New Jersey Wildcats

USL W-League (1996-1998)
USL W-League 2 (1999-2001)
USL W-League (2002-2015)

Background

The New Jersey Wildcats were a stalwart women’s soccer club that enjoyed a 20-season run in the USL W-League between 1996 and 2015. Despite their semi-pro status the Wildcats obtained the services of an absolutely stunning line-up of domestic and international stars over the years. This was especially true during the years 2004 through 2006 when the United States lack a fully professional women’s league and the Wildcats employed the masterful women’s soccer recruiter Charlie Naimo as head coach.

No fully professional women’s club in the United States has yet equaled the Wildcats 20 season lifespan in the W-League.

But the club’s early years were inauspicious. Between 1997 and 2001, the Wildcats posted a dreadful mark of 12 wins and 45 losses over 5 seasons. This despite competing in the W-League’s lower echelon W-2 circuit from 1999 to 2001.

2004-2006 Glory Days

The club’s fortunes changed in 2004 with Naimo’s arrival and the collapse of the top-flight Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA). The failure of the WUSA left a generation of international class players with few domestic club options. The Wildcats signed a trio of international stars – forwards Kelly Smith (England) and Marinette Pichon (France) and midfielder Anne Makinen (Finland) – cast adrift from the WUSA’s Philadelphia Charge franchise.

College and high school students were a staple of W-League play, as the league’s amateur status allowed such players to retain their NCAA eligibility. The 2004 Wildcats attracted some of the top young Americans, including local high school star Tobin Heath and collegians Heather O’Reilly and Manya Makoski. Recent Rutgers grad Carli Lloyd also made one appearance for the Wildcats that summer.

The ‘Cats stormed to a perfect 14-0 regular season record in 2004, outscoring their opposition 76-5. Three more playoff round victories secured a berth in the 2004 W-League final in Ottawa. There the Wildcats met the similarly undefeated Vancouver Whitecaps. After 120 scoreless minutes, the Whitecaps bested the Wildcats 4-2 on penalty kicks.

Makinen, Pichon and Smith departed following the 2004 season, but Naimo did not miss a beat on the recruiting front. He added Canadian National Team goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc and striker Christine Latham and his signature haul of top young Americans including Kendall Fletcher, Cat Reddick and Lindsay Tarpley. After a 13-1 regular season, the Wildcats claimed the W-League title with a 3-0 victory over the Ottawa Fury in the league final.

2006 brought World Cup veteran midfielder Formiga from Brazil and the outstanding young Swiss midfielder Lara Dickenmann by way of Ohio State University. Another perfect 14-0 regular season followed. But as in 2004, the Wildcats would fall to an undefeated Vancouver Whitecaps club in the 2006 W-League final.

Later Years

Head coach Charlie Naimo jumped to the rival Jersey Sky Blue W-League club in 2007. The Wildcats’ final record from the 2004-2006 Naimo era was a 49-3 record and three straight W-League final appearances. Two of the club’s three losses came to the Vancouver Whitecaps in title games.

With Naimo’s departure in 2007 and the restoration of a fully professional women’s league with the debut of Women’s Professional Soccer in 2009, the New Jersey Wildcats faded from prominence. The club alternated winning and losing W-League seasons over the next decade but never again won a postseason match.

The W-League folded after 21 seasons of competition in November 2015. The Wildcats merged with youth organization Princeton Soccer Academy. The organization operated for a time as “PSA Wildcats” on the youth level. That branding now appears to be defunct.

New Jersey Wildcats Shop

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