2002 USL A-League

The 2002 USL A-League was an American Division II league run by the United Soccer League during the summer of 2002.

USL A-League
-2002 Season-
Season2002
ChampionsMilwaukee Rampage
(2nd title)
PremiersSeattle Sounders
(2nd title)
Matches played504
Goals scored751 (1.49 per match)
Top goalscorerMcKinley Tennyson, Fadi Afash
(18 goals)
← 2001
2003 →

League standings

Northeast Division
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD BP Pts
1 Rochester Raging Rhinos 28 17 8 3 38 25 +13 1 72
2 Montreal Impact 28 16 9 3 39 29 +10 5 72
3 Toronto Lynx 28 10 13 5 37 35 +2 3 48
4 Pittsburgh Riverhounds 28 8 15 5 39 44 −5 4 41
Source: kenn.com

Southeast Division
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD BP Pts
1 Charleston Battery 28 19 3 6 46 16 +30 7 89
2 Richmond Kickers 28 13 9 6 44 37 +7 7 65
3 Atlanta Silverbacks 28 13 13 2 47 44 +3 8 62
4 Charlotte Eagles 28 10 14 4 46 46 0 6 50
5 Hampton Roads Mariners 28 6 19 3 25 57 −32 2 29
Source: kenn.com

Central Division
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD BP Pts
1 Milwaukee Rampage 28 16 7 5 48 29 +19 6 75
2 Minnesota Thunder 28 14 9 5 55 35 +20 9 70
3 Cincinnati Riverhawks 28 8 20 0 35 68 −33 3 35[lower-alpha 1]
4 Indiana Blast 28 6 18 4 29 67 −38 1 29
Source: kenn.com
Notes:
  1. Cincinnati lost three point for using an ineligible player (bonus points entry total reflects this deduction)

Pacific Division
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD BP Pts
1 Seattle Sounders 28 23 4 1 71 27 +44 14 107
2 Portland Timbers 28 13 12 3 47 39 +8 8 63
3 Vancouver Whitecaps 28 11 12 5 41 39 +2 5 54
4 El Paso Patriots 28 10 11 7 38 48 −10 7 54
5 Calgary Storm 28 4 21 3 26 66 −40 3 22
Source: kenn.com

The 2002 USL A-League points system was 4 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss + 1 bonus point when scoring three or more goals in a game.[1]

Playoff bracket
First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals Final
                  
W1 Seattle Sounders 0 2 2
W5 Vancouver Whitecaps 2 6 8
W4 Portland Timbers 0 0 0
W5 Vancouver Whitecaps 1 1 2
W2 Milwaukee Rampage (a.e.t.) 0 2 2
Western Conference
W5 Vancouver Whitecaps 0 1 1
W2 Milwaukee Rampage 0 2 2
W3 Minnesota Thunder 0 1 1
W3 Minnesota Thunder 2 1 3
W6 El Paso Patriots 1 1 2
Milwaukee Rampage (a.e.t.) 2
Richmond Kickers 1
E1 Charleston Battery 2 1 3
E4 Richmond Kickers 1 3 4
E4 Richmond Kickers 1 2 3
E5 Atlanta Silverbacks 1 1 2
E4 Richmond Kickers (p) 1 0 1 (9)
Eastern Conference
E2 Rochester Raging Rhinos 1 0 1 (8)
E2 Rochester Raging Rhinos 0 1 1
E3 Montreal Impact 0 0 0
E3 Montreal Impact (p) 0 1 1 (6)
E6 Charlotte Eagles 1 0 1 (5)

Playoff first round

Charlotte vs Montreal
Charlotte Eagles (NC)1–0Montreal Impact (QC)
Dwyane Demmin 17' Report Yellow card 30' Adam Braz
Yellow card 67' Nevio Pizzolitto
Attendance: 546


Montreal Impact (QC)1–0 (a.e.t.)Charlotte Eagles (NC)
Eduardo Sebrango 36'
Penalties
Patrick Leduc soccer ball with check mark
Giuliano Oliviero soccer ball with check mark
Darko Kolic soccer ball with check mark
Eduardo Sebrango soccer ball with check mark
Gabriel Gervais soccer ball with check mark
Mark Rowland soccer ball with check mark		 6–5 soccer ball with check mark Andy McDermott
soccer ball with check mark Leo Gajardo
soccer ball with check mark Dustin Swinehart
soccer ball with check mark Jamie Wellington
soccer ball with check mark Carlos Calderson
soccer ball with red X Nathan Watkins
Attendance: 6,883

Montreal advances on penalties after series tied 1–1 on aggregate.

Richmond vs Atlanta
Richmond Kickers (VA)1–1Atlanta Silverbacks (GA)
Peter Luzak Yellow card 23'
Josh Henderson Yellow card 86'
Peter Luzak 90'		 Report 36', Red card 88' James Wall
Yellow card 42' Alan Woods
Yellow card 56' Jason Annicchero
Yellow card 86' Jeff Cassar
Attendance: 1,258
Referee: Todd Perry


Atlanta Silverbacks (GA)1–2Richmond Kickers (VA)
Philippe Godoy Yellow card 10'
Ryan Leib Yellow card 20'
Jason Annicchero Yellow card 39'
John Barry Nusum Yellow card 55', 88'
Gilbert Jean-Baptiste Yellow card 66'
Byron Mitchell Yellow card 78' Yellow-red card 84'		 Report 8' Josh Henderson
Yellow card 13' Bryan Namoff
Yellow card 39' Kevin Knight
45' Kevin Jeffrey
Yellow card 80' Khary Stockton
Attendance: 351
Referee: Kermit Quisenberry

Richmond advances 3–2 on aggregate.

Minnesota vs El Paso
El Paso Patriots (TX)1–2Minnesota Thunder (MN)
Johnny Frias 7' 25' Johnny Torres
29' Johnny Menyongar
Attendance: 1,270


Minnesota Thunder (MN)1–1El Paso Patriots (TX)
Zafer Kılıçkan 70' 32' (pen.) Jose Abarca
Attendance: 1,567

Minnesota advances 3–2 on aggregate.

Vancouver vs Portland
Portland Timbers (OR)0–1Vancouver Whitecaps (BC)
Keith Costigan Yellow card 10'
Fadi Afash Yellow card 68'
Brent Sancho Yellow card 69'		 Report 32' Paul Dailly
Yellow card 43' Chris Franks
Yellow card 45' Ollie Heald
Yellow card 68' Nick Dasovic
Attendance: 4,071


Vancouver Whitecaps (BC)1–0Portland Timbers (OR)
Steve Kindel 52' Report
Attendance: 4,060

Vancouver Whitecaps advance 2–0 on aggregate.

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference Semifinal 1
Montreal Impact (QC)0–0Rochester Rhinos (NY)
Eduardo Sebrango Yellow card 53'
Gabriel Gervais Yellow card 81'		 Report Yellow card 22' Kalin Bankov
Yellow card 30' Bill Sedgwick
Attendance: 6,354


Rochester Rhinos (NY)1–0Montreal Impact (QC)
Yuri Lavrinenko Yellow card 26'
Bill Sedgwick 62'		 Report Yellow card 43' Patrice Bernier
Attendance: 10,367

The Rochester Rhinos advanced 1–0 on aggregate.

Eastern Conference Semifinal 2
Charleston Battery (SC)2–1Richmond Kickers (VA)
Justin Evans 63'
Paul Conway 87' (pen.)		 Report 75' Mike Burke
Yellow card 86' Marco Ferruzzi
Attendance: 2,379
Referee: Daniel Baruk (USA)


Richmond Kickers (VA)3–1Charleston Battery (SC)
Josh Henderson 8'
Kevin Jeffrey 22'
Chris Fox Yellow card 24'
David Hayes 36'		 Report 4', Yellow card 45' Mac Cozier
Yellow card 15' Mark Watson
Attendance: 2,043
Referee: Mike Stutt (USA)

The Richmond Kickers advanced 4–3 on aggregate.

Western Conference Semifinal 1
Minnesota Thunder (MN)0–0Milwaukee Rampage (WI)
Mike Gores Yellow card 42'
Don Gramenz Yellow card 64'
Steve Shak Yellow card 82'
Mike Gentile Yellow card 87'		 Report
Attendance: 1,321


Milwaukee Rampage (WI)2–1Minnesota Thunder (MN)
Miguel Saavedra 20'
John Wolyniec 77'		 65' Steve Shak
Milwaukee Rampage Sports Complex, Franklin, Wisconsin
Attendance: 3,579

The Milwaukee Rampage advanced 2–1 on aggregate.

Western Conference Semifinal 2
Vancouver Whitecaps (BC)2–0Seattle Sounders (WA)
Chris Franks Yellow card 3'
Jason Jordan 44', 90'
Jeff Clarke Yellow card 47'		 Report Yellow card 14' Dick McCormick
Red card 78' Viet Nguyen
Yellow card 79' Leighton O'Brien
Attendance: 5,686
Referee: Steve DePiero (USA)


Seattle Sounders (WA)2–6Vancouver Whitecaps (BC)
Andrew Gregor Yellow card 38'
Leighton O'Brien Yellow card 43'
Kyle Smith 52'
Jason Farrell 60'
Scott Jenkins Yellow card 61'		 Report Yellow card 19', 26', 70' (pen.) Ollie Heald
22' Jeff Clarke
39' Steve Kindel
67' Dave Morris
Yellow card 75' Kevan Cameron
90' Niall Thompson
Attendance: 3,917
Referee: Sandra Hunt (USA)

The Vancouver Whitecaps advanced 8–2 on aggregate.

Conference finals

Eastern Conference
Richmond Kickers (VA)1–1Rochester Rhinos (NY)
Josh Henderson 49' 28' Lenin Steenkamp
Sports Backers Stadium (Richmond), Richmond, Virginia
Attendance: 3,387


Rochester Rhinos (NY)0–0 (a.e.t.)Richmond Kickers (VA)
Penalties
Stoian Mladenov soccer ball with check mark
Carlos Zavala soccer ball with check mark
Yuri Lavrinenko soccer ball with check mark
Temoc Suarez soccer ball with check mark
Tommy Tanner soccer ball with check mark
Bill Sedgewick soccer ball with check mark
Craig Demmin soccer ball with check mark
Lenin Steenkamp soccer ball with check mark
Greg Simmonds soccer ball with red X		 8–9 soccer ball with check mark Rob Ukrop
soccer ball with check mark Paul Lekics
soccer ball with check mark Ihor Dotsenko
soccer ball with check mark Ray Goodlett
soccer ball with check mark David Hayes
soccer ball with check mark Mike Burke
soccer ball with check mark Tony Williams
soccer ball with check mark Kevin Knight
soccer ball with check mark Ronnie Pascale
Attendance: 10,148

The Richmond Kickers advanced.

Western Conference
Vancouver Whitecaps (BC)0–0Milwaukee Rampage (WI)
Ollie Heald Yellow card 45' Report
Attendance: 6,056


Milwaukee Rampage (WI)2–1 (a.e.t.)Vancouver Whitecaps (BC)
Destin Makumbu Yellow card 43'
Matt Bobo 56', gold-colored soccer ball 101'
Matt Behncke Yellow card 60'
Bobby Brennan Yellow card 90'		 Report 59' Niall Thompson
Milwaukee Rampage Sports Complex, Franklin, Wisconsin
Attendance: 3,223

The Milwaukee Rampage advanced.

Final
Milwaukee Rampage (WI)2–1 (a.e.t.)Richmond Kickers (VA)
John Wolyniec 45', Yellow card 62'
Steve Bernal Yellow card 58'
David Lara Yellow card 68'
Siniša Angelovski gold-colored soccer ball 106' 		Report Yellow card 22' Tony Williams
Yellow card 56' Yellow-red card 93' Khary Stockton
59' (pen.) Marco Ferruzzi
Yellow card 62' Kevin Knight
Yellow card 96' Josh Henderson
Milwaukee Rampage Sports Complex, Franklin, Wisconsin
Attendance: 6,189

MPV: John Wolyniec

Points leaders
Rank Scorer Club GP Goals Assists Points
1 McKinley Tennyson Portland Timbers 24 18 6 42
Brian Ching Seattle Sounders 25 16 8 42
3 Leighton O'Brien Seattle Sounders 27 13 11 37
4 Fadi Afash Portland Timbers 22 18 0 36
Eduardo Sebrango Montreal Impact 28 18 0 36
6 Paul Conway Charleston Battery 25 13 6 32
7 Johnny Menyongar Minnesota Thunder 25 10 11 31
8 Johnny Torres Minnesota Thunder 23 12 5 29
9 Darren Sawatzky Seattle Sounders 28 9 10 28
10 Dustin Swinehart Charlotte Eagles 27 10 6 26
Digital Takawira Milwaukee Rampage 22 9 8 26
12 Niki Budalic Toronto Lynx 28 12 1 25
John Wolyniec Milwaukee Rampage 26 10 5 25
14 Josh Henderson Richmond Kickers 23 11 2 24
Brian Piesner Atlanta Silverbacks 25 7 10 24

Awards and All A-League teams

All A-League First Team
F: Brian Ching Seattle Sounders); McKinley Tennyson (Portland Timbers) (Co-Leading Goalscorer); Eduardo Sebrango (Montreal Impact) (Co-Leading Goalscorer)
M: Andrew Gregor (Seattle Sounders); Leighton O'Brien (Seattle Sounders); Brian Piesner (Atlanta Silverbacks); Lenin Steenkamp (Rochester Raging Rhinos)
D: Gabriel Gervais (Montreal Impact); Destin Makumbu (Milwaukee Rampage); Mark Watson (Defender of the Year)
G: Dusty Hudock (Charleston Battery) (Goalkeeper of the Year)
Coach: Brian Schmetzer Seattle Sounders) (Coach of the Year)

All A-League Second Team[2]
F: Fadi Afash (Portland Timbers) (Co-Leading Goalscorer); Josh Henderson (Richmond Kickers); Johnny Menyongar (Minnesota Thunder)
M: Mauro Biello (Montreal Impact); Luis da Gama (El Paso Patriots); Jose Gomez (Charlotte Eagles); Steve Kindel (Vancouver Whitecaps)
D: Craig Demmin (Rochester Raging Rhinos); Linval Dixon (Charleston Battery); Mark Schulte (Minnesota Thunder)
G: Preston Burpo (Seattle Sounders)

See also

References
  1. Litterer, David (February 14, 2010). "United Soccer Leagues Statistical History, Part 4 (2000-2003)". American Soccer History Archives. Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  2. A-League Awards: 2002 Archived 2012-02-12 at the Wayback Machine
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