UNITED SOCCER LEAGUES

As the largest organization of soccer leagues in North America, United Soccer Leagues is dedicated to growing the sport at the grassroots level in every community across the US and Canada. USL and its franchises are committed to a quality family entertainment experience that is community-centered, accessible, affordable, exciting and educational.

 

*** PROFESSIONAL SOCCER ***

USL FIRST DIVISION

 

 

The United Soccer Leagues First Division is a professional men's soccer league in North America. It is the second division of soccer in the United States league pyramid behind Major League Soccer. It is managed by the United Soccer Leagues (USL).

In 2008 the 2008 USL-1 Regular Season will commence no earlier than April 11th and the final match date will be September 21st, making the season two weeks longer than in 2007.

The 11 teams will be making USL-1 history in 2008 when they play a 30-game schedule for the first time in league history after playing 28-game schedules 10 of the last 11 seasons. Each club will play each opponent three times during the regular season. The top seven teams will advance to the playoff tournament, with the Commissioner’s Cup winner (regular season champion) receiving a bye into the Semifinals. The First Round will involve the #2 - #7 seeds competing in two-leg aggregate score series with the three winners advancing to Semifinals with #1 seed pitted against the lowest remaining seed.

 

 

 

 USL SECOND DIVISION

One level below the USL First Division lives in the USL Second Division, the foundation of professional soccer in the United States.

In 2008 USL-2 will also play 20-game season for the sixth straight campaign with each team playing all of the other teams home and away with the remaining fixtures being made up versus geographically proximate opponents. The season will open Friday, April 18 and conclude Saturday, August 9.

The top six clubs will advance to the postseason which will consist of teams seeded three through six playing a single-game elimination round midweek. The winners of the First Round will advance to the Semifinal Round the following weekend versus the top two clubs, who received byes. The teams will not be re-seeded after the first round, pitting the regular season champion against the winner of the 3-v-6 match-up and the number two seed against the 4-v-5 winner. The Semifinal winners advance to the USL-2 Championship match on Saturday, August 23. The 2008 season will mark the first time since 2004 that more than four clubs will advance to the playoffs.

 

 

*** AMATEUR SOCCER ***

PREMIER DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE

The USL Premier Development League (PDL) is the amateur league of the United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the American Soccer Pyramid. It is popular with U.S. college players since they can play in it during the summer months and still maintain their collegiate eligibility. A maximum of eight players on each team's 26-man roster can be over 23 years old, and at least three players on each team's roster must be 18 or younger.

The PDL will consist of 67 teams in 2008, playing in 10 divisions that comprise the four conferences.

2008 PDL Alignments and Playoff Structure by Conference

Central Conference

Great Lakes Division: Cincinnati Kings, Cleveland Internationals, Michigan Bucks, Toronto Lynx, West Virginia Chaos
Heartland Division: Colorado Rapids U23, Des Moines Menace, Kansas City Brass, Springfield Demize, St Louis Lions, Thunder Bay Chill
Midwest Division: Chicago Fire Premier, Fort Wayne Fever, Indiana Invaders, Kalamazoo Outrage, West Michigan Chaos

Central Conference Playoffs: The regular season conference champion receives a bye to the conference tournament semifinals. The remaining top two teams in each division will play a divisional round midweek to determine the three other qualifiers for the conference tournament. The number one seed will play the lowest seeded non-divisional opponent in the conference tournament semifinals. The winner of the conference championship advances to the PDL Semifinals.

Eastern Conference

Mid Atlantic Division: Fredericksburg Gunners, Hampton Roads Piranhas, Northern Virginia Royals, Reading Rage, Richmond Kickers Future, Virginia Legacy
New England Division: Cape Cod Crusaders, New Hampshire Phantoms, Rhode Island Stingrays, Ottawa Fury, Vermont Voltage
Northeast Division: Brooklyn Knights, Long Island Rough Riders, New Jersey Rangers, Newark (TBA), Ocean City Barons, Westchester Flames

Eastern Conference Playoffs: The three division champions and the top second-place club (wild card) advance to the conference championship tournament. The number one seed will play the lowest seeded non-divisional opponent in the conference tournament semifinals. The winner of the conference championship advances to the PDL Semifinals.

Southern Conference

Mid South Division: Austin Stampede, Baton Rouge Capitals, DFW Tornados, El Paso Patriots, Houston Leones, Laredo Heat, Mississippi Brilla, New Orleans Shell Shockers
Southeast Division: Atlanta Silverbacks U23s, Bradenton Academics, Carolina Dynamo, Cary RailHawks U23s, Central Florida Kraze, Nashville Metros, Palm Beach Pumas, Panama City Pirates

Southern Conference Playoffs: The top two teams in each division advance to the conference championship tournament. The division champions face the second place team from the opposite division in the conference semifinals. The winner of the conference championship advances to the PDL Semifinals.

Western Conference

Northwest Division: Abbotsford Mariners, BYU Cougars, Cascade Surge, Ogden Outlaws, Spokane Spiders, Tacoma Tide, Vancouver Whitecaps Residency, Yakima Reds
Southwest Division: Bakersfield Brigade, Fresno Fuego, Lancaster Rattlers, Los Angeles Storm, Orange County Blue Star, San Fernando Valley Quakes, San Francisco Seals, San Jose Frogs, Southern California Seahorses, Ventura County Fusion

Western Conference Playoffs: The top two teams in each division advance to the conference championship tournament. The division champions face the second place team from the opposite division in the conference semifinals. The winner of the conference championship advances to the PDL Semifinals.