# 2002 USL A-League

The 2002 USL A-League was an American Division II league run by the United Soccer League during the summer of 2002.

## League standings
### Eastern Conference
#### Northeast Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Rochester Raging Rhinos | 28 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 38 | 25 | +13 | 1 | 72 |
| 2 | Montreal Impact | 28 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 39 | 29 | +10 | 5 | 72 |
| 3 | Toronto Lynx | 28 | 10 | 13 | 5 | 37 | 35 | +2 | 3 | 48 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 28 | 8 | 15 | 5 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 4 | 41 |

#### Southeast Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Charleston Battery | 28 | 19 | 3 | 6 | 46 | 16 | +30 | 7 | 89 |
| 2 | Richmond Kickers | 28 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 44 | 37 | +7 | 7 | 65 |
| 3 | Atlanta Silverbacks | 28 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 47 | 44 | +3 | 8 | 62 |
| 4 | Charlotte Eagles | 28 | 10 | 14 | 4 | 46 | 46 | 0 | 6 | 50 |
| 5 | Hampton Roads Mariners | 28 | 6 | 19 | 3 | 25 | 57 | −32 | 2 | 29 |

### Western Conference
#### Central Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Milwaukee Rampage | 28 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 48 | 29 | +19 | 6 | 75 |
| 2 | Minnesota Thunder | 28 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 55 | 35 | +20 | 9 | 70 |
| 3 | Cincinnati Riverhawks | 28 | 8 | 20 | 0 | 35 | 68 | −33 | 3 | 35 |
| 4 | Indiana Blast | 28 | 6 | 18 | 4 | 29 | 67 | −38 | 1 | 29 |
* ↑ Cincinnati lost three point for using an ineligible player (bonus points entry total reflects this deduction)

#### Pacific Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Seattle Sounders | 28 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 71 | 27 | +44 | 14 | 107 |
| 2 | Portland Timbers | 28 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 47 | 39 | +8 | 8 | 63 |
| 3 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 28 | 11 | 12 | 5 | 41 | 39 | +2 | 5 | 54 |
| 4 | El Paso Patriots | 28 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 38 | 48 | −10 | 7 | 54 |
| 5 | Calgary Storm | 28 | 4 | 21 | 3 | 26 | 66 | −40 | 3 | 22 |
The 2002 USL A-League points system was 4 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss + 1 bonus point when scoring three or more goals in a game.

## Playoff bracket

| First Round | First Round | First Round | First Round | First Round | | | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | | | | | W1 | Seattle Sounders | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | W5 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 2 | 6 | 8 | | | | | | | | |
| W4 | Portland Timbers | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | W5 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 2 | 6 | 8 | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | W2 | Milwaukee Rampage (a.e.t.) | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W2 | Milwaukee Rampage (a.e.t.) | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W5 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | |
| | | | | | | | W2 | Milwaukee Rampage | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | W3 | Minnesota Thunder | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| W3 | Minnesota Thunder | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | W3 | Minnesota Thunder | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| W6 | El Paso Patriots | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W6 | El Paso Patriots | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Milwaukee Rampage (a.e.t.) | Milwaukee Rampage (a.e.t.) | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Richmond Kickers | Richmond Kickers | 1 |
| | | | | | | | E1 | Charleston Battery | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | E4 | Richmond Kickers | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| E4 | Richmond Kickers | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | E4 | Richmond Kickers | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Atlanta Silverbacks | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Atlanta Silverbacks | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | E4 | Richmond Kickers (p) | 1 | 0 | 1 (9) | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E4 | Richmond Kickers (p) | 1 | 0 | 1 (9) | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E2 | Rochester Raging Rhinos | 1 | 0 | 1 (8) | | | |
| | | | | | | | E2 | Rochester Raging Rhinos | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | E3 | Montreal Impact | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| E3 | Montreal Impact (p) | 0 | 1 | 1 (6) | | | E3 | Montreal Impact | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| E6 | Charlotte Eagles | 1 | 0 | 1 (5) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Playoff first round
### Charlotte vs Montreal

Montreal advances on penalties after series tied 1–1 on aggregate.

### Richmond vs Atlanta

Richmond advances 3–2 on aggregate.

### Minnesota vs El Paso

Minnesota advances 3–2 on aggregate.

### Vancouver vs Portland

Vancouver Whitecaps advance 2–0 on aggregate.

## Conference semifinals
### Eastern Conference Semifinal 1

The Rochester Rhinos advanced 1–0 on aggregate.

### Eastern Conference Semifinal 2

The Richmond Kickers advanced 4–3 on aggregate.

### Western Conference Semifinal 1

The Milwaukee Rampage advanced 2–1 on aggregate.

### Western Conference Semifinal 2

The Vancouver Whitecaps advanced 8–2 on aggregate.

## Conference finals
### Eastern Conference

The Richmond Kickers advanced.

### Western Conference

The Milwaukee Rampage advanced.

## Final

MPV: John Wolyniec

## Points leaders

| Rank | Scorer | Club | GP | Goals | Assists | Points |
| 1 | McKinley Tennyson | Portland Timbers | 24 | 18 | 6 | 42 |
| 1 | Brian Ching | Seattle Sounders | 25 | 16 | 8 | 42 |
| 3 | Leighton O'Brien | Seattle Sounders | 27 | 13 | 11 | 37 |
| 4 | Fadi Afash | Portland Timbers | 22 | 18 | 0 | 36 |
| 4 | Eduardo Sebrango | Montreal Impact | 28 | 18 | 0 | 36 |
| 6 | Paul Conway | Charleston Battery | 25 | 13 | 6 | 32 |
| 7 | Johnny Menyongar | Minnesota Thunder | 25 | 10 | 11 | 31 |
| 8 | Johnny Torres | Minnesota Thunder | 23 | 12 | 5 | 29 |
| 9 | Darren Sawatzky | Seattle Sounders | 28 | 9 | 10 | 28 |
| 10 | Dustin Swinehart | Charlotte Eagles | 27 | 10 | 6 | 26 |
| 10 | Digital Takawira | Milwaukee Rampage | 22 | 9 | 8 | 26 |
| 12 | Niki Budalic | Toronto Lynx | 28 | 12 | 1 | 25 |
| 12 | John Wolyniec | Milwaukee Rampage | 26 | 10 | 5 | 25 |
| 14 | Josh Henderson | Richmond Kickers | 23 | 11 | 2 | 24 |
| 14 | Brian Piesner | Atlanta Silverbacks | 25 | 7 | 10 | 24 |

## Awards and All A-League teams

All A-League First Team F: Brian Ching Seattle Sounders); McKinley Tennyson (Portland Timbers) (Co-Leading Goalscorer); Eduardo Sebrango (Montreal Impact) (Co-Leading Goalscorer) M: Andrew Gregor (Seattle Sounders); Leighton O'Brien (Seattle Sounders); Brian Piesner (Atlanta Silverbacks); Lenin Steenkamp (Rochester Raging Rhinos) D: Gabriel Gervais (Montreal Impact); Destin Makumbu (Milwaukee Rampage); Mark Watson (Defender of the Year) G: Dusty Hudock (Charleston Battery) (Goalkeeper of the Year) Coach: Brian Schmetzer Seattle Sounders) (Coach of the Year)
All A-League Second Team F: Fadi Afash (Portland Timbers) (Co-Leading Goalscorer); Josh Henderson (Richmond Kickers); Johnny Menyongar (Minnesota Thunder) M: Mauro Biello (Montreal Impact); Luis da Gama (El Paso Patriots); Jose Gomez (Charlotte Eagles); Steve Kindel (Vancouver Whitecaps) D: Craig Demmin (Rochester Raging Rhinos); Linval Dixon (Charleston Battery); Mark Schulte (Minnesota Thunder) G: Preston Burpo (Seattle Sounders)