The 2009 W-League Season was the league's 15th. The regular season began on May 8 with the

Hampton Roads Piranhas Hampton Roads Piranhas was an American women's soccer team, founded in 1995. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada. The team played in the Atlantic Divisi ...

defeating the

Charlotte Lady Eagles The Charlotte Eagles (formerly the Charlotte Lady Eagles) is an American women's soccer team that plays in the USL W League. Owned by Missionary Athletes International (MAI), it is a sister club to the namesake men's team, and the Southern ...

2–1 in

Charlotte Charlotte most commonly refers to: *Charlotte (given name), a feminine form of the given name Charles ** Princess Charlotte (disambiguation) ** Queen Charlotte (disambiguation) *Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, a city * Charlotte (cake) ...

. The season ended with 10 games on July 19. The playoffs began on July 22 and ended on August 7.

Pali Blues Pali Blues was an American women's soccer team, which played from 2008 to 2014. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada. The team played in the Western ...

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 Iris Adriana Mora Vallejo (born 22 September 1981) is a Mexican former footballer who played as a forward. She has been a member of the Mexico women's national team. College career Mora attended the University of California, Los Angeles in th ...

was named the Playoffs MVP. FC Indiana's

Laura del Río Laura del Río García (born 5 February 1982) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a forward. She last managed men's club Flat Earth FC. She used to play for Bristol Academy in England's FA WSL. Prior to that, she p ...

finished with the most points (40) and goals (18), while her teammate

Mónica Ocampo Mónica Ocampo Medina (born 4 January 1987) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a forward for CF Pachuca and the Mexico women's national team. She has also been a member of Mexico's U19 and U-20 teams. Club career From 2006 to ...

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.

Changes from 2008 season

Name Changes

Six teams changed their name in the off-season:

Expansion Teams

Two teams were added for the season:

Teams Leaving

Six teams folded after the 2008 season: *

Bradenton Athletics Bradenton Athletics were a professional American women's soccer team based in Bradenton, Florida. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, then the premier women's soccer league in the United States and Canada, from 2004 to 20 ...

Carolina Dynamo Salem City FC is an American amateur soccer club based in Bermuda Run, North Carolina that fields a men's team in USL League Two, and a women's team as the North Carolina Fusion in the USL W League. The teams plays their home games at the Truis ...

Fredericksburg Lady Gunners Fredericksburg Lady Gunners was an American women's soccer team, founded in 2006. The team is a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League (1995–2015), W-League, and played in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team fol ...

Michigan Hawks Michigan Hawks was an American women's soccer team that joined the United Soccer Leagues W-League in 2004 as the Detroit Jaguars and renamed to the Michigan Hawks as growth from the larger Michigan Wolves/Hawks organization. The Hawks played in ...

* Vermont Lady Voltage * West Virginia Illusion Jersey Sky Blue and

Washington Freedom Washington Freedom may refer to: * Washington Freedom (cricket) * Washington Freedom (soccer) {{dab ...

both have expansion teams in

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 ...

. 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.

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

Midwest Division

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

Northeast Division

Western Conference

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

received the division's second playoff spot (the

Boston Renegades Boston Renegades was an American women's soccer team, founded in 1995. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada. The team played in the Northeast Divisio ...

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 Eastern Conference Western Conference

W-League Championship Bracket

Divisional Round

Conference semifinals

---- ---- ----

Conference finals

---- ----

W-League Semifinals

----

W-League Championship

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.

Most Valuable Player Finalists

* Angelika Johansson, F, Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues (Winner) *

, F,

FC Indiana F.C. Indiana, also known as F.C. Indiana Lionesses, is an American women's soccer team based in Indiana. Founded in 2003, the team is currently a member of the United Women's Soccer league. They play their home games at Newton Park in Lakevill ...

Amber Hearn Amber Liarnie Rose Hearn (born 28 November 1984) is a New Zealand former professional Association football, soccer player who represented New Zealand women's national football team, New Zealand between 2004 and 2018. A prolific scorer, she is th ...

, F,

Ottawa Fury Women Ottawa Fury Women was a Canadian women's soccer team based in Ottawa, Ontario. Founded in 2000, the team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada. The team competed ...

U19 Player of the Year Finalists

* Chanté Sandiford, G, Washington Freedom Reserves (Winner) *

Sarah Chapman Sarah Chapman (later Dearman; 31 October 1862 – 27 November 1945) was a British trade unionist who was one of the leaders of the 1888 Bryant & May matchgirls' strike. Chapman and others involved in the strike have since been recognised as "pio ...

, M,

Tampa Bay Hellenic Tampa Bay Hellenic are an American women's soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. Established in 2008, they currently play in the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL). They play their home games at the Ed Radice Sports Complex. Their colors are whi ...

* Fortuna Velaj, F, Connecticut Passion

Defender of the Year Finalists

* Brittany Taylor, Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues (Winner) *

Ashleigh Gunning Sarah Ashleigh Gunning (born April 25, 1985) is an American retired soccer forward who most recently played for Kvarnsvedens IK in the 2012–2013 seasons. She previously played for Norwegian club Arna-Bjørnar in the Toppserien, Adelaide Unite ...

, Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues *

Ria Percival Ria Dawn Percival (born 7 December 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder. She last played for Crystal Palace, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. Born in England, she played for the New Zealand women's national te ...

Goalkeeper of the Year

Michelle Betos Michelle Jenny Betos (born February 20, 1988) is an American professional soccer coach and player who plays as a goalkeeper for NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She is perhaps best known for being the first NWSL goal ...

Atlanta Silverbacks Women Atlanta Silverbacks Women was an American women's soccer team that played from 2005 until 2016. The team played in the USL W-League from 2005 until the league folded after the 2015 season. For the 2016 season they played in the Women's Premier S ...

Coach of the Year Finalists

* Fabien Cottin, Quebec City Arsenal (Winner) * Tony Anglin, Chicago Red Eleven *

George Fotopoulos George Fotopoulos is an American soccer coach with Greek background. He coached the Louisiana State University (LSU) women's soccer team from 2000 to 2004. Fotopoulos went 52–39–14 in five years at LSU, posting a 12–28–6 record in the S ...

* Jesse Kolmel, Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues

All-League and All-Conference teams

Central Conference

IND Ind or IND may refer to: General * Independent (politician), a politician not affiliated to any political party * Independent station, used within television program listings and the television industry for a station that is not affiliated with ...

;

*, OTT; Caroline Smith,

MIN Min or MIN may refer to: Places * Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China ** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian * Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China * Min River (Fujian) * Min River (Sichuan) * Mineola (Am ...

Gemma Davison Gemma Suzanne Davison (born 17 April 1987) is an English footballer who plays as a forward. She has previously played for Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Reading whom she joined from Chelsea in 2018. After joining Arsenal at youth team level ...

CHI __NOTOC__ Chi may refer to: __NOTOC__ Greek *Chi (letter) (Χ or χ), the twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet Chinese * ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter *Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon * Chi (surname) ...

; Jennifer Hance, OTT;

Fatima Leyva Fatima bint Muhammad (; 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fatima al-Zahra' (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, the fourth of the Rashidun caliphs and the first Shia imam. Fat ...

; Rosa Tantillo*, BUF
D: Jenny Jeffers,

;

*, OTT;

Clare Rustad Clare Ada Rustad (born May 27, 1983) is a Canadian broadcaster and former Association football, soccer midfielder. Her last club was the Toronto Lady Lynx in 2010. She played for Canada women's national soccer team between 2000 and 2008, making 4 ...

TOR Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to: Places * Toronto, Canada ** Toronto Raptors * Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain * Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city * Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano * Tor Bay, Devon, England * Tor ...

G: Shannon Lynn,

Honorable Mention: Margaret Allgeier, D, FW; Haley Ford, D, CLE;

Christina Julien Christina Marie Katrina Julien (born 6 May 1988 in Cornwall, Ontario) is a Canadian women's soccer plays who plays as a striker. She has played in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup and won a gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games. Julien was ...

, F,

LAV LAV or Lav may refer to: Persons * Lav, an alternative name for Lava (''Ramayana''), a son of the Hindu deity Rama and his wife Sita, whose story is told in the ''Ramayana'' * Lav, translation in some Slavic languages of the name Lev * Luis A ...

; Melissa Lesage, F, QC; Heather MacDougall, M,

HAM Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...

; Courtney Nash, M, WMi; Anna Stinson, M,

KAL Kal may refer to: People *Kal (name) *Kal or KAL, Kevin Kallaugher (born 1955), editorial cartoonist Places Iran * Kal, Fars, a village **Kal Rural District, in Fars Province * Kal, Kurdistan, a village * Kal, Susan, a village in Khuzestan Prov ...

;

Jenn Wolbert Jenn is a feminine given name, frequently a shortened form (hypocorism) of Jennifer (given name), Jennifer. It may refer to: Authors * Jenn Alandy Trahan, an American short story writer * Jenn Ashworth (born 1982), an English writer * Jenn Bennet ...

, G,

LON Lon or LON may refer to: People * Lon (photographer), pseudonym of Alonzo Hanagan, also known as "Lon of New York" * Lon (name), a list of people with the given name, nickname or surname Fictional characters * Nero Wolfe supporting characters#Lon ...

; Casey Zimney, D, ROC

Eastern Conference

F: Angelika Johansson*, HV;

Jen Parsons Jen is a feminineSebased on U.S. Social Security Records given name, frequently a shortened form (hypocorism) of Jennifer, and occasionally a surname. It may refer to: Given name People *Jen Adams (born 1979), Australian lacrosse coach and form ...

, WAS; Brittany Tegeler, WAS
M: Lindsay Ozimek, CHA;

Christina Rife Christina may refer to: People * Christina (given name), shared by several people * Christina (surname), shared by several people Places * Christina, Montana, unincorporated community, United States * Christina, British Columbia, Canada * Chris ...

, CHA; Megan Tomlinson, ATL
D:

Casey Brown Casey may refer to: Places Antarctica *Casey Station * Casey Range Australia * Casey, Australian Capital Territory * City of Casey, Melbourne * Division of Casey, electoral district for the House of Representatives Canada * Casey, Ontario * ...

BOS ''Bos'' (from Latin '' bōs'': cow, ox, bull) is a genus of bovines, which includes, among others, wild and domestic cattle. ''Bos'' is often divided into four subgenera: ''Bos'', ''Bibos'', ''Novibos'', and ''Poephagus'', but including t ...

;

*, HV; Philisha Lewis, TB; Brittany Taylor*, HV
G:

*, 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

PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

; Jodi Ann Robinson,

VAN A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...

M: Michelle French*,

SEA A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

;

Tobin Heath Tobin Powell Heath (born May 29, 1988) is an American professional soccer player and entrepreneur. Playing primarily as a forward and midfielder for the United States national team, she won gold at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, 2012 Lon ...

; Nikki Marshall,

COL A col is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks; a mountain pass or saddle. COL, CoL or col may also refer to: Computers * Caldera OpenLinux, a defunct Linux distribution * , an HTML element specifying a column * A collision sig ...

;

Carmelina Moscato Carmelina Moscato (born May 2, 1984) is a Canadian soccer coach and former professional player who is currently an assistant coach for Racing Louisville FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played as a defender for UPC Tavagnac ...

;

Nikki Washington Madeline Nicole Washington (born August 1, 1988) is an American retired professional soccer forward and right midfielder who last played for Boston Breakers in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and is currently an assistant coach for the ...

D: Jenea Gibbons, LA; Kelli Smith,

; Leah Tapscott,

G: Katie Hultin,

Honorable Mention:

Kay Hawke Kay Joyce Hawke (born 28 March 1983) is an English footballer, who most recently played as a goalkeeper for Lincoln Ladies in the FA WSL. During her career she has played for Blackburn Rovers, Lincoln Ladies and Ventura County Fusion in Calif ...

, G,

VEN Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It comprises an area of , and its popul ...

Taryn Hemmings Taryn Elizabeth Hemmings (born April 26, 1986) is an American former professional soccer defender. Early life Hemmings grew up in Greeley, Colorado and attended Greeley West High School. During her junior and senior years, she led her high sc ...

, M, RC * ''denotes All-League selections.''

Source website

USL historical stats

References

{{2009 in Canadian soccer USL W-League (1995–2015) seasons 2 2009 United Soccer Leagues W

Changes from 2008 season

Name Changes

Expansion Teams

Teams Leaving

Standings

Central Conference

Great Lakes Division

Midwest Division

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

Northeast Division

Western Conference

Playoffs

Format

Conference Brackets

W-League Championship Bracket

Divisional Round

Conference semifinals

Conference finals

W-League Semifinals

W-League Championship

Awards

Most Valuable Player Finalists

U19 Player of the Year Finalists

Defender of the Year Finalists

Goalkeeper of the Year

Coach of the Year Finalists

All-League and All-Conference teams

Central Conference

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

See also

Source website

References