2001
The Canadian members of USL showed a lot of promise for an unprecedented year of success with the Calgary Storm, Vancouver Breakers and Vancouver Whitecaps playing well. The expansion Storm flew through their PDL season, suffering just two losses en route to the Regular Season Championship. Goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld was the clear favorite for Goalkeeper of the Year and nearly propelled the club to the title. The Westchester Flames, who finished Third the year before did not want any part of the Canadian glory and defeated the Storm 3-1 in Des Moines for the PDL Championship. With one Canadian dream dashed, the Breakers quickly picked up the flag and continued on a path to to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
The path led the 12-1-1 side to the W-1 Championships in Virginia Beach, but a severe thunderstorm washed away the rejoicing that was to be as the Boston Renegades proved capable of waiting out the two-hour delay that cancelled the Third Place Game and virtually vacated the stadium with no outlook for clear weather. Once the storm broke, however, it was all Boston in a 5-1 game. Nearly a month later, the Breakers’ counterpart squad started their A-League postseason after claiming the regular season Western Conference title and a first round bye with a 16-8-2 mark.
The Whitecaps received an early scare falling behind San Diego in the first leg 2-0, but rebounded with a 4-1 win at home. Unfortunately for the Whitecaps, Hershey’s vaunted defense and inpenetrable goalkeeper were next up. Home field advantage turned horribly against the Vancouver, falling at home to the Wildcats in the first leg 4-0, virtually assuring the upcoming elimination in Hershey. Although Vancouver’s season was over, the club managed to grab a victory, albeit bitter, with a 1-0 win at Hershey. The Rochester Rhinos went on to claim the A-League crown and it was the Charlotte Eagles in their second straight W-2 Final that claimed a championship. The Utah Blitzz capped a remarkable season off with a narrow 1-0 win over the upstart Greenville Lions in the D3 Pro League Championship.
2002
Two clubs from USL’s amateur leagues dominated the scene in 2002 with the Boston Renegades capturing their second straight W-League championship and the Des Moines Menace recording only the third undefeated season in USL amateur outdoor history in the Premier Development League.
The Renegades torched their opponents over the course of the season for 55 goals, suffering just one loss on the road to the Memphis Mercury, 5-4. Their dominance continued into the postseason, winning the Eastern Conference easily to advance to the W-League Championship tournament in Vancouver. Boston defeated the Denver Lady Cougars 2-1 in the semifinals and shutout the 2001 W-2 champion Charlotte Lady Eagles in the final 3-0 with two goals from Erin O’Grady.
The Menace also cruised through the regular season with a few close games that resulted in three draws on their 15-0-3 record. Des Moines led the league in goals with 68 on the season, 17 more than the second place Tampa Bay Hawks. The 19 goals allowed total also ranked tied for third in the league. Poised for a run for the league title, the Menace were stunned at home 3-1 in the conference semifinals by the Mid Michigan Bucks, who grabbed headlines for their play against higher level opponents in previous years.
The Milwaukee Rampage were the top club in the A-League in 2002, winning the league title and advancing the furthest in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Milwaukee defeated the Richmond Kickers 2-1 in double overtime at home for the A-League championship and handed the Chicago Fire a 1-0 loss to become the only USL team to advance to the US Open Cup quarterfinals.
In a neck-and-neck Atlantic Conference race, the Long Island Rough Riders finished first and then advanced to the league semifinals in a 2-2 match against the New York Freedoms decided by penalty kicks (5-2). Long Island then blanked the Connecticut Wolves 3-0 to move onto the final, where they defeated the Wilmington Hammerheads in a 2-1 come from behind win on the road.
2003
The 2003 season saw three of USL’s top clubs finally raise their league’s championship trophy after years of success while the Cape Cod Crusaders repeated as PDL champions.
The Charleston Battery had been the envy of nearly everyone in the A-League for their pearl of a stadium, Blackbaud - the nation’s first privately funded soccer-specific stadium. The club was still missing something to complete the stadium, an A-League championship cup. The Battery finally took care of business in the postseason by downing the perennial power Rochester Rhinos in the conference finals series and downing the Minnesota Thunder, 3-0, in impressive fashion at Blackbaud in the championship.
The PSL’s Wilmington Hammerheads returned to the final for the second straight year and came away victorious at home, where they had fallen the year before. This time, the Hammerheads prevailed, edging the Westchester Flames 2-1 in double overtime on a stormy night at the Legion Sports Complex. Wilmington also saw success in the US Open Cup, reaching the Quarterfinals with an upset win over the A-League’s Atlanta Silverbacks, 2-1, and a stunning 4-1 win over the Dallas Burn of MLS. Three days after winning the league title, the club narrowly fell to DC United, 1-0.
The Hampton Roads Piranhas, one of the two inaugural W-League clubs along with Long Island, became only the third W-League team to win the championship with an unbeaten record. The club swept its way through the regular season schedule at 12-0 before playing host to the championship tournament. The Piranhas opened with a 4-1 win over Seattle in the semifinals to face the Chicago Cobras, the last club to go unbeaten on their way to the title, going 15-0 before winning in penalty kicks in the final against the Raleigh Wings.
Chicago and Hampton Roads battled to the end of regulation scoreless, sending the championship to overtime. Six minutes into the extra frame, Nigerian National Team forward Mercy Akide struck home the game-winner for Hampton Roads, making them only the second club to win the title with a perfect mark. Raleigh accomplished the feat with a 17-0 record in 1998.
2004
2005 PDL FINAL
