Eastern Conference (USL Championship)

The Eastern Conference is one of two conferences in USL Championship soccer.[1]

Eastern Conference
LeagueUSL Championship
SportSoccer
FoundedJanuary 21, 2015
Teams
No. of teams16
Championships
Most recent champion(s)Tampa Bay Rowdies
(2nd title)
Most titlesLouisville City FC
(3 titles)

Current standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 32 23 2 7 55 23 +32 71
2 Louisville City FC 32 18 7 7 61 37 +24 61
3 Birmingham Legion FC 32 18 6 8 51 31 +20 60
4 Charlotte Independence 32 18 5 9 57 26 +31 59
5 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 32 17 7 8 52 34 +18 58
6 Miami FC 32 16 6 10 55 40 +15 54
7 Memphis 901 FC 32 14 8 10 47 42 +5 50
8 FC Tulsa 32 14 5 13 49 48 +1 47
9 Hartford Athletic 32 12 5 15 50 50 0 41
10 Charleston Battery 32 10 7 15 49 60 −11 37
11 OKC Energy FC 32 8 13 11 30 38 −8 37
12 Indy Eleven 32 9 8 15 32 47 −15 35
13 Atlanta United 2 32 8 10 14 47 56 −9 34
14 New York Red Bulls II 32 7 7 18 42 67 −25 28
15 Sporting Kansas City II 32 4 8 20 33 64 −31 20
16 Loudoun United FC 32 4 3 25 31 78 −47 15
Source: USL Championship
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal differential; 4) total points earned against in-division opponents; 5) total regular season wins against in-division opponents; 6) total goal differential against in-division opponents; 7) total goals scored against in-division opponents; 8) disciplinary points; 9) coin toss or drawing of lots.

Members

Current
Club City Stadium
Atlanta United 2 Kennesaw, Georgia Fifth Third Bank Stadium
Birmingham Legion FC Birmingham, Alabama BBVA Field
Charleston Battery Charleston, South Carolina Patriots Point Soccer Complex
Charlotte Independence Charlotte, North Carolina American Legion Memorial Stadium
Hartford Athletic Hartford, Connecticut Dillon Stadium
Indy Eleven Indianapolis, Indiana IU Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium
Loudoun United FC Leesburg, Virginia Segra Field
Louisville City FC Louisville, Kentucky Lynn Family Stadium
Memphis 901 FC Memphis, Tennessee AutoZone Park [lower-roman 1]
Miami FC Miami, Florida Riccardo Silva Stadium [lower-roman 2]
New York Red Bulls II Montclair, New Jersey MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field
OKC Energy FC Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Taft Stadium [lower-roman 2]
Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Highmark Stadium
Sporting Kansas City II Kansas City, Kansas Children's Mercy Park
Tampa Bay Rowdies St. Petersburg, Florida Al Lang Stadium [lower-roman 1][lower-roman 3]
FC Tulsa Tulsa, Oklahoma ONEOK Field [lower-roman 1]

Notes

  1. Baseball park
  2. Shared facility; not a soccer-specific stadium
  3. Team has announced plans to move into a soccer-specific stadium
Locations of teams for the 2021 USL Championship season
Atlantic Division   Central Division

Conference Lineups

Clubs timeline
FC TulsaOKC Energy FCMemphis 901 FCLoudoun United FCHartford AthleticBirmingham Legion FCNorth Carolina FCNashville SCIndy ElevenAtlanta United 2Miami FCOttawa Fury FCTampa Bay RowdiesOrlando City BPhiladelphia Union IIBethlehem Steel FC (USL)FC Cincinnati (2016–18)Wilmington Hammerheads FCToronto FC IISporting Kansas City IISwope Park RangersWestern Conference (USL)Saint Louis FCRochester RhinosRichmond KickersPittsburgh RiverhoundsNew York Red Bulls IILouisville City FCFC MontrealPenn FCHarrisburg City IslandersCharlotte IndependenceCharleston Battery

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]

2015 (12 teams)

Changes from 2014: USL Pro expanded and was rebranded as simply USL; the round robin table was split into two conferences: Eastern and Western.

2016 (14 teams)

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.

2017 (15 teams)

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).

2018 (16 teams)

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.

2019 (18 teams)

Changes from 2018: FC Cincinnati disbanded to make way for the MLS franchise;[6] 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.

2020 (17 teams)

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.

Atlantic Division (8 teams)

Central Division (8 teams)

Changes from 2020: The conference was divided into two divisions, Atlantic and Central; the Oklahoma City Energy and FC Tulsa moved in from the Western Conference; North Carolina FC moved out to USL League One; the Philadelphia Union II was withdrawn by its MLS parent club; Saint Louis FC was disbanded.

Eastern Conference Playoff champions by year
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 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–1 Louisville City FC
2021 Tampa Bay Rowdies 3–2 (AET) Louisville City FC

Eastern Conference regular season champions by year
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

See also

References
  1. "Expanded USL Unveils 2015 Format". United Soccer League (USL). January 21, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  2. Tsujimoto, Ben (November 30, 2017). "Rochester Rhinos to take hiatus from United Soccer League". Buffalo, NY: Buffalo News. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  3. "Orlando City B Elects to Forgo 2018 USL Division II Season". Orlando City SC. January 12, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  4. "2016 USL Alignment and Format Announced". United Soccer League (USL). January 20, 2016. Archived from the original on January 27, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  5. "USL Announces 2017 Conference Alignment". www.uslsoccer.com. United Soccer League (USL). January 9, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  6. "USL Championship Unveils 2019 Conference Alignment". United Soccer League (USL). December 13, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
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