2005 USL W-League season


The 2005 W-League Season is the league's 11th.

Changes from 2004 season

Name changes

Three teams changed their name in the off-season:
Team NameMetro AreaPrevious Name
Chicago GaelsChicago areaChicago Cobras
Mile High EdgeBoulder areaMile High Mustangs
Real Colorado CougarsDenver areaDenver Lady Cougars

Expansion teams

Five teams were added for the season:
Team NameMetro AreaLocationPrevious Affiliation
Atlanta Silverbacks WomenAtlanta areaAtlanta, GAexpansion
Central Florida KrushOrlando areaWinter Park, FLexpansion
San Diego Gauchos WomenSan Diego areaSan Diego, CAexpansion
Toronto Lady LynxToronto areaToronto, ONexpansion
Vermont Lady VoltageBurlington areaSt. Albans, VTexpansion

Teams Leaving

One team left for the WPSL:
Eight teams folded after the 2004 season:
Orange indicates W-League title and bye into W-League semifinals.
Blue indicates division title clinched
Green indicates playoff berth clinched

Central Conference

Atlantic Division

Midwest Division

Eastern Conference

Northeast Division

Northern Division

Western Conference

Playoffs

Format

Five teams from the Eastern Conference, four teams from the Central Conference and two from the Western Conference qualify for the playoffs. All match-ups are in a one-leg format.
In the Central Conference, the division champions play the second-place team from the opposite division.
In the Eastern Conference, the division champion with the best record receives a bye, and will play the winner of the teams with the 4th and 5th-best conference records. The other division champion will play the seventh-place team, and plays the winner of the third-place and sixth-place teams.
The two teams in the Western Conference will play each other to advance to the W-League Semifinals.
The regular season champion, New Jersey Wildcats, received a bye into the W-League semifinals, with the eighth-place team from the Eastern Conference receiving a playoff berth.

Conference brackets

Central Conference
Eastern Conference
Western Conference

W-League Championship bracket