I know we've been using the old 2014 thread, but I've been thinking it should, sooner or later, be time to start the 2015 version. And I just found (or, rather, was linked to via the NWSL forum) a rather interesting article that I think would be a great jumping-off point: http://realsaltlakewomen.com/player-interviews/2015/02/sara-cowley/ So they're trying to revive WPSLE - again - apparently! I know they've tried several times before. Who wants to bet on whether it happens this year? I can't find any other teams - Aces, FCI, Jersey Blues, etc. - advertising it yet.
I was checking this "ShawnBlymiller / SoccerGeek" page to see if he had any experience with women's soccer; didn't see any right off the bat. There are plenty of cases where some non-soccer or non-womens-soccer writer gets a fact or two slightly off. Or might have heard "WPSL Elite" at some point in the past, or went to the http://www.wpsl.info/press/index.php page and saw all WPSL-Elite articles. So even if the WPSL is planning on re-starting Elite, do you really see "10 home games" (or 20 overall games)? Bit ambitious? Commissioner Zanelli has gotten a little boastful in his last two postings: FROM THE COMMISSIONER: AN OPEN LETTER TO US SOCCER PRESIDENT SUNIL GULATI http://www.wpsl.info/news/index.php?cat=1&id=2287 ...where he takes on the USSF for looking at starting a new summer program ("program" not "league" is the word used multiple times) for women, and not looking at the WPSL. Apparently, the Soccer America article he is referencing is http://www.socceramerica.com/article/62492/women-aim-not-to-get-run-over.html (...and "Wpsl League" directly replied to this article) WPSL 2015 SEASON UPDATE http://www.wpsl.info/news/index.php?cat=1&id=2288 ...slightly more straight-forward. Does include the line "The final number of teams that will participate in 2015 will be determined by February 15." Schedule release after the WPSL General Meeting, when "another league update will be released." (Read into that what you will.) But no direct mention of Elite. (Side note: creation of an Inner City Soccer Program for Girls.)
A little too boastful - they had to edit the season update post to retract a claim that Seattle and FCKC would have WPSL reserve teams this year. And 10 home games would mean a double home-and-home with every other team in the conference, which seems ambitious for a summer league. Even the original WPSL-Elite - with much better support - only had a 14-match regular season.
NPSL/WPSL TRYOUTS Sunday, March 8th @ FREDERICKSBURG FIELD HOUSE Men NPSL: 4:00 - 6:00 PM Women WPSL: 6:00 - 8:00 PM $35 Registration Fee REGISTER NOW For any other questions regarding the 2015 season, please contact coach David Shaw at FFCwpsl@gmail.com
https://goalwa.wordpress.com/2015/0...ed-club-joins-up-with-sounders-women-tryouts/ The ISC Gunners WPSL will be canceling their original tryout dates, and will instead join up with the Sounders Women for their 2015 tryouts. The Sounders Women and the ISC Gunners WPSL team will be working closely for the 2015 season, alongside the Seattle Reign FC. We encourage all interested players who wish to play for the Sounders Women or the ISC Gunners WPSL to attend the joint tryout session at the end of March. Should you have any questions for the ISC Gunners WPSL, please contact Macy Jo Harrison at mj@iscgunners.org, or Erin Vaughan at erin@issaquahsoccerclub.org. Should you have any questions for the Sounders Women, please contact Hubert Busby athubertb@sounderswomen.com
Just announced: SoCal FC - a new Los Angeles based WPSL team with a bunch of former Pali Blues/LA Strikers staff being involved: http://wpsl.info/news/index.php?cat=1&id=2294
http://fctacoma253.com/fc-tacoma-253-scheduled-tryout-days-for-the-womens-team/ From March 17 to April 1, several practices are scheduled at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila. Please go to the following link to see the schedule. http://fctacoma253.com/wpsl-schedule-practice/ Anyone interested in joining the team will be able to attend all the practices, or just one. **Prior to attending your first practice please send an e-mail with your player CV to soccer@acseattle.com and to notify us of you’re coming!
So there's a nice new map at the bottom of the home page: Seven conferences divided into 12 divisions - including having the "Northeast" conference now divided into FIVE divisions. Playoffs will be interesting here... The Midwest, on the other hand, isn't divided into two divisions currently, despite how the current schedule strongly suggests it (the six more-eastern teams have a full 10-game home-and-away against each other, the six more-western teams have the same against each other, no overlap between the two subregions). Also, I'm struck by how far away RSL Women are from everyone else. They really should be placed in the Northwest or Pacific conference, not the Big Sky conference...
Briefly there was a listing on the Teams page for Windsor-Essex, Ontario, CAN. That listing is now blank: http://www.wpsl.info/team/index.php?tid=227
It looks like they are starting a U-20 league; four teams (so far) in the Midwest and Windsor, Ontario: http://www.wpsl.info/u20/ Now you could say that this could have just been a fourth division in the USL W-20 league. Why have one league with 13 teams; another with 4? Or you could just think that the USL-W would be gone next year, anyway, so why not start this now?
You presume FAR too much if you think WPSL- and W-League-affiliated teams will cooperate on anything. Those four teams wouldn't touch W-20 with a two-mile long stick.
OK, but I wasn't thinking along the lines of "teams / leagues won't cooperate." I was thinking that it is a fit geographically, as there are no Midwestern teams in the W-20, so this would just act as another division.
All the parent teams except Windsor are already in the WPSL. If they were fresh, unaffiliated teams, it would make sense, but they're not.
Well, we're already 1 week into the 2015 season now, week 2 about to begin! The big winner last week (just 4 games) was Boston - the Reserves beat Seacoast Mariners by a whopping 5-0, and the Academy beat Rhode Island 4-2. (Both other week 1 games were 0-0.) Boston's teams will face each other in the first game on Saturday. Saturday will also feature the debut of Mexico in WPSL with Tijuana hosting defending champs Beach FC (what a welcome!) as well as FCI's first game of the season and a powerhouse matchup between NYAC and the NE Mutiny. Ten total games from Friday through Monday. =edit= I have half a mind to volunteer to fix and maintain WPSL's standings page... currently, the GDs from the NE division down are all messed up... =-S
Some surprising (and not-so-surprising) results from Week 2: ---Fresno Freeze blew out eight-time-divison-winner California Storm 5 to 1 ---FCI lost 0-1 to the Cincy Lady Saints ---It's not often that you have a 10-goal game in WPSL - even less often that a 10-goal game is close! - but Jersey Blues FC drew Lancaster Inferno at 5 all! ---A close 2-1 contest between NYAC and the Mutiny went to the New England side ---Beach FC welcomed Tijuana to the tune of 4-0 ---Breakers Reserves edges Breakers Academy 3-2 I'd give a preview of Week 3, but I'm a bit confused about one thing... Namely the Can Am division, which has the Tkaronto Justice playing two games at the same time at two different teams. =-S
So it looks like SoCal FC will be playing at CSUN's soccer stadium, which has a natural grass pitch. Nice!
Week 3 roundup time! --The CanAm division continues to be confusing, as now Tkaranto's two games I mentioned last post have been reduced to one game, though that score still isn't in yet. --Seattle's Issaquah SC split the weekend, being held to a 2-2 draw at the Eugene Timbers on Friday before blazing through the Portland Spartans 3-0 on Saturday --The Midwest Conference has FINALLY been officially split into two divisions! Only three games have been played in the Central division so far (none for the Chicago Red Stars, while the Minnesota Twinstars have lost two of those three played) but six have been played so far in the Great Lakes division, where FCI impressed with a 10-0 win over Columbus on Saturday, but it's Motor City FC leading the division with a 2-0 record --The Houston Aces started off with a bang again, winning 4-0 at the Texas Titans on Friday --Tijuana have their first home win now, having beaten Villa FC 4-3 on Sunday. Some things to looks forward to in week 4: --The Chicago Red Stars, Chesapeake Charge, and RSL Women all play their first game on Friday - hosting Minnesota, at Chesterfield United, and at the Houston Aces respectively --San Diego and FISC open their seasons on Saturday, at Pateadores and hosting Chicago respectively. --Houston-RSL and FISC-Chicago seem to be the only two powerhouse matches of the weekend...
Oklahoma City to host the championships (May/19/2015): http://www.wpsl.info/news/index.php?cat=1&id=2314 The actual playoff format TBA. Maybe the (now 13) divisions will have to get down to three for the championships. quote: Regular league play ends on July 15, and regional playoffs will follow immediately that weekend. The championship weekend will then run from July 25-26th.
Not three, four - there's nothing in the article saying OKC got a bye into the semis. Neither of last year's co-hosts made the semis either.
OK, got it, Thunder. So guessing it is the basic N, E, S, W regionals, here are the last matchday per division. (note that on the site, the Midwest schedule is still combined, but I split them up.) The key here is that if the East does have the five divisions, their last regular game is Sunday, so they can have a playoff round midweek, to get to four teams for the weekend. WESTMon, Jul 13, 2015Northwest Sun, Jul 12, 2015Pacific-North Sun, Jul 12, 2015Pacific-South SOUTHWed, Jul 15, 2015Big Sky Wed, Jul 8, 2015Sunshine Sat, Jun 27, 2015Southeast EASTSun, Jul 12, 2015South Atlantic Sun, Jul 12, 2015Power 5 Sun, Jul 12, 2015Can Am Sat, Jul 11, 2015Mid Atlantic Sun, Jul 12, 2015Northeast NORTHSun, Jul 12, 2015Midwest - Central Tue, Jul 14, 2015Midwest - Great Lakes
To the best of my recollection, the WPSL has never done the W-League thing of giving the hosts a spot in the Final Four.