Sixteen of the 20-player roster for Canada have played in the 10-year old W-League with 11 playing for the three Canadian clubs in 2003, including star goalkeeper from the Ottawa Fury Taryn Swiatek.
The W-League provides a good standard of play for the young players like Sasha Andrews, Brittany Timko and Kara Lang," said Vancouver Whitecaps General Manager Bob Lenarduzzi. "If they didn't have the W-League available, I wouldn't know what their options would be, but they certainly wouldn't be as good."
"Without the W-League, you would have to create a program to keep the players playing during the summer months," added Lenarduzzi.
One of the players who has arguably benefited the most from her play in the W-League has been Swiatek. She helped lead the Ottawa Fury to the semifinals in 2003 with a fantastic season where she finished second in the league in goals-against average at 0.41 over the course of 10 games. Her season came to a close with the biggest win in the franchise's history, downing two-time defending league champion Boston in the Conference Championship. Swiatek was unable to assist the team in the semis due to national team duty at the Pan-Am Games.
The W-League has also played a role for the Americans with nine former USL players on the squad. It's greatest role, however, has been the league's contribution to the WUSA, which has enabled some of the world's top players to improve and showcase their talents. The W-League laid the foundation for the existence of a professional women's league with its debut in 1994 as an exhibition tournament and then played its first official season in 1995. Prior to the introduction of the WUSA in 2000, numerous national team players were on W-League teams, including current players Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain (Sacramento Storm) and Kristine Lilly and Briana Scurry (Delaware Genies).
In the four years since the 1999 Women's World Cup, the number of international players from abroad has increased, pushing the talent level in the league to new heights and improving the level of the women's game in North America to where it is today. After tuning their talents in the W-League, players like Australia's Kelly Golebiowski, Mexico's Maribel Dominguez and Japan's Homare Sawa among many others have raised the level of play in the WUSA.
W-League Alumni in the Semifinals
Canada: Sasha Andrews (Vancouver 2003), Silvana Burtini (Raleigh 1999-2000), Linda Consolante (Ottawa 2003), Randee Hermus (Vancouver 2001-02), Charmaine Hooper (Chicago 1998-2000, Rockford 1995), Kristina Kiss (Ottawa 2000-02), Kara Lang (Vancouver 2003), Diana Matheson (Toronto 2003), Erin McLeod (Vancouver 2003), Isabelle Morneau (Ottawa 2002-03, Laval 2001), Carmelina Moscato (2002-03), Andrea Neil (Vancouver 2001-03), Christine Sinclair (Vancouver 2001-02, Laval 1999), Taryn Swiatek (Ottawa 2001-03), Brittany Timko (Vancouver 2003), Rhian Wilkinson (Ottawa 2003).
USA: Shannon Boxx (Boston 1999), Brandi Chastain (Sacramento 1997), Julie Foudy (Sacramento 1995-97), Angela Hucles (Raleigh 2000), Kristine Lilly (Delaware 1998), Siri Mullinix (Raleigh 1999), Christie Pearce (New Jersey LS 1998, Central Jersey 1997), Briana Scurry (Delaware 1998), Abby Wambach (Rochester 1998).
