Ottawa Fury Women was a Canadian women's soccer team based in Ottawa, Ontario. Founded in 2000, 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 competed in the W-League's Central Conference with the rest of the league's Canadian clubs.
The team was part of the Ottawa Fury FC organization, which included the Ottawa Fury FC men's professional team, the Academy and the former semi-professional team Ottawa Fury SC. The women's team was disbanded following the 2014 season.
History The Ottawa Fury was founded as a women's team in 2000 by Andy Nera, who served as owner and coach, to compete in the USL W-League. The team failed to make the playoffs in each of their first two seasons.
In 2002, the team was purchased by John Pugh. In 2004, the Fury captured their first division title in 2004 (the first of nine consecutive) and their first conference title in 2005. In 2005, the Fury added a men's team, Ottawa Fury SC in the semi-professional Premier Development League.
They advanced to the League Championship final in 2005 and 2006, losing both years to the New Jersey Wildcats and Vancouver Whitecaps, respectively. In 2007, they posted their first undefeated season, with a record of 11 wins and 1 draw.
After clinching their ninth consecutive Central Division title, the Fury women captured the 2012 League title, defeating the Pali Blues in the championship final on penalty kicks, which was hosted in Ottawa.
Following the formation of the professional men's team, Ottawa Fury FC, the women's team adopted the Fury FC branding and logo for the 2014 season. After the 2014 season, in which the team finished the regular season undefeated and coming in third-place in the league championship tournament, the team folded in "a business decision to cease operation", with the organization focusing on it the men's professional team. Despite folding the women's team, the club remained committed to its girls development program through the Elite Girls Academy and other grassroots and community initiatives. The disbanding of the team occurred just days ahead of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup official draw in Ottawa. The Fury women had amassed the second-most wins in W-League history.
Head coaches
CoachTenure Andy Nera 2000–2002 Frank Lofranco 2003–2007 Craig Smith 2008–2010 Dominic Oliveri 2011–2014
Year-by-year
YearLeagueRankLeague ChampionshipRef2000USL W-League6–3–53rd, Northern Divisiondid not qualify20015–3–65th, Northern Divisiondid not qualify20025–2–54th, Northern Divisiondid not qualify200311–1–22nd, Northern DivisionSemi-finals200413–0–11st, North Central DivisionSemi-Finals200513–0–11st, Northern DivisionFinalists200610–1–11st, Northern DivisionFinalists200711–1–01st, Northern DivisionQuarter-finals200813–0–11st, Northern DivisionQuarter-finals200911–2–11st, Great Lakes DivisionSemi-finals20108–3–11st, Great Lakes DivisionQuarter-finals201112–0–01st, Great Lakes DivisionFinalists201210–0–21st, Central DivisionChampions20137–2–32nd, Central ConferenceQuarter-finals201411–1–01st, Central ConferenceSemi-finals
Awards and honours Ottawa Fury Women have won the following USL W-League awards:Fury W-League History on Champions: 1 (2012) Conference Champions: 3 (2005, 2006, 2014) Division Champions: 10 (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014)
Stadium Algonquin College Soccer Complex; Ottawa, Ontario (2008–2014) Keith Harris Stadium;Canada Soccer, Ottawa to host 2004 W-League Championship, http://www.canadasoccer.com/news/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=1577&lang=en Ottawa, Ontario (2000–2007)
Notable former players The following Fury players have played at the senior international level:
References
External links
Ottawa Fury Women on USL Soccer