Members
Current
Locations of teams for the 2024 USL Championship season
| League | USL Championship |
|---|---|
| Sport | Soccer |
| Founded | January 21, 2015 |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Most recent champion(s) | Rhode Island FC (2024) (1st title) |
| Most titles | Louisville City FC (4 titles) |
The Eastern Conference is one of two conferences in USL Championship soccer. [1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisville City FC | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 10 | Playoffs |
| 2 | Loudoun United FC | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 9 | |
| 3 | North Carolina FC | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 7 | |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 7 | |
| 5 | Detroit City FC | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 7 | |
| 6 | Indy Eleven | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 | |
| 7 | Charleston Battery | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | |
| 8 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | |
| 9 | Birmingham Legion FC | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 2 | |
| 10 | Rhode Island FC | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 1 | |
| 11 | Hartford Athletic | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0 | |
| 12 | Miami FC | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 0 |
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] OKC Energy FC went and has been on hiatus since the 2021 season, and looks to be on hiatus until the 2027 season. [4]
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; [5] 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; [6] 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. [7]
Changes from 2018: FC Cincinnati disbanded to make way for the MLS franchise; [8] 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. [9]
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. [10]
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. [11]
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. [12]
Changes from 2023: North Carolina FC returned from USL League One. [13] Rhode Island FC was added as an expansion franchise. [14] Memphis 901 FC and FC Tulsa were moved to the Western Conference. [15]
| 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 |
| 2024 | Rhode Island FC | 2–1 | Charleston Battery |
| Bold | Players' Shield 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 |
| 2024 | Louisville City FC | 24–6–4 (+43) | Lost Conference semifinals |
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.