The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the United States. The league suspended operations on September 15, 2003, shortly after the end of its third season, after making cumulative losses of around US$100 million.
The San Diego Spirit was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Torero Stadium on the campus of the University of San Diego in San Diego, California. The team began play in 2001. The league announced on September 15, 2003, it was suspending operations.
The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States.
Torero Stadium is a 6,000-seat multi-purpose stadium located on the campus of the University of San Diego in San Diego, California. Opened in 1961, it serves as the home of the school's football and soccer teams.
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 Lakeville, Indiana.
California has 21 major professional sports franchises, far more than any other US state. The San Francisco Bay Area has six major league teams spread amongst three cities: San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. The Greater Los Angeles Area has ten major league teams. San Diego and Sacramento each have one major league team.
Daniela Alves Lima, commonly known as Daniela, is a former Brazilian football midfielder who played for professional clubs in Brazil, Sweden and the United States. As a member of the Brazil women's national football team she participated in two FIFA Women's World Cups and three Olympic Games. Daniela was a box-to-box central midfielder who was renowned for her powerful long range shots.
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 Conference against Colorado Force, Colorado Rush, LA Strikers, Santa Clarita Blue Heat, Seattle Sounders Women, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Victoria Highlanders Women.
Sean Patrick Bowers is a retired U.S. soccer defender. He spent most of his career playing indoor soccer, earning the 1992 NPSL Rookie of the Year, four-time Defender of the Year and a six-time first team All Star in four different indoor leagues. He also played four seasons with the Kansas City Wizards in Major League Soccer. He currently is the General Manager for the San Diego Sockers of the Professional Arena Soccer League.
Ajax America Women is an American women's soccer team, founded in the mid-1970s by Fred Van Soest. Fred Van Soest went to the Netherlands and spoke with the Amsterdam Football Club Ajax and asked if he could use their name and logo for a US women's soccer team and they agreed. Ajax is historically one of the most successful clubs in the world, according to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS). In 1985, Ajax women's team was the first women's team to play in international companion in Brazil; they took 2nd to West Germany. They are also the most successful team in the history of the USASA National Women's Cup, taking the title five times over a ten-year period, their most recent win being in 2007.
The Women's Premier Soccer League Elite (WPSL Elite) was a women's semi-professional soccer league created by the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) to support the sport in the United States, both from continued interest by WPSL teams in professionalism and as a response to the suspension (and ultimate demise) of the WPS.
Women's soccer in the United States has developed quite differently from men's soccer. Until the 1970s, organized women's soccer matches in the U.S. existed only on a limited basis. The U.S. is now regarded as one of the top countries in the world for women's soccer, and FIFA ranked its national team #1 in the world after its back-to-back Women's World Cup victory in 2015 and 2019.
The USASA National Women's Open was an American women's soccer tournament run by the United States Adult Soccer Association. It began in 1996, and from 2009 to 2012 it was known as the Women's Cup. Before the formation of the Women's Open, the Women's Amateur was the top national cup competition.
Jennifer Ann Nielsen is an American retired soccer midfielder and former member of the United States women's national soccer team. In 2012, she was nominated for entry into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
The Houston Aces are an American women's soccer team that was founded in 2012. The Aces participate in the WPSL, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada, underneath the NWSL. The Aces play at Albion Campbell Road."Anderson Inks Contract to Play with Houston Aces". UC Santa Barbara. 17 April 2013.</ref> They joined the United Women's Soccer league in 2016.
LaKeysia Rene Beene is an American former soccer goalkeeper who played for the United States women's national soccer team and the San Jose CyberRays of Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA).
Regina Marie Oceguera Schmuhl, known in the U.S. as Gina Eagleson, is an American-born Mexican former professional footballer who captained the Mexico national team at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. She also played for American soccer team Bay Area CyberRays in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA).
Amanda Kate Cavan is an American mental health counselor, television personality, and former soccer forward who played for the United States women's national soccer team, as well as the Philadelphia Charge and San Jose CyberRays of Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA).
The WUSA Inaugural Player Draft, held before Women's United Soccer Association's initial 2001 season, distributed players to the league's eight inaugural teams. The draft occurred on December 10 and 11, 2000. This took place after each team was allocated three national team players and two foreign players.
Mónica Marie Gerardo Moran is a football manager and former professional player who played as a midfielder and a forward. Born in the United States, she had been capped by the Mexico women's national team, appearing at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. At club level, she has played in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) for the Washington Freedom.
