The 2001

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Un ...

season served as the inaugural season for WUSA, the top level professional

women's soccer Women's association football, more commonly known simply as women's football or women's soccer, is a team sport of association football when played by women only. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries and 176 national ...

league in the United States. The regular season began on April 14 and ended on August 12, with the postseason games being held on August 18 and August 25. Attendance figures were high for the first season, particularly early in the season, though not near the levels organizers were expecting based on the attendance for the

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national soccer teams. It was hosted as well as won by the United States and took place from June 19 to July 10, 1999, at ...

. The league spent its initial $40m budget, intended to last five years, in just this first season.

Competition format

*The season began on April 14 and ended on August 12. *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 18. The winners of the semifinals met at

Foxboro Stadium Foxboro Stadium, originally Schaefer Stadium and later Sullivan Stadium, was an outdoor stadium in the New England region of the United States, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It opened in 1971 and served as the home of the New England ...

for the final on August 25.

Results table

Standings

Playoffs

''Home teams listed second''

Semi-Finals

Founders Cup

Awards

Source:

Statistical leaders

Top scorers

Top assists