US Women’s National Team forward Debbie Keller was honored as the 1997 W-League Most Valuable Player after scoring eight goals and adding three assists in limited duty for the Rockford Dactyls. Former US goalkeeper Kim Wyant led the league with an astonishing 0.36 goals against average.

Current national team players like Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain, Sara Whalen, Bryn Blalock, Amanda Cromwell and Christie Pearce all also called the W-League home. With star players came big crowds. One of the biggest statements of the continued growth and success of the W-League was made by women’s soccer fans across the nation, who came through the gates in record numbers 1997. League-wide attendance nearly tripled in 1997, rising from 24,547 to 70,133.

The Boston Renegades were the W-League’s top draw, setting a league record with an average of 1,785. The Renegades also established a single-game mark of 3,789 for their home opener against the eventual champion Long Island Lady Riders.

The Rochester Ravens set a record of their own when a packed house of 9,131 fans filled SUNY-Brockport Stadium (New York city) to watch the host team take on the US Women’s National Team. The game, which kicked off the W-League Championship, marked the largest attendance of a non-international women’s game.

Success on the field was embodied by the Lady Riders, who became the first W-League team to win two championships by posting a 2-1 shootout win over the Chicago Cobras. Long Island goalkeeper Kim Wyant was named the tournament MVP after allowing just one shootout score in nine rounds.

Jen Bauman gave the Lady Riders a short-lived 1-0 lead when she scored in the 48th minute on a feed from teammate Dena Grossman. But not four minutes later, Chicago star Marci Miller struck back with an assist from Josha Krueger. The game headed for a shootout after the 1-1 score held up through regulation.

In the shootout, the first six shooters from each team missed before Chicago’s Jill Stewart put one in the net in the seventh round. After Long Island answered back with a tally by Debbie Johnson, Teresa Petrucelli put the game away with a goal in the ninth round.

The victory not only made the Lady Riders champions for the second time in three years, but made them the most successful team in the W-League’s four-year history.