1995 USWISL season

Last updated

USL W-League
Season1995
Champions Long Island Lady Riders
(1st title)
Matches played157
Goals scored327 (2.08 per match)
Top goalscorer Charmaine Hooper
(31 goals)
1996 →

The 1995 USWISL, also known as the 1995 Nike W League for sponsorship reasons, [1] [2] [3] was the inaugural season of the United States Women's Interregional Soccer League (USWISL), which later became the USL W-League. Operated by the USISL, it was the highest division of women's soccer in the United States at the time. [4] The Long Island Lady Riders were crowned champions after defeating the Southern California Nitemares in the Championship game. [4]

Contents

Background

In December 1993, it was announced that the USISL had committed to establishing the first US-wide women's soccer league, and that it would begin operations in 1995. [5] In 1994, in preparation for the following year, around eighteen teams were established with the purpose of playing a few exhibition games with each other under the USISL umbrella. Five of these teams were then invited to a final tournament in Trinity, North Carolina, which was won by the Sacramento Storm, who defeated the Greensboro Dynamo 1–0 in the Championship game. [5]

The league was originally meant to include 20 teams, [1] but only 19 entered the competition; moreover, the Wichita Lady Blues and the Tulsa Roughnecks folded early in the year, thus bringing the number of competing teams down to 17, divided into three divisions (Eastern, Central, and Western). [4] [3]

Competition format

The league did not follow the standard FIFA points system; instead, points were awarded as follows: [4]

League standings

Eastern Division

Pos [4] TeamPldWLSWSLGFGAGDPtsBP
1 Long Island Lady Riders (C)1091103011+197826
2 Pennsylvania Freedom 1073111110+15311
3 Connecticut Lady Wolves 106411161605216
4 Mass Bay Crusaders 1064212014+64915
5 Boston Tornado 1046021617−14416
6 Baltimore Lady Bays 945001614+23713
7 Hampton Roads Piranhas 90600726−1977
8 Rhode Island Stingrays 90900222−2022

Central Division

Pos [4] TeamPldWLSWSLGFGAGDPtsBP
1 Rockford Dactyls 98100385+337224
2 Texas Lightning 862003112+195620
3 Columbus Ziggx 954002226−44919
4 Cincinnati Leopards 1055002426−24717
5 Tulsa Roughnecks 0000000000
6 Wichita Lady Blues 0000000000

Western Division

Pos [4] TeamPldWLSWSLGFGAGDPtsBP
1 Southern California Nitemares 972003112+196422
2 San Francisco Vikings 972002012+86220
3 Sacramento Storm 954002217+54917
4 San Diego Lady Top Guns 927011620−42410
5 Arizona Heatwave 82610525−20155

Sizzlin' Six Tournament

The Sizzlin' Six Tournament took place in Cincinnati, Ohio from August 11 to August 13, 1995. The Cincinnati Leopards qualified automatically as the hosts of the tournament. Having won their respective divisions, the Long Island Lady Riders (Eastern), the Rockford Dactyls (Central), and the Southern California Nitemares (Western) also qualified for the tournament. The Pennsylvania Freedom and the Texas Lightning, who finished second in the Eastern and Central divisions respectively, took the remaining two spots. [3]

The six qualified teams played in a modified round-robin tournament, with each team playing games on August 11 and 12 against two non-division opponents. The Championship game was played on August 13, 1995. [3]

Flag of California.svg Southern California Nitemares 3 − 0 Flag of Illinois.svg Rockford Dactyls
Report
Flag of Texas.svg Texas Lightning 1 − 0 Flag of Pennsylvania.svg Pennsylvania Freedom
Report
Flag of New York.svg Long Island Lady Riders 1 − 0 Flag of Ohio.svg Cincinnati Leopards
Grossman Soccerball shade.svg1' Report

Statistical leaders

Top scorers

RankPlayerClubGoals [3]
1 Charmaine Hooper Rockford Dactyls 31
2Diane McLoughlin Long Island Lady Riders 19
3Jennifer Evans Southern California Nitemares 18
4Janette Javit Texas Lightning 17
5Erica Handelman Rockford Dactyls 15
6Jennifer Shannon Cincinnati Leopards 14
7Paula Russo Boston Tornado 13
8Kara Lee Texas Lightning 11
Lori Hokerson Sacramento Storm
10Caitlin Connolly Long Island Lady Riders 9

Awards

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References

  1. 1 2 Deardorff, Julie (June 1, 1995). "U.S. WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM GOING FOR MORE GLORY". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  2. ↑ "NEW JORDAN NIKE AD TO PREMIER SUNDAY". Sports Business Journal. May 5, 1995. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Litterer, David. "The Year in American Soccer, 1995". www.soccerhistoryusa.org. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "USA - United States Women's Interregional Soccer League (W-League)". RSSSF . Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Litterer, David. "The Year in American Soccer, 1994". www.soccerhistoryusa.org. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "2013 USL Media Guide". United Soccer League . Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  7. 1 2 "GETTING THE SPOILS: Lady Riders brought home a lot of hardware in '95". www.frontrowsoccer.com. September 13, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  8. ↑ Lewis, Michael. "Women's History 1995 – 2006". Long Island Rough Riders . Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  9. ↑ Lewis, Michael (September 13, 2020). "WHEN THE LADY RIDERS RODE HIGH: How LI team captured national women's title in 1995". www.frontrowsoccer.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
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