# 2010 USL W-League season

The 2010 W-League Season was the league's 16th. The regular season began in May and ended in July. The playoffs began in late July and ended in August.

## Changes from 2009 season
### Name Changes

Two teams changed their name in the off-season:
| Team Name | Metro Area | Previous Name |
| Santa Clarita Blue Heat | Los Angeles area | Ventura County Fusion |
| Washington Freedom Futures | Washington, D.C. area | Washington Freedom Reserves |

### Expansion Teams

Three teams were added for the season:
| Team Name | Metro Area | Location | Previous Affiliation |
| Colorado Rush | Denver area | Denver, CO | expansion |
| New Jersey Rangers | North Jersey area | Denville, NJ | expansion |
| North Jersey Valkyries | North Jersey area | Wayne, NJ | expansion |

### Teams Leaving

10 teams folded or left the league after the 2009 season:
* Boston Renegades
* Cary Lady Clarets
* Connecticut Passion
* FC Indiana
* Fort Wayne Fever
* Los Angeles Legends
* Minnesota Lightning
* Real Colorado Cougars
* Richmond Kickers Destiny
* Western Mass Lady Pioneers

## Standings

Orange indicates W-League title and bye into W-League semifinals. Purple indicates division title clinched Green indicates playoff berth clinched Yellow indicates team would qualify for playoffs in current position Red indicates team is eliminated from playoffs

### Central Conference
#### Great Lakes Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Ottawa Fury Women | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 5 | +20 | 27 |
| 2 | Toronto Lady Lynx | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 6 | +9 | 24 |
| 3 | Laval Comets | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 10 | +7 | 21 |
| 4 | Quebec City Amiral SC | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 12 | +4 | 20 |
| 5 | Rochester Ravens | 12 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 24 | −16 | 7 |
| 6 | Hamilton Avalanche | 12 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 29 | −24 | 3 |

#### Midwest Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Buffalo Flash | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 48 | 5 | +43 | 32 |
| 2 | Chicago Red Eleven | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 32 | 8 | +24 | 26 |
| 3 | Kalamazoo Outrage | 12 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 26 | −8 | 13 |
| 4 | Cleveland Internationals Women | 12 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 16 | 39 | −23 | 10 |
| 5 | London Gryphons | 12 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 25 | −19 | 5 |

### Eastern Conference
#### Atlantic Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Atlanta Silverbacks Women | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 7 | +15 | 22 |
| 2 | Charlotte Lady Eagles | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 17 |
| 3 | Tampa Bay Hellenic | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 13 | −1 | 16 |
| 4 | Hampton Roads Piranhas | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 21 | −14 | 8 |
| 5 | Northern Virginia Majestics | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 25 | −19 | 6 |

#### Northeast Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 9 | +17 | 33 |
| 2 | Washington Freedom Futures | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 7 | +22 | 31 |
| 3 | New Jersey Wildcats | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 22 | 16 | +6 | 22 |
| 4 | Long Island Rough Riders | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 23 | 14 | +9 | 21 |
| 5 | New Jersey Rangers | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 30 | −14 | 12 |
| 6 | New York Magic | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 23 | 30 | −7 | 9 |
| 7 | North Jersey Valkyries | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 30 | −25 | 0 |

### Western Conference

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Vancouver Whitecaps Women | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 9 | +11 | 22 |
| 2 | Pali Blues | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 14 | +2 | 12 |
| 3 | Seattle Sounders Women | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 4 | Colorado Rush | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 12 | −2 | 12 |
| 5 | Santa Clarita Blue Heat | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 16 | −10 | 8 |
| 6 | Colorado Force | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 12 | −1 | 7 |
* ↑ Colorado Force deducted 4 points

## Playoffs
### Format

The W-League champion will earn an automatic bye into the W-League Semifinals, with the highest-placed team in the division not making the playoffs will earn a playoff berth.
The Central Conference will have 5 playoff spots. The second and third place teams from the Great Lakes Division will play each other. The winner will play the Midwest Division champions, while the Great Lakes Division champion will play the second place team of the Midwest Division. The winners of those games will play to determine the conference champion. The Eastern Conference division champions will play the second place team of the opposite division, the winners facing off to determine who goes to the W-League Semifinals. The Western Conference will have their top two teams facing off to determine their conference champion.
The W-League Semifinals will put the regular season champion against the lowest seeded conference champion, and the higher-ranked conference champions against each other. The winners of these games will play in the championship.

### Conference Brackets

Central Conference
| Central Divisional Round | Central Divisional Round | Central Divisional Round | Central Semifinals | Central Semifinals | Central Semifinals | Central Championship | Central Championship | Central Championship |
| | | | MW1 | Buffalo Flash | 3 | | | |
| | | | GL2 | Toronto Lady Lynx | 0 | | | |
| GL2 | Toronto Lady Lynx | 2 | GL2 | Toronto Lady Lynx | 0 | | | |
| GL3 | Laval Comets | 0 | | | | | | |
| GL3 | Laval Comets | 0 | | | | MW1 | Buffalo Flash | 1 |
| | | | | | | GL1 | Ottawa Fury Women | 0 |
| | | | GL1 | Ottawa Fury Women | 2 | | | |
| | | | MW2 | Chicago Red Eleven | 0 | | | |
Eastern Conference
| Eastern Semifinals | Eastern Semifinals | Eastern Semifinals | Eastern Championship | Eastern Championship | Eastern Championship |
| AT1 | Atlanta Silverbacks Women | 5 | | | |
| NE2 | New Jersey Wildcats | 1 | | | |
| NE2 | New Jersey Wildcats | 1 | AT1 | Atlanta Silverbacks Women | 1 |
| | | | AT2 | Charlotte Lady Eagles | 0 |
| NE1 | Washington Freedom Futures | 2 (5) | AT2 | Charlotte Lady Eagles | 0 |
| AT2 | Charlotte Lady Eagles (AET/PSO) | 2 (6) | | | |
Western Conference
| Western Finals | Western Finals | Western Finals |
| W1 | Vancouver Whitecaps Women | 2 |
| W2 | Pali Blues | 1 |

### W-League Championship Bracket

| W-League Semifinals | W-League Semifinals | W-League Semifinals | W-League Championship | W-League Championship | W-League Championship |
| MW1 | Buffalo Flash | 3 | | | |
| AT1 | Atlanta Silverbacks Women | 1 | | | |
| AT1 | Atlanta Silverbacks Women | 1 | MW1 | Buffalo Flash | 3 |
| | | | W1 | Vancouver Whitecaps Women | 1 |
| WL | Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues | 1 | W1 | Vancouver Whitecaps Women | 1 |
| W1 | Vancouver Whitecaps Women | 3 | W-League Third Place | W-League Third Place | W-League Third Place |
| | | | WL | Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues | 3 |
| | | | AT1 | Atlanta Silverbacks Women | 0 |