The 2016 USL Season Kicks Off with Action Filled Weekend
The 2016 USL season kicks off with an action packed weekend that includes a rematch of the 2015 Western Conference Semifinals between OKC Energy FC and Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. Entering its sixth season, the USL has expanded to 29 teams this season with five of the new expansion teams debuting over the weekend.
Soccer News: The 2016 USL Kickoff Weekend marks the start of the league’s sixth season under its current format and features 13 games from Friday through Saturday. The landscape of the USL has changed considerably with 29 teams this season. Five of this year’s six expansion teams will make their debut over the next two days.
Friday features the league’s first two games of the season. FC Montreal hosts expansion Bethlehem Steel FC (7 p.m. ET, Stade Olympique) while Seattle Sounders FC 2 hosts Sacramento Republic FC (10:30 p.m. ET, Starfire Stadium).
Eleven games are on the docket for a jam-packed Saturday.
Every game of the 2016 USL season will be available on the league’s Match Center, with updates from across the league also available via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
GAMES TO WATCH
Saturday, March 26
Charleston Battery vs. FC Cincinnati
7:30 p.m. ET, MUSC Health Stadium
One of the more intriguing Eastern Conference matchups to open the season features the old guard and new. Charleston, which has qualified for every postseason since 2011 under the league’s current format, goes up against an energetic Cincinnati side that has high aspirations as an organization.
FC Cincinnati is guided by U.S. Soccer legend and National Soccer Hall of Famer John Harkes who makes his USL coaching debut.
Charleston has won four championships since debuting in 1993, most recently winning the 2012 USL Championship. The Battery advanced to the 2015 Eastern Conference Semifinals but fell to Louisville City FC 2-0. That was preceded by a thrilling 2-1 overtime win against the Richmond Kickers in the quarterfinals, with current defender Forrest Lasso tallying the winning goal.
OKC Energy FC vs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
8 p.m. ET, Taft Stadium
In the first matchup since meeting up in the 2015 Western Conference Semifinals, OKC and Colorado Springs converge in one of the most anticipated matchups of the weekend and early part of the new season. OKC enters the match with the bragging rights after edging the Switchbacks 4-3 in a penalty kick shootout to advance to last year’s Western Conference Final against the LA Galaxy II.
The Switchbacks are preparing for their second USL season. Colorado Springs’ opening campaign was a success with a 14-10-4 regular-season record to secure third place in the Western Conference. The Switchbacks followed with a 2-0 win against Seattle Sounders FC 2 in the conference quarterfinals before bowing out against OKC.
Switchbacks midfielder Luke Vercollone leads his side after a career year that featured 14 goals and nine assists. He was a finalist for 2015 USL Most Valuable Player. OKC returns a fellow USL MVP finalist in Danni Konig, who scored 21 regular-season goals last year, just one goal behind 2015 Golden Boot winner – and USL single-season record holder – Matt Fondy of Louisville City FC.
Swope Park Rangers vs. Portland Timbers 2
8:30 p.m. ET, Children’s Mercy Victory Field at Swope Soccer Village
Some potential scoring buzz could be on the horizon when second-year T2 visits the expansion Rangers who are owned and operated by Major League Soccer’s Sporting Kansas City and led by Head Coach Marc Dos Santos.
Swope Park forward Dane Kelly enters the 2016 season as the USL’s all-time leading goal scorer with 42 for his career, all during his tenure with the Charleston Battery. The Rangers begin the new season with Sporting Academy product and midfielder Christian Duke as the team’s captain.
The Timbers 2’s Kharlton Belmar is coming off a stellar campaign that featured 12 goals and three assists on his way to winning 2015 USL Rookie of the Year. Andrew Gregor prepares for his first season at T2 Head Coach.
MILESTONES
– Four of the USL’s top five all-time leading goal scorers return for the 2015 USL season. They include the Swope Park Rangers’ Dane Kelly (No. 1, 42 goals), Richmond Kickers’ Matthew Delicate (No. 2, 41 goals), Louisville City FC’s George Davis IV (tied for No. 4, 33 goals) and the Charlotte Independence’s Jorge Herrera (tied for No. 4, 33 goals).
– The Charleston Battery hold the league’s longest current home unbeaten streak at 25 games, posting a 16-0-9 record during their stretch, which includes the 2015 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal win against the Richmond Kickers. The team’s last home defeat occurred on May 10, 2014, a 1-0 loss to Wilmington Hammerheads FC. Charleston will put that streak on the line on Saturday when it hosts 2016 expansion side FC Cincinnati (7:30 p.m. ET kickoff).
– Two goalkeepers coming off milestone seasons prepare for play this weekend. New Orange County Blues FC goalkeeper Brandon Miller, the 2015 USL Goalkeeper of the Year with the Rochester Rhinos, set single-season league records in shutouts (13) and lowest goals-against average (0.54). Miller and the Blues host Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 on Saturday at Anteater Stadium (10 p.m. ET). Arizona United SC goalkeeper Carl Woszczynski, who goes on the road to face the LA Galaxy II on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET), set a single-season record last year with 130 saves.
OTHER NEWS AND NOTES
– Aside from the OKC-Colorado Springs matchup, the only other weekend matchup of two squads from the 2015 USL Playoffs features Seattle Sounders FC 2 hosting Sacramento Republic FC on Friday at Starfire Stadium (10:30 p.m. ET kickoff). Seattle will be shorthanded with striker Myron Samuel on international duty with St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Sacramento, which now features 2015 USL Goalkeeper of the Year finalist Evan Newton, looks to return to the championship form of 2014. Republic FC’s 2015 postseason ended with a 1-0 loss to the LA Galaxy II in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, while Seattle’s first advancement to the USL Playoffs also was abrupt with a loss to Colorado Springs in the quarterfinal round, as well.
– The New York Red Bulls II, who advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season in their first campaign, open their new season against an opponent they have beaten on both occasions. NYRB II hosts Toronto FC II at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday and will attempt to improve to 3-0-0 against the Canadian side. New York outscored Toronto by a combined 6-1 margin last year.
– Fellow second-year sides the Charlotte Independence and Louisville City FC prepare for the new season at Charlotte’s Ramblewood Soccer Complex on Saturday (7 p.m. ET kickoff). City’s first league campaign included a 14-6-6 regular-season record and a run to the Eastern Conference Final, where they fell to eventual league champions the Rochester Rhinos. The Independence are coming off a 10-8-10 season, just missing out of the postseason with a seventh-place finish in the Eastern Conference.
– Real Monarchs SLC enters this year with a six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) to cap off the 2015 season. The Monarchs host Saint Louis FC at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium. Saint Louis switches to the Western Conference this season after posting an 8-11-9 record last year in the Eastern Conference.
– The LA Galaxy II host Arizona United SC at 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at StubHub Center’s Track & Field Stadium. Los Dos advanced to the USL Championship last season, dropping a 2-1 heartbreaker in overtime to the Rochester Rhinos. Curt Onalfo’s side advanced to its second consecutive postseason last year, posting playoff wins against Sacramento Republic FC (1-0), Orange County Blues FC (2-0) and OKC Energy FC (2-1) in succession. Arizona brought in two-time MLS Coach of the Year Frank Yallop to guide the organization this season.
For the 2016 USL Media Guide click here.
Source/Photo Credit: Courtesy of the USL