2002 Women's United Soccer Association season

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Women's United Soccer Association
Season2002
ChampionsCarolina Courage
Top goalscorerKátia (15)
← 2001
2003 →

The 2002 Women's United Soccer Association season was the second season for WUSA, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States.[1] The regular season began on April 13 and ended on August 11. The playoffs began on August 17, with the championship match between played on August 24 between the Carolina Courage and the Washington Freedom.

Changes from 2001[edit]

Prior to the season the Bay Area CyberRays, the champions in the previous season, changed their name to the San Jose CyberRays

All-Star Game[edit]

Further information: 2002 WUSA All-Star Game

The WUSA All-Star game was played for the first time after the completion of the 2002 season, with the South squad defeating the North 6–1 in front of 14,208 spectators at PGE Park in Portland, Oregon. Rookie Abby Wambach of the Washington Freedom was awarded the game MVP after scoring twice.[2]

Competition format[edit]

  • The regular season began on April 13 and ended on August 11.
  • 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 17. The winners of the semifinals met at Herndon Stadium for the final on August 24.

Standings[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Carolina Courage 21 12 4 5 40 30 +10 40 Regular Season Championship
2 Philadelphia Charge 21 11 6 4 36 22 +14 39 Qualification to play-offs
3 Washington Freedom 21 11 5 5 40 29 +11 38
4 Atlanta Beat 21 11 1 9 34 29 +5 34
5 San Jose CyberRays 21 8 5 8 34 30 +4 29
6 Boston Breakers 21 6 7 8 36 35 +1 25
7 San Diego Spirit 21 5 5 11 28 42 −14 20
8 New York Power 21 3 1 17 31 62 −31 10
Updated to match(es) played on August 2002. Source: statscrew.com and wusa.com[3]

Playoffs[edit]

Semi-Finals Founders Cup
      
2 Philadelphia Charge 0
3 Washington Freedom 1
1 Carolina Courage 3
3 Washington Freedom 2
1 Carolina Courage 2
4 Atlanta Beat 1

Semi-finals[edit]

August 17, 2002 Semi-Finals Carolina Courage 2–1 (a.e.t.) Atlanta Beat Cary, North Carolina
Fotopoulos 89' (pen.)
Overbeck gold-colored soccer ball 92' 		Report Serlenga 28' (pen.) Stadium: SAS Stadium
Attendance: 5,583
Referee: Misail Tsapos
August 17, 2002 Semi-Finals Philadelphia Charge 0–1 Washington Freedom Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Report Gerardo 80' Stadium: Villanova Stadium
Attendance: 6,547
Referee: Sandra Hunt

Founders Cup II[edit]

Main article: 2002 WUSA Founders Cup
August 24, 2002 Founders Cup Carolina Courage 3–2 Washington Freedom Atlanta, Georgia
Riise 20'
Fotopoulos 53'
Prinz 58'		 Report Fotopoulos 31' (o.g.)
Hamm 64'		 Stadium: Herndon Stadium
Attendance: 15,321
Referee: Ricardo Salazar

Awards[edit]

Award Player Club
Most Valuable Player France Marinette Pichon Philadelphia Charge
Offensive Player of the Year France Marinette Pichon Philadelphia Charge
Defensive Player of the Year United States Danielle Slaton Carolina Courage
Goalkeeper of the Year United States Kristin Luckenbill Carolina Courage
Rookie of the Year United States Abby Wambach Washington Freedom
Coach of the Year United States Mark Krikorian Philadelphia Charge
Humanitarian Award Brazil Sissi San Jose CyberRays
Team Community Service Award Boston Breakers
Team Fair Play Award Boston Breakers
Referee of the Year United States Kari Seitz

Source:[4]

Statistical leaders[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Foreign Aid The Carolina Courage tapped into the international pipeline and came up champs in WUSA's Year 2".
  2. ^ "WUSA All-Stars showcased in Portland". USLFans.com. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  3. ^ "WUSA Stats and Standings (Archived)". Archived from the original on December 9, 2002. Retrieved May 20, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ "Philadelphia's Pichon takes top honor in WUSA awards". USA Today. Retrieved May 20, 2014.

External links[edit]

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