The UWS news cycle has become consumed with the important announcement of a NISA-affiliated pro league, led by Carrie Taylor. But there’s another UWS League that’s set to kick off even sooner that should be getting some attention from lower league fans. While several national men’s leagues have expanded to second-tier leagues, including the USL and UPSL, UWS League Two is the first such league for women. Stephanie Cleaves, UWS Executive Director described the league as a multidimensional tool to solve a variety of needs. “It’s a competitive platform for our clubs to field a reserve team. In addition, there are some great youth clubs that would like to add a women’s team to the top of their player pathway. League Two allows clubs to be part of a national league while focusing primarily on the competition side of things with limited game day operations. League Two is also an entry point for teams that aren’t quite ready to make the jump to League One from a financial or operational standpoint.”

This move to install a secondary, developmental league began several years ago, but was expected to reach fruition in 2020. Sadly, the pandemic derailed every league to some extent, leaving League Two to wait for a new year to go live. That time wasn’t wasted, however, as the league continued to add teams, fleshing out multiple conferences. According to Cleaves, League Two has “5 conferences with 25 teams so far. We are reviewing additional applications from teams so we will be able to announce more soon, and possibly more conferences for 2021. The application window for League Two is open through February 28th.”

The growth of both UWS and UWS2 has been matched with rapid expansion in the league’s counterpart, the WPSL. That trend flies in the face of the shift to regionalized league happening on the men’s side of the sport. “The fact that there are only two established national pro-am leagues currently, UWS and WPSL, there aren’t as many opportunities for the women’s side as there are for men.” Cleaves emphasized that UWS is staying open-minded about creating relationships with smaller entities to grow the sport. “Our approach to [expanding the league] has been to explore partnerships with regional leagues in the US, so that we could provide them an entry point to League 2.”

Stephanie played in UWS and for the Honduras National Team.

All national leagues seem to want to grow, the question is what number is big enough? For Cleaves that answer is easy. “100 teams would be a good target for us, going into 2022, between the two divisions.” I pressed if she thought a league could be too big. “That’s why we’re selective. Even with both divisions, we’ve been selective with the teams we bring in. Our vision isn’t to be the biggest league. We want to be the best, not the largest. The most preeminent in North America, that is our vision. Unless you have different divisions, I don’t think you can ensure the quality.”

One reflection of that quality is the number of UWS players that were drafted into the NWSL in the 2021 draft. While the NWSL always credits the colleges of the players drafted, the UWS (and WPSL) teams are almost never credited. Teams going uncredited leaves a knowledge gap for many fans about just how much work is being done in player development in the lower leagues. Both the UWS and WPSL have struggled to get any recognition from the NWSL. “I don’t know what the solution would be. Being able to develop a relationship with them would be key, at least with their communication’s department. I do think, just in the past year, we’ve been contacted by multiple NWSL clubs who’ve noticed what we’re doing and it’s really encouraging. I think that there’s potential there...hopefully things will change.”

While the UWS has always been an equal competitor with the WPSL, two new leagues have entered the market. Honestly, Cleaves seemed unconcerned with the expansion of the UPSL and the potential USL launch into woso. “You know, they’ve [UPSL] tried it before and were unsuccessful. I think they’ve been very successful on the men’s side, with hundreds and hundreds of teams, but I haven’t seen success in the women’s side yet.” The USL expansion was something the league was aware of prior to launch. “We saw it coming. We knew about it. The difference is, they have the men’s side and will always take priority. That’s part of the reason why the W-League folded. Obviously it was due to financial reasons, but when you have the men’s program, the women’s league gets pushed to the side. It’s happened over and over again with the USL and UPSL, and that’s something that makes us different. We are 100% dedicated to growing the women’s game. They see an opportunity to generate more on the men’s side, financially, than the women’s side...I think it’s not their top priority and it never will be as long as they have the men’s side.”

As I discussed the UWS and League Two with Cleaves, I was struck with how her approach to her job is shaped by her personal experience in the sport. Not only was she a player for the Lancaster Inferno and Honduras Women’s National Team, she moved into club ownership after she hung up the cleats. As she put it, “I’ve always had a vested interest in the league as Lancaster Inferno is one of the founding clubs of United Women’s Soccer.” That experience of playing in the sport has left her personally invested in the success of each of the teams she oversees. “Our league is only as good as the teams that we have in it.” The 2021 season will find the league packed with new clubs full of women ready to make their mark.

- Dan Vaughn