2004 USL W-League season
The 2004 W-League Season was the league's 10th. The Vancouver Whitecaps Women won the W-League title, defeating the New Jersey Wildcats 4-2 in Ottawa.
Changes from 2003 season
Name Changes
One team changed their name in the off-season:| Team Name | Metro Area | Previous Name |
 Carolina Dynamo | Greensboro area | Greensboro Twisters |
Expansion Teams
Fourteen teams were added for the season:| Team Name | Metro Area | Location | Previous Affiliation |
 Bradenton Athletics | Sun Coast area | Bradenton, FL | expansion |
 Calgary Wildfire | Calgary area | Calgary, AB | expansion |
 Cleveland Internationals Women | Cleveland area | Cleveland, CA | expansion |
 Detroit Jaguars | Detroit area | Livonia, ON | expansion |
| Edmonton Aviators Women | Edmonton area | Edmonton, AB | expansion |
 Fort Wayne Fever | Fort Wayne area | Fort Wayne, IN | expansion |
 London Gryphons | London area | London, ON | expansion |
 Montreal Xtreme | Montreal area | Montreal, QC | expansion |
 Rhode Island Stingrays | Providence area | Providence, RI | WPSL |
 Richmond Kickers Destiny | Richmond area | Richmond, VA | expansion |
 St. Louis Archers | St. Louis area | St. Louis, MO | expansion |
| Sudbury Canadians | Sudbury area | Sudbury, ON | expansion |
 Western Mass Lady Pioneers | Springfield area | Ludlow, MA | expansion |
| West Michigan Firewomen | Grand Rapids area | Grand Rapids, MI | expansion |
Teams Leaving
Two teams folded after the 2004 season:Orange indicates bye into W-League semifinals as host.
Blue indicates division title clinched
Green indicates playoff berth clinched
Central Conference
Atlantic Division
Midwest Division
Eastern Conference
New England Division
North Central Division
Northeast Division
Western Conference
Playoffs
Format
Seven teams each from the Eastern Conference, four teams from the Central Conference and two from the Western Conference qualify for the playoffs. The Ottawa Fury Women received a bye into the W-League semifinals as hosts. All matchups are in a one-leg format.In the Central Conference, the Division champions play the second-place team from the same division, who will play each other to advance to the W-League Semifinals.
In the Eastern Conference, the top two teams in each division play each other, except for the Division champion with the best record, that receives a bye to the Conference Semifinals, and Ottawa, who has a bye to the W-League Semifinals. The team with the worst record in the Conference Semifinals plays the team with the Divisional Finals bye, and the other two teams play each other. The winners play to advance to the W-League Semifinals.
The two teams in the Western Conference will play each other to advance to the W-League Semifinals.
Conference Brackets
Central ConferenceEastern Conference
Western Conference
W-League Championship Bracket
Divisional Round
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Conference semifinals
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Conference finals
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