USSF Division 2 Professional League

USSF Division 2 Professional League
Founded2010
Folded2010
CountryUnited States
Other club(s) fromCanada, Puerto Rico
ConfederationCONCACAF
ConferencesUSL Conference
NASL Conference
Number of clubs12
Level on pyramid2
Domestic cup(s)U.S. Open Cup
Canadian Championship
Last championsPuerto Rico Islanders
(2010)
WebsiteUSSF D2 Pro League at ussoccer.com

The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League)[1] was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding United Soccer Leagues (USL) and the North American Soccer League (NASL). The D2 Pro League was the second tier of the United States soccer league system below Major League Soccer.[2] The league also included two clubs from Canada and one club from Puerto Rico.

History

On August 27, 2009, Nike agreed to sell their stake in the United Soccer Leagues to investment company NuRock, instead of Jeff Cooper, who had aligned with a group of USL First Division team owners. Disappointed with the sale and state of the league, the ownership group broke away after the 2009 season with the intent to form a new incarnation of the North American Soccer League. The leagues sued each other, but ultimately withdrew their lawsuits and agreed to mediate with the United States Soccer Federation.

The USSF found that three of the NASL teams (NSC Minnesota Stars, Rochester Rhinos, and FC Tampa Bay) had binding contracts to play in the USL First Division in 2010, leaving the NASL with too few teams to be sanctioned. However, this left the USL First Division with only six teams, also too few for sanctioning. The USSF stripped the USL First Division of its sanctioning, and denied sanctioning to the NASL. After a week of negotiations among the three, the USSF agreed to run a 12-team interim league for 2010. The six extant teams in each league would each occupy their own conference, but teams belonging to both leagues would play each other.[3]

Teams

TeamCityStadiumFoundedHead coach
USL Conference
Austin AztexAustin, TexasHouse Park2008Adrian Heath
NSC Minnesota StarsBlaine, MinnesotaNational Sports Center2009Manny Lagos
Portland TimbersPortland, OregonPGE Park2001Gavin Wilkinson
Puerto Rico IslandersBayamón, Puerto RicoJuan Ramón Loubriel Stadium2003Colin Clarke
Rochester RhinosRochester, New YorkMarina Auto Stadium1996Bob Lilley
FC Tampa BayTampa, FloridaGeorge M. Steinbrenner Field2008Perry Van der Beck (interim)
NASL Conference
Carolina RailHawks FCCary, North CarolinaWakeMed Soccer Park2006Martin Rennie
Crystal Palace BaltimoreCatonsville, MarylandRidley Athletic Complex2006Jim Cherneski
Miami FCMiami, FloridaFIU Stadium, Lockhart Stadium2006Daryl Shore
Montreal ImpactMontreal, QuebecSaputo Stadium1992Marc Dos Santos
AC St. LouisFenton, MissouriAnheuser-Busch Center2009Dale Schilly[4]
Vancouver Whitecaps FCBurnaby, British ColumbiaSwangard Stadium1986Teitur Thordarson

Competition format

Pods

It was announced that the season would be centered around what are called pods. The pods were constructed around geographic regions and did not follow conference lines.[5] Teams within the same pod played each other four times, twice at home and twice away. Teams played one team outside of their pod four times, twice at home and twice away, and played the rest of the teams outside their pod twice, once at home and once away. This resulted in a thirty-game season for each team, and had the additional advantage of reducing travel costs. The season ended a playoff format to crown a league champion.

PodTeams
1
2
3

Playoff format

At the end of the regular season, the top teams in each conference qualified for the playoffs as the top two seeds. In addition, the remaining six teams with the highest point totals, regardless of conference, also advanced to the playoffs.[6]

Each round of the playoffs was a two-game aggregate goal series (the away goals rule was not applied as a tie-breaker). In the event that the aggregate score is tied after the second game of the series, the teams played two 15-minutes periods of extra time. If the score is still tied after extra time, the series was to be decided by a penalty shootout.[7]

2010 season

USSF Division 2 Professional League
Season2010
ChampionsPuerto Rico Islanders (1st Title)
PremiersRochester Rhinos (3rd Title)
Matches180
Goals437 (2.43 per match)
Best PlayerUnited States Ryan Pore Portland Timbers
Top goalscorerUnited States Ryan Pore Portland Timbers (15 goals)
Best goalkeeperUnited States Jay Nolly Vancouver Whitecaps
Biggest home winPOR 3–0 STL (Apr 22)
STL 3–0 MTL (Jul 10)
MTL 3–0 STL (Jul 21)
STL 3–0 POR (Jul 28)
POR 3–0 CPB (Aug 29)
CAR 3–0 CPB (Sep 3)
ROC 3–0 TAM (Sep 11)
MTL 3–0 TAM (Sep 19)
TAM 6–3 CPB (Oct 1)
Biggest away winCPB 0–5 MTL (Aug 21)
Highest scoringTAM 6–3 CPB (Oct 1)
Longest winning runRochester Rhinos (6 games, ended Aug 27)
Longest unbeaten runPortland Timbers (10 games, to end the season)
Longest winless runFC Tampa Bay (11 games, ended Oct 1)
Longest losing runCrystal Palace Baltimore (8 games, to end the season)
Highest attendancePortland Timbers (15,418; 4 times)
Lowest attendanceCrystal Palace Baltimore (507, Aug 4)
Average attendance4,449

NASL Conference standings

NASL Conference
PosTeam
PldWLTGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Carolina RailHawks FC3013984432+1247Conference leader, qualified for playoffs
2Vancouver Whitecaps FC30105153222+1045Qualified for playoffs[a]
3Montreal Impact30121173630+643
4Miami FC30711123749−1233
5AC St. Louis3071583248−1629
6Crystal Palace Baltimore3061862455−3124
Source: USSF D-2 schedule table
Notes:
  1. ^ The remaining six teams with the highest point totals, regardless of conference, also advance to the playoffs.

USL Conference standings

USL Conference
PosTeam
PldWLTGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Rochester Rhinos3016863824+1454Conference leader, qualified for playoffs
2Austin Aztex3015785340+1353Qualified for playoffs[a]
3Portland Timbers30137103423+1149
4NSC Minnesota Stars30111273236−440
5Puerto Rico Islanders30911103735+237
6FC Tampa Bay30712114146−532
Source: USSF D-2 schedule table
Notes:
  1. ^ The remaining six teams with the highest point totals, regardless of conference, also advance to the playoffs.

Playoff standings

USSF Division 2 Pro League
PosTeamPldWLTGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Rochester Rhinos3016863824+1454Conference leaders, qualified for playoffs
2Carolina Railhawks FC3013984432+1247
3Austin Aztex3015785340+1353Qualified for playoffs[a]
4Portland Timbers30137103423+1149
5Vancouver Whitecaps FC30105153222+1045
6Montreal Impact30121173630+643
7NSC Minnesota Stars30111273236−440
8Puerto Rico Islanders (C)30911103735+237
9Miami FC30711123749−1233
10FC Tampa Bay30712114146−532
11AC St. Louis3071583248−1629
12Crystal Palace Baltimore3061862455−3124
Source: USSF D-2 schedule table
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ The remaining six teams with the highest point totals, regardless of conference, also advance to the playoffs.

Match results

Color Key: Home  • Away  • Win  • Loss  • Draw
ClubMatch
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
Austin Aztex
(AUS)		MTLSTLROCMINTAMCPBTAMMIACPBPUEPORVANMIAMIAPUEROCSTLMIATAMPUECARPORVANMINPUETAMSTLSTLCARMTL
2–02–11–22–12–22–13–33–12–02–10–01–23–12–11–10–02–03–14–20–23–21–12–22–01–31–11–24–21–30–2
Carolina RailHawks
(CAR)		STLMINROCMIATAMPUEMTLPORVANCPBMTLSTLPUEMTLROCROCVANMTLROCCPBMIAAUSTAMPUECPBPORMINCPBPUEAUS
2–00–11–11–11–22–12–01–11–11–12–22–02–00–11–00–12–22–00–21–22–12–32–12–33–00–00–14–22–13–1
Crystal Palace Baltimore
(CPB)		TAMPUESTLVANPORAUSROCPORAUSMIAROCCARMINMINPUEROCMTLSTLMTLMIAMTLCARROCMTLPORCARVANCARPORTAM
0–11–30–10–01–01–21–02–10–23–31–21–11–31–00–20–02–10–11–10–10–02–10–20–50–30–30–32–41–33–6
Miami FC
(MIA)		ROCVANTAMCARMINMINAUSPUEMTLCPBPORAUSAUSTAMPORVANPUETAMAUSCPBPUETAMCARROCSTLMTLROCSTLROCPUE
1–10–01–11–11–11–01–32–41–13–31–01–31–21–10–21–31–10–21–31–01–13–31–21–31–32–12–14–21–01–1
NSC Minnesota Stars
(MIN)		VANCARPUETAMROCAUSMTLMIAMIATAMSTLROCMTLPORPORCPBCPBTAMSTLPUEVANSTLPORVANPORAUSSTLCARVANTAM
0–21–01–31–00–31–21–21–10–11–33–20–01–01–00–23–10–11–02–21–11–12–22–20–10–10–23–01–01–03–1
Montreal Impact
(MTL)		AUSPORPUEMINVANPORCARMIAMINTAMROCCARVANROCSTLCARCPBSTLVANCPBCARCPBROCCPBROCPUEMIATAMVANAUS
0–21–11–02–10–01–00–21–10–12–11–12–21–21–20–31–01–23–00–11–10–20–01–25–02–02–11–23–01–02–0
Portland Timbers
(POR)		ROCSTLMTLVANCPBSTLMTLCPBCARAUSMIAMINMINTAMVANMIAVANSTLTAMROCMINSTLMINAUSCPBPUECARPUECPBVAN
1–03–01–12–10–11–10–11–21–10–00–10–12–01–00–02–02–10–32–20–12–21–01–01–13–01–00–01–03–12–2
Puerto Rico Islanders
(PUE)		MINCPBMTLCARTAMMIAAUSSTLVANTAMROCAUSCPBCARTAMMIAMINROCMIATAMAUSSTLCARPORVANMTLAUSPORCARMIA
3–13–10–11–21–24–21–20–11–11–00–31–12–00–20–01–11–13–11–11–12–01–13–20–10–01–23–10–11–21–1
Rochester Rhinos
(ROC)		MIAPORAUSMINCARSTLCPBVANVANMINCPBMTLPUEMTLAUSCPBCARTAMPUECARPORCARMTLCPBMIAMTLTAMMIAMIASTL
1–10–12–13–01–12–10–10–22–10–02–11–13–02–10–00–00–11–01–31–01–02–02–12–03–10–23–01–20–12–1
AC St. Louis
(STL)		CARAUSPORVANCPBROCPORTAMMINPUEVANCARVANMTLMINAUSMTLCPBPORMINVANPORPUETAMMIAMINAUSMIAAUSROC
0–21–20–30–11–01–21–10–32–31–00–00–21–13–02–20–20–31–03–02–20–00–11–12–23–10–32–12–42–41–2
FC Tampa Bay
(TAM)		CPBMINMIAAUSCARAUSSTLMINPUEVANMTLPUEPORMIAMINPUEROCMIAPORAUSPUEMIAVANCARSTLROCAUSMTLMINCPB
1–00–11–12–22–13–33–03–12–10–11–20–10–11–10–10–00–12–02–22–41–13–31–11–22–20–31–10–31–36–3
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
(VAN)		MINMIASTLPORCPBMTLROCROCTAMCARAUSPUESTLMTLPORSTLMIAPORMINMTLCARSTLMINTAMAUSPUECPBMINMTLPOR
2–00–01–01–20–00–02–01–21–01–12–11–10–02–10–01–13–11–21–11–02–20–01–01–12–20–03–00–10–12–2

Final regular season results. Based on the results at the NASL results table and USL schedule table

Playoffs

Each round was a two-game aggregate goal series. Home teams for the first game of each series listed at the bottom of the bracket.
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
               
1Rochester Rhinos022
8Puerto Rico Islanders213
5Vancouver Whitecaps FC000
8Puerto Rico Islanders (a.e.t.)022
4Portland Timbers011
5Vancouver Whitecaps FC202
2Carolina RailHawks FC011
8Puerto Rico Islanders213
3Austin Aztex022
6Montreal Impact235
2Carolina RailHawks FC022
6Montreal Impact101
2Carolina RailHawks FC044
7NSC Minnesota Stars000

Quarterfinals

October 7, 2010 Puerto Rico Islanders 2–0 Rochester Rhinos Bayamón, Puerto Rico
8:05PM ASTFaña 44'
Foley 77'		ReportStadium: Bayamón Soccer Complex
October 9, 2010 Rochester Rhinos 2–1
(2–3 agg.)		 Puerto Rico Islanders Rochester, New York
7:00PM EDTHoxie 39'
Hamilton 54'		ReportRivera 21'Stadium: Marina Auto Stadium
Attendance: 4,620
October 7, 2010 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2–0 Portland Timbers Burnaby, British Columbia
7:30PM PDTKoffie 1'
Nash 13' (pen.)		ReportStadium: Swangard Stadium
Attendance: 5,018
Referee: Mathieu Bourdeau
October 10, 2010 Portland Timbers 1–0
(1–2 agg.)		 Vancouver Whitecaps FC Portland, Oregon
6:00PM PDTMarcelin 49'ReportStadium: Merlo Field
Attendance: 4,884
October 6, 2010 Montreal Impact 2–0 Austin Aztex Montreal, Quebec
7:30PM EDTGerba 39', 76'ReportStadium: Stade Saputo
Attendance: 7,962
Referee: Daniel Belleau
October 9, 2010 Austin Aztex 2–3
(2–5 agg.)		 Montreal Impact Austin, Texas
7:30PM CDTGriffin 43'
Johnson 57'		ReportGerba 4', 49'
Sebrango 89'		Stadium: House Park
Attendance: 2,872
October 6, 2010 NSC Minnesota Stars 0–0 Carolina RailHawks FC Blaine, Minnesota
7:00PM CDTReportStadium: National Sports Center
Attendance: 686
October 9, 2010 Carolina RailHawks FC 4–0
(4–0 agg.)		 NSC Minnesota Stars Cary, North Carolina
7:00PM EDTPaladini 64'
Gardner 72'
Lowery 84'
Kallman 88' (o.g.)		ReportStadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 2,556

Semifinals

October 14, 2010 Puerto Rico Islanders 0–0 Vancouver Whitecaps FC Bayamón, Puerto Rico
8:05PM ASTReportStadium: Bayamón Soccer Complex
Attendance: 2,831
October 17, 2010 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0–2
(0–2 agg.)		 Puerto Rico Islanders Burnaby, British Columbia
4:00PM PDTReportAddlery 113', 120'Stadium: Swangard Stadium
Attendance: 5,325
October 14, 2010 Montreal Impact 1–0 Carolina RailHawks FC Montreal, Quebec
7:30PM EDTDi Lorenzo 35'ReportStadium: Stade Saputo
Attendance: 7,502
October 17, 2010 Carolina RailHawks FC 2–0
(2–1 agg.)		 Montreal Impact Cary, North Carolina
5:00PM CDTRusin 73'
Heinemann 90'		ReportStadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 2,869

Finals

October 24, 2010 Puerto Rico Islanders 2–0 Carolina RailHawks FC Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
7:05PM ASTGbandi 4'
Faña 20'		ReportAttendance: 6,257
October 30, 2010 Carolina RailHawks FC 1–1
(1–3 agg.)		 Puerto Rico Islanders WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, North Carolina
7:00PM ESTHeinemann 10'ReportGbandi 7'Attendance: 5,074

Statistical leaders

Individual awards

AwardWinnerClubRef.
Most Valuable PlayerUnited States Ryan PorePortland Timbers[8]
Defender of the YearUnited States Greg JanickiVancouver Whitecaps
Goalkeeper of the YearUnited States Jay NollyVancouver Whitecaps
Rookie of the YearUnited States Maxwell GriffinAustin Aztex FC
Coach of the YearUnited States Bob LilleyRochester Rhinos
Best XI[8]
GoalkeeperDefendersMidfieldersForwards
United States Jay Nolly (VAN)United States Greg Janicki (VAN)
United States Aaron Pitchkolan (ROC)
United States Troy Roberts (ROC)		United States Ryan Pore (POR)
Canada Martin Nash (VAN)
United States Jamie Watson (AUS)
Brazil Paulo Araujo Jr. (MIA)
United States Daniel Paladini (CAR)		England Eddie Johnson (AUS)
Canada Ali Gerba (MTL)

References

  1. ^ "U.S. Soccer Division 2 Professional League Schedule Announced". ussoccer.com. February 8, 2010. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  2. ^ "U.S. Soccer Conference Call Regarding 2010 Division 2 Soccer League". ussoccer.com. January 7, 2010. Archived from the original on January 10, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  3. ^ "Division 2 Professional League To Operate in 2010". ussoccer.com. January 7, 2010. Archived from the original on January 10, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  4. ^ Lange, Dave (June 25, 2010). "AC St. Louis fires head coach Claude Anelka, Schilly takes over". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Archived from the original on June 30, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  5. ^ "U.S. Soccer Division 2 Professional League Schedule Announced". www.ussoccer.com. February 8, 2010. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
  6. ^ "2010 USSF Division-2 Pro League Kicks Off this Weekend with Eight Teams in Action". www.ussoccer.com. April 8, 2010. Archived from the original on May 26, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
  7. ^ "USSF D-2 Pro League Postseason To Get Underway on Oct. 6 as Playoff Seeding Determined". www.ussoccer.com. October 3, 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
  8. ^ a b "USSF D-2 Pro League Best XI and Awards". NASL.com. North American Soccer League, LLC. October 21, 2010. Archived from the original on February 6, 2011. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
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