One of the original 17 franchises in the W-League’s first official season in 1995, the Hampton Roads Piranhas franchise has seen its ups and downs on the field, but has long been one of the most respected franchises, hosting the W-League Championship twice. The club was recognized as the Organization of the Year in 2003 and owner Marcie Laumann was honored as Executive of the Year in 2001.

The team was winless in its opening campaign (0-6), but rebounded in 1996 to finish 5-5 and went on to make the playoffs in 1997 at 7-3. When the league split in 1998, the team reached the W-2 Final despite finishing the regular season 5-7. The Piranhas finished 8-4 the following season and advanced to the league semifinals. Growing off the field, the franchise moved to W-1 in 2000 and finished out of the playoffs at 7-6-1. In 2001, the club was named the host of the W-League Championship tournament and finished the season 10-2-2, but fell in the semifinals.

After an 8-5-1 season and playoff appearance in 2002, the team was again named the W-League Championship host and went on to record a 12-0-0 mark on the season en route to winning the division for the first time and, more importantly, the W-League Championship. At 12-1-1 in 2004, the Piranhas won the division for the second year running.