The Eastern Conference is one of two conferences in USL Championship soccer.[1]
League | USL Championship |
---|---|
Sport | Soccer |
Founded | January 21, 2015 |
No. of teams | 12 |
Most recent champion(s) | Charleston Battery (2023) (1st title) |
Most titles | Louisville City FC (4 titles) |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Charleston Battery | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 7 | +11 | 18 | Playoffs |
2 | Louisville City FC | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 7 | +10 | 15 | |
3 | Detroit City FC | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 15 | |
4 | Birmingham Legion FC | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 10 | |
5 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 10 | |
6 | Hartford Athletic | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 9 | |
7 | Loudoun United FC | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 7 | |
8 | Rhode Island FC | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 7 | |
9 | North Carolina FC | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 6 | |
10 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 5 | |
11 | Indy Eleven | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 16 | −5 | 5 | |
12 | Miami FC | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 14 | −5 | 4 |
Conference Member Club moved to Western Conference Former clubs Club playing in different league
‡Orlando City B & Rochester Rhinos went on hiatus after the 2017 season.[2][3]
Changes from 2014: USL Pro expanded and was rebranded as simply USL; the round robin table was split into two conferences: Eastern and Western.
Changes from 2015: Bethlehem Steel FC, FC Cincinnati and Orlando City B were added as expansion franchises;[4] St. Louis FC moved out to the Western Conference.
Changes from 2016: Ottawa Fury FC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies moved in from the North American Soccer League; FC Montreal was disbanded; Saint Louis FC moved back in from the Western Conference;[5] Wilmington Hammerheads FC moved out to the Premier Development League (now USL League Two).
Changes from 2017: USL was divided into three divisions: Championship, League One and League Two; Atlanta United 2 was added as an expansion franchise; the Indy Eleven and North Carolina FC moved in from the North American Soccer League; the Harrisburg City Islanders were renamed Penn FC; Orlando City B and the Rochester Rhinos went on hiatus; Saint Louis FC moved out back to the Western Conference.[6]
Changes from 2018: FC Cincinnati disbanded to make way for the MLS franchise;[7] Birmingham Legion FC, Hartford Athletic, Loudoun United FC and Memphis 901 FC were added as expansion franchises; Saint Louis FC and the Swope Park Rangers moved in from the Western Conference; Orlando City B, the Richmond Kickers and Toronto FC II moved out to USL League One; Penn FC and the Rochester Rhinos went on hiatus. They will move to USL League One in 2020.
Changes from 2019: Nashville SC moved out to Major League Soccer; Bethlehem Steel FC was renamed Philadelphia Union II; the Swope Park Rangers were renamed Sporting Kansas City II; Ottawa Fury FC was not sanctioned by U.S. Soccer and had their franchise rights sold to Miami FC; Penn FC was disbanded. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic the conference was split into four groups. Three groups of four and one group of five.[8]
Changes from 2020: The conference was divided into two divisions, Atlantic and Central; the OKC Energy FC and FC Tulsa moved in from the Western Conference; North Carolina FC moved out to USL League One; Philadelphia Union II was withdrawn by its MLS parent club; Saint Louis FC was disbanded.[9]
Changes from 2021: The Atlantic and Central divisions were dropped; OKC Energy FC went on hiatus; Charlotte Independence moved to USL League One; Detroit City FC joined from NISA; Sporting Kansas City II was withdrawn by its MLS parent club and moved to MLS Next Pro.[10]
Changes from 2022: Atlanta United 2 and New York Red Bulls II were withdrawn by its MLS parent club and moved to MLS Next Pro.[11]
Changes from 2023: North Carolina FC returned from USL League One.[12] Rhode Island FC was added as an expansion franchise.[13] Memphis 901 FC and FC Tulsa were moved to the Western Conference.[14]
Bold | USL Champions |
Season | Champions | Score | Runners Up |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Rochester Rhinos | 1–0 | Louisville City FC |
2016 | New York Red Bulls II | 1–1 (4–3 PK) | Louisville City FC |
2017 | Louisville City FC | 1–1 (4–3 PK) | New York Red Bulls II |
2018 | Louisville City FC | 5–1 | New York Red Bulls II |
2019 | Louisville City FC | 3–1 (AET) | Indy Eleven |
2020[a] | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2–1 | Louisville City FC |
2021 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 3–2 (AET) | Louisville City FC |
2022 | Louisville City FC | 1–0 (AET) | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
2023 | Charleston Battery | 2–1 | Louisville City FC |
Bold | USL Regular Season Champions |
Season | Team | Record | Playoffs result |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Rochester Rhinos | 17–1–10 (+25) | Won USL Championship |
2016 | New York Red Bulls II | 21–3–6 (+40) | Won USL Championship |
2017 | Louisville City FC | 18–6–8 (+27) | Won USL Championship |
2018 | FC Cincinnati | 23–3–8 (+38) | Lost Conference semifinals |
2019 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 19-4-11 (+28) | Lost Conference semifinals |
2020 | Louisville City FC | 11-3-2 (+16) | Lost Conference Final |
2021 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 23–7–2 (+32) | Lost Championship final |
2022 | Louisville City FC | 22–6–6 (+37) | Lost Championship final |
2023 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 19–5–10 (+21) | Lost Conference quarterfinals |
The USL Championship final between the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Phoenix Rising has been canceled after multiple Tampa Bay players tested positive for COVID-19, the league announced on Saturday.