# 2001 Women's United Soccer Association season

The 2001 Women's United Soccer Association season served as the inaugural season for WUSA, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. The regular season began on April 14 and ended on August 12, with the postseason games being held on August 18 and August 25.
Attendance figures were high for the first season, particularly early in the season, though not near the levels organizers were expecting based on the attendance for the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. The league spent its initial $40m budget, intended to last five years, in just this first season.

## Competition format

* The season began on April 14 and ended on August 12.
* 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 18. The winners of the semifinals met at Foxboro Stadium for the final on August 25.

### Results table

Abbreviation and Color Key: Atlanta Beat - ATL • Bay Area CyberRays - BAY • Boston Breakers - BOS • Carolina Courage - CAR New York Power - NYP • Philadelphia Charge - PHI • San Diego Spirit - SDS • Washington Freedom - WSH Win  • Loss  • Tie  • Home :
| Club | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match |
| Club | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| Atlanta Beat | NYP | PHI | BOS | SDS | PHI | BAY | CAR | BOS | WSH | SDS | CAR | PHI | WSH | NYP | BAY | NYP | CAR | SDS | BOS | WSH | BAY |
| Atlanta Beat | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 3-2 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 3-2 | 0-3 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 3-2 | 3-1 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 4-0 |
| Bay Area CyberRays | WSH | BOS | PHI | CAR | BOS | ATL | SDS | NYP | CAR | PHI | SDS | NYP | WSH | BOS | ATL | WSH | SDS | CAR | PHI | NYP | ATL |
| Bay Area CyberRays | 1-0 | 1-1 | 3-2 | 2-1 | 2-4 | 0-1 | 3-1 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 3-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 2-3 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 1-0 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 3-2 | 0-1 | 4-0 |
| Boston Breakers | CAR | BAY | ATL | WSH | BAY | PHI | NYP | ATL | SDS | WSH | NYP | SDS | CAR | BAY | PHI | CAR | NYP | WSH | ATL | SDS | PHI |
| Boston Breakers | 0-1 | 1-1 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 2-4 | 2-3 | 2-3 | 1-1 | 3-1 | 1-0 | 3-1 | 3-1 | 2-1 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 4-2 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 2-1 |
| Carolina Courage | BOS | WSH | NYP | BAY | WSH | SDS | ATL | NYP | PHI | BAY | ATL | WSH | PHI | BOS | SDS | BOS | ATL | BAY | NYP | PHI | SDS |
| Carolina Courage | 0-1 | 1-2 | 3-1 | 2-1 | 2-2 | 4-3 | 0-2 | 2-4 | 3-0 | 2-0 | 1-1 | 2-0 | 2-0 | 2-1 | 2-0 | 1-2 | 3-2 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 5-1 | 2-2 |
| New York Power | ATL | SDS | CAR | PHI | SDS | WSH | BOS | CAR | BAY | PHI | BOS | SDS | BAY | ATL | WSH | ATL | BOS | PHI | CAR | BAY | WSH |
| New York Power | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3-1 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 2-3 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 3-1 | 1-1 | 1-0 | 0-3 | 2-1 | 2-1 | 4-2 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-2 |
| Philadelphia Charge | SDS | ATL | BAY | NYP | ATL | BOS | WSH | WSH | CAR | NYP | BAY | ATL | CAR | SDS | BOS | WSH | NYP | BAY | CAR | SDS | BOS |
| Philadelphia Charge | 0-2 | 0-0 | 3-2 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 2-3 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 3-0 | 2-1 | 3-0 | 1-1 | 2-0 | 3-0 | 1-2 | 0-2 | 2-1 | 3-2 | 5-1 | 1-1 | 2-1 |
| San Diego Spirit | PHI | NYP | WSH | ATL | NYP | CAR | BAY | BOS | ATL | WSH | BAY | NYP | BOS | PHI | CAR | BAY | ATL | WSH | BOS | PHI | CAR |
| San Diego Spirit | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 1-1 | 0-1 | 4-3 | 0-1 | 3-1 | 3-2 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 3-1 | 3-0 | 2-0 | 0-2 | 3-1 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 2-2 |
| Washington Freedom | BAY | CAR | SDS | BOS | CAR | NYP | PHI | PHI | ATL | BOS | SDS | CAR | WSH | BAY | NYP | BAY | PHI | BOS | SDS | ATL | NYP |
| Washington Freedom | 1-0 | 1-2 | 2-0 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 2-1 | 1-0 | 2-3 | 2-0 | 3-2 | 2-3 | 2-1 | 1-0 | 0-2 | 2-1 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 0-2 |

## Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Atlanta Beat | 21 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 31 | 21 | +10 | 37 | Regular Season Championship |
| 2 | Bay Area CyberRays | 21 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 27 | 23 | +4 | 37 | Qualification to play-offs |
| 3 | New York Power | 21 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 30 | 25 | +5 | 32 | Qualification to play-offs |
| 4 | Philadelphia Charge | 21 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 35 | 28 | +7 | 31 | Qualification to play-offs |
| 5 | San Diego Spirit | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 29 | 28 | +1 | 28 | |
| 6 | Boston Breakers | 21 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 29 | 35 | −6 | 27 | |
| 7 | Washington Freedom | 21 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 26 | 35 | −9 | 21 | |
| 8 | Carolina Courage | 21 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 28 | 40 | −12 | 21 | |

## Playoffs

Home teams listed second
| Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Founders Cup | Founders Cup | Founders Cup |
| 3 | New York Power | 2 | | | |
| 2 | Bay Area CyberRays | 3 | | | |
| 2 | Bay Area CyberRays | 3 | 2 | Bay Area CyberRays | 3 (4) |
| | | | 1 | Atlanta Beat | 3 (2) |
| 4 | Philadelphia Charge | 2 | 1 | Atlanta Beat | 3 (2) |
| 1 | Atlanta Beat | 3 | | | |

### Founders Cup
## Awards

| Award | Player | Club |
| Most Valuable Player | Tiffeny Milbrett | New York Power |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Tiffeny Milbrett | New York Power |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Doris Fitschen | Philadelphia Charge |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | LaKeysia Beene | Bay Area CyberRays |
| Coach of the Year | Ian Sawyers | Bay Area CyberRays |
| Humanitarian Award | Kate Sobrero | Boston Breakers |
| Team Community Service Award | | Washington Freedom |
| Team Fair Play Award | | New York Power |
Source: