# United Women's Soccer

United Women's Soccer (UWS) is a national pro-am women's soccer league in the United States. The league was founded in 2015 as a response to the dual problems of disorganization in the WPSL and of the folding of the original USL W-League. The league began play in May 2016 with eleven teams in two conferences. The first league currently has 39 teams in 3 conferences and second league currently has 18 teams in 2 conferences.

## History
### Background

In the summer of 2015, disorganization and the inability to field teams led to many last-minute changes in the WPSL playoffs. This, combined with a general lack of competitiveness due to rapid expansion, led to frustration from many long-time WPSL teams. The 2014 WPSL final four hosts ASA Chesapeake Charge elected to skip the 2015 WPSL playoffs altogether as did the entire Sunshine division, Fire & Ice SC was a no-show, and the New England Mutiny published a threatening response to how WPSL as a league was run and was regressing.
Later that year, the USL W-League suddenly announced that it would be ceasing operations. There had been no outward signs that the league or its teams were struggling, but the league had been contracting steadily over the preceding several years - from 30 teams in four divisions for 2012 to just 18 teams in three divisions for 2015 - and many of the teams that had left were recent finalists (Buffalo Flash, Vancouver Whitecaps Women, Pali Blues, Ottawa Fury Women, and several Washington D.C.-area teams) leaving relatively few flagship teams.

### Founding

Spearheaded by the New England Mutiny (a former member of the short-lived WPSL Elite), UWS's first five teams were leaked on December 15 ahead of the league's official announcement the next day; UWS hopes to provide a true second division beneath the NWSL. Negotiations to create the league since the beginning of the WPSL/W-League offseason, with plans that the league will be a national league of two conferences. The eight founding teams, all in the northeastern US and eastern Canada, were the Mutiny, fellow WPSL breakaway Lancaster Inferno FC, the W-League teams Laval Comets, Long Island Rough Riders, New York Magic, North Jersey Valkyries, and Quebec Dynamo ARSQ looking for a new league, and the expansion team New Jersey Copa FC.
UWS will be sanctioned through USASA, as the W-League and WPSL were.

### Rapid early growth

Between founding and the beginning of the inaugural season, hints of the desired second Western conference came to light in late January and was made official on February 5, with the first five revealed teams being Real Salt Lake Women and Houston Aces (both previously of WPSL), and the Santa Clarita Blue Heat, the Colorado Storm, and the Colorado Pride (all previously of the W-League).
On March 9, 2016, it was announced that the Canadian Soccer Association would not sanction teams in Laval & Quebec for play in UWS, leaving the league with only 11 teams for its inaugural season.
On November 1, 2016, Grand Rapids FC announced they would add a women's team, which would begin play in 2017 in a new Midwest division of United Women's Soccer. Three more Midwest teams (FC Indiana, Fort Wayne United Soccer Club, and the Detroit Sun FC) were announced a month later, with the desire to add more mentioned. Further expansion ahead of the 2017 season included the Michigan Legends FC in Brighton, Indy Premier SC in Noblesville, the Syracuse Development Academy, the So Cal Crush FC in Montrose, and the Calgary Foothills WFC. On March 3, 2017, the Western New York Flash announced that they would establish a team for the 2017 season. This announcement came nearly two months after the organization, who had won the 2016 NWSL Championship, sold its NWSL franchise rights and roster which formed the North Carolina Courage. In April, the rebranded Rochester Lancers team joined the Flash in Western New York with a UWS side, the Rochester Lady Lancers. They effectively replaced the Flash, which moved team operations to their original home of Buffalo, in Rochester.

### Western contraction period

While UWS would see continued stability in the East and Midwest conferences, attempts to establish teams in the west would prove less successful. From 2017 to 2018, UWS grew from having just five teams west of the Mississippi River to having eleven, with the return of the Colorado Pride, joining of LA Galaxy OC academy, and four new teams in Texas, causing the West conference to split into a West and a Southwest conference. However, despite each conference adding a team for the 2019 season, each conference also lost two teams - including UWS founding member Real Salt Lake Women who rebranded as the Utah Royals Reserves in a return to WPSL - bringing the total number of teams west of the Mississippi to nine. Ahead of the 2020 season, four more UWS teams - Houston Aces, Colorado Pride, LAG OC, and the El Paso Surf - also left for WPSL, bringing the total back down to five.

### Further expansion and creation of League Two

In the 2020 off-season, UWS continued to add more clubs to the league and expanding their reach, including the creation of the Southeast Conference.
On February 6, 2020, UWS announced the creation of UWS League Two, a 2nd division focused on the U20-U23 age group. League Two will consist of a mix of UWS reserve teams and clubs that will be seeking to join UWS in the future. It will feature a promotion and relegation relationship with UWS starting in 2021, though the nature of how clubs will move up and down is still under discussion. The Midwest conference was the first announced for the new league, with the first four teams of said conference consisting of three independent sides as well as the reserves of Detroit Sun FC.

## League One

As of May 6, 2024
| Team | Stadium | City | Founded | First UWS Season |
| Eastern Conference |||||
| Albany Rush | | Albany, New York | 2021 | 2021 |
| Black Mountain Torrent | | Pennsylvania | 1978 | 2024 |
| Connecticut Rush | | New Haven, Connecticut | 2021 | 2021 |
| Coppermine United | | Baltimore, Maryland | | 2022 |
| Erie Commodores FC | Erie Sports Center | Erie, Pennsylvania | 2021 | 2022 |
| FC Berlin | Buffalo State College | Buffalo, New York | 2022 | 2022 |
| FC Buffalo | All-High Stadium | Buffalo, New York | 2021 | 2021 |
| Flower City 1872 | Rochester Community Sports Complex Stadium | Rochester, New York | 2023 | 2023 |
| Hudson Valley Crusaders | | Saugerties, New York | | 2023 2024 |
| Maine Footy | TBD | Portland, Maine | 2023 | 2023 |
| New England Mutiny | Lusitano Stadium | Ludlow, Massachusetts | 1999 | 2016 |
| New Jersey Copa FC | Mercer County Community College | Metuchen, New Jersey | 2015 | 2016 |
| New York Magic | Mazzella Field | New Rochelle, New York | 1997 | 2016 |
| Sporting CT | | Middletown, Connecticut | | 2023 |
| Steel City FC | Founders Field (Chestwick) | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 2020 | 2020 |
| Steel United | | Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania | 2010 | 2021 2024 |
| Worcester Fuel FC | Commerce Bank Field at Foley Stadium | Worcester, Massachusetts | 2018 | 2018 |
| Midwest Conference |||||
| Cap City Athletic 1847 | TBD | | | 2024 |
| Chicago Rush | TBD | Chicago, Illinois | | 2023 |
| Cincinnati Sirens FC | Fairfield Soccer Stadium | Fairfield, Ohio | | 2023 |
| Edgewater Castle | TBD | Chicago, Illinois | | 2023 |
| Elite 14 Performance (E14) | TBD | Southeast, Michigan | | 2024 |
| Firebirds SC | TBD | Lombard, Illinois | 1994 | 2024 |
| Futsal Factory Academy | Dexter High School | Dexter, Michigan | 2014 | 2023 |
| Indiana Union | Grand Park Event Center | Indianapolis, Indiana | 2017 | 2017 |
| Michigan Burn | The Sports Academy | Chesterfield Township, Michigan | 2006 | 2023 |
| Michigan Hawks | Corner Ballpark | Detroit, Michigan | 2020 | 2022 |
| Michigan Jaguars FC | | Novi, Michigan | | 2022 |
| Michigan Legends FC | Legacy Center | Brighton, Michigan | 2017 | 2017 |
| Michigan Stars FC | Michigan Stars Sports Center | Washington Township, Michigan | 2021 | 2021 |
| Nationals FC | TBD | Rochester, Michigan | 2016 | 2022 |
| Pass FC | Northview High School | Grand Rapids, Michigan | 2001 | 2024 |
| Rockford Raptors Soccer Club | Mercyhealth Sportscore | Loves Park, Illinois | 1994 | 2024 |
| Troy City WFC | | Troy, Michigan | 2024 | 2024 |
| West Conference |||||
| Calgary Foothills WFC | Calgary Soccer Centre | Calgary, Alberta | 2015 | 2017 |
| FC Arizona | Bell Bank Park | Mesa, Arizona | 2017 | 2022 |
| Los Angeles SC | TBD | Los Angeles, California | 1951 | 2022 |
| Santa Clarita Blue Heat | College of the Canyons | Santa Clarita, California | 2008 | 2016 |
| Players SC | College of the Canyons | Las Vegas, Nevada | 1989 | 2024 |
* 1 2 UWS League Two
* ↑ Previously played as Worcester Smiles
* ↑ Previously played as Corktown AFC Hawks in 2022
* ↑ Team was on hiatus from 2020–2023

## League Two

As of April 23, 2024
| Team | Stadium | City | Founded | First UWS Season |
| West Conference |||||
| Epic FC | | | | 2024 |
| Primero De Mayo | | Sacramento, California | | 2023 |
| Racing Sacramento | | Sacramento, California | | 2023 |
| Reno Vikings | TBD | Reno, Nevada | 2023 | 2023 2024 |
| Sacramento United | | Sacramento, California | | 2023 |
| East Conference |||||
| Albany Rush II | TBD | Albany, New York | 2021 | 2023 |
| Baltimore Lady Warriors | TBD | Baltimore Maryland | 2024 | 2024 |
| HV Crusaders II | TBD | Saugerties, New York | | |
| Maine Footy II | TBD | Portland, Maine | 2023 | |
| MSI Pro | Walt Whitman High School | Rockville, Maryland | | 2024 |
| New England Mutiny 2 | Lusitano Stadium | Ludlow, Massachusetts | 2020 | 2021 |
| Ole FC | | Connecticut | | |
| Sporting CT II | | Middletown, Connecticut | | 2023 |
| Steel United Hudson Valley | | Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania | 2010 | 2024 |

## Former members

| Team | Stadium | City | Founded | First UWS Season | Last UWS Season | Notes |
| AFC Ann Arbor | Concordia University Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, Michigan | 2014 | 2019 | 2019 | Joined USL W League |
| Atlanta Panthers SC | Franklin Gateway Sports Complex | Marietta, Georgia | 2016 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| BC United | | Endicott, New York | | 2023 | 2023 | |
| FC Austin Elite | Round Rock Multipurpose Complex | Round Rock, Texas | 2016 | 2018 | 2022 | Folded |
| Bat Country FC | Round Rock Multipurpose Complex | Round Rock, Texas | 2017 | 2020 | 2021 | Joined WPSL |
| Brooklyn City FC | Steinberg Athletic Complex | Brooklyn, New York | 2017 | 2020 | 2022 | Joined NY Metropolitan Women's Soccer League |
| Chicago Mustangs | Harper College | Palatine, Illinois | 2012 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| Colorado Pride | Washburn Field | Colorado Springs, Colorado | 1994 | 2016 | 2019 | Joined WPSL |
| Colorado Storm | Sports Authority Stadium | Parker, Colorado | 2014 | 2016 | 2016 | |
| Connecticut Fusion | Farmington Sports Arena | Farmington, Connecticut | 2018 | 2018 | 2022 | |
| Dallas International FC | Greenhill School Field | Addison, Texas | 2020 | 2020 | 2020 | |
| Detroit City FC | Keyworth Stadium | Hamtramck, Michigan | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | Joined USL W League |
| Detroit Sun FC | Ultimate Soccer Arenas | Pontiac, Michigan | 2016 | 2017 | 2019 | |
| El Paso Surf | Socorro Athletic Complex | El Paso, Texas | 2018 | 2018 | 2019 | Joined WPSL |
| FC Birmingham | TBA | Birmingham, Alabama | 2020 | 2022 | 2022 | Joined WPSL |
| FC Indiana | Newton Park | Lakeville, Indiana | 2003 | 2017 | 2017 | Independent |
| FC Wichita | Stryker Soccer Complex | Wichita, Kansas | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| Fort Wayne United FC Gryphons | Hefner Stadium | Fort Wayne, Indiana | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
| Genesee FC | Atwood Stadium | Flint, Michigan | 2018 | 2018 | 2018 | |
| Gretna Elite Academy | UNO Caniglia Field | Omaha, Nebraska | 2018 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| HAR FC | Houston Sports Park | Houston, Texas | 2018 | 2018 | 2018 | |
| Houston Aces | Houston Sports Park | Houston, Texas | 2012 | 2016 | 2019 | Joined WPSL |
| KC Courage | Rockhurst University | Kansas City, Missouri | 2014 | 2021 | 2022 | Joined WPSL |
| Keystone FC | TBD | Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania | | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Kongo SC | Spence Eccles Ogden Community Sports Complex | Ogden, Utah | 2013 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| LA Galaxy OC | Championship Soccer Stadium | Irvine, California | 2018 | 2018 | 2020 | |
| Lancaster Inferno FC | Pucillo Field | Millersville, Pennsylvania | 2008 | 2016 | 2023 | |
| Lansing United | East Lansing Soccer Complex | Lansing, Michigan | 2018 | 2018 | 2021 | |
| Livonia City FC | Schoolcraft College | Livonia, Michigan | 2015 | 2023 | 2023 | |
| Long Island Rough Riders | Hofstra University Soccer Stadium | Hempstead, New York | 2003 | 2016 | 2021 | Joined USL W League |
| Midwest United FC | Aquinas College | Kentwood, Michigan | 2016 | 2017 | 2021 | Joined USL W League |
| MSC Peoria | Eastside Centre | Pekin, Illinois | 2020 | 2020 | 2021 | |
| Muskegon Risers SC | Kehren Stadium | Muskegon, Michigan | 2014 | 2020 | 2022 | |
| New Jersey Teamsterz FC | Don Ahern Veterans Stadium | Bayonne, New Jersey | 2020 | 2021 | 2021 | |
| New York Surf | Reinhart Field | Bronx, New York | 2015 | 2017 | 2018 | |
| North Jersey Valkyries | DePaul Catholic High School | Wayne, New Jersey | 2009 | 2016 | 2016 | |
| North Texas Image | Old Panther Field | Duncanville, Texas | 1964 | 2016 | 2018 | |
| Puerto Rico Pride FC | Lake Brantley High School | Altamonte Springs, Florida | 2017 | 2020 | 2020 | |
| Queen City United SC | University of Regina Field | Regina, Saskatchewan | 1987 | 2019 | 2020 | |
| RBFC Elite | TBD | Riverside, Illinois | | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Real Salt Lake Women | Ute Field | Salt Lake City, Utah | 2008 | 2016 | 2018 | Folded after Utah Royals FC Reserves formed |
| Rochester Lady Lancers | Marina Auto Stadium | Rochester, New York | 2017 | 2017 | 2022 | |
| SASA Impact FC | Riel Recreation Park | St. Albert, Alberta | 2021 | 2021 | 2022 | Joined St. Albert Women’s Soccer League |
| Scorpions SC | Medway High School | Medway, Massachusetts | 2021 | 2021 | 2023 | |
| Side FC 92 | Case Community RiverCity Parks | Tulsa, Oklahoma | 1992 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| SoCal Crush FC | Crescenta Valley High School | La Crescenta-Montrose, California | 2017 | 2017 | 2018 | |
| Sporting Nebraska FC | TBD | Papillion, Nebraska | 2008 | 2022 | 2022 | |
| Springfield Demize | Cooper Sports Complex | Springfield, Missouri | 2003 | 2021 | 2021 | |
| St. Louis Scott Gallagher | West Community Stadium | St. Louis, Missouri | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| Syracuse Development Academy | Solvay High School | Solvay, New York | 2004 | 2019 | 2021 | |
| Toledo Villa FC | Northview High School | Rossford, Ohio | 2017 | 2017 | 2017 | |
| Vikings Gold | | Lake Tahoe, California | | 2023 | 2023 | |
| Vikings Northstars | | Lake Tahoe, California | | 2023 | 2023 | |
| Western New York Flash | All-High Stadium | Buffalo, New York | 2008 | 2017 | 2018 | |

## UWS National Championship

| Season | Champions | Score | Runner–up |
| 2016 | Santa Clarita Blue Heat | 2–1 (AET) | New Jersey Copa FC |
| 2017 | Grand Rapids FC | 3–1 (AET) | Santa Clarita Blue Heat |
| 2018 | Houston Aces | 1–0 (AET) | Lancaster Inferno FC |
| 2019 | LA Galaxy OC | 1–0 | Calgary Foothills WFC |
| 2020 | Season cancelled because of COVID-19 Pandemic Regional Showcase Tournaments were held. | Season cancelled because of COVID-19 Pandemic Regional Showcase Tournaments were held. | Season cancelled because of COVID-19 Pandemic Regional Showcase Tournaments were held. |
| 2021 | Santa Clarita Blue Heat (2) | 5–0 | Connecticut Fusion |
| 2022 | Chicago Mustangs | 2-1 | Calgary Foothills WFC |
| 2023 | Michigan Jaguars FC | 0–0 (4–2 PK) | Santa Clarita Blue Heat |
| 2024 | Santa Clarita Blue Heat (3) | 2–2 (6–5 PK) | New England Mutiny |