American Division 2 soccer competition
Football tournament
The USL Championship final is the post-season championship match of the USL Championship , the second tier of professional men's soccer in the United States. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North American sports leagues (i.e. via a playoff following a regular season ).
Unlike most soccer league, but much like North American sports leagues, the USL champion does not earn promotion into Major League Soccer , due to the fixed membership structure found in the league.
As of 2024, the USL Championship final is typically held in late-November and features the Eastern Conference champion and Western Conference champion.[ 1] The predecessor to the USL Championship final was the A-League Championship and the USL-1 Championship.
Champions
A-League era (1996–2004)
USL-1 era (2005–2009)
^ The league granted Vancouver the right to host the 2008 final, despite them being the lower seeded team.
^ a b Montreal won the two-legged series 6–3 on aggregate.
USL Championship era (2010–present)
Season
Champions
Score
Runners–up
Venue
Attendance
MVP
Box Score
2011
Orlando City
2–2 (p )
Harrisburg City Islanders
Citrus Bowl
11,220
Sean Kelley (ORL )
[ 17]
2012
Charleston Battery
1–0
Wilmington Hammerheads
Blackbaud Stadium
4,963
Jose Cuevas (CHB )
[ 18]
2013
Orlando City
7–4
Charlotte Eagles
Citrus Bowl
20,886
Dom Dwyer (ORL )
[ 19]
2014
Sacramento Republic
2–0
Harrisburg City Islanders
Bonney Field
8,000
Rodrigo López (SAC )
[ 20]
2015
Rochester Rhinos
2–1 (a.e.t. )
LA Galaxy II
Sahlen's Stadium
5,247
Asani Samuels (ROC )
[ 21]
2016
New York Red Bulls II
5–1
Swope Park Rangers
Red Bull Arena
5,547
Brandon Allen (NYRB )
[ 22]
2017
Louisville City FC
1–0
Swope Park Rangers
Louisville Slugger Field
14,456
Paolo DelPiccolo (LOU )
[ 23]
2018
Louisville City FC
1–0
Phoenix Rising FC
Lynn Stadium
7,025
Luke Spencer (LOU )
[ 24]
2019
Real Monarchs SLC
3–1
Louisville City FC
Lynn Stadium
7,025
Konrad Plewa (SLC )
[ 25]
2020
No champion due to COVID-19 pandemic
[ 26]
2021
Orange County SC
3–1
Tampa Bay Rowdies
Al Lang Stadium
7,521
Ronaldo Damus (OCO )
[ 27]
2022
San Antonio FC
3–1
Louisville City FC
Toyota Field
8,534
Santiago Patiño (SAFC )
[ 28]
2023
Phoenix Rising FC
1–1 (p )
Charleston Battery
Patriots Point
5,094
Rocco Ríos Novo (PHX )
[ 29]
2024
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
3–0
Rhode Island FC
Weidner Field
8,023
Juan Tejada (COS )
[ 30]
Records and statistics
USL Championship titles
Winner
USL Cup champions
Bold
Players' Shield champions
Italics
No longer plays in the USL Championship
See also
References
^ USLChampionship Staff (December 18, 2023). "USL Championship Unveils 2024 Regular Season Schedule" . USL Championship . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "The Year in American Soccer, 1996" . Soccer History USA – Audio Essays on the Beautiful Game . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "A-League 1997 Season" . a-leaguearchive.tripod.com . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "A-League 1998 Season" . a-leaguearchive.tripod.com . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "A-League 1999 Season" . a-leaguearchive.tripod.com . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "A-League 2000 Season" . a-leaguearchive.tripod.com . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "2001 A-League Final" . OurSports Central . October 16, 2001. Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "A-League 2002 Season" . a-leaguearchive.tripod.com . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "A-League 2003 Season" . a-leaguearchive.tripod.com . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "Impact de Montréal 2-0 Seattle Sounders - September 18, 2004 / A-League 2004" . footballdatabase.eu . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "Seattle Sounders (USL) vs. Richmond Kickers - 1 October 2005 - Soccerway" . ke.soccerway.com . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "Rochester New York vs. Whitecaps (USSF) - 30 September 2006 - Soccerway" . gh.soccerway.com . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "Seattle Sounders (USL) vs. Atlanta Silverbacks - 29 September 2007 - Soccerway" . ng.soccerway.com . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "Vancouver Whitecaps vs Puerto Rico Islanders: live 12 october 2008. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming | Soccer365" . soccer365.me . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "Montreal at Vancouver Whitecaps 3:2" . October 10, 2009. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "Impact defeat Whitecaps, win USL-1 title" . www.sportsnet.ca . October 17, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "Harrisburg City Islanders at Orlando City" . archive.ph . September 3, 2011. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ USL PRO News Release (September 8, 2012). "Charleston Claims USL PRO Title" . USL . Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ USL PRO News Release (September 7, 2013). "Orlando City Claims Championship" . USL Pro . Archived from the original on September 11, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ USL PRO Game Report (September 27, 2014). "United Soccer Leagues (USL)" . USL Pro . Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ LA Galaxy Communications (October 16, 2015). "Match Report: LA Galaxy II fall in USL Championship match against the Rochester Rhinos, 2-1 | LA Galaxy" . lagalaxy . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "2016 USL Cup Final" . www.uslchampionship.com . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "Louisville 1-0 SPKC II (Nov 13, 2017) Game Analysis" . ESPN . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "Louisville 1-0 Phoenix (Nov 8, 2018) Final Score" . ESPN . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "Real Monarchs 3-1 Louisville (Nov 17, 2019) Final Score" . ESPN . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ Carlisle, Jeff (October 31, 2020). "USL final canceled after positive COVID-19 tests" . ESPN.com . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "Orange County 3-1 Tampa Bay (Nov 28, 2021) Final Score" . ESPN . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "San Antonio 3-1 Louisville (Nov 13, 2022) Final Score" . ESPN . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "Phoenix 1-1 Charleston (Nov 12, 2023) Final Score" . ESPN . Retrieved September 14, 2024 .
^ "Colorado 3-0 Rhode Island (Nov 23, 2024) Final Score" . ESPN . Retrieved November 24, 2024 .
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