A-League 2001 Season

Montreal Impact - Pittsburgh Riverhounds - Rochester Raging Rhinos - Toronto Lynx

Northern Conference         GP   W   T   L   GF GA BP Pts
Hershey Wildcats            26 16   3   7   45 20   8 75
Rochester Raging Rhinos     26 16   4   6   43 27   6 74
Pittsburgh Riverhounds      26 10   4 12   39 39   6 50
Montreal Impact             26 10   2 14   29 37   3 45
Connecticut Wolves          26   9   6 11   30 37   1 43
Long Island Rough Riders    26   8   4 16   31 50   5 *33
Toronto Lynx                26   7   3 16   20 41   1 32

Central Conference          GP   W   T   L   GF GA BP Pts
Richmond Kickers            26 16   3   7   47 34   9 76
Charleston Battery          26 16   1   9   51 34   8 73
Charlotte Eagles            26 14   2 10   50 41   8 66
Nashville Metros            26 14   2 10   47 48   5 63
Atlanta Silverbacks         26 13   1 12   48 39   6 59
Indiana Blast               26   8   0 18   38 55   3 35
Cincinnati Riverhawks       26   6   0 20   39 80   3 27

Western Conference          GP   W   T   L   GF GA BP Pts
Vancouver Whitecaps         26 16   2   8   44 33   8 74
San Diego Flash F. C.       26 14   1 11   55 42 11 68
Milwaukee Rampage           26 14   2 10   45 40   5 63
Portland Timbers            26 13   3 10   41 38   7 62
Seattle Sounders            26 13   1 12   40 39   4 57
Minnesota Thunder           26   9   2 15   29 34   3 41
El Paso Patriots            26   8   4 14   39 42   4 40
Win-4pts, Draw-1pt, 1 bonus point for scoring three goals in a game

Overview of the 2001 A-League Season - From the American Soccer History Archives

The A-League started the year with more memories of the NASL being evoked. Vancouver was bought in August 2000 by financier David Stadnyk of Starlight Sports, who revived the old NASL team name, Whitecaps. Meanwhile, the expansion Portland Timbers made a successful debut, and the three-way rivalry between these cities and Seattle was on again.

In Late February, indoor and NASL legend Kai Haaskivi was appointed general manager and head coach of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. John Dugan took the helm at Atlanta, bringing four former Raleigh players with him, meanwhile, Cincinnati signed Luis Labastida from Minnesota, 5th in scoring last year, as well as Nigerian forward Abel Salami.

Vancouver signed 31 year old Junior Busby, goalkeeper from Crystal Palace. and Charleston tabbed Dan Calichmen who was waived by MLS. Richmond acquired Jamaican International Clifton Waugh and Rochester signed former MLS midfielder Carlos Parra. San Diego continued its roller coaster ride; despite some great finishes and large crowds, the team's financial situation remained as the league was forced to run the franchise for the entire season.

The 2001 season was one of the tightest in A-League history, with the top five teams separated by only three points in the standings. Richmond took top honors, taking the central division, while Hershey bested Rochester by one point in the East and Vancouver won the West by a comfortable margin. The playoffs were delayed a week as a result of September 11, and the top teams received first round byes, as they watched the remainder of the playoff pool battle through the first round.

This year, Charleston and Pittsburgh followed Rochester's lead by stocking up on high quality talent. Rochester lost three of their top players, Yari Allnutt, Craig Denningand Onandi Lowe to MLS, but compensated by bringing back veteran goalkeeper Pat Onstad, a key part of their 1998 championship team, and other major signings. But cash alone was not necessarily the way to success. Hershey beat out both Rochester and Pittsburgh for top spot in the East. In the Central, high-spending Charleston lost a close divisional race to the ever successful Richmond Kickers in a close race. Vancouver maintained their dominance of the west, with a comfortable margin over San Diego and Milwaukee. The new kid on the block, Portland, finished 4th in the west, with a respectable record, but more importantly, the fans took to the Timbers with great enthusiasm, with consistently large crowds.

Pittsburgh, San Diego, Milwaukee and Portland easily swept through the first round to the quarterfinals. But there, the three division winners had their way, joining Milwaukee in the semifinals. Rochester was matched against their nemesis Milwaukee, but took two straight, sweeping into the championship with 3-2 and 1-0 victories. Hershey meanwhile swamped Vancouver 4-0 in the opener. They lost the nightcap 0-1, but goal differential took them into the final match against Rochester, who reclaimed their winning style, by shutting out the Wildcats for a 2-0 victory, and yet another league title.

At the end of the season, franchise problems cropped up. San Diego folded after a series of financial woes, and Nashville was forced to withdraw for a year because of stadium problems, a fate that threatened the Indiana Blast. A major worry for club owners was the increasing salary expenses; it was imperative to increase fan support, although the league did register double digit growth in average attendance over the past two seasons. The league averaged 2,954 fans per game in 2001, for a total attendance of 904,038. With Calgary moving in and three two-drawing teams being relegated, chances looked good for the league to break the 3,000 average attendance mark in 2002. A painful reminder of the challenges remaining was the Hershey Wildcats folding less than a week after playing in the league title match.

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