WPSL 2016

Discussion in 'US Women's Lower Divisions' started by SiberianThunderT, Jan 22, 2016.

  1. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    I would be shocked if the Can-Am is allowed to exist with just those three teams; I expect it to get merged back in with the Power 5 (which now seem to be 4 anyway). Also, they have a "Washington Spirit", but it doesn't say "Reserves" or "Academy". There's still a lot of sifting out to do, it seems. (I for one hope RSL gets added to Pac-N or Pac-S, since being paired with the Big Sky teams doesn't make much sense from a geographic standpoint.)

    The "cycling out" you speak of was less a decision on WPSL's and more the regional associations deciding that participating in the playoffs wasn't worth it. That said, with (I think) 12 divisions, it would make sense to award the 4 extra playoff spots in a way to try to account for where the most strong teams are. In a perfect world, I'd grant the 4 extra slots to Pac-S, Big Sky, MidAtl, and MW-C, which I guess would make the playoffs:

    West - NW 1, Pac-N 1, Pac-S 1, Pac-S 2
    South - Big Sky 1, Big Sky 2, SE 1, Sunshine 1
    Central - MW-C 1, MW-C 2, MW-GL 1, ??
    East - S.Atl 1, MidAtl 1, MidAtl 2, ??
    (not sure what I'd do with CA/P5 1 or NE 1)
     
  2. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
  3. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Thought up a different alignment:

    West - NW 1, Pac-N 1, Pac-S 1, Pac-S 2
    Central - MW-C 1, MW-C 2, Big Sky 1, Big Sky 2
    South - MW-GL 1, S.Atl 1, SE 1, Sunshine 1
    East - MidAtl 1, MidAtl 2, CA/P5 1, NE 1

    Basically four vertical slices through the country... Odd to potentially put a MI team against a FL team, especially since you have two extra slots in the same region, but I'm not sure how else to slice things with the four extra slots I gave.
     
  4. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    RSL Women and the Houston Aces, two of the only teams to have ever been linked to a WPSL Elite revival, have apparently defected to UWS.
     
  5. A. Dufresne

    A. Dufresne Member

    Nov 7, 2015
    Those two organizations have been trying to rally another WPSL Elite but like I've said in the past, there is no way in Zanelli's current WPSL it will happen. The lower end teams who do nothing as far as promotion, etc. can say they are "Tier 2" and play against NWSL-level competition without having to actually adhere to standards, etc. Easy-peasy. Even though they'll get dusted 7-0 by said competition. That's the great bulk of the WPSL, as is.

    The 2-tier format a few years back was a logistical nightmare, as Zanelli kissed the you-know-what of the former WPS teams and totally forgot about the rest of the league. Almost broke it a part. He won't make that mistake again.

    The WPSL AGM was this past weekend and it looks like they updated the standings. I wonder how the college coaches of those players whose teams will cram in 14 games (in some divisions) in a end-of-May to start-of-July schedule will feel about it. A few teams do start in May but for the most part, its June 1-2nd week of July. Never mind the postseason playoff format with so many divisions now. Although there are a couple of divisions with only five teams.

    Speaking of the postseason format... I heard at the NSCAA Convention that at last year's AGM the Sunshine Conference said they were not going to take part in the 2015 playoffs. This was a known fact, behind the scenes. But that still didn't matter to the league as they sent out this bold-faced lie of a postseason playoff release - http://www.wpsl.info/news/index.php?cat=1&id=2344

    Can we expect more lies of the same caliber in 2016? I had to search for that article as the league website curiously doesn't include it in their archives.
     
  6. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    #6 SiberianThunderT, Feb 1, 2016
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2016
    ooooo California is now split into three divisions.... Can't say I'm entirely surprised, and it certainly simplifies the West region's playoffs. Though I'm sad to see it seems Tijuana is out. But an incarnation of Ajax is back?

    Interesting to see the Midwest split into three as well, too... That one I am surprised at.

    East region back to four divisions, if you count the Carolinas as South Region. Speaking of the South, looks like the Atlanta Silverbacks were an unannounced W-League transfer. And the Philly Fever seem to be back in WPSL now as well.

    Fifteen total divisions.... One region either gets two playoff reps or just gets a bye to the quarterfinals. Right now, I'm guessing it looks like

    WEST : Northwest, NorCal, Coastal, PacSouth
    CENTRAL : Heartland, Valley, Great Lakes, ???
    SOUTH : Sunshine, Southwest, Carolinas, ???
    EAST : New England, Mid-Atlantic, Tri-State, Colonial
    Place Big Sky where you will.

    My predictions
    WEST : Sounders (maybe Issaquah) , CA Storm , BeachFC or SoCal , SDSL
    CENTRAL : Red Stars , FISC or Dayton , MCFC , ???
    SOUTH : Tampa , Atlanta , Rapids? , ???
    EAST : Breakers , NYAC or Fury , Blues or Wildcats , Spirit
    Big Sky : OKCFC

    If only we could have a league with just those 20 teams....
     
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  7. A. Dufresne

    A. Dufresne Member

    Nov 7, 2015
    Amen! Hopefully in the near future... like next year.
     
  8. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    If RSL and Houston hadn't already moved on, I would've put them as best for the Big Sky title as well for a total of 22... But I'm betting at least a couple of those 20 will also jump to UWS for 2017. Probably none of the Western teams will make the jump though (except maybe for the Sounders or SoCal FC) since WPSL has such strong roots (and so many teams) on the West coast, it's just more convenient.
     
  9. StarCityFan

    StarCityFan BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 2, 2001
    Greenbelt, MD
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The Silverbacks, the Dayton Dutch Lions, the New Jersey Wildcats, and the Sounders Women were all teams I wasn't sure were joining the WPSL until I saw the list.

    Meanwhile, after years of ruling their respective divisions, we'll finally see the ASA Chesapeake Charge (longtime WPSL powerhouse) play the Washington Spirit Reserves.
     
  10. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Well, there was an article from WPSL a month or two back mentioning Dayton, NJ, and Seattle all already confirmed for joining WPSL'16 (along with both Spirit squads). Atlanta had not been mentioned there, so the new standings page is the first time I'd seen any sign of them opting for WPSL.
     
  11. StarCityFan

    StarCityFan BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 2, 2001
    Greenbelt, MD
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Okay, I missed that article. And my understanding is that the "Washington Spirit Academy" is a rebranding of the Braddock Road Stars Elite.
     
  12. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Yeah, that was mentioned in said article too =-)
     
  13. msilverstein47

    msilverstein47 Member+

    Jan 11, 1999
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Ria Carroll Appointed as Reds WPSL Head Coach Providence, RI (January 27, 2016) – The Rhode Island Reds, celebrating their 5th year as a club, announced today the appointment of Ria Carroll as the new head coach for their WPSL team.
    Growing up in Luton, England, Ria Carroll began crafting her love of soccer while watching her father play at the semi-pro level. Her soccer career began at the age of 5 where she would play the field before finding her niche as a goalkeeper. Coming to the United States, Carroll played on Rhode Island’s first female premiere team at the age of 12. Carroll then went on to play for the Rhode Island Rays, a team ranked 11th in the nation. At Toll Gate High School she was named first team all-state in her sophomore, junior, and senior years. Her other accolades in high school included first team all division, all-city

    https://riredsfc.wordpress.com/2016/01/29/ria-carroll-appointed-as-reds-wpsl-head-coach/
     
  14. Nacional Tijuana

    Nacional Tijuana St. Louis City

    St. Louis City SC
    May 6, 2003
    San Diego, Calif.
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I thought I asked this somewhere (just came off a train from L.A. I'm a bit fried), but "L-ASL"? Is that new?
     
  15. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    A relatively new men's league, the American Soccer League (really original there) started up two years ago in the northeast with hopes of becoming a DIII pro league as well as having an ASL2 and an LASL. I believe ASL2 has happened, and LASL is supposed to happen this summer, but I haven't heard anything.
    I started a thread specifically for LASL here: http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/on-watch-lasl.2022303/ but it understandably hasn't seen any real action. The ASL and ASL2 thread is here: http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads...r-take-notice-ignore-or-laugh.1998162/page-41
     
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  16. Nacional Tijuana

    Nacional Tijuana St. Louis City

    St. Louis City SC
    May 6, 2003
    San Diego, Calif.
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    OK, thanks for that. Watched!
     
  17. StarCityFan

    StarCityFan BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 2, 2001
    Greenbelt, MD
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Presumably this article: http://www.soccerwire.com/news/busi...gue-teams-join-wpsl-including-2015-champions/
     
  18. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
  19. A. Dufresne

    A. Dufresne Member

    Nov 7, 2015
    I think the WPSL commissioner has gone officially bat-sh*t crazy... not only is their latest release in ALL CAPS but continues to re-hash other releases. I think this is the third one where they've announced Washington joining the league. Also, I was raised in Massachusetts (have lived in CT for some time now) but I don't know how anyone can possibly think that Lancaster, MA & Springfield, MA are in the same market. That's how they list the locale of the new FC Stars team. Its been a while since I've been to Lancaster but from what I remember those two towns are at least an hour and a half away from each other. Bold faced lying at its finest... I guess he is just a wee bit bitter that the team that founded the WPSL East (the Mutiny, who are based in Springfield) opted for the UWS alternative?

    http://wpsl.info/news/index.php?cat=1&id=2363

    A lot of those teams don't even match with the league standings, too. And two months after they announced they would host, still no mention of Columbus hosting this year's championship on the league website. That is really bad, folks.
     
  20. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    I wouldn't be surprised if Zanelli doesn't do oversight as to who posts news articles... I'm sure he doesn't write them himself. Whoever wrote it, it's definitely clear there was no proof-editing, which does not surprise me for a wing-it low-budget league. They always need help - I mean, the standings page is almost always a mess. Especially the historical standings.

    As for re-hashing some information, I don't think that's a big deal. Maybe they should have waited until every single new team was sealed for the upcoming season before making any "new team" announcements, but it makes sense that a league would put out a full list of their new teams at some point - I would be more surprised if there wasn't a full list published at some point before the season starts.

    Maybe FC Stars plans on using multiple stadia? I've seen teams serve multiple markets before, that's not that unheard-of.
     
  21. A. Dufresne

    A. Dufresne Member

    Nov 7, 2015
    I worked in the WPSL. Zanelli has 100% control over what is said/not said on the league website. Nothing gets posted without his approval.

    I've also been around the pro-am game since the later 90's and have never seen a team serve multiple markets. Maybe play games around the central area of their market but never travel an hour and a half away from said market and call it a "home game." Never. Its like a Philadelphia team saying that Baltimore is within their franchise territory.
     
  22. Nacional Tijuana

    Nacional Tijuana St. Louis City

    St. Louis City SC
    May 6, 2003
    San Diego, Calif.
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I had to look that up. I did college north of Brattleboro, VT. Been to Spfld. for a Falcons hockey game and that New England-wide fair, whatever that was called. Lancaster appears to be in NE Worcs. County. Worcs. is in the Boston TV market. Springfield seems to have its own stations despite being 26ish miles from Hartford.
     
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  23. A. Dufresne

    A. Dufresne Member

    Nov 7, 2015
    The Big E Fair! Nice... I've been to that a couple times, too. Traditionally, the WPSL markets in the Northeast go from Worcester east to Boston than west of Worcester into western Mass. Even though Hartford and Springfield are so close, they are two separate markets. The Mutiny market was northern CT & western Mass. The market for teams like SP CT (boy, where they good in their short time in the league) and CFC were Hartford area and southern Connecticut to the NYC area. RI, NH and Maine are their own markets. There's never been a VT team in the WPSL although there was one in the W-League. The Voltage was it? Former WNT keeper Luckenbill played for them, I think.
     
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  24. StarCityFan

    StarCityFan BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 2, 2001
    Greenbelt, MD
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Correct on all counts.
     
  25. Nacional Tijuana

    Nacional Tijuana St. Louis City

    St. Louis City SC
    May 6, 2003
    San Diego, Calif.
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    So what's the new Asheville team? They used to have a team in the W-L called the Splash, which was before that, the Carolina Rapids. Carolina Rapids is currently a youth club that appears to be based near Charlotte.

    I used to live in WNC so it would be neat to see Asheville in the mix.
     

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