August 20, 2001

W-League Commentary : TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Rick Crow

Over the years, the Maryland Pride has earned a reputation as one of the most successful women's teams in the history of U.S. Soccer. Since taking the field in 1994, Maryland has advanced to the W-League championship finals six times, and brought home the national title in 1996.

This year especially, the Pride has been one of the few bright lights to shine on the local soccer scene. Although, Maryland fell 3-0 to the Boston Renegades in the W-League semifinals last Saturday, the team went undefeated during the regular season and at present has more victories than D.C. United and the Freedom combined.

After defeating Maryland, Boston went on the capture the W-1 title with a 5-1 win over Vancouver in the championship match. Credit Boston for fielding an impressive team, but give thumbs down to the United Soccer Leagues (USL) for scheduling the W-1 championships after collegiate players returned to school. Maryland used some of the top collegiate stars in the country to streamroll the competition during the regular season, but the Pride was lucky to field 11 players (and no subs) against Boston in their only loss of the season.

With the top college graduates now playing in the WUSA, the Pride and many other W-League teams will depend on collegiate players more than ever to fill key roles. It's now up to the USL to take a good look at the timing of the 2002 W-League playoffs. It makes little sense to play in a championship series without the players who got you there.