USL First Division

USL First Division

Countries	United States  Canada  Puerto Rico
Confederation	US Soccer
Founded	1997
Number of teams	11
Promotion to	None
Relegation to	None
Levels on pyramid	Level 2
Domestic cup(s)	Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Canadian Championship
International cup(s)	CFU Club Championship
Current champions	Montreal Impact (2009)
Most championships	Seattle Sounders (4 titles)
TV partners	Fox Soccer Channel
Website	Official site in English

The United Soccer Leagues First Division (often referred to as simply, USL-1) is a professional men's soccer league in North America. It is the second tier of soccer in the United States and Canada league pyramid behind Major League Soccer. It is managed by the United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was known as the A-League until 2004.

Unlike most other nations, there is currently no system of merit-based promotion and relegation in the American and Canadian pyramids, meaning that the champions of USL-1 cannot move up to Major League Soccer and, similarly, the worst teams in MLS are not in danger of being demoted to USL-1. However, some USL-1 teams have in the past chosen to take voluntary relegation to a lower level of the USL system, often to reduce operating costs, while teams have also decided to move up to USL-1 after finding success at the lower levels.

The makeup of the division for 2010 is unclear, as some teams have been actively seeking to form a new league. Recent comments by league CEO Alek Papadakis have indicated that at least some teams have chosen not to compete in 2010, including league champions Montreal and runners-up Vancouver.

Expansion and contraction

In 1998, the A-League consisted of 28 teams. By 2006, only 12 remained in the USL First Division. For the most part, the teams that left dropped down to lower classifications, such as the USL Second Division and Premier Development League. These teams generally dropped down to rid themselves of the high costs of travel and player payrolls.

There is some speculation that several First Division clubs are waiting for the top-tier Major League Soccer to expand, in hopes that they will be given the opportunity to move up. The First Division does not have the promotion/relegation system common in most countries' football pyramids, although teams theoretically could move up if they meet MLS' criteria for expansion franchises. The costs of moving to a higher division are usually not recouped with higher attendance at the First Division level.

On January 26, 2006, the USL announced that it was expanding USL First Division in 2007 to include a new team in the Triangle region of North Carolina, playing out of Cary. The Cary franchise, since named the Carolina RailHawks, hosted an exhibition schedule in 2006 in advance of its first full league schedule in 2007. On May 16, 2006, it was also announced that the USL would place a team in Northern California under the ownership of Dmitry Piterman, chairman of Spanish team Deportivo Alavés. The Northern Californian team, the California Victory, folded after the end of the 2007 season, playing only one season. Other possible cities mentioned for future campaigns include Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Syracuse, New York. Syracuse had had a highly-attended team from 2002–2004, but it folded due to stadium issues, having ground-shared with the local baseball team. Ft. Lauderdale also has a history of teams from the NASL, ASL, and USL First Division. There is also discussion that Argentinian team River Plate is interested in putting a second USL team in Puerto Rico.

On March 30, 2007 the Virginia Beach Mariners team folded just prior to the start of the 2007 season due to an ownership dispute which left the team without financing.

The Seattle Sounders were cut from the 2009 season due to the entrance of the MLS team Seattle Sounders FC. In November 2008, the Atlanta Silverbacks announced that they would sit out the 2009 season to "reassess the landscape," and would possibly return at a future date. ^[1] Also, the Cleveland City Stars, who won the USL Second Division title in 2008, are voluntarily moving up to USL-1 for the 2009 season. ^[2]

On June 19, 2008, an announcement was made that an expansion franchise had been awarded to Tampa Bay, Florida. The plan is for the club to join the league in 2010 and be named the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The main investors are Andrew Nestor (CEO) and Hinds Howard (Chairman) of Citrus Ventures.^[3] Recent reports, however, have indicated that the Tampa Bay franchise may play instead in a new breakaway league instead of USL First Division.

There are also several cities where interest has been raised in placing USL-1 franchises, including St. Louis, Missouri (led by the current PDL franchise St. Louis Lions),^[4] Orlando, Florida (with Mexican side C.F. Pachuca being rumored as connected to it),^[5], Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Detroit, Michigan, Hamilton, Ontario.^[6] and San Antonio, Texas^[7], Ottawa, Ontario. An official announcement from the USL on any of these possibilities has yet to be made.

On September 1, 2009. A group from Ottawa applied for a USL-1 team, contingent on the approval of updates to Lansdowne Park. The team would share a field with the Ottawa CFL team..^[8]

2009 teams

Team	City/Area	Stadium	Founded	Joined	Color	Head Coach
Austin Aztex FC	Austin, Texas	House Park	2008	2009	Red, White	Adrian Heath
Carolina RailHawks	Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina	WakeMed Soccer Park	2006	2007	Orange, Blue, White	Martin Rennie
Charleston Battery	Charleston, South Carolina	Blackbaud Stadium	1993	1993	Yellow, Black, Red	Michael Anhaeuser
Cleveland City Stars	Cleveland, Ohio	Middlefield Cheese Stadium	2006	2009	Green, White, Black	Rod Underwood
Miami FC	Miami, Florida	Lockhart Stadium	2005	2006	Blue, Orange, White	Zinho
Minnesota Thunder	Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota	National Sports Center	1990	1990	Navy Blue, White, Silver	Don Gramenz
Montreal Impact	Montreal, Quebec	Saputo Stadium	1992	1993	Blue, White, Black	Marc Dos Santos
Portland Timbers	Portland, Oregon	PGE Park	2001	2001	Green, White, Yellow	Gavin Wilkinson
Puerto Rico Islanders	Bayamón, Puerto Rico	Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel	2003	2004	Orange, White	Colin Clarke
Rochester Rhinos	Rochester, New York	Marina Auto Stadium	1996	1996	Black, White, Gold	Vacant
Vancouver Whitecaps	Vancouver, British Columbia	Swangard Stadium	1986	1987	White, Blue	Teitur Thordarson

Future teams

Team	City/Area	Arena	Founded	Joined	Color	Head Coach
F.C. New York	Hempstead, New York	James M. Shuart Stadium	2009	2010	Yellow, Powder Blue	TBA
Tampa Bay Rowdies	Tampa Bay, Florida	TBA	2008	2010	Green, Gold	TBA

Playoff format

The top seven teams will advance to the playoff tournament, with the Commissioner’s Cup winner (regular season champion) receiving a bye into the semi-finals. However, with at least two teams joining for 2010, as well as Portland and Vancouver Whitecaps FC making way for their counterparts in the MLS, this may change in the future.

Each round consists of two legs, the lower seeded team hosting the first leg, and the higher seed hosting the second. Prior to 2009, the final was played as a single leg at the higher seed's stadium. In the Quarterfinal round, the #2 seed plays #7, #3 plays #6, and #4 plays #5. After these legs are completed, the lowest remaining seed plays the Commissioner's Cup winner, and the higher seeds play each other. The highest remaining seed hosts the penultimate game of the Finals. The playoffs start the week after the completion of the regular season, and typically end in mid-October.

League rivalries

Stars indicate derby titles won

Cascadia Cup (Portland-Seattle-Vancouver, for 2009 & 2010 only Portland and Vancouver will compete, when those two teams join the MLS in 2011 the cup will resume with all three teams)

• Vancouver Whitecaps FC (moving to the MLS in 2011)
• Portland Timbers (moving to the MLS in 2011)
• Seattle Sounders (moved to the MLS in 2009)

Southern Derby (Carolina-Charleston)

• Charleston Battery
• Carolina Railhawks

Voyageurs Cup (Montreal-Vancouver- Toronto (MLS), awarded to the winner of the Canadian Championship as of 2008)

• Vancouver Whitecaps FC (moving to the MLS in 2011)
• Montreal Impact
• Toronto FC (founded as an MLS team for the 2007 season)

Ponce De Leon Cup (Miami-Puerto Rico, will include Tampa Bay in 2010)

• Miami FC
• Puerto Rico Islanders
• Tampa Bay Rowdies (starting play in 2010)

Former teams

1996 USISL Select League

Past regular season champions (Commissioner’s Cup Winners)

Note: The point systems used throughout the league's history has changed. The league first started using the standard points system (3 points for a win, 1 for a draw) in 2003.

Past playoff champions / top goal scorer

Most Successful Clubs (A-League/USL Era)

League average attendance

All-time USL leaders

All-Time Goal Leaders Rank Player Goals 1 Mark Baena 86 2 Paul Conway 79 3 Doug Miller 77 4 Mauro Biello 76 5 Jason Jordan 70 6 Eduardo Sebrango 70 7 Chance Fry 68 8 Domenic Mobilio‎ 65 9 Jamel Mitchell 64 10 Kevin Jeffrey 61

All-time appearances in the USL Rank Player Appearances 1 Mauro Biello 320 2 Nick DeSantis 245 3 Lloyd Barker 242 4 Nevio Pizzolito 228 5 Scott Jenkins 220 6 Lenin Steenkamp 219 7 Bill Sedgewick 218 8 David Diplacido‎ 217 9 Steve Klein 211

See also

• Sports attendances

Notes

• (*) Puerto Rico can qualify for the CFU Club Championship via a domestic cup competition.

References

1. ^ http://www.atlantasilverbacks.com/news/displaynews.php?id=1046&cat=1
2. ^ http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=ec02001e-f74c-4ba1-9242-7a34cf0a3eaf
3. ^ Encina, Eduardo A. (2008-06-19). "Tampa Bay Rowdies to get new life in USL". St. Petersburg Times. http://www.tampabay.com/sports/soccer/article633711.ece. Retrieved 2008-06-20. 
4. ^ http://www.stllions.com/
5. ^ "MLS: Atlanta Out! Orlando to USL. St Louis weak? Philly behind schedule...". Orlando Sentinel. 2009-01-16. http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_soccerblog/2009/01/mls-atlanta-out.html. Retrieved 2009-02-06. 
6. ^ http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/story/?
7. ^ www.mysa.com date=4-18-09 id=268484&lid=headline&lpos=secStory_soccer
8. ^ http://www.uslsoccer.com/home/361425.html

External links

• Official league web site
• Unofficial site created for the Fans, by the Fans