2023 USLW Central Conference Preview
The 2023 USL W League season is underway in a much expanded league from 2022. USLW has increased the number of teams from 44 last season to 65 this season, having lost five teams and added 26 new clubs to the league. This increase in clubs has seen a few changes in the league for the 2023 campaign. Similar to NPSL, USL2, and WPSL the divisions in USLW will now be split into four different conferences, The Eastern Conference is made up of the returning Metropolitan and Mid-Atlantic Divisions, the Southern Conference consist of the South Atlantic, South Central, and Southeast divisions, all returning from 2022. Brand new for 2023 is the entire Western Conference, made up of 13 clubs split between the Northwest and NorCal divisions. Lastly the Central Conference consists of the returning Great Lakes and Heartland divisions as well as the new Valley Division.
With the increase in teams, divisions, and conferences the USL W League has expanded the playoffs for 2023. The new playoff format will see 16 clubs qualify, double the amount from last season,. Each division is awarded at least one qualifying spot and each conference is awarded a total of four. In the Central Conference the winner of each the Great Lakes, Heartland, and Valley will earn a berth to the playoffs. The final berth will be awarded to the Great Lakes or Heartland division side with the highest points per game at the end of the season.
Great Lakes Division
Clubs: 6
Clubs Lost: 3 (moved to Valley Division)
Expansion sides: 1
Matches: 12
Playoff Spots: 1 (Possibility of 2)
The Great Lakes Division will see quite a shakeup for 2023. Defending champion Indy Eleven have moved over to the new Valley Division along with Racing Louisville and Kings Hammer. Cleveland Force are the only expansion side for the division, rounding out the line-up at six clubs; AFC Ann Arbor, Cleveland Force, Detroit City FC, Flint City AFC, Kalamazoo FC, and Midwest United FC. Three of the six clubs, Detroit City , Flint City, and Midwest United will enter with new head coaches as they see David Dwaihy, Michele Krzisnik, and Joe White take over their sides respectively.
Two (DCFC and FCAFC) of those three sides season all lost more than 50% of their games in 2022 and are wanting to rebound in 2023. Midwest United's new manager will look to push them to top of the division after finishing in second last season. Rob Miller will step behind the bench for Cleveland Force as the women aim to have a better debut campaign then the men's side did last season when they went 1-9-4 with 7 points. AFC Ann Arbor finished mid-table in the Great Lakes division last season and will aim to compete with Midwest United for the Great Lakes title.
Heartland Division
Clubs: 7
Clubs Lost: 2 (not playing in 2023)
Expansion sides: 3
Matches: 12
Playoff Spots: 1 (Possibility of 2)
Changes are a plenty for the Heartland Division as USLW heads into the reborn leagues second season. Three new sides in Bavarian United, RKC Third Coast, and Rochester FC have joined the conference, while the division lost Kaw Valley FC and St. Louis Lions. Bavarian United will have a leg up on expansion sides RCK and Rochester as the Bavarian Women have been competing in the WPSL for the past two seasons.
"Yeah, the league has definitely got better. It's going to be a lot harder to be successful in playoffs."
- Nicole Lukic, Minnesota Aurora head coach
After finishing the season with their only loss coming in the USLW Championship, Minnesota Aurora will look to do one better by winning the league in 2023. For more on Minnesota Aurora you can check out Bridget McDowell's piece on their preseason. Green Bay Glory found their stride in 2022 after multiple years of rough results in the WPSL before joining USLW. The Glory will look to improve upon their second place finish in 2022 to try and dethrone defending champions Minnesota Aurora. Both Chicago sides, the Dutch Lions and Chicago City SC, are returning for 2023. City will also look to be in the hunt as they finished in third, just below Minnesota and Green Bay. The Dutch Lions on the other hand are a slightly surprising return after the women's side forfeited their final two matches of 2022 to Kaw Valley FC.
Valley Division
Clubs: 5
Clubs Lost: 0 (new division)
Expansion sides: 2 (gained 3 from Great Lakes)
Matches: 10
Playoff Spots: 1
2023 sees the debut of the brand new Valley Division as part of the new Central Conference in USLW. Indy Eleven, Kings Hammer, and Racing Louisville come into the division after having played 2022 in the Great Lakes division. Those three are joined by expansion sides Lexington SC and St. Charles FC who's also have expansion men's sides playing in USL1 and USL2 respectively.
“I am super pumped and grateful for the opportunity to be coaching young, passionate and competitive ladies for the Racing W League team this summer. This is a great time to continue development for these ladies and compete at a high level in a professional environment. We will be intentional about getting 1% better every time we step on the pitch in preparation for our league games while also preparing them to go back to their college teams ready to compete at their best for their upcoming seasons.”
- Callie McKinney, Racing Louisville USLW Head Coach
A new division and new teams mean new faces on the pitch and behind the bench. Expansion side Lexington SC will be lead behind the bench by Florida Gators associate head coach Alan Kirkup. Fellow expansion side St. Charles FC will be lead by long time Missouri Baptist University head coach Deno Merrick. Racing Louisville meanwhile will have an all new look on the bench and on the pitch with Callie McKinney taking over the manager role and with most of the 2022 roster departing as well. Vince Gentile returns as head coach of Kings Hammer, who finished second to last in 2022. Indy Eleven enter the season as the division favourites after handily winning the Great Lakes Division in 2022, having not suffered a defeat until the playoffs. Eleven will be assisted heavily in their attempt at winning the division as they return top scorers Katie Soderstrom and Maddy Williams. Soderstrom and Williams combined for 21 goals over the 12 game regular season, with Soderstrom also averaging a goal per game..
UWS National Championship
Friday Semi-finals:
Midwest United v CT Fusion - 6pm - Round Rock Multipurpose Complex, Round Rock, Texas - Eleven Sports
The Midwest Regional champion Midwest United out of Grand Rapids, MI have rolled through the season so far, accumulating a record of 9 wins and 1 draw and they dispatched Corktown AFC on penalties to arrive at this stage against the surprising Fusion side. The Eastern Conference playoff champions entered the post season as the #3 seed in the East but with a goalscoring streak similar to MUFC. Midwest United's defense could prove key in this match.
SA Athenians v SC Blue Heat - 8:30 pm - Round Rock Multipurpose Complex, Round Rock, Texas - Eleven Sports
The Southwest Conference #2 seed San Antonio Athenians finished the regular season with 9 wins and a loss but they ended the perfect season of Lone Star Republic in the playoffs to secure the SWC title. They face Santa Clarita Blue Heat, the Western Conference's #1 seed with a record of 4 wins and 2 draws. Both teams have strong defenses.
Sunday:
UWS National Final - 11 am CT - Round Rock Multipurpose Complex, Round Rock, Texas - Eleven Sports
United Women's Soccer, Week 5: Recap
Thursday:
Springfield Demize, 0 vs KC Courage, 3 : 7 PM - Cooper Stadium at Lake Country Soccer, Springfield, MO - Eleven Sports
The first of two games on the week for both sides, KC Courage headed down to Southern Missouri to face the rechristened Springfield Demize (formerly Lady Demize). The trip from Kansas City to Springfield did nothing to dissuade the Courage as they took a three goal away victory with all three goals scored by different players.
Friday:
Chicago Mustangs, 2 vs Lansing United, 0 : 5 PM - Commissioners Park, Naperville, IL - No Stream Announced
Another match with the teams both playing their first of two on the weekend, the outdoor Women's side of the Chicago Mustangs hosted Lansing United in a Midwest North vs South match. The trip for Lansing didn't prove to be worth much in points as Chicago took a two goal win to secure another three points.
Midwest United, 4 vs Corktown AFC, 2 : 6 PM - Aquinas College Athletic Field, Grand Rapids, MI - Eleven Sports
Detroit's "only women's club" headed west across the state to do battle in the all-Michigan, Midwest-North. Corktown looked to be running away with the match, scoring two unanswered goals inside the first half hour. Midwest United answered back with two goals before the end of the half and two more in the second 45' to earn a nice comeback victory at home.
Saturday:
KC Courage, 1 vs St. Louis Scott Gallagher, 0 : 4 PM - Bourke Field at Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO - Eleven Sports
The second match of the week for KC Courage and first of two in a row for SLSG. Both sides needed to have the utmost fitness to get through the full 90 minutes with KC having already played this week and SLSG having a match the next day. What we got was a banger of a match with Courage's Caroline Kelly scoring the lone and game winning goal in the 89th minute.
Chicago Mustangs, 4 vs Ladies Steel City, 0 : 6 PM - Nike Sports Complex, Naperville, IL - No Stream Announced
Ladies Steel City looked to spoil Chicago's second match of the week and the Mustangs perfect opportunity to take a total of six points on the week. That was not to be for the visitors from Joliet as the Mustangs ran away with a four goals all by different scorers in a route of their Chicagoland rivals. The Mustangs now have 9 points through 3 matches and sit atop the Midwest-South.
Indiana Elite, 1 vs Chicago Kics, 2 : 6 PM - Trinity Sports Park, Noblesville, IN - No Stream Announced
Taking the place of Indiana Union for the 2021 UWS season, Indiana Elite played their first match in United Women's Soccer against the Chicago Kics, another UWS expansion side. The Kics managed a one goal away victory to give them their second win of the season and hand Elite a loss in their first ever match in the league.
Muskegon Risers, 0 vs Detroit City FC, 10 : 6 PM - Kehren Stadium, Muskegon, MI - Eleven Sports
Detroit came back from last weeks 3-1 away loss to the Chicago Mustangs in dominating fashion. Le Rouge took a large 7-0 lead into the half-time break, scoring so many in such quick succession their matchday Twitter had a hard time keeping up. DCFC added another three goals in the second half including a brace from Melanie Forbes.
Sunday:
Lansing United, 5 vs Chicago Kics, 1 : 1 PM - Eastern High School Stadium, Lansing, MI - Eleven Sports
After a big win in Indiana on Saturday night, the Kics trekked north to face Lansing United for both teams second match of the weekend. The Kics jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a sixth minute goal> Lansing drew even in the 27th before taking the lead just two minutes later en route to a big 5-1 win at home.
Indiana Elite, 1 vs MSC Peoria, 2 : 6 PM - Trinity Sports Park, Noblesville, IN - No Stream Announced
Indiana Elite hosted MSC Peoria for Elite's second of two home matches on the weekend. Though a valiant effort was made by the hosts, it would be MSC Peoria winning 2-1 at the final whistle.
St. Louis Scott Gallagher, 4 vs Springfield Demize, 0 : 7 PM - World Wide Technology Soccer Park, Fenton, MO - Eleven Sports
The final match of the weekend for the UWS Central, the two Missouri sides took to the pitch in the final of a triangular week which also saw them both face KC Courage. After a loss for each side they both looked to take their first three points of 2021. Those three points would go to St. Louis after they defeated Springfield 4-0 in their first of two clashes in 2021.
*Note – All Times CDT