The 1995 USWISL, also known as the 1995 Nike W League for sponsorship reasons, was the inaugural season of the United States Women's Interregional Soccer League (USWISL), which later became the USL W-League. Operated by the USISL, it was the highest division of women's soccer in the United States at the time. The Long Island Lady Riders were crowned champions after defeating the Southern California Nitemares in the Championship game.
Background In December 1993, it was announced that the USISL had committed to establishing the first US-wide women's soccer league, and that it would begin operations in 1995. In 1994, in preparation for the following year, around eighteen teams were established with the purpose of playing a few exhibition games with each other under the USISL umbrella. Five of these teams were then invited to a final tournament in Trinity, North Carolina, which was won by the Sacramento Storm, who defeated the Greensboro Dynamo 1–0 in the Championship game.
The league was originally meant to include 20 teams, but only 19 entered the competition; moreover, the Wichita Lady Blues and the Tulsa Roughnecks folded early in the year, thus bringing the number of competing teams down to 17, divided into three divisions (Eastern, Central, and Western).
Competition format The league did not follow the standard FIFA points system; instead, points were awarded as follows: Regulation win (W) = 6 points Shootout win (SW) = 4 points Shootout loss (SL) = 2 points Regulation loss (L) = 0 points Bonus points (BP): An additional one point per goal, up to a maximum of three points per game.
League standings Eastern Division Team1Long Island Lady Riders (C)10 91103011 +19 78262Pennsylvania Freedom10 73111110 +1 53113Connecticut Lady Wolves1064111616052164Mass Bay Crusaders1064212014 +649155Boston Tornado1046021617 −144166Baltimore Lady Bays945001614 +237137Hampton Roads Piranhas90600726 −19778Rhode Island Stingrays90900222 −2022
Central Division Team1Rockford Dactyls98100385 +33 72242Texas Lightning862003112 +19 56203Columbus Ziggx954002226 −449194Cincinnati Leopards1055002426 −247175Tulsa Roughnecks00000000006Wichita Lady Blues0000000000
Western Division Team1Southern California Nitemares972003112 +19 64222San Francisco Vikings9 72002012 +8 62203Sacramento Storm954002217 +549174San Diego Lady Top Guns927011620 −424105Arizona Heatwave82610525 −20155
Sizzlin' Six Tournament The Sizzlin' Six Tournament took place in Cincinnati, Ohio from August 11 to August 13, 1995. The Cincinnati Leopards qualified automatically as the hosts of the tournament. Having won their respective divisions, the Long Island Lady Riders (Eastern), the Rockford Dactyls (Central), and the Southern California Nitemares (Western) also qualified for the tournament. The Pennsylvania Freedom and the Texas Lightning, who finished second in the Eastern and Central divisions respectively, took the remaining two spots.
The six qualified teams played in a modified round-robin tournament, with each team playing games on August 11 and 12 against two non-division opponents. The Championship game was played on August 13, 1995.
Championship
Statistical leaders Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Charmaine Hooper Rockford Dactyls312 Diane McLoughlin Long Island Lady Riders193 Jennifer Evans Southern California Nitemares184 Janette Javit Texas Lightning175 Erica Handelman Rockford Dactyls156 Jennifer Shannon Cincinnati Leopards147 Paula Russo Boston Tornado138 Kara Lee Texas Lightning11 Lori Hokerson Sacramento Storm10 Caitlin Connolly Long Island Lady Riders9
Awards Scoring Champion: Charmaine Hooper (Rockford Dactyls) Most Valuable Player: Laurie Hill (Southern California Nitemares) Coach of the Year: Peter Collins Jr. (Long Island Lady Riders) Goalkeeper of the Year: Kim Wyant (Long Island Lady Riders) Sizzlin' Six Tournament Offensive MVP: Gina Vassallo-Tucker (Long Island Lady Riders) Sizzlin' Six Tournament Defensive MVP: Kim Conway (Long Island Lady Riders)
References