The 2003 Women's United Soccer Association season was the third and final season for WUSA, the first top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. The regular season began on April 5 and ended on August 10. The playoffs began on August 16, with the championship match between played on August 24 between the Washington Freedom and the Atlanta Beat.
| Season | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Washington Freedom |
← 2002 | |
Competition format
edit- The regular season began on April 5 and ended on August 10.
- Each team played a total of 21 games, three against each opponent (either twice at home and once away or vice versa). This caused an uneven schedule with teams hosting either 10 or 11 home games each.
- The four teams with the most points from the regular season qualified for the playoffs. The regular season champions and runners-up hosted the fourth- and third-placed teams, respectively, in the single-game semifinals on August 17. The winners of the semifinals met at Torero Stadium in San Diego, California for the final on August 24.
Standings
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Breakers | 21 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 33 | 29 | +4 | 37 | Regular season winners |
| 2 | Atlanta Beat | 21 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 34 | 19 | +15 | 35 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 3 | San Diego Spirit | 21 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 27 | 26 | +1 | 31 | |
| 4 | Washington Freedom (C) | 21 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 40 | 31 | +9 | 31 | |
| 5 | New York Power | 21 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 33 | 43 | −10 | 26 | |
| 6 | San Jose CyberRays | 21 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 23 | 30 | −7 | 25 | |
| 7 | Carolina Courage | 21 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 31 | 33 | −2 | 25 | |
| 8 | Philadelphia Charge | 21 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 30 | 40 | −10 | 20 |
Playoffs
edit| Semi-Finals | Founders Cup | ||||||||
| 1 | Boston Breakers | 0 (1) | |||||||
| 4 | Washington Freedom | 0 (3) | |||||||
| 4 | Washington Freedom | 2 | |||||||
| 2 | Atlanta Beat | 1 | |||||||
| 2 | Atlanta Beat | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | San Diego Spirit | 1 | |||||||
Semi-finals
edit| August 16, 2003 Semi-Finals | Boston Breakers | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (1–3 p) | Washington Freedom | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Report | Stadium: Nickerson Field Attendance: 9,070 Referee: Misail Tsapos | |||
| Penalties | ||||
Meinert  Lilly Mellgren  Aldama |
Meier Little Hamm |
|||
| August 17, 2003 Semi-Finals | Atlanta Beat | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | San Diego Spirit | Atlanta, Georgia |
Pohlers  90+2'Hooper  94' |
Report | Wagner 38' |
Stadium: Herndon Stadium Attendance: 8,123 Referee: Erich Simmons |
Founders Cup III
edit| August 24, 2003 Founders Cup | Washington Freedom | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Atlanta Beat | San Diego, California |
| Wambach 7', 96' |
Report | Hooper 46' (pen.) |
Stadium: Torero Stadium Attendance: 7,106 Referee: Terry Vaughn |
Awards
edit| Award | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player |  Maren Meinert |
Boston Breakers |
| Defensive Player of the Year |  Joy Fawcett |
San Diego Spirit |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | Briana Scurry |
Washington Freedom |
| Rookie of the Year |  Christine Latham |
San Diego Spirit |
| Coach of the Year |  Pia Sundhage |
Boston Breakers |
| Humanitarian Award | Jenny Benson |
Philadelphia Charge |
| Team Community Service Award | San Jose CyberRays | |
| Team Fair Play Award | Philadelphia Charge | |
| Referee of the Year | Terry Vaughn |
|
| Executive of the Year | Joe Cummings |
Boston Breakers |
| Goal of the Year | Abby Wambach |
Washington Freedom |
Source:[3]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "2003 WUSA Regular Season Standings". Soccer Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ^ "WUSA Stats and Standings (Archived)". Archived from the original on October 8, 2003. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Meinert wins most valuable player". USA Today. Retrieved May 20, 2014.