2001 USL A-League
Football league season
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The 2001 USL A-League was an American Division II league run by the United Soccer Leagues during the summer of 2001.
Season2001
Teams25
ChampionsRochester Raging Rhinos
(3rd Title)
(3rd Title)
Regular seasonRichmond Kickers
(1st Title)
(1st Title)
| Season | 2001 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 25 |
| Champions | Rochester Raging Rhinos (3rd Title) |
| Regular season | Richmond Kickers (1st Title) |
| Matches | 273 |
| Goals | 850 (3.11 per match) |
| Best Player |  Paul Conway, Charleston Battery |
| Top goalscorer | Paul Conway, Charleston Battery (22 goals) |
| Best goalkeeper | Jon Busch, Hershey Wildcats |
← 2000 2002 → | |
Summary
The addition of the Portland Timbers saw the renewal of a Pacific Northwest rivalry between them, the Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps which dated back to the North American Soccer League. Although Vancouver was not new to the league, this was the first season they competed in under the Whitecaps name, replacing the 86ers name used since 1986.
An ownership change in August 2000 brought a revival of the old Whitecaps name for the 2001 season. At the end of the regular season, the Richmond Kickers topped the league with seventy-six points. The playoffs were scheduled to begin on September 12, but those matches were postponed by a week due to the September 11 attacks.[1][2] Midfielder Mickey Trotman, a starter for the Rochester Rhinos, was killed in an automobile accident two days before the team's first semifinal match with the Milwaukee Rampage.[3] The Rhinos defeated the Hershey Wildcats to take its third league title in four seasons.[4]
League standings
Northern Conference
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hershey Wildcats | 26 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 45 | 20 | +25 | 8 | 75 |
| 2 | Rochester Raging Rhinos | 26 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 43 | 27 | +16 | 6 | 74 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 26 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 6 | 50 |
| 4 | Montreal Impact | 26 | 10 | 2 | 14 | 29 | 37 | −8 | 3 | 45 |
| 5 | Connecticut Wolves | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 30 | 37 | −7 | 1 | 43 |
| 6 | Long Island Rough Riders | 26 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 31 | 50 | −19 | 5 | 33 |
| 7 | Toronto Lynx | 26 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 20 | 41 | −21 | 1 | 32 |
Central Conference
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond Kickers | 26 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 47 | 34 | +13 | 9 | 76 |
| 2 | Charleston Battery | 26 | 16 | 1 | 9 | 51 | 34 | +17 | 8 | 73 |
| 3 | Charlotte Eagles | 26 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 50 | 41 | +9 | 8 | 66 |
| 4 | Nashville Metros | 26 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 47 | 48 | −1 | 5 | 63 |
| 5 | Atlanta Silverbacks | 26 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 48 | 39 | +9 | 6 | 59 |
| 6 | Indiana Blast | 26 | 8 | 0 | 18 | 38 | 55 | −17 | 3 | 35 |
| 7 | Cincinnati Riverhawks | 26 | 6 | 0 | 20 | 39 | 80 | −41 | 3 | 27 |
Western Conference
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 26 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 44 | 33 | +11 | 8 | 74 |
| 2 | San Diego Flash | 26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 55 | 42 | +13 | 11 | 68 |
| 3 | Milwaukee Rampage | 26 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 45 | 40 | +5 | 5 | 63 |
| 4 | Portland Timbers | 26 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 41 | 38 | +3 | 7 | 62 |
| 5 | Seattle Sounders | 26 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 40 | 39 | +1 | 4 | 57 |
| 6 | Minnesota Thunder | 26 | 9 | 2 | 15 | 29 | 34 | −5 | 3 | 41 |
| 7 | El Paso Patriots | 26 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 39 | 42 | −3 | 4 | 40 |
Playoffs
Bracket
| First Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Hershey Wildcats | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Charlotte Eagles | 0 | 2 | 2 | Portland Timbers | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Portland Timbers | 2 | 3 | 5 | Hershey Wildcats | 4 | 0 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 0 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | San Diego F.C. | 2 | 2 | 4 | San Diego F.C. | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Atlanta Silverbacks | 0 | 2 | 2 | Hershey Wildcats | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rochester Raging Rhinos | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Rochester Raging Rhinos | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Charleston Battery | 1 | 1 | 2 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 2 | 3 | 5 | Rochester Raging Rhinos | 3 | 1 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Milwaukee Rampage | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Richmond Kickers | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Milwaukee Rampage (p) | 3 | 0 | 3 (4) | Milwaukee Rampage (a.e.t.) | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Nashville Metros | 2 | 1 | 3 (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||
First round
Pittsburgh vs Charleston
| Pittsburgh Riverhounds (PA) | 2–1 | Charleston Battery (SC) |
|---|---|---|
Gary DePalma  45'Phil Karn 76' |
Report |  36'  44' John Ball 38' Paul Conway |
Bethel Park Stadium, Bethel Park, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 1,152
| Charleston Battery (SC) | 1–3 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds (PA) |
|---|---|---|
| Mac Cozier 22' Jukka Rantala 45'Mac Cozier 50'Dan Calichman 77' |
Report | 3' Gary DePalma 45' Paul Dougherty 54' John Jones 64' Henry Gutierrez |
Attendance: 2,606
San Diego vs Atlanta
| San Diego Flash (CA) | 2–0 | Atlanta Silverbacks (GA) |
|---|---|---|
| Brian O'Connor 43' Thiago Martins 63', 72' |
Report | 5' Shaun McSkimming 36' Ian Checcio 54' Randy Merkel 74' Sean Michael Callahan |
| Atlanta Silverbacks (GA) | 2–2 | San Diego Flash (CA) |
|---|---|---|
| Danny Care 32' Sean Finn 45', 60'Ryan Walker 90' |
Report | 42' Chugger Adair 66', 73' Thiago Martins |
Attendance: 722
Portland vs Charlotte
| Portland Timbers (OR) | 2–0 | Charlotte Eagles (NC) |
|---|---|---|
| Darin Lewis 10' Mark Baena 19'Neil Ryan 26'Darren Sawatzky 43'Michael O'Neill 63' |
Report | 32' Jose Correa 73' Nate Watkins |
Attendance: 4,771
| Charlotte Eagles (NC) | 2–3 | Portland Timbers (OR) |
|---|---|---|
| Jacob Coggins 16' Joey Johnson 19' |
Report | 23' Michael O'Neill 82' Scott Benedetti 85' Greg Howes |
Attendance: 2,141
Milwaukee vs Nashville
| Nashville Metros (TN) | 2–3 | Milwaukee Rampage (WI) |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Morman 20' 73' Brandon Wright 72'Jakob Fenger 82'Jaymi Bailey 90' |
Report | 13' Judah Cooks 30', 61' Steve Butcher 77' David Hayes 77' Jason Russell 83' Igor Soso 90' Dennis Fadeski |
| Milwaukee Rampage (WI) | 0–1 (OT) | Nashville Metros (TN) |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Bobo 28' Philippe Godoy 72'Destin Makumbu 93'Josh Provan 98'Judah Cooks 99' |
Report | 27' Jeff Dominguez 84' Jakob Fenger 93' Andreas Maier 90' Jeff Houser 98' Jeff Houser |
| Penalties | ||
Steve Bernal  Igor Soso  David Hayes Steve Butcher Mike Slivinski |
4–2 | Dominic Schell Jakob Fenger Andreas Maier Jeff Houser |
Milwaukee County Sports Complex, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 2,152
Quarterfinals
Milwaukee vs Richmond
| Milwaukee Rampage (WI) | 2–2 | Richmond Kickers (VA) |
|---|---|---|
| Alen Soso 10' 82' Philippe Godoy 18'Matt Bobo 43'Judah Cooks 45'Dennis Fadeski 66'Digital Takawira 73' |
Report | 17', 26' Josh Henderson 44' Mike Burke 63', 74' Kevin Knight 90' Chris Brown |
Milwaukee County Sports Complex, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 1,318
Referee: Michael Kennedy (USA)
| Richmond Kickers (VA) | 1–2 (OT) | Milwaukee Rampage (WI) |
|---|---|---|
| Peter Luzak 68' Rob Ukrop 88'Josh Henderson 90' (pen.) |
Report | 35' Jim Curtin 93' Igor Soso |
Hershey vs Portland
| Portland Timbers (OR) | 0–2 | Hershey Wildcats (PA) |
|---|---|---|
| Gavin Wilkinson 19' Mark Baena 43'Michael O'Neill 86' |
Report | 23' Nigel Henry 49' Mike Feniger 59' Chris Marinos 62' Chad Evans 71' Doug Watson 85' Fred DeGand |
Attendance: 4,894
| Hershey Wildcats (PA) | 1–0 | Portland Timbers (OR) |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Feniger 28' |
Attendance: 1,048
Vancouver vs San Diego
| San Diego Flash (CA) | 2–0 | Vancouver Whitecaps (BC) |
|---|---|---|
| Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar 67' Emmanuel Ayim 84' |
Report |
Douglas Stadium, San Diego, California
Attendance: 468
| Vancouver Whitecaps (BC) | 4–1 | San Diego Flash (CA) |
|---|---|---|
| Darren Tilley 6' John Sulentic 17', 90'Steve Kindel 42' |
Report | 35' Chugger Adair |
Attendance: 6,782
Rochester vs Pittsburgh
| Pittsburgh Riverhounds (PA) | 2–1 | Rochester Rhinos (NY) |
|---|---|---|
| Welton Melo 62' John Jones 81' |
Report | 25' (pen.) Stoian Mladenov |
Bethel Park Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 1,073
| Rochester Rhinos (NY) | 3–0 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds (PA) |
|---|---|---|
| Martin Nash 30' Neathan Gibson 53'Jimmy Tanner 90' |
Semifinals
Semifinal 1
| Milwaukee Rampage (WI) | 2–3 | Rochester Rhinos (NY) |
|---|---|---|
| Philippe Godoy 24' Matt Bobo 61'Jim Curtin 78' |
Report | 2' Lenin Steenkamp 15' Nate Daligcon 61' Fuseini Dauda 72' Kirk Wilson 76' Neathan Gibson 78' Scott Vallow 83' Tommy Tanner |
Milwaukee County Sports Complex, Franklin, Wisconsin
Attendance: 721
| Rochester Rhinos (NY) | 1–0 | Milwaukee Rampage (WI) |
|---|---|---|
| Scott Schweitzer 16' Neathan Gibson 41'Mike Kirmse 90' |
Report | 38' Igor Soso 45' Judah Cooks 45' Philippe Godoy 81' Brian Doherty |
Attendance: 6,817
Semifinal 2
| Vancouver Whitecaps (BC) | 0–4 | Hershey Wildcats (PA) |
|---|---|---|
| Report | 21', 39' Kyle Swords 85' Zé Roberto 90' Doug Miller |
Attendance: 6,685
| Hershey Wildcats (PA) | 0–1 | Vancouver Whitecaps (BC) |
|---|---|---|
| Report | 66' Darren Tilley |
Attendance: 786
Final
| Rochester Raging Rhinos (NY) | 2–0 | Hershey Wildcats (PA) |
|---|---|---|
| Martin Nash 38' Carlos Zavala 38'Stoian Mladenov 63', 87' |
Report |
Points leaders
| Rank | Scorer | Club | GP | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Conway | Charleston Battery | 25 | 22 | 3 | 47 |
| 2 | Dustin Swinehart | Charlotte Eagles | 23 | 18 | 3 | 39 |
| 3 | Jakob Fenger | Nashville Metros | 24 | 14 | 6 | 34 |
| 4 | Jeff Houser | Nashville Metros | 24 | 14 | 5 | 33 |
| 5 | Digital Takawira | Milwaukee Rampage | 20 | 13 | 4 | 30 |
| 6 | Kevin Jeffrey | Richmond Kickers | 24 | 11 | 7 | 29 |
| Leighton O'Brien | Seattle Sounders | 24 | 11 | 7 | 29 | |
| Mark Baena | Portland Timbers | 24 | 13 | 3 | 29 | |
| 9 | Ignace Moleka | Atlanta Silverbacks | 19 | 12 | 1 | 25 |
| Luis Macias | El Paso Patriots | 23 | 12 | 1 | 25 | |
| Chugger Adair | San Diego Flash | 22 | 10 | 5 | 25 | |
| Jason Jordan | Vancouver Whitecaps | 18 | 9 | 7 | 25 | |
| Rodrigo Costa | Indiana Blast | 21 | 11 | 3 | 25 | |
| 14 | Mark Rowland | El Paso Patriots | 26 | 7 | 10 | 24 |
| 15 | Josh Henderson | Richmond Kickers | 21 | 10 | 3 | 23 |
Honors
Annual awards
- Most Valuable Player: Paul Conway
- Leading Goal Scorer: Paul Conway
- Goalkeeper of the Year: Jon Busch
- Defender of the Year: Rick Titus
- Rookie of the Year: Robbie Aristodemo
- Coach of the Year: Dale Mitchell
- First Team All A-League[5]
- Goalkeeper: Jon Busch
- Defenders: Scott Schweitzer, Rick Titus, Gilbert Jean-Baptiste
- Midfielders: Philippe Godoy, Stoian Mladenov, Leighton O'Brien, Temoc Suarez
- Forwards: Paul Conway, Kevin Jeffrey, Dustin Swinehart
- Second Team All A-League
- Goalkeeper: Matt Napoleon
- Defenders: James Wall, Brent Sancho, Jason Annicchero
- Midfielders: John Ball, Lenin Steenkamp, Kevin Knight, Steve Kindel
- Forwards: Jakob Fenger, Digital Takawira, Rodrigo Costa