2008 United Soccer Leagues

Last updated

The 2008 Season is the 22nd edition of the United Soccer Leagues season.

Contents

The season kicked off on Friday, April 12 with two First Division games, as the Charleston Battery visited Miami FC and the Montreal Impact visited the Vancouver Whitecaps.

General

Honors

CompetitionChampionRunner-UpRegular Season Champion/Best USL team
USL First Division Vancouver Whitecaps Puerto Rico Islanders Puerto Rico Islanders
USL Second Division Cleveland City Stars Charlotte Eagles Charlotte Eagles
USL PDL Thunder Bay Chill Laredo Heat Michigan Bucks
U.S. Open Cup D.C. United (MLS) Charleston Battery (USL-1)Charleston Battery
Canadian Championship Montreal Impact Toronto FC (MLS)n/a

Standings

First Division

PosTeamPldWLDGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 Puerto Rico Islanders 3015694323+2054Commissioner's Cup, bye to semifinal round of playoffs
2 Vancouver Whitecaps (C)3015783428+653First round of playoffs
3 Montreal Impact 30121263328+542
4 Rochester Rhinos 30111093532+341 [lower-alpha 1]
5 Charleston Battery 30111273436−240 [lower-alpha 2]
6 Seattle Sounders 301010103736+140 [lower-alpha 2]
7 Minnesota Thunder 30101194038+239
8 Carolina RailHawks 30911103443−937
9 Miami FC 30812102834−634 [lower-alpha 3]
10 Atlanta Silverbacks 30812103750−1334 [lower-alpha 3]
11 Portland Timbers 30713102633−731
Source: [2]
Rules for classification: Tie-breaker order: 1. Head-to-head points; 2. Total wins; 3. Goal difference; 4. Goals for; 5. Lottery
(C) Playoff Champion
Notes:
  1. ↑ Rochester deducted 1 point for use of an ineligible player on August 10, 2008 [1]
  2. 1 2 CHA: 4 pts; SEA: 4 pts
  3. 1 2 MIA: 7 pts; ATL: 1 pt

Playoffs

Teams were re-seeded for semifinal matchups
Vancouver was selected by the league to host the final despite being the lower seeded team

First round
September 26/28 		Semi-finals
October 3/5 		Final
October 12
             
6 Seattle Sounders 2 1 3
3 Montreal Impact 1 3 4
3 Montreal Impact 1 0 1
2 Vancouver Whitecaps 0 2 2
7 Minnesota Thunder 0 4 4
2 Vancouver Whitecaps 2 3 5
2 Vancouver Whitecaps 2
1 Puerto Rico Islanders 1
5 Charleston Battery 0 1 1
4 Rochester Rhinos 2 0 2
4 Rochester Rhinos 2 0 2
1 Puerto Rico Islanders (a.e.t) 0 3 3

First Round

First Leg
Rochester Rhinos 2–0 Charleston Battery
  • Ball Yellow card.svg 49'
  • Guppy Soccerball shade.svg86'
  • Delicate Soccerball shade.svg90'
  • Bertz Yellow card.svg 90'
 Report
Attendance: 6,923
Referee: Chris Penso
Second Leg
Charleston Battery 1–0 Rochester Rhinos
Report
Attendance: 2,131
Referee: Doug Wolff

Rochester Rhinos won 2–1 on Aggregate.

First Leg
Seattle Sounders 2–1 Montreal Impact
Report
Attendance: 2,865
Referee: Edvin Jurisevic
Second Leg
Montreal Impact 3–1 Seattle Sounders
Report
Attendance: 11,134
Referee: Mauricio Navarro

Montreal Impact won 4–3 on Aggregate.

First Leg
Vancouver Whitecaps 2–0 Minnesota Thunder
Report
Attendance: 4,943
Referee: Carol Anne Chenard
Second Leg
Minnesota Thunder 4–3 Vancouver Whitecaps
Report
Attendance: 3,811
Referee: NA

Vancouver Whitecaps won 5–4 on Aggregate.

Semifinals

First Leg
Rochester Rhinos 2–0 Puerto Rico Islanders
Report
Attendance: 7,001
Referee: Niko Bratsis
Second Leg
Puerto Rico Islanders 3–0 (a.e.t.) Rochester Rhinos
Report
Attendance: 9,112
Referee: Tony Russo

Puerto Rico Islanders won 3–2 on Aggregate in Extra Time.

First Leg
Montreal Impact 1–0 Vancouver Whitecaps
Report
Attendance: 12,002
Referee: Steve DePiero
Second Leg
Vancouver Whitecaps 2–0 Montreal Impact
Report
Attendance: 4,992
Referee: Dave Gantar

Vancouver Whitecaps won 2–1 on Aggregate.

Final

Second Leg
Vancouver Whitecaps 2–1 Puerto Rico Islanders
Report
Attendance: 5,822
Referee: Mark Kadlecik
USL First Division
2008 Champions
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Second title

Awards and All-League Teams

First Team
F: Alex Afonso (Miami FC) (Leading Goalscorer); Macoumba Kandji (Atlanta Silverbacks)
M: Osvaldo Alonso (Charleston Battery); Stephen deRoux (Minnesota Thunder); Martin Nash (Vancouver Whitecaps); Jonathan Steele (Puerto Rico Islanders) (MVP)
D: Cristian Arrieta (Puerto Rico Islanders) (Defender of the Year); Taylor Graham (Seattle Sounders); David Hayes (Atlanta Silverbacks); Nevio Pizzolitto (Montreal Impact)
G: Bill Gaudette (Puerto Rico Islanders) (Goalkeeper of the Year)
Coach: Colin Clarke (Puerto Rico Islanders) (Coach of the Year)

Second Team
F: Sebastien Le Toux (Seattle Sounders); Eduardo Sebrango (Vancouver Whitecaps)
M: Leonardo Di Lorenzo (Montreal Impact); Johnny Menyongar (Rochester Rhinos); Ricardo Sanchez (Minnesota Thunder); Matt Watson (Carolina RailHawks)
D: Wesley Charles and Takashi Hirano (Vancouver Whitecaps); Cameron Knowles (Portland Timbers); Scott Palguta (Rochester Rhinos)
G: Matt Jordan (Montreal Impact)

Second Division

PosTeamPldWLDGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 Charlotte Eagles 2013254515+3044Regular season champion
2 Richmond Kickers 2014424820+2844Qualified for playoffs
3 Cleveland City Stars 2010373316+1737
4 Crystal Palace Baltimore 2011813030034
5 Harrisburg City Islanders 2073103320+1331
6 Western Mass Pioneers 205961929−1020 [lower-alpha 1]
7 Wilmington Hammerheads 204973233−119
8 Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2041062537−1218
9 Bermuda Hogges 2051322150−2917
10 Real Maryland Monarchs 2031521551−3610 [lower-alpha 1]
Source: [3]
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Western Mass and Real Maryland deducted 1 point

Playoffs

First Round
August 13 		Semifinals
August 16 		Final
August 23
1 Charlotte Eagles 2
4 Crystal Palace Baltimore (AET/PK) 2 (7)4 Crystal Palace Baltimore 1
5 Harrisburg City Islanders 2 (6) 1 Charlotte Eagles 1
3 Cleveland City Stars 2
2 Richmond Kickers 0
3 Cleveland City Stars 43 Cleveland City Stars (AET) 1
6 Western Mass Pioneers 2

First round

Cleveland City Stars 4–2 Western Mass Pioneers
Report
Attendance: 1,683
Referee: Chris Penso (United States)

Semifinals

Charlotte Eagles 2–1 Crystal Palace Baltimore
Report
Attendance: 1,188
Referee: Jeff Muschik
Richmond Kickers 0–1 (a.e.t.) Cleveland City Stars
Report
Attendance: 2,693
Referee: Daniel Stead

Final

Cleveland City Stars 2–1 Charlotte Eagles
Report
Attendance: 2,016
Referee: Jason Krnac

Awards and All-League team

First Team
F: Jorge Herrera (Charlotte Eagles); Boyzzz Khumalo (Pittsburgh Riverhounds); Dustin Swinehart (Charlotte Eagles) (league MVP)
M: Mike Burke (Richmond Kickers); Floyd Franks (Cleveland City Stars); Shintaro Harada (Crystal Palace Baltimore)
D: Brady Bryant and Steve Shak (Charlotte Eagles); Sascha Gorres (Richmond Kickers); Mark Schulte (Cleveland City Stars) (Defender of the Year)
G: Terry Boss (Charlotte Eagles)
Coach: Mark Steffens (Charlotte Eagles) (Coach of the Year)
Rookie of the Year: Stanley Nyazamba (Richmond Kickers)

Second Team
F: Gary Brooks (Crystal Palace Baltimore); Sallieu Bundu (Cleveland City Stars); Jeff Deren (Western Mass Pioneers)
M: Trey Alexander (Wilmington Hammerheads); Justin Evans (Pittsburgh Riverhounds); Matthew Mbuta (Crystal Palace Baltimore)
D: Dustin Bixler (Harrisburg City Islanders); Trevor McEachron (Richmond Kickers); Federico Molinari (Western Mass Pioneers); Dame Walters (Wilmington Hammerheads)
G: Ronnie Pascale (Richmond Kickers)

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References

  1. ↑ "Rhinos penalized for infraction". United Soccer Leagues. August 15, 2008. Archived from the original on March 26, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  2. ↑ "USL First Division 2008". USLsoccer.com. United Soccer Leagues. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  3. ↑ "USL Second Division 2008". USLsoccer.com. United Soccer Leagues. Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
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