The 2001 Women's United Soccer Association season served as the inaugural season for WUSA, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. The regular season began on April 14 and ended on August 12, with the postseason games being held on August 18 and August 25.
Attendance figures were high for the first season, particularly early in the season, though not near the levels organizers were expecting based on the attendance for the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. The league spent its initial $40m budget, intended to last five years, in just this first season.
Competition format
The season began on April 14 and ended on August 12. Each team played a total of 21 games, three against each opponent (either twice at home and once away or vice versa). This caused an uneven schedule with teams hosting either 10 or 11 home games each. The four teams with the most points from the regular season qualified for the playoffs. The regular season champions and runners-up hosted the fourth- and third-placed teams, respectively, in the single-game semifinals on August 18. The winners of the semifinals met at Foxboro Stadium for the final on August 25.
Results table
Abbreviation and Color Key:Atlanta Beat - ATL • Bay Area CyberRays - BAY • Boston Breakers - BOS • Carolina Courage - CARNew York Power - NYP • Philadelphia Charge - PHI • San Diego Spirit - SDS • Washington Freedom - WSHWin Loss Tie HomeClubMatch123456789101112131415161718192021Atlanta BeatNYPPHIBOSSDSPHIBAYCARBOSWSHSDSCARPHIWSHNYPBAYNYPCARSDSBOSWSHBAY0-00-00-11-10-20-10-21-12-13-21-11-13-20-31-12-13-23-10-11-24-0Bay Area CyberRaysWSHBOSPHICARBOSATLSDSNYPCARPHISDSNYPWSHBOSATLWSHSDSCARPHINYPATL1-01-13-22-12-40-13-10-02-03-00-01-02-30-21-11-00-21-23-20-14-0Boston BreakersCARBAYATLWSHBAYPHINYPATLSDSWSHNYPSDSCARBAYPHICARNYPWSHATLSDSPHI0-11-10-12-22-42-32-31-13-11-03-13-12-10-21-21-24-22-10-10-12-1Carolina CourageBOSWSHNYPBAYWSHSDSATLNYPPHIBAYATLWSHPHIBOSSDSBOSATLBAYNYPPHISDS0-11-23-12-12-24-30-22-43-02-01-12-02-02-12-01-23-21-20-15-12-2New York PowerATLSDSCARPHISDSWSHBOSCARBAYPHIBOSSDSBAYATLWSHATLBOSPHICARBAYWSH0-00-03-12-20-11-22-32-40-02-13-11-11-00-32-12-14-22-10-10-10-2Philadelphia ChargeSDSATLBAYNYPATLBOSWSHWSHCARNYPBAYATLCARSDSBOSWSHNYPBAYCARSDSBOS0-20-03-22-20-22-30-21-23-02-13-01-12-03-01-20-22-13-25-11-12-1San Diego SpiritPHINYPWSHATLNYPCARBAYBOSATLWSHBAYNYPBOSPHICARBAYATLWSHBOSPHICAR0-20-02-01-10-14-30-13-13-22-30-01-13-13-02-00-23-12-20-11-12-2Washington FreedomBAYCARSDSBOSCARNYPPHIPHIATLBOSSDSCARWSHBAYNYPBAYPHIBOSSDSATLNYP1-01-22-02-22-21-20-21-22-11-02-32-03-22-32-11-00-22-12-21-20-2
Standings
Playoffs Home teams listed second
Semi-finals
Founders Cup
Awards AwardPlayerClubMost Valuable Player Tiffeny MilbrettNew York PowerOffensive Player of the Year Tiffeny MilbrettNew York PowerDefensive Player of the Year Doris FitschenPhiladelphia ChargeGoalkeeper of the Year LaKeysia BeeneBay Area CyberRaysCoach of the Year Ian SawyersBay Area CyberRaysHumanitarian Award Kate SobreroBoston BreakersTeam Community Service AwardWashington FreedomTeam Fair Play AwardNew York Power Source:
Statistical leaders
Top scorers RankPlayerNationClubGoals1Tiffeny Milbrett New York Power162Charmaine Hooper Atlanta Beat12Shannon MacMillan San Diego Spirit124Dagny MellgrenBoston Breakers115Liu Ailing Philadelphia Charge106Julie MurrayBay Area CyberRays9Danielle FotopoulosCarolina Courage98Maren MeinertBoston Breakers89KátiaBay Area CyberRays710Hege RiiseCarolina Courage8Mia HammWashington Spirit8
Top assists RankPlayerNationClubAssists1Kristine Lilly Boston Breakers10SissiBay Area CyberRays103Hege RiiseCarolina Courage84Maren MeinertBoston Breakers7Cindy Parlow Atlanta Beat7Julie Foudy San Diego Spirit77Shannon MacMillan San Diego Spirit68Margaret Tietjen San Diego Spirit5Kylie BivensAtlanta Beat5Brandi ChastainBay Area CyberRays5Michelle FrenchWashington Spirit5Nel FettigNew York Power5Danielle FotopoulosCarolina Courage5Sara WhalenNew York Power5 Source:
See also
List of WUSA drafts
References
External links WUSA Website (archive.org) WUSA on Fun While It Lasted