2022 USL W League season

USL W League
Season2022
DatesMay 6 - July 10
(regular season)
July 13 - July 23
(playoffs)
ChampionsSouth Georgia Tormenta FC
Regular Season ChampionsMinnesota Aurora FC
Matches played254
Goals scored935 (3.68 per match)
Biggest home winLIR 18, FAE 0 (July 6)
Biggest away winFAE 2, ACC 10 (June 14)
FAE 0, MAN 8 (June 22)
Highest scoringLIR 18, FAE 0 (July 6)
Longest winning run11 matches
Minnesota Aurora FC
(June 2 – July 9)
Longest unbeaten run12 matches
Minnesota Aurora FC
(entire season)
Longest winless run12 matches
St. Louis Lions
(entire season)
Longest losing run12 matches
St. Louis Lions
(entire season)
2023 →
All statistics correct as of August 3, 2022.

The 2022 USL W League season is the first season of USL W League.

The regular season began on May 6 and ended on July 10. 44 teams participated in this inaugural season.[1]

Indy Eleven won the first game in league history, defeating Kings Hammer FC 3–1 on May 6. Rachel McCarthy scored the first two goals.[2][3]

South Georgia Tormenta FC won the Championship 2–1 against Regular Season winners Minnesota Aurora FC on July 23.[4][5][6]

Standings

Metropolitan Division

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts PPG Qualification
1 Morris Elite SC 12 8 3 1 28 10 +18 27 2.25 Advance to USL W League Playoffs
2 Long Island Rough Riders 12 8 2 2 45 7 +38 26 2.17
3 Queensboro FC 12 8 1 3 33 12 +21 25 2.08
4 Cedar Stars 12 8 1 3 30 11 +19 25 2.08
5 AC Connecticut 12 5 2 5 24 17 +7 17 1.42
6 Manhattan SC 12 4 1 7 24 29 −5 13 1.08
7 Westchester Flames 12 2 0 10 11 40 −29 6 0.50
8 F.A. Euro 12 0 0 12 9 78 −69 0 0.00
Source: USL

Mid Atlantic Division

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts PPG Qualification
1 McLean Soccer 10 9 0 1 39 7 +32 27 2.70 Advance to USL W League Playoffs
2 Christos FC 10 6 1 3 26 13 +13 19 1.90
3 Patuxent Football Athletics 10 4 0 6 8 29 −21 12 1.20
4 Eagle FC 10 3 1 6 17 26 −9 10 1.00
5 Northern Virginia FC 10 1 2 7 12 27 −15 5 0.50
Source: USL

Great Lakes Division

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts PPG Qualification
1 Indy Eleven 12 10 2 0 31 7 +24 32 2.67 Advance to USL W League Playoffs
2 Midwest United FC 12 7 2 3 36 17 +19 23 1.92
3 Racing Louisville FC 12 6 3 3 26 15 +11 21 1.75
4 AFC Ann Arbor 12 6 3 3 23 15 +8 21 1.75
5 Detroit City FC 12 3 3 6 15 22 −7 12 1.00
6 Kalamazoo FC 12 3 1 8 23 30 −7 10 0.83
7 Kings Hammer FC 12 2 3 7 12 36 −24 9 0.75
8 Flint City AFC 12 2 1 9 17 41 −24 7 0.58
Source: USL

Heartland Division

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts PPG Qualification
1 Minnesota Aurora FC 12 11 1 0 35 8 +27 34 2.83 Advance to USL W League Playoffs
2 Kaw Valley FC 12 7 1 4 30 15 +15 22 1.83
3 Green Bay Glory 12 6 3 3 19 17 +2 21 1.75
4 Chicago City SC 12 6 1 5 26 21 +5 19 1.58
5 Chicago Dutch Lions 12 3 0 9 12 27 −15 9 0.75
6 St. Louis Lions 12 0 0 12 9 43 −34 0 0.00
Source: USL

South Atlantic Division

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts PPG Qualification
1 Greenville Liberty SC 12 8 2 2 32 13 +19 26 2.17 Advance to USL W League Playoffs
2 North Carolina Courage U23 12 6 4 2 25 15 +10 22 1.83
3 Wake FC 12 6 1 5 20 17 +3 19 1.58
4 Charlotte Independence 12 4 3 5 18 18 0 15 1.25
5 Asheville City SC 12 3 6 3 20 18 +2 15 1.25
6 North Carolina Fusion 12 1 0 11 5 39 −34 3 0.25
Source: USL

South Central Division

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts PPG Qualification
1 Tormenta FC 12 7 4 1 33 9 +24 25 2.08 Advance to USL W League Playoffs
2 Chattanooga Red Wolves SC 12 7 3 2 21 12 +9 24 2.00
3 South Carolina United FC 12 5 2 5 20 26 −6 17 1.42
4 Southern Soccer Academy 12 4 5 3 26 22 +4 17 1.42
5 Tennessee SC 12 2 2 8 13 32 −19 8 0.67
6 Peachtree City MOBA 12 1 4 7 11 23 −12 7 0.58
Source: USL

Southeast Division

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts PPG Qualification
1 FC Miami City 10 9 1 0 21 4 +17 28 2.80 Advance to USL W League Playoffs
2 Tampa Bay United 10 7 1 2 19 4 +15 22 2.20
3 Miami AC 10 5 0 5 16 21 −5 15 1.50
4 Florida Elite SA 10 1 1 8 7 17 −10 4 0.40
5 Caledonia SC 10 1 1 8 8 25 −17 4 0.40
Source: USL

Playoffs

Bracket

Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
      
Morris Elite SC 0
McLean Soccer 8
McLean Soccer 0
Minnesota Aurora FC 1
Minnesota Aurora FC 2
Indy Eleven 1
Minnesota Aurora FC 1
Tormenta FC (a.e.t.) 2
FC Miami City 0
Tormenta FC 1
Tormenta FC 4
Greenville Liberty SC 1
Greenville Liberty SC 2
Long Island Rough Riders 0


Quarterfinals

July 13 FC Miami City0–1 Tormenta FC Tropical Park
Miami, Florida
6:00 PM EDT
Report
July 13 Greenville Liberty SC 2–0Long Island Rough RidersLegacy Early College Field
Greenville, South Carolina
7:00 PM EDT
Report
July 13 Morris Elite SC0–8 McLean Soccer Frederick Douglass Field
Newark, New Jersey
7:30 PM EDT Report
July 13 Minnesota Aurora FC 2–1Indy ElevenTCO Stadium
Eagan, Minnesota
7:00 PM CDT
Report
Attendance: 6,200

Semifinals

July 17 Minnesota Aurora FC 1–0McLean SoccerTCO Stadium
Eagan, Minnesota
3:00 PM EDT
Report Attendance: 6,200
July 17 Greenville Liberty SC1–4 Tormenta FC Legacy Early College Field
Greenville, South Carolina
7:00 PM EDT
Report

W League Championship

July 23 Minnesota Aurora FC1–2 (a.e.t.) Tormenta FC TCO Stadium
Eagan, Minnesota
4:30 PM CDT
Report
Attendance: 6,489

Championship MVP: Sydney Martinez (TRM)

Awards

Award Winner Team Reason Ref.
Golden Boot England Amy Andrews Tormenta FC 16 goals in 10 games [7]
Golden Glove United States Sydney Martinez Tormenta FC 0.58 Goals Against Average; 6 Shutouts [7]
Assists Champion United States Treva Aycock Southern Soccer Academy 8 assists [8]
Coach of the Year United States Nicole Lukic Minnesota Aurora FC Undefeated Regular Season [9]
Young (U20) Player of the Year Trinidad and Tobago Christian Brathwaite Greenville Liberty SC Four goals; four assists [10]
Player of the Year England Amy Andrews Tormenta FC 16 goals; 2 assists [11]
Goal of the Year United States Addy Symonds Minnesota Aurora FC vs Tormenta FC in the Final [12]
Save of the Year United States Madison Howard North Carolina Fusion vs Greenville Liberty SC [13]

All-League Teams

First Team

F: Amy Andrews (TRM), Katie Soderstrom (IND), Mía Asenjo (QFC)
M: Christian Brathwaite (GVL), Treva Aycock (SSA), Nicole Waters (WAK)
D: Kenzie Langdok (MNA), Robyn McCarthy (IND), Barbara Murillo (FMC), Nina Carlomusto (LIR)
G: Sydney Martinez (TRM)

Second Team

F: Maddy Williams (IND), Bailey Korhorn (KAL), Aleigh Gambone (MCL)
M: Caroline Conti (GVL), Jaida Nyby (TRM), Lauren Wrigley (MOR)
D: Kelsey Kaufusi (MNA), Abby Wolf (TRM), Emily Madril (LOU), Maggie Shaw (CHT)
G: Sarah Fuller (MNA)

[14]

References

  1. ^ "USL W League Releases Inaugural Season Schedule". uslwleague.com. USL W League. February 3, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  2. ^ ""Tonight was surreal": What made the W League inaugural match so special". uslwleague.com. USL W League. May 10, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  3. ^ Haenchen, Brian (May 7, 2022). "USL W League debuts with Indy Eleven victory: 'It was so much more than I expected.'". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  4. ^ "History made as South Georgia Tormenta FC wins inaugural W League Final". uslwleague.com. USL W League. July 23, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  5. ^ La Vaque, David (July 23, 2022). "Aurora's dream season ends with 2-1 extra time loss to South Georgia in USL W title match". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  6. ^ "Tormenta FC win USL W League championship". Statesboro Herald. July 23, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Tormenta FC's Andrews and Martinez win Golden Boot and Golden Glove in inaugural season". USL W League. July 18, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  8. ^ "Southern Soccer Academy's Treva Aycock announced as regular season Assists Champion". USL W League. July 19, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  9. ^ "Minnesota Aurora FC's Nicole Lukic named USL W League Coach of the Year after a compelling 2022 regular season campaign". USL W League. July 19, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  10. ^ "Greenville Liberty's Christian Brathwaite named 2022 W League Young Player of the Year". USL W League. July 20, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  11. ^ "South Georgia Tormenta FC's Amy Andrews voted 2022 USL W League Player of the Year". USL W League. July 22, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  12. ^ "2022 USL W League Goal of the Year". USL W League. August 8, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  13. ^ "Vote for the 2022 USL W League Save of the Year". USL W League. August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  14. ^ "USL W League announces 2022 Team of the Year". USL W League. August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.