2002 Women's United Soccer Association season

August 2023 2002 season of Women's United Soccer Association Women's United Soccer Association 2002 Carolina Courage Kátia (15) 2001 2003 The 2002 Women's United Soccer Association season was the second season for WUSA, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States.https://vault.si.com/vault/2002/09/02/foreign-aid-the-carolina-courage-tapped-into-the-international-pipeline-and-came-up-champs-in-wusas-year-2 https://web.archive.org/web/20211023113956/https://vault.si.com/vault/2002/09/02/foreign-aid-the-carolina-courage-tapped-into-the-international-pipeline-and-came-up-champs-in-wusas-year-2 dead October 23, 2021 Foreign Aid The Carolina Courage tapped into the international pipeline and came up champs in WUSA's Year 2 The regular season began on April 13 and ended on August 11. The playoffs began on August 17, with the championship match between played on August 24 between the Carolina Courage and the Washington Freedom. Changes from 2001 Prior to the season the Bay Area CyberRays, the champions in the previous season, changed their name to the San Jose CyberRays All-Star Game 2002 WUSA All-Star Game The WUSA All-Star game was played for the first time after the completion of the 2002 season, with the South squad defeating the North 6–1 in front of 14,208 spectators at PGE Park in Portland, Oregon. Rookie Abby Wambach of the Washington Freedom was awarded the game MVP after scoring twice.WUSA All-Stars showcased in Portland http://www.uslfans.com/features/2002/fea,2002,0022.shtml USLFans.com 20 May 2014 20 May 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140520220036/http://www.uslfans.com/features/2002/fea,2002,0022.shtml dead Competition format The regular season began on April 13 and ended on August 11. 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 17. The winners of the semifinals met at Herndon Stadium for the final on August 24. Standings main WDL 5 August 2002 statscrew.com and wusa.comWUSA Stats and Standings (Archived) http://wusa.com/stats_standings/ 20 May 2014 bot: unknown https://web.archive.org/web/20021209180627/http://wusa.com/stats_standings/ 9 December 2002 CAR PHI WAS ATL SJC BOS SDS NYP CH PO PO PO Atlanta Beat San Jose CyberRays Boston Breakers Carolina Courage New York Power Philadelphia Charge San Diego Spirit Washington Freedom 11 1 9 34 29 8 5 8 34 30 3 1 17 31 62 11 6 4 36 22 5 5 11 28 42 6 7 8 36 35 11 5 5 40 29 12 4 5 40 30 Q #ccf Regular Season Championship #cfc Qualification to play-offs Playoffs Semi-Finals Founders Cup 30px 160px 2 Philadelphia Charge 0 3 Washington Freedom 1 1 Carolina Courage 2 4 Atlanta Beat 1 1 Carolina Courage 3 3 Washington Freedom 2 Semi-finals Semi-Finals August 17, 2002 Carolina Courage 2–1 yes Report Atlanta Beat Fotopoulos 89 pen.Overbeck 92 Serlenga 28 pen. SAS Stadium Cary, North Carolina 5,583 Misail Tsapos Semi-Finals August 17, 2002 Philadelphia Charge 0–1 Report Washington Freedom Gerardo 80 Villanova Stadium Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 6,547 Sandra Hunt Founders Cup II 2002 WUSA Founders Cup Founders Cup August 24, 2002 Carolina Courage 3–2 Report Washington Freedom Riise 20 Fotopoulos 53 Prinz 58 Fotopoulos 31 o.g. Hamm 64 Herndon Stadium Atlanta, Georgia 15,321 Ricardo Salazar Awards AwardPlayerClubMost Valuable PlayerFRA Marinette PichonPhiladelphia ChargeOffensive Player of the YearFRA Marinette PichonPhiladelphia ChargeDefensive Player of the YearUSA Danielle SlatonCarolina CourageGoalkeeper of the YearUSA Kristin LuckenbillCarolina CourageRookie of the YearUSA Abby WambachWashington FreedomCoach of the YearUSA Mark KrikorianPhiladelphia ChargeHumanitarian AwardBRA SissiSan Jose CyberRaysTeam Community Service AwardBoston BreakersTeam Fair Play AwardBoston BreakersReferee of the YearUSA Kari Seitz Source:Philadelphia's Pichon takes top honor in WUSA awards http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/wusa/2002-08-22-awards_x.htm USA Today 20 May 2014 Statistical leaders Top scorers RankPlayerNationClubGoals1KátiaBRASan Jose CyberRays152Marinette PichonFRAPhiladelphia Charge143Birgit PrinzGERCarolina Courage124Danielle FotopoulosUSACarolina Courage11Charmaine HooperCAN Atlanta Beat11Dagny MellgrenNORBoston Breakers117Tiffeny MilbrettUSA New York Power10Abby WambachUSAWashington Freedom109Mia HammUSA Washington Freedom8Emily JanssUSA New York Power8Kristine LillyUSABoston Breakers8 Top assists RankPlayerNationClubAssists1Maren MeinertGERBoston Breakers152Kristine LillyUSA Boston Breakers13Hege RiiseNORCarolina Courage134Danielle FotopoulosUSACarolina Courage105SissiBRASan Jose CyberRays9Abby WambachUSAWashington Freedom9Bettina WiegmannGERBoston Breakers98Zhao LihongCHNPhiladelphia Charge8Shannon MacMillanUSA San Diego Spirit8Tiffeny MilbrettUSA New York Power8Birgit PrinzGERCarolina Courage8Pu WeiCHNWashington Freedom8 See also Women's association football Sports Association football List of WUSA drafts References External links WUSA Website (archive.org) WUSA on Fun While It Lasted 2002 1 United States