United Women's Soccer

United Women's Soccer
Country United States
Confederation CONCACAF
Founded December 16, 2015 (2015-12-16)
Number of teams 11
Level on pyramid 2
Current champions Santa Clarita Blue Heat (2016)
Website Official website
2016 UWS season

United Women's Soccer (UWS, also commonly abbreviated UWoSo) is a second-division pro-am women's soccer league in the USA. The league was founded in 2015 as a response to the dual problems of disorganization in the WPSL and of the folding of the USL W-League. The league began play in May 2016[1] with eleven teams.[2][3]

Storm
Locations of announced teams for the 2016 United Women's Soccer season

History

Background

In the summer of 2015, disorganization and the inability to field teams led to many last-minute changes in the WPSL playoffs.[4][5] This, combined with a general lack of competitiveness due to rapid expansion, led to frustration from many long-time WPSL teams. The 2014 WPSL final four hosts ASA Chesapeake Charge elected to skip the 2015 WPSL playoffs altogether as did the entire Sunshine division,[4] Fire & Ice SC was a no-show,[6] and the New England Mutiny published a threatening response to how WPSL as a league was run and was regressing.[5]

Later that year, the W-League suddenly announced that it would be ceasing operations.[7] There had been no outward signs that the league or its teams were struggling, but the league had been contracting steadily over the preceding several years - from 30 teams in four divisions for 2012 to just 18 teams in three divisions for 2015 - and many of the teams that had left were recent finalists (Buffalo Flash, Vancouver Whitecaps Women, Pali Blues, Ottawa Fury Women, and several Washington D.C.-area teams) leaving relatively few flagship teams.

Founding

Spearheaded by the New England Mutiny (a former member of the short-lived WPSL Elite), UWS's first five teams were leaked on 15 December[1] ahead of the league's official announcement the next day;[8] UWS hopes to provide a true second division beneath the NWSL. Negotiations to create the league since the beginning of the WPSL/W-League offseason, with plans that the league will be a national league of two conferences. The eight founding teams, all in the northeastern US and eastern Canada, were the Mutiny, fellow WPSL breakaway Lancaster Inferno, the W-League teams Laval Comets, Long Island Rough Riders, New York Magic, North Jersey Valkyries, and Quebec Dynamo ARSQ looking for a new league, and the expansion team New Jersey Copa FC.[9]

UWS will be sanctioned through USASA,[10] as the W-League and WPSL were.

Early years

Between founding and the beginning of the inaugural season, hints of the desired second Western conference came to light in late January and was made official on February 5, with the first five revealed teams being Real Salt Lake Women and Houston Aces (both previously of WPSL), and the Santa Clarita Blue Heat, the Colorado Storm, and the Colorado Pride (all previously of the W-League).[3][11]

On March 9, 2016, it was announced that the Canadian Soccer Association would not sanction teams in Laval & Quebec for play in UWS, leaving the league with only 11 teams for its inaugural season.[12][13]

On November 1, 2016, Grand Rapids FC announced they would add a women's team, which would begin play in 2017 in a new Midwest division of United Women's Soccer. [14]

Teams

United Women's Soccer
Team Stadium City Founded Previous affiliation Joined UWS
Eastern Division
Lancaster Inferno Pucillo Field Millersville, Pennsylvania 2008 WPSL 2015
Long Island Rough Riders Cy Donnelly Stadium South Huntington, New York 2003 W-League 2015
New England Mutiny Harmon Smith Stadium Agawam, Massachusetts 1999 WPSL 2015
New Jersey Copa FC Mercer County Community College Metuchen, New Jersey 2015 expansion[15] 2015
New York Magic Mazzella Field New Rochelle, New York 1997 W-League 2015
North Jersey Valkyries DePaul Catholic High School Wayne, New Jersey 2009 W-League 2015
Western Division
Colorado Pride Washburn Field Colorado Springs, Colorado 1994 W-League 2016
Colorado Storm Centennial, Colorado 2014 W-League 2016
Houston Aces Sorrels Field Houston, Texas 2012 WPSL 2016
Real Salt Lake Women Ute Field Salt Lake City, Utah 2008 WPSL 2016
Santa Clarita Blue Heat Reese Field Santa Clarita, California 2008 W-League 2016

[10]

Champions

Season Champions Score Runner–up
2016 Santa Clarita Blue Heat 2–1 (AET) New Jersey Copa FC

References

  1. 1 2 Conor, Ryan (15 December 2015). "After struggles with former league, New England Mutiny helping form new United Women's Soccer league". MassLive. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  2. ↑ O'Connell, Brian (16 December 2015). "United Women's Soccer Launches w/ NE Mutiny on Board". MassLive. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 "New league, new coach: Former BYU-Hawaii soccer coach to guide RSL Women". Sean Walker. KSL. January 23, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "WPSL 2015". BigSoccer Forum.
  5. 1 2 NewEnglandMutiny (17 July 2015). "New England Mutiny's WPSL East semifinal on Saturday moved to Connecticut". MassLive. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "WPSL 2015 playoffs". BigSoccer Forum.
  7. ↑ "W-League". Archived from the original on 19 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "New women's league plans to launch". Paul Kennedy. SoccerAmerica. December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Finding A Footprint: United Women's Soccer will be an East-West loop". Charles Cuttone. BigAppleSoccer.com. February 19, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  10. 1 2 "UWS To Form National Pro-Am Women's Soccer League In 2016". 16 December 2015.
  11. ↑ "United Women's Soccer Announces West Conference". United Women's Soccer. February 5, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  12. ↑ "March 2016". Facebook. Laval Comètes. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "To say we're unhappy". Twitter. UWS Soccer. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  14. ↑ "Grand Rapids FC launches women's team for 2017 season".
  15. ↑ "FC Copa Academy News".
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