3=6 | RD2-seed4=AT2 | RD2-team4=North Carolina Charlotte Lady Eagles | RD2-score4=5 | RD3-seed1=AT1 | RD3-team1=Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta Silverbacks Women | RD3-score1=1 | RD3-seed2=NE1 | RD3-team2=Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom (AET) | RD3-score2=2
Western Conference | RD1-seed1=W1 | RD1-team1=British Columbia Vancouver Whitecaps Women | RD1-score1=0 | RD1-seed2=W2 | RD1-team2=Washington Seattle Sounders Women | RD1-score2=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
| RD1-seed1 = WL | RD1-team1 = California Pali Blues | RD1-score1 = 2 | RD1-seed2 = NE1 | RD1-team2 = Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom | RD1-score2 = 0
| RD1-seed3 = MW1 | RD1-team3 = Indiana FC Indiana | RD1-score3 = 1 | RD1-seed4 = W2 | RD1-team4 = Washington Seattle Sounders Women | RD1-score4 = 0
| RD2-seed1 = WL | RD2-team1 = California Pali Blues | RD2-score1 = 2 | RD2-seed2 = MW1 | RD2-team2 = Indiana FC Indiana | RD2-score2 = 1
| RD2-seed3 = NE1 | RD2-team3 = Washington, D.C. Washington Freedom | RD2-score3 = 2 | RD2-seed4 = W1 | RD2-team4 = Washington Seattle Sounders Women | RD2-score4 = 0
Divisional Rounds
South Huntington, New York
Walsh Afonso Toronto, Ontario
Conference semifinals
Spacht
Trevillian
Maynard (PK)
Powell
West Lafayette, Indiana
(AET)
Schmedes
Murphy
Lyons
Keller
Moros (PK)
Janss
Atlanta, Georgia
Sesselmann
Parker
Phewa
West Lafayette, Indiana
Speck
Buff
Harbrueger
Atlanta, Georgia
Conference finals
Burnaby, British Columbia
(AET)
Welsh
Andrzejewski
Latham
Phillips
Atlanta, Georgia
(AET)
Milyak (OG)
Hance
Avner
Taylor (PK)
Raber
Nault
Del Rio
Phewa
West Lafayette, Indiana
W-League Semifinals
Leyva Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach, Virginia
W-League Third-Place Game
Huffman
Andrzejewski
Virginia Beach, Virginia
W-League Finals
LePeilbet
Pasqui
Virginia Beach, Virginia
References
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
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