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USL Championship final
Organizing bodyUSL Championship
Founded2010
RegionUnited States (CONCACAF)
Current champion(s)Phoenix Rising FC
(1st title)
Most successful club(s)Louisville City and Orlando City
(2 titles each)
Television broadcastersCBS
ESPN+
WebsiteUSLSoccer.com
2024 USL Championship Playoffs

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

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A-League era (1996–2004)

[edit]
Season Winner Score Runner-up Box Score
1996 California Jaguars 1–1 (p) Richmond Kickers [2]
1997 Milwaukee Rampage 1–1 (p) Carolina Dynamo [3]
1998 Rochester Raging Rhinos 3–1 Minnesota Thunder [4]
1999 Minnesota Thunder 2–1 Rochester Raging Rhinos [5]
2000 Rochester Raging Rhinos 3–1 Minnesota Thunder [6]
2001 Rochester Raging Rhinos 2–0 Hershey Wildcats [7]
2002 Milwaukee Rampage 2–1 (2OT) Richmond Kickers [8]
2003 Charleston Battery 3–0 Minnesota Thunder [9]
2004 Montreal Impact 2–0 Seattle Sounders [10]

USL-1 era (2005–2009)

[edit]
Season Winner Score Runner-up Venue Attendance Box Score
2005 Seattle Sounders 1–1 (p) Richmond Kickers Qwest Field 8,011 [11]
2006 Vancouver Whitecaps 3–0 Rochester Raging Rhinos PAETEC Park 9,547 [12]
2007 Seattle Sounders 4–0 Atlanta Silverbacks Starfire Sports Complex 4,893 [13]
2008 Vancouver Whitecaps 2–1 Puerto Rico Islanders Swangard Stadium[n 1] 5,822 [14]
2009 Montreal Impact 3–2[n 2]
3–1[n 2] 		Vancouver Whitecaps Swangard Stadium
Saputo Stadium 		5,886
13,034 		[15]
[16]
  1. ^ The league granted Vancouver the right to host the 2008 final, despite them being the lower seeded team.
  2. ^ a b Montreal won the two-legged series 6–3 on aggregate.

USL Championship era (2010–present)

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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

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USL Championship titles

[edit]
Club Winner Runner-up Years won Years runner-up
Louisville City FC 2 2 2017, 2018 2019, 2022
Orlando City SC 2 0 2011, 2013
Charleston Battery 1 1 2012 2023
Phoenix Rising FC 1 1 2023 2018
Sacramento Republic FC 1 0 2014
Rochester Rhinos 1 0 2015
New York Red Bulls II 1 0 2016
Real Monarchs SLC 1 0 2019
Orange County SC 1 0 2021
San Antonio FC 1 0 2022
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 1 0 2024
Harrisburg City Islanders 0 2 2011, 2014
Swope Park Rangers 0 2 2016, 2017
Wilmington Hammerheads FC 0 1 2012
Charlotte Eagles 0 1 2013
LA Galaxy II 0 1 2015
Tampa Bay Rowdies 0 1 2021
Rhode Island FC 0 1 2024
Winner USL Cup champions
Bold Players' Shield champions
Italics No longer plays in the USL Championship

See also

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References

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  1. ^ USLChampionship Staff (December 18, 2023). "USL Championship Unveils 2024 Regular Season Schedule". USL Championship. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  2. ^ "The Year in American Soccer, 1996". Soccer History USA – Audio Essays on the Beautiful Game. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  3. ^ "A-League 1997 Season". a-leaguearchive.tripod.com. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  4. ^ "A-League 1998 Season". a-leaguearchive.tripod.com. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  5. ^ "A-League 1999 Season". a-leaguearchive.tripod.com. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  6. ^ "A-League 2000 Season". a-leaguearchive.tripod.com. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  7. ^ "2001 A-League Final". OurSports Central. October 16, 2001. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  8. ^ "A-League 2002 Season". a-leaguearchive.tripod.com. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  9. ^ "A-League 2003 Season". a-leaguearchive.tripod.com. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  10. ^ "Impact de Montréal 2-0 Seattle Sounders - September 18, 2004 / A-League 2004". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  11. ^ "Seattle Sounders (USL) vs. Richmond Kickers - 1 October 2005 - Soccerway". ke.soccerway.com. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  12. ^ "Rochester New York vs. Whitecaps (USSF) - 30 September 2006 - Soccerway". gh.soccerway.com. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  13. ^ "Seattle Sounders (USL) vs. Atlanta Silverbacks - 29 September 2007 - Soccerway". ng.soccerway.com. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  14. ^ "Vancouver Whitecaps vs Puerto Rico Islanders: live 12 october 2008. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming | Soccer365". soccer365.me. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  15. ^ "Montreal at Vancouver Whitecaps 3:2". October 10, 2009. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  16. ^ "Impact defeat Whitecaps, win USL-1 title". www.sportsnet.ca. October 17, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  17. ^ "Harrisburg City Islanders at Orlando City". archive.ph. September 3, 2011. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ "2016 USL Cup Final". www.uslchampionship.com. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  23. ^ "Louisville 1-0 SPKC II (Nov 13, 2017) Game Analysis". ESPN. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  24. ^ "Louisville 1-0 Phoenix (Nov 8, 2018) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  25. ^ "Real Monarchs 3-1 Louisville (Nov 17, 2019) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  26. ^ Carlisle, Jeff (October 31, 2020). "USL final canceled after positive COVID-19 tests". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  27. ^ "Orange County 3-1 Tampa Bay (Nov 28, 2021) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  28. ^ "San Antonio 3-1 Louisville (Nov 13, 2022) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  29. ^ "Phoenix 1-1 Charleston (Nov 12, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  30. ^ "Colorado 3-0 Rhode Island (Nov 23, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
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