2021 USL Championship playoffs

Main article: 2021 USL Championship season

2021 USL Championship playoffs

Tournament details
Country	United States
Teams	16
Defending champions	Real Monarchs (2019)
Final positions
Champions	Orange County SC (1st title)
Runner-up	Tampa Bay Rowdies
Tournament statistics
Matches played	14
Goals scored	40 (2.86 per match)
Attendance	93,029 (6,645 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Ronaldo Damus (4 goals)
←  2020 2022  →

The 2021 USL Championship playoffs (branded as the 2021 USL Championship Playoffs presented by TwinSpires for sponsorship reasons) was the post-season championship of the 2021 USL Championship. It was the eleventh edition of the USL Championship playoffs. The playoffs began on November 5, and concluded with the USL Championship Final on November 28.

Tampa Bay Rowdies won the regular season with 71 standings points. ^[1] They were beaten in the Final by Orange County SC, which won its first league title.

Real Monarchs, having won the title in 2019, were the title holders, since the 2020 Final was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Rowdies and the title was not awarded. However, they were eliminated in the regular season as they finished bottom of the Mountain Division table.

Qualified teams

Atlantic Division Charlotte Independence Miami FC Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Tampa Bay Rowdies

Central Division Birmingham Legion FC FC Tulsa Louisville City FC Memphis 901 FC

Mountain Division Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC El Paso Locomotive FC Rio Grande Valley FC Toros San Antonio FC

Pacific Division Oakland Roots SC Orange County SC Phoenix Rising FC San Diego Loyal SC

Format

The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. They began to play on the first weekend on November, featuring a single-elimination, 16-team bracket. Under the revised season format, four division winners in each conference earned hosting rights for the Eastern and Western conference quarterfinals. Following the opening round, hosting rights were determined by regular season record (ranks, then points, then number of wins). All playoff matches were streamed live on ESPN+ except the Championship final on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and Sirius XM FC. ^{[2] [3]}

Division tables

Atlantic Division Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 32 71 2 Charlotte Independence 32 59 3 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 32 58 4 Miami FC 32 54 5 Hartford Athletic 32 41 6 Charleston Battery 32 37 7 New York Red Bulls II 32 28 8 Loudoun United FC 32 15 Source: USL

Central Division Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 Louisville City FC 32 61 2 Birmingham Legion FC 32 60 3 Memphis 901 FC 32 50 4 FC Tulsa 32 47 5 OKC Energy FC 32 37 6 Indy Eleven 32 35 7 Atlanta United 2 32 34 8 Sporting Kansas City II 32 20 Source: USL

Mountain Division Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 El Paso Locomotive FC 32 64 2 San Antonio FC 32 52 3 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 32 50 4 Rio Grande Valley FC Toros 32 47 5 New Mexico United 32 46 6 Austin Bold FC 32 42 7 Real Monarchs 32 22 Source: USL

Pacific Division Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 Phoenix Rising FC 32 67 2 Orange County SC 32 52 3 San Diego Loyal SC 32 48 4 Oakland Roots SC 32 41 5 Tacoma Defiance 32 39 6 LA Galaxy II 32 39 7 Sacramento Republic FC 32 36 8 Las Vegas Lights FC 32 21 Source: USL

Bracket

Conference Quarterfinals November 5–7

Conference Semifinals November 13

Conference Finals November 20

USL Championship Final November 28

A1

Tampa Bay Rowdies

6

C4

FC Tulsa

2

A1

Tampa Bay Rowdies

1

C2

Birmingham Legion FC

0

C2

Birmingham Legion FC

w/o

A3

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

A1

Tampa Bay Rowdies (a.e.t.)

3

Eastern Conference

C1

Louisville City FC

2

A2

Charlotte Independence

3

C3

Memphis 901 FC

1

A2

Charlotte Independence

0

C1

Louisville City FC

1

C1

Louisville City FC

1

A4

Miami FC

0

A1

Tampa Bay Rowdies

1

P2

Orange County SC

3

M1

El Paso Locomotive FC

0

P4

Oakland Roots SC

1

P4

Oakland Roots SC

0 (5)

P2

Orange County SC (p)

0 (6)

P2

Orange County SC

1

M3

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC

0

P2

Orange County SC (p)

1 (5)

Western Conference

M2

San Antonio FC

1 (3)

M2

San Antonio FC

2

P3

San Diego Loyal SC

0

M2

San Antonio FC

3

M4

Rio Grande Valley FC Toros

1

P1

Phoenix Rising FC

3 (3)

M4

Rio Grande Valley FC Toros (p)

3 (4)

Schedule

Conference Quarterfinals

Charlotte Independence v Memphis 901 FC

November 6, 2021 (2021-11-06)East	Charlotte Independence	3–1	Memphis 901 FC	Charlotte, North Carolina
7:00 PM EDT	Johnson 10' Fuchs 32' Bronico  35' Marveaux 72'	Report	Kissiedou  39' Murphy 83' Segbers  89' Carroll  90+3'	Stadium: American Legion Memorial Stadium Attendance: 2,723 Referee: Mark Allatin

Tampa Bay Rowdies v FC Tulsa

November 6, 2021 (2021-11-06)East	Tampa Bay Rowdies	6–2	FC Tulsa	St. Petersburg, Florida
7:30 PM EDT	Guenzatti 21' Guillén  45+2' Benton 46' (o.g.) Dos Santos 56' 79' Fernandes 89', 90+5' Mkosana 90+2'	Report	Bird  63'  72' Rivas 67' Suárez 90'	Stadium: Al Lang Stadium Attendance: 6,262 Referee: Sergii Demianchuk

Louisville City FC v Miami FC

November 6, 2021 (2021-11-06)East	Louisville City FC	1–0	Miami FC	Louisville, Kentucky
8:00 PM EDT	Gonzalez 74' Lancaster  87' Greig  89'	Report	Craig  24' Da Silva  72'	Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium Attendance: 9,097 Referee: Elton García

Birmingham Legion FC v Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

November 7, 2021 (2021-11-07)East	Birmingham Legion FC	w/o	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC	Birmingham, Alabama
5:00 PM EST		Report		Stadium: BBVA Field
Note: Match canceled after multiple Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players tested positive for COVID-19. [4]

San Antonio FC v San Diego Loyal SC

November 5, 2021 (2021-11-05)West	San Antonio FC	2–0	San Diego Loyal SC	San Antonio, Texas
8:00 PM CDT	Giro  6' Nathan 14' Patiño 25' Epps  46' Maloney  60'	Report	Stoneman  16' Martin  81' Martin  86'	Stadium: Toyota Field Attendance: 7,003 Referee: Matthew Thompson

El Paso Locomotive FC v Oakland Roots SC

November 5, 2021 (2021-11-05)West	El Paso Locomotive FC	0–1	Oakland Roots SC	El Paso, Texas
7:30 PM MDT	Fox  20' Luna  78'	Report	Nane  26' Bokila 76' Morad  90+3'	Stadium: Southwest University Park Attendance: 7,201 Referee: Ismir Pekmic

Orange County SC v Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC

November 6, 2021 (2021-11-06)West	Orange County SC	1–0	Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC	Irvine, California
7:00 PM PDT	Kuningas  20' Kiernan  31' Damus 45+1' Orozco  50' Romero  90+6'	Report	Ockford  27' Beckford  66' Hodge  86'	Stadium: Championship Soccer Stadium Attendance: 4,194 Referee: Lukasz Szpala

Phoenix Rising FC v Rio Grande Valley FC Toros

November 6, 2021 (2021-11-06)West	Phoenix Rising FC	3–3 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p)	Rio Grande Valley FC Toros	Chandler, Arizona
7:30 PM MST	Asante 23', 101' Rodríguez  39'54' Asante  73' Moar  120+1'	Report	Njie 19' 22' Cabezas  37' Pimentel  66' López 71' 72' Amoh 109' (pen.)	Stadium: Wild Horse Pass Attendance: 8,234 Referee: Brandon Stevis
	Penalties
	Bakero Rodríguez Quinn Farrell Moar		Njie Ycaza Pimentel López Amoh

Conference Semifinals

Tampa Bay Rowdies v Birmingham Legion FC

November 13, 2021East	Tampa Bay Rowdies	1–0	Birmingham Legion FC	St. Petersburg, Florida
7:00 pm EST	Ekra 57' Scarlett  90+4'	Report	Crognale  38' Kasim  46' Crognale  89' Williams  90+3'	Stadium: Al Lang Stadium Attendance: 5,949 Referee: Elton García

Louisville City FC v Charlotte Independence

November 13, 2021East	Louisville City FC	1–0	Charlotte Independence	Louisville, Kentucky
7:30 pm EST	DelPiccolo  5' Ownby  21' McCabe  44' Lancaster 89' (pen.)	Report	Kelly  34' Parra  44' Roascos  76' Martínez  87' Pack  87' Fuchs  90+2' Johnson  90+6'	Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium Attendance: 9,155 Referee: Elijio Arreguin

Orange County SC v Oakland Roots SC

November 13, 2021West	Orange County SC	0–0 (a.e.t.) (6–5 p)	Oakland Roots SC	Irvine, California
7:00 pm PST		Report	Ward  97'	Stadium: Championship Soccer Stadium Attendance: 5,218 Referee: Matthew Thompson
	Penalties
	Kuningas Powers Casiple Enevoldsen Okoli Damus		Morad Bokila Mbumba Nane Harish Ward

San Antonio FC v Rio Grande Valley FC Toros

November 13, 2021West	San Antonio FC	3–1	Rio Grande Valley FC Toros	San Antonio, Texas
8:00 PM CST	Patiño 24', 55' Nathan 61' Giro  73' Farr  84'	Report	Cabezas  43' Edwards  45+1' Azócar  64' Amoh 69' (pen.)	Stadium: Toyota Field Attendance: 7,966 Referee: Mark Allatin

Conference Finals

Tampa Bay Rowdies v Louisville City FC

November 20, 2021East	Tampa Bay Rowdies	3–2 (a.e.t.)	Louisville City FC	St. Petersburg, Florida
7:00 pm EST	Tejada  43' Dos Santos  73'102' Wyke  83' Guillén  98' Mkosana 83', 90+6'	Report	Ownby  5'10' Lasso 23' (o.g.) Gómez  55' Jimenez  100'	Stadium: Al Lang Stadium Attendance: 7,120 Referee: Lukasz Szpala

Orange County SC v San Antonio FC

November 20, 2021West	Orange County SC	1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–3 p)	San Antonio FC	Irvine, California
7:00 pm PST	Damus  6'39' Alston  60'	Report	Fogaça  64' Epps 67' Giro  88' Taintor  105+3'	Stadium: Championship Soccer Stadium Attendance: 5,386 Referee: Elton García
	Penalties
	Casiple Powers Mines Enevoldsen Okoli		Maloney Patiño Khmiri Dhillon

USL Championship Final

Tampa Bay Rowdies v Orange County SC

November 28, 2021 (2021-11-28)	Tampa Bay Rowdies	1–3	Orange County SC	St. Petersburg, Florida
8:30 PM EST	Lasso  16' Fernandes 57'	Report	Damus 25', 38' Kuningas 45' Mines  90+2'	Stadium: Al Lang Stadium Attendance: 7,521 Referee: Rubiel Vazquez

Championship Game MVP: Ronaldo Damus (Orange County SC)

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Ronaldo Damus	Orange County SC	4
2	Leo Fernandes	Tampa Bay Rowdies	3
	Lucky Mkosana	Tampa Bay Rowdies
	Santiago Patiño	San Antonio FC
5	Elvis Amoh	Rio Grande Valley FC Toros	2
	Solomon Asante	Phoenix Rising FC
	Steevan Dos Santos	Tampa Bay Rowdies
	Nathan Fogaça	San Antonio FC
9	17 players		1

Awards

• Goal of the Playoffs: Rodrigo López (RGV) ^[5]
• Save of the Playoffs: Jordan Farr (SAN) ^[6]

References

1. "Matchday Report: Rowdies Defeat Lights FC, Clinch Homefield Advantage in Postseason". USLChampionship.com. USL Championship. October 31, 2021.
2. "USL Championship Confirms 2021 Playoff Structure". USLChampionship.com. USL Championship. April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
3. "USL Championship Final to air live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and SiriusXM FC". USLChampionship.com. USL Championship. October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
4. "Birmingham Legion FC vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Playoff Match Canceled". USLChampionship.com. USL Championship. November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
5. "USL Championship Goal of the Playoffs Nominees Presented by Select". USLChampionship.com Staff. November 29, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
6. "USL Championship Fans' Choice Save of the Playoffs Nominees". USLChampionship.com Staff. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2020.