# 2004 USL W-League season

The 2004 W-League Season was the league's 10th. The Vancouver Whitecaps Women won the W-League title, defeating the New Jersey Wildcats 4-2 in Ottawa.

## Changes from 2003 season
### Name changes

One team changed their name in the off-season:
| Team Name | Metro Area | Previous Name |
| Carolina Dynamo | Greensboro area | Greensboro Twisters |

### Expansion teams

Fourteen teams were added for the season:
| Team Name | Metro Area | Location | Previous Affiliation |
| Bradenton Athletics | Sun Coast area | Bradenton, FL | expansion |
| Calgary Wildfire | Calgary area | Calgary, AB | expansion |
| Cleveland Internationals Women | Cleveland area | Cleveland, CA | expansion |
| Detroit Jaguars | Detroit area | Livonia, ON | expansion |
| Edmonton Aviators Women | Edmonton area | Edmonton, AB | expansion |
| Fort Wayne Fever | Fort Wayne area | Fort Wayne, IN | expansion |
| London Gryphons | London area | London, ON | expansion |
| Montreal Xtreme | Montreal area | Montreal, QC | expansion |
| Rhode Island Stingrays | Providence area | Providence, RI | WPSL |
| Richmond Kickers Destiny | Richmond area | Richmond, VA | expansion |
| St. Louis Archers | St. Louis area | St. Louis, MO | expansion |
| Sudbury Canadians | Sudbury area | Sudbury, ON | expansion |
| Western Mass Lady Pioneers | Springfield area | Ludlow, MA | expansion |
| West Michigan Firewomen | Grand Rapids area | Grand Rapids, MI | expansion |

### Teams leaving

Two teams folded after the 2004 season:
* New Jersey Lady Stallions
* Northern Kentucky TC Stars

## Standings

Orange indicates bye into W-League semifinals as host. Blue indicates division title clinched Green indicates playoff berth clinched

### Central Conference
#### Atlantic Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Hampton Roads Piranhas | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 8 | +22 | 37 |
| 2 | Charlotte Lady Eagles | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 45 | 16 | +29 | 34 |
| 3 | Asheville Splash | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 32 | 13 | +19 | 24 |
| 4 | Richmond Kickers Destiny | 14 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 29 | +3 | 17 |
| 5 | Carolina Dynamo Women | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 24 | 35 | −11 | 16 |
| 6 | Northern Virginia Majestics | 14 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 17 | 44 | −27 | 7 |
| 7 | Bradenton Athletics | 14 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 18 | 53 | −35 | 7 |

#### Midwest Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Chicago Cobras | 13 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 42 | 12 | +30 | 37 |
| 2 | Fort Wayne Fever | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 48 | 16 | +32 | 31 |
| 3 | Detroit Jaguars | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 33 | 18 | +15 | 24 |
| 4 | Cleveland Internationals Women | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 27 | 16 | +11 | 21 |
| 5 | Cincinnati Ladyhawks | 13 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 28 | −14 | 12 |
| 6 | Windy City Bluez | 13 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 21 | 39 | −18 | 12 |
| 7 | West Michigan Firewomen | 13 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 36 | −30 | 3 |
| 8 | London Gryphons | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 16 | −12 | 3 |
| 9 | St. Louis Archers | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 45 | −27 | 0 |
* 1 2 St. Louis folded after two games, and London played three games as an associate member.

### Eastern Conference
#### New England Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Boston Renegades | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 56 | 28 | +28 | 30 |
| 2 | Western Mass Lady Pioneers | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 30 | 23 | +7 | 21 |
| 3 | New Hampshire Lady Phantoms | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 40 | −27 | 9 |
| 4 | Rhode Island Stingrays | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 68 | −58 | 6 |

#### North Central Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Ottawa Fury Women | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 68 | 7 | +61 | 39 |
| 2 | Montreal Xtreme | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 57 | 19 | +38 | 33 |
| 3 | Rochester Ravens | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 33 | 26 | +7 | 24 |
| 4 | Toronto Inferno | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 38 | −25 | 9 |
| 5 | Sudbury Canadians | 14 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 15 | 77 | −62 | 3 |

#### Northeast Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | New Jersey Wildcats | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 5 | +71 | 42 |
| 2 | Long Island Lady Riders | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 29 | +19 | 33 |
| 3 | New Jersey Lady Stallions | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 44 | 22 | +22 | 30 |
| 4 | New York Magic | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 47 | −34 | 9 |
| 5 | South Jersey Banshees | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 13 | 65 | −52 | 6 |

### Western Conference

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Vancouver Whitecaps Women | 14 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 57 | 11 | +46 | 40 |
| 2 | Seattle Sounders Women | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 44 | 12 | +32 | 34 |
| 3 | Edmonton Aviators Women | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 21 | 16 | +5 | 23 |
| 4 | Denver Lady Cougars | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 24 | 25 | −1 | 19 |
| 5 | Arizona Heatwave | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 25 | 36 | −11 | 19 |
| 6 | Mile High Mustangs | 14 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 18 | 34 | −16 | 15 |
| 7 | Calgary Wildfire | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 13 | 41 | −28 | 6 |
| 8 | Fort Collins Force | 14 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 18 | 45 | −27 | 6 |

## Playoffs
### Format

Seven teams each from the Eastern Conference, four teams from the Central Conference and two from the Western Conference qualify for the playoffs. The Ottawa Fury Women received a bye into the W-League semifinals as hosts. All matchups are in a one-leg format.
In the Central Conference, the Division champions play the second-place team from the same division, who will play each other to advance to the W-League Semifinals.
In the Eastern Conference, the top two teams in each division play each other, except for the Division champion with the best record, that receives a bye to the Conference Semifinals, and Ottawa, who has a bye to the W-League Semifinals. The team with the worst record in the Conference Semifinals plays the team with the Divisional Finals bye, and the other two teams play each other. The winners play to advance to the W-League Semifinals.
The two teams in the Western Conference will play each other to advance to the W-League Semifinals.

### Conference Brackets

Central Conference
| Divisional Finals | Divisional Finals | Divisional Finals | Central Finals | Central Finals | Central Finals |
| MW1 | Chicago Cobras | 3 | | | |
| MW2 | Fort Wayne Fever | 2 | | | |
| MW2 | Fort Wayne Fever | 2 | MW | Chicago Cobras (AET) | 3 |
| | | | A2 | Charlotte Lady Eagles | 2 |
| A1 | Hampton Roads Piranhas | 0 | A2 | Charlotte Lady Eagles | 2 |
| A2 | Charlotte Lady Eagles | 2 | | | |
Eastern Conference
| Division Finals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Eastern Semifinals | Eastern Semifinals | Eastern Semifinals | Eastern Championship | Eastern Championship | Eastern Championship |
| | | | NE1 | New Jersey Wildcats | 2 | | | |
| | | | NWE1 | Boston Renegades | 0 | | | |
| NWE1 | Boston Renegades (AET) | 1 | NWE1 | Boston Renegades | 0 | | | |
| NWE2 | Western Mass Lady Pioneers | 0 | | | | | | |
| NWE2 | Western Mass Lady Pioneers | 0 | | | | NE1 | New Jersey Wildcats | 6 |
| | | | | | | NC1 | Montreal Xtreme | 5 |
| NC1 | Montreal Xtreme | 3 | | | | | | | NC1 | Montreal Xtreme | 5 |
| NC2 | Rochester Ravens | 0 | | | | | | |
| NC2 | Rochester Ravens | 0 | NC1 | Montreal Xtreme (AET) | 6 | | | |
| | | | NE2 | Long Island Lady Riders | 5 | | | |
| NE2 | Long Island Lady Riders (AET) | 1 | NE2 | Long Island Lady Riders | 5 | | | |
| NE3 | New Jersey Lady Stallions | 0 | | | | | | |
Western Conference
| Western Finals | Western Finals | Western Finals |
| W1 | Vancouver Whitecaps Women | 1 |
| W2 | Seattle Sounders Women | 0 |

### W-League Championship Bracket

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Championship | Championship | Championship |
| H | Ottawa Fury Women | 1 | | | |
| NE1 | New Jersey Wildcats | 2 | | | |
| NE1 | New Jersey Wildcats | 2 | NE1 | New Jersey Wildcats (AET/PK) | 0 (2) |
| | | | W1 | Vancouver Whitecaps Women | 0 (4) |
| W1 | Vancouver Whitecaps Women | 2 | W1 | Vancouver Whitecaps Women | 0 (4) |
| MW1 | Chicago Cobras | 1 | Third Place | Third Place | Third Place |
| | | | H | Ottawa Fury Women | 1 |
| | | | MW1 | Chicago Cobras | 0 |