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Sky Blue FC defender Christine Rampone, left, takes on Washington Spirit forwards Stephanie Ochs, center, Jasmyne Spencer in an NWSL game. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
The National Women’s Soccer League wrapped up its inaugural regular season over the weekend and, thanks to a business plan that included the backing of the United States Soccer Federation, as well as the federations of Canada and Mexico, there is a better feeling about a women’s league going forward than at any point in the previous two attempts.
"We sat down with a business plan and the league stayed true to that," Sky Blue FC president and CEO Thomas Hofstetter said. "I give the federation high marks on how they ran the league."
And that led to financial stability, something the Women’s United Soccer Association (2001-03) and Women’s Professional Soccer (2009-11), past leagues that lasted three years apiece before folding, never had.
"I haven’t heard any noise about emergency meetings, so I assume all is good," Hofstetter said with a laugh. "In the past there was a lot of ‘We need a meeting now!’ This is more professional. (League executive director) Cheryl Bailey did a good job. The league was run very professionally, not politically, and financially prudent."
Though the three federations paid the salaries of their respective national team players, which lifted a considerable financial burden off the eight teams, Hofstetter said Sky Blue still lost money. But not as much as expected.
"Our No. 1 objective was to come in on budget and we were under budget," he said. "(In the last year of WPS) we had to revise our losses on a biweekly basis. The revenue on tickets was better than we expected and we accomplished our goal to make the playoffs."
The top four teams earned playoff berths, and the order came right down to the final weekend.
The Western New York Flash defeated the Boston Breakers, 2-1, to finish first on goal differential. The Portland Thorns also won, and combined with FC Kansas City’s loss to the Chicago Red Stars, it left Western New York, Portland and FC Kansas City tied with 38 points.
Sky Blue, which was in first place a good portion of the second half of the season before injuries took their toll, slipped to fourth place with 36 points.
Saturday’s semifinals will pit Portland at FC Kansas City at 2 p.m. and Sky Blue at Western New York at 8 p.m. Both games will be televised, as will the championship game Aug. 31.
"I’m not happy with how we ended but I cannot ignore the fact we were down eight players," Hofstetter said. "For the last third of the season we played with our ‘C’ team."
Still, Sky Blue finished 10-6-6, but went 2-4-3 in their final nine games, with both wins coming against the last-place Washington Spirit.
So as women’s soccer moves forward, there is talk of expansion, not contraction.
Hofstetter says there is interest, but the question is how many teams to add. While there is a concern the talent pool will be diluted, Hofstetter said coaches are more comfortable with one expansion team next year rather than two.
There is also no plan to expand the schedule — "too many complications with the national team and player contracts," Hofstetter said — so it will remain a 22-game season in 2014.
Prior to the season there was talk of a working relationship between Sky Blue and the Red Bulls, with some of Sky Blue’s games as doubleheaders at Red Bull Arena.
"We were in discussions for this season, but there was too much to do in too little period of time, so we postponed it," he said. "We stayed in touch. Both sides want to make this work. It’s more of a long-term partnership, not just doubleheaders, but Sky Blue and the Red Bulls working closely together."
After two failures, it’s understandable that sponsors were hesitant to sign up right away. Hoffstetter says that should change.
"Next year we’ll see more sponsorships," he said. "With the federation involved it gives the league more credibility, and it gives the sponsors a greater level of comfort."
Hofstetter also hopes Sky Blue’s fan base can be expanded.
"We want more out of the market," he said. "This is a tough market. Movies, concerts, the shore. It’s different than other markets, very high-paced. It’s not an excuse, but we can certainly attract more people. How many? I can’t tell you."
Winning helps. In the first year of WPS, Sky Blue finished 7-8-5 and barely squeaked into the playoffs. But it won three straight road games to claim the championship. Without a home playoff game this year, Hofstetter is hoping for another road miracle.
Either way, a women’s soccer league appears to have made a solid inroad in the sports landscape in the United States. And that’s something that couldn’t be said at any point in WUSA or WPS history.
Frank Giase: fgiase@starledger.com
Twitter: @FrankGiase
"We sat down with a business plan and the league stayed true to that," Sky Blue FC president and CEO Thomas Hofstetter said. "I give the federation high marks on how they ran the league."
And that led to financial stability, something the Women’s United Soccer Association (2001-03) and Women’s Professional Soccer (2009-11), past leagues that lasted three years apiece before folding, never had.
"I haven’t heard any noise about emergency meetings, so I assume all is good," Hofstetter said with a laugh. "In the past there was a lot of ‘We need a meeting now!’ This is more professional. (League executive director) Cheryl Bailey did a good job. The league was run very professionally, not politically, and financially prudent."
Though the three federations paid the salaries of their respective national team players, which lifted a considerable financial burden off the eight teams, Hofstetter said Sky Blue still lost money. But not as much as expected.
"Our No. 1 objective was to come in on budget and we were under budget," he said. "(In the last year of WPS) we had to revise our losses on a biweekly basis. The revenue on tickets was better than we expected and we accomplished our goal to make the playoffs."
The top four teams earned playoff berths, and the order came right down to the final weekend.
The Western New York Flash defeated the Boston Breakers, 2-1, to finish first on goal differential. The Portland Thorns also won, and combined with FC Kansas City’s loss to the Chicago Red Stars, it left Western New York, Portland and FC Kansas City tied with 38 points.
Sky Blue, which was in first place a good portion of the second half of the season before injuries took their toll, slipped to fourth place with 36 points.
Saturday’s semifinals will pit Portland at FC Kansas City at 2 p.m. and Sky Blue at Western New York at 8 p.m. Both games will be televised, as will the championship game Aug. 31.
"I’m not happy with how we ended but I cannot ignore the fact we were down eight players," Hofstetter said. "For the last third of the season we played with our ‘C’ team."
Still, Sky Blue finished 10-6-6, but went 2-4-3 in their final nine games, with both wins coming against the last-place Washington Spirit.
Though there was a gap between the first four teams and the bottom four — Boston and Chicago finished with 30 points each, Seattle with 18 and Washington with 14 — Hofstetter says there was one big difference.
I haven't heard any noise about emergency meetings, so I assume all is good." - Thomas Hofstetter, president and CEO of Sky Blue FC
"The competition was better than in WPS," he said. "There was more balance with the bottom teams. Although they had much less points, they could beat any other team. That was not the case in WPS."So as women’s soccer moves forward, there is talk of expansion, not contraction.
Hofstetter says there is interest, but the question is how many teams to add. While there is a concern the talent pool will be diluted, Hofstetter said coaches are more comfortable with one expansion team next year rather than two.
There is also no plan to expand the schedule — "too many complications with the national team and player contracts," Hofstetter said — so it will remain a 22-game season in 2014.
Prior to the season there was talk of a working relationship between Sky Blue and the Red Bulls, with some of Sky Blue’s games as doubleheaders at Red Bull Arena.
"We were in discussions for this season, but there was too much to do in too little period of time, so we postponed it," he said. "We stayed in touch. Both sides want to make this work. It’s more of a long-term partnership, not just doubleheaders, but Sky Blue and the Red Bulls working closely together."
After two failures, it’s understandable that sponsors were hesitant to sign up right away. Hoffstetter says that should change.
"Next year we’ll see more sponsorships," he said. "With the federation involved it gives the league more credibility, and it gives the sponsors a greater level of comfort."
Hofstetter also hopes Sky Blue’s fan base can be expanded.
"We want more out of the market," he said. "This is a tough market. Movies, concerts, the shore. It’s different than other markets, very high-paced. It’s not an excuse, but we can certainly attract more people. How many? I can’t tell you."
Winning helps. In the first year of WPS, Sky Blue finished 7-8-5 and barely squeaked into the playoffs. But it won three straight road games to claim the championship. Without a home playoff game this year, Hofstetter is hoping for another road miracle.
Either way, a women’s soccer league appears to have made a solid inroad in the sports landscape in the United States. And that’s something that couldn’t be said at any point in WUSA or WPS history.
Frank Giase: fgiase@starledger.com
Twitter: @FrankGiase
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