The Vancouver Whitecaps FC women was a Canadian soccer club based in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

that played in the

USL W-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada. The team was formed in 2001 under the name Vancouver Breakers following a merger of the Vancouver Lady 86ers and Vancouver Angels. In 2003, they changed their name to the Whitecaps to match the men's team.

History

Pre-formation

Vancouver Lady 86ers

In 2000, the Vancouver Lady 86ers played an exhibition season over the summer along with three other new Pacific Northwest teams:

Portland Rain Portland Rain was an American women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. The team is a member of the Women's Premier Soccer League, the third tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada. The team plays in the North Division of the ...

, Spokane Chill and the Seattle Sounders Select Women, with the four teams planning to join the

for the 2001 season.

Vancouver Angels

In 2000, the Vancouver Angels were established to play in the

Women's Premier Soccer League The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is the top amateur league for women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, below only National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). T ...

. During the 2000 season, the Angels finished in fourth place in the eight team division.

Breakers years

In 2001, David Stadnyk, the owner of the Angels, purchased the

Vancouver 86ers Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

and merged the Angels with the Lady 86ers under the name Vancouver Breakers, while renaming the male 86ers to their former name Vancouver Whitecaps The team joined the

for the 2001 season. In their debut season, they finished first in the Western Conference advancing to the playoffs. In the semi-finals, the Breakers needed a 104th minute overtime golden goal from

Andrea Neil Andrea Neil (born October 26, 1971, in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a pioneer of women's soccer in Canada. Neil retired from the game after representing Canada more than any other Canadian player in history. With a career spanning 18 years she ...

to advance on a 1–0 win over the host Hampton Road Piranhas. After a two-and-a-half hour thunderstorm delay that resulted in the cancellation of the 3rd place game, the championship final was played at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. When the skies cleared, despite a goal from Vancouver’s Tammy Crawford, the Breakers were defeated 5-1 by the

Boston Renegades Boston Renegades was an American women’s soccer team, founded in 2003. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada. The team plays in the Northeast Divisi ...

. In 2002, the Breakers had another strong season, losing only one match (in overtime) during the regular season. However, in the playoffs, they lost in the semi-finals to the

Charlotte Lady Eagles Charlotte Lady Eagles is an American women's soccer team, founded in 2000. Between 2002 and 2015 the Lady Eagles were a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada, and a memb ...

on penalty kicks. After the 2002 season, with the

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defunct Women's ...

’ creation in the WUSA, the Whitecaps held a contest to determine a new club name.

Whitecaps years

In 2003, both the men's and women's teams were purchased by Greg Kerfoot and the Breakers were renamed as the Whitecaps to consolidate the men's, women's, and youth teams under a single name. The team won the 2004 and 2006 championships, and was runner-up in 2001 and 2010. Vancouver played in the Western Conference against the

Colorado Force Colorado Rapids Women is an American women's soccer team, founded in 1996. The team is a member of the women's premier soccer league and plays in the Central Conference's Mountain Region. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-Leagu ...

, Colorado Rush,

LA Strikers Los Angeles Strikers Football Club is an American women's soccer team, founded in 2011. The team is a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada. The team plays in the Western ...

Pali Blues Pali Blues was an American women's association football, soccer team, which played from 2008 to 2014. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada. The team pl ...

Santa Clarita Blue Heat Santa Clarita Blue Heat is an American women's soccer team, founded in 2008. The club was known as the Ventura County Fusion for its first two years of existence. The team plays its home games at Canyon High School. During the Fusion days, they p ...

Seattle Sounders Women Sound Football Club is an American women's soccer team in the Women's Premier Soccer League. Sound FC play its home games at Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila, Washington, six miles south of downtown Seattle. The team was founded in 2000 as Sea ...

and

Victoria Highlanders Women Victoria Highlanders FC is a Canadian women's soccer team based in Victoria, British Columbia that plays in League1 British Columbia. The team was founded in 2001 as the Victoria Stars FC. In 2010, the team was acquired by the Victoria Highland ...

. In 2010, the Whitecaps played their home games at Swangard Stadium in the city of

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...

, British Columbia, east of

Downtown Vancouver Downtown Vancouver is the central business district and the city centre neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada, on the northwestern shore of the Burrard Peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. It occupies most of the north sh ...

. In 2011, the women played each home game in a different city in British Columbia. The team's colours were blue and white. The club announced that it will not field a team for the 2013

season. They stated it was because many of the best players in Canada are going to play in the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

, involving the

US Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (Canada Soccer) is the governing body of soccer in Canada. It is a national organization that oversees the Canadian men's and women's national teams for international play, as well as the respective junior sides ( ...

, and

Mexican Football Federation The Mexican Football Federation (; abbreviated as Femexfut or FMF) is the governing body of association football in Mexico. It adm the Mexico national team, the Liga MX and all affiliated amateur sectors, and controls promoting, organizing, direc ...

. The Whitecaps continued fielding an under-18 team, their girls elite program, in the 2013

Pacific Coast Soccer League The Pacific Coast Soccer League is an amateur soccer league, currently featuring teams from British Columbia. In the past clubs from Washington and Oregon have competed. PCSL is considered to be British Columbia's premier summer league. The ...

REX Program

In 2015, in collarboration with

BC Soccer BC Soccer is the governing body of adult and youth soccer in British Columbia, Canada. They are the head association for all FIFA affiliated soccer associations in BC. BCSA is located in Vancouver, British Columbia's largest city. There are diffe ...

and the

, the Whitecaps launched the first Women's Regional EXCEL Centre (REX) in Western Canada, for top Canadian women soccer prospects.

Former head coaches

Seasons

as Vancouver Breakers as Vancouver Whitecaps Women

Top Goalscorers

Awards and honours

* USL W-League Champions: 2004, 2006 * USL W-League Western Conference Champions: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010

Notable players

Famous Players * ''See also

List of Vancouver Whitecaps Women players List of notable and former players from the Vancouver Whitecaps (women), Vancouver Whitecaps Women. Players * Paige Adams * Amber Allen * Nikki Ambrose * Justine Bernier * Melanie Booth * Myriam Bouchard * Taryne Boudreau * Natalie ...

References

External links

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Women's Program

2011 Year in Review
{{W-League Seasons

Women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

Women's soccer clubs in Canada United Soccer League teams based in Canada USL W-League (1995–2015) teams 2001 establishments in British Columbia