UNITED SOCCER LEAGUES (USL)
The Whitecaps Men, Women and Youth teams play in the United Soccer Leagues (USL), the largest system of national soccer leagues in North America. Top players follow a development pipeline Pyramid from Y-League at the foundation to the First Division (Men's) and W-League (Women's) at the peak.
THE USL STORY
USL’s historic evolution from its inception as the Southwest Indoor Soccer League in 1986 has undertaken numerous grand and often imposing endeavors, including a tour of the Soviet Union in 1990 with an All-Star group of players from the SISL indoor and outdoor clubs. Its history includes the launching of an outdoor league in a time when the success of such a venture was slim. When the outdoor risk proved to be victorious, the league took another risk by introducing an elite women’s league. And it has all occurred under the vision of building the base for higher levels of play first and foremost.
1986... GENESIS: THE BEGINNING
Former Tampa Bay Rowdies and Dallas Tornado executive Francisco Marcos decides to start a regional indoor soccer league, the Southwest Indoor Soccer League, or SISL, based in Texas. He signs three teams from Texas and one each from Oklahoma and New Mexico. The original members of the SISL are the Garland Genesis, Lubbock Lazers, Amarillo Challengers, Oklahoma City Warriors and Albuquerque Outlaws.
1987... THE FIRST EXPANSION
The Austin Sockadillos, founded by Marcos, became the first expansion team in USL history in 1987, bringing the league to a total of six teams for the 1987-88 season. The team was co-owned by Tatu, who was fondly referred to as the Fantastic Armadillo by Marcos, of NASL and MISL fame. In honor of the great player, the team was named Sockadillos with a posterized cartoon version Tatu, which is Brazilian for armadillo.
1988... OUTDOOR ON THE HORIZON
Change is the name of the game and the league is no different than its teams. The SISL acronym remains, but it stands for Southwest Independent Soccer League. The name change was necessitated because you can't call yourself an indoor soccer player when you venture outdoors. Less than three years after its founding and only a half a decade since the demise of the NASL, the SISL prepares for the giant step back into the great outdoors, embracing the game as it is played throughout the rest of the world.
1989... THE GREAT OUTDOORS
The Southwest Independent Soccer League hits the outdoors for the first time in the league's history in 1989. The league actually goes by the name Southwest Outdoor Soccer League (SOSL) briefly to differentiate the two leagues.
1990... BLANKETING THE SUNBELT
The Colorado Comets become the first team to win both the indoor and outdoor championships, claiming their second straight outdoor crown in 1990 and the 1990-91 indoor championship in just their second year of existence.
1991... UNITED THROUGH GROWTH
Seventeen teams compete in the 1991 outdoor season, with the now-familiar litany of name changes. The Atlanta Steamers become the Quicksilver, New Mexico is now the Chiles and El Paso abandons a short-lived Spurs moniker for Patriots in honor of the Gulf War Scud-busting missiles, which protected many of the El Paso-based soldiers overseas, following an ownership change.
1992... SIZZLIN’ COAST TO COAST
The United States Interregional Soccer League’s continued growth stretches to Florida and the Pacific, where the Palo Alto Firebirds would become the first rookie-club to win a title.
1993... DYNAMITE SEASON
Explosion in outdoor membership occurs for the first time, doubling the size of the outdoor league from 21 to 43 for the 1993 season.
1994... D3 PRO LEAGUE BORN
Although the Pro League, as it was known in 1995 and 1996, would not be formed until the following outdoor season, USISL was given Division III status from the United States Soccer Federation. Exactly half of the league’s 72 teams choose to turn professional with the amateur teams still eligible to compete in the Sizzlin’ Nine Championship through the USSF’s permission.
1995... W-LEAGUE DEBUTS
In addition to the splitting of the outdoor league into two levels, pro and premier, the league introduces the W-League officially in 1995 after a successful trial run during the summer of ‘94.
1996... SIZZLIN WITH THE SELECT
Reaching its 10th Anniversary with much success over the years, USL celebrates by designing and launching the final element of the developmental pyramid by creating the Select League. The Select League, a higher level of Division III at the time, was granted Division II status for the upcoming 1997 season by USSF, an action that would have far-reaching effects for soccer in North America in the near future. The Select League was just another selling point for USL as it came to an agreement with Major League Soccer, which made its debut in ‘96, to serve as a player development system for the Division I league.
1997... A-LEAGUE JOINS THE FOLD
Although the A-League was producing successful players of its own, it was inevitable that it would either disappear as the turn of the century neared or find a medium with USL. In October of 1996 the two leagues got together; and in 1997, history was made with the merger that would finalize the USL soccer dynasty. The two leagues, although taking separate paths in their ventures over the years, came together after 10 years of co-existence.
The new-age A-League was a compilation of the 1996 A-League clubs and a number of highly regarded teams from the now obsolete Select League as well as a few D3 Pro League and PDL teams.
Two former Select League teams met in the first USL A-League championship with the Miwaukee Rampage defeating the Carolina Dynamo in a shootout. After the second overtime finished tied at 1-1, Rampage goalkeeper Carmine Isacco made two saves as he blanked the Dynamo in the shootout for the championship.
With the addition of the A-League as the focal point of the season, it was the D3 Pro League and former PDL San Francisco Bay Seals making the headlines and stealing the spotlight. The Seals became the first cinderella team to make a run in the U.S. Open Cup since the debut of MLS. The D3 Seals first knocked off the ‘95 and ‘96 A-League champion Seattle Sounders before upsetting MLS’ Kansas City Wizards, 2-1, and the San Jose Clash, by the same 2-1 score, to reach the semi-finals of the tournament. The run continued until they fell in a shootout, after tying the defending Open Cup and two-time MLS champion D.C. United, 1-1, through regulation and overtime.
The Albuquerque Geckos, with two goals and an assist from Luis Labastida, defeated the Charlotte Eagles, 4-1, for the ‘97 D3 championship on their home turf. The ‘97 PDL Finals host Central Coast Roadrunners repeated as champions with a narrow 2-1 victory over the Cocoa Expos and the Long Island Lady Riders became the first team to win two W-League Championships with a 2-1 shootout victory over Chicago. The Lady Riders’ Kim Wyant allowed one goal in the nine-round shootout.
1998... W GOES TWO FOR ONE
Continued growth and success prompted USL to divide the elite women’s league into two levels in 1998, forming W-1 and W-2. Teams in the two leagues would continue playing interleague games for travel-purposes but the mission was simple. If multiple levels worked for the men’s side of the sport, there was no reason why it shouldn’t for the women’s side.
The W-League, which saw numerous current and future U.S. National Team players gracing the field in its uniforms went on to a spectacular ‘98 season, in which the Raleigh Wings won their first of two consecutive championships in W-1 and the Fort Collins Force captured the first W-2 title. The Wings, with a strong contingent of powerhouse Univ. of North Carolina players, edged the hometown Boston Renegades in a high-scoring 4-3 championship match. Fort Collins, however, handily defeated the Hampton Roads Piranhas, 3-1, behind Maren Hendershot’s two goals.
The Rochester Raging Rhinos continued their dominant role on and off the field. On the field, Rochester stomped through the regular season with a league-best 24-4 record. The Raging Rhinos allowed just six goals in their six playoff games that concluded with a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Thunder, who would return the favor in ‘99, for the A-League championship.
The Chicago Stingers won their first of the franchise’s three consecutive league titles in ‘98 by erasing a two-goal halftime deficit to defeat the New Hampshire Phantoms, 3-2, in overtime. Chicago, regrouping as the Sockers in the PDL in ‘99, would go on to win the PDL championship in their two seasons in the league.
In 1998, the San Gabriel Valley Highlanders, who reached the semi-finals in ‘97, gave the Southwest Division its third consecutive PDL championship by knocking off the previously undefeated Jackson Chargers, 3-2, in the Final. The Highlanders retained the crown won by the Central Coast Roadrunners in ‘96 and ‘97.
1999... A NEW LOOK : USL
With two successful years following the merger -- a landmark moment in the system’s history -- and the new millennium on the horizon, the organization underwent its final image change, creating United Soccer Leagues.
Marking the occasion was the long-awaited birth of the Super Y-League, adding the first level in the North American soccer development pyramid. Its debut was not grand in size at 25 teams, but was a tremendous success as the number of teams tripled the following year.
Stealing the spotlight from the Super Y-League however, were the A-League’s Rochester Raging Rhinos, who stunned the nation with a remarkable run in the U.S. Open Cup. The Raging Rhinos defeated four straight Major League Soccer teams to become the first non-MLS team to claim the Dewar Cup since the First Division league’s inception.
The Minnesota Thunder prevented the Rhinos from winning the double, though, capturing the A-League title with a 3-1 victory at the National Sports Center.
The second-year Western Mass Pioneers defeated Northern Conference rival South Jersey Barons, 2-1, to win the D3 Pro League title and the Chicago Sockers handed the Spokane Shadow a 3-1 loss to claim their first of two consecutive PDL National Championships before a Shadow-record crowd of 3,843.
The Raleigh Wings and Chicago Cobras battled to the bitter end with the Raleigh Wings capturing their second straight W-1 title in a shootout after the match finished tied, 2-2.
The North Texas Heat were level, 1-1, with the W-2 National Championship host Springfield Sirens at halftime, but broke the game open with four goals in an 18-minute span in the second half to capture the title.
Eight teams gathered for the Super Y-League’s inaugural U14 and U15 Finals. The Atlanta Fire swept the U14 tournament to capture the league’s first U14 championship. The Central Jersey Riptide won the U15 crown as well by sweeping through the U15 tournament.
2000... HISTORY ON THE FIELD
Minnesota-Rochester III capped off the 2002 season with the Raging Rhinos reclaiming the A-League title with a 3-1 victory in front of 14,276 fans at Frontier Field.
The story of the year may have been the stunning upsets in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup by the PDL's Chicago Sockers and Mid Michigan Bucks over the Kansas City Wizards and New England Revolution, respectively. The Sockers downed Kansas City in penalty kicks of a scoreless match while the Bucks stunned the Revs on the road 1-0, scoring two minutes into stoppage time.
The Charlotte Eagles took the D3 Pro League crown in convincing fashion by handing the regular season champion New Jersey Stallions a 5-0 loss in front of 5,350 fans in Charlotte. The club's success led to promotion to the A-League for the following season.
Bret Hall continued to work his magic, leading the Sockers to their second straight PDL title with a 1-0 win over the Bucks in the championship game. The championship was his third consecutive for the franchise, which played in the D3 Pro League as the Stingers in 1998.
In the W-League, the Raleigh Wings were finally dethroned as W-1 Champions by the Chicago Cobras. Chicago, who had lost in shootouts the previous year to Raleigh and in 1995 to Long Island, came out victorious in the tiebreaker, ending Raleigh's two-year championship run. The W-2 title went to the Springfield Sirens, who denied Charlotte a sweep of men's and women's titles. Springfield breezed through the season with an 11-1 mark and captured the title against the Charlotte Lady Eagles with a 2-1 victory.
The Super Y-League exploded in growth in its second season, growing from 16 teams to 75 for 2000.
2001... CANADIANS THWARTED
The Canadian members of USL showed a lot of promise for an unprecedented year of success with the Calgary Storm, Vancouver Breakers and Vancouver Whitecaps playing well.
The expansion Storm flew through their PDL season, suffering just two losses en route to the Regular Season Championship. Goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld was the clear favorite for Goalkeeper of the Year and nearly propelled the club to the title. The Westchester Flames, who finished Third the year before did not want any part of the Canadian glory and defeated the Storm 3-1 in Des Moines for the PDL Championship.
With one Canadian dream dashed, the Breakers quickly picked up the flag and continued on a path to to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The path led the 12-1-1 side to the W-1 Championships in Virginia Beach, but a severe thunderstorm washed away the rejoicing that was to be as the Boston Renegades proved capable of waiting out the two-hour delay that cancelled the Third Place Game and virtually vacated the stadium with no outlook for clear weather. Once the storm broke, however, it was all Boston in a 5-1 game.
Nearly a month later, the Breakers’ counterpart squad started their A-League postseason after claiming the regular season Western Conference title and a first round bye with a 16-8-2 mark. The Whitecaps received an early scare falling behind San Diego in the first leg 2-0, but rebounded with a 4-1 win at home. Unfortunately for the Whitecaps, Hershey’s vaunted defense and inpenetrable goalkeeper were next up. Home field advantage turned horribly against the Vancouver, falling at home to the Wildcats in the first leg 4-0, virtually assuring the upcoming elimination in Hershey. Although Vancouver’s season was over, the club managed to grab a victory, albeit bitter, with a 1-0 win at Hershey.
The Rochester Rhinos went on to claim the A-League crown and it was the Charlotte Eagles in their second straight W-2 Final that claimed a championship. The Utah Blitzz capped a remarkable season off with a narrow 1-0 win over the upstart Greenville Lions in the D3 Pro League Championship.
2002... RENEGADES AND THE MENACE
Two clubs from USL’s amateur leagues dominated the scene in 2002 with the Boston Renegades capturing their second straight W-League championship and the Des Moines Menace recording only the third undefeated season in USL amateur outdoor history in the Premier Development League.
The Renegades torched their opponents over the course of the season for 55 goals, suffering just one loss on the road to the Memphis Mercury, 5-4. Their dominance continued into the postseason, winning the Eastern Conference easily to advance to the W-League Championship tournament in Vancouver. Boston defeated the Denver Lady Cougars 2-1 in the semifinals and shutout the 2001 W-2 champion Charlotte Lady Eagles in the final 3-0 with two goals from Erin O’Grady.
The Menace also cruised through the regular season with a few close games that resulted in three draws on their 15-0-3 record. Des Moines led the league in goals with 68 on the season, 17 more than the second place Tampa Bay Hawks. The 19 goals allowed total also ranked tied for third in the league. Poised for a run for the league title, the Menace were stunned at home 3-1 in the conference semifinals by the Mid Michigan Bucks, who grabbed headlines for their play against higher level opponents in previous years.
The Milwaukee Rampage were the top club in the A-League in 2002, winning the league title and advancing the furthest in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Milwaukee defeated the Richmond Kickers 2-1 in double overtime at home for the A-League championship and handed the Chicago Fire a 1-0 loss to become the only USL team to advance to the US Open Cup quarterfinals.
In a neck-and-neck Atlantic Conference race, the Long Island Rough Riders finished first and then advanced to the league semifinals in a 2-2 match against the New York Freedoms decided by penalty kicks (5-2). Long Island then blanked the Connecticut Wolves 3-0 to move onto the final, where they defeated the Wilmington Hammerheads in a 2-1 come from behind win on the road.
2003... FINALLY CLAIMING THE PRIZE
The 2003 season saw three of USL’s top clubs finally raise their league’s championship trophy after years of success while the Cape Cod Crusaders repeated as PDL champions.
The Charleston Battery had been the envy of nearly everyone in the A-League for their pearl of a stadium, Blackbaud - the nation's first privately funded soccer-specific stadium. The club was still missing something to complete the stadium, an A-League championship cup. The Battery finally took care of business in the postseason by downing the perennial power Rochester Rhinos in the conference finals series and downing the Minnesota Thunder, 3-0, in impressive fashion at Blackbaud in the championship.
The PSL’s Wilmington Hammerheads returned to the final for the second straight year and came away victorious at home, where they had fallen the year before. This time, the Hammerheads prevailed, edging the Westchester Flames 2-1 in double overtime on a stormy night at the Legion Sports Complex. Wilmington also saw success in the US Open Cup, reaching the Quarterfinals with an upset win over the A-League’s Atlanta Silverbacks, 2-1, and a stunning 4-1 win over the Dallas Burn of MLS. Three days after winning the league title, the club narrowly fell to DC United, 1-0.
The Hampton Roads Piranhas, one of the two inaugural W-League clubs along with Long Island, became only the third W-League team to win the championship with an unbeaten record. The club swept its way through the regular season schedule at 12-0 before playing host to the championship tournament. The Piranhas opened with a 4-1 win over Seattle in the semifinals to face the Chicago Cobras, the last club to go unbeaten on their way to the title, going 15-0 before winning in penalty kicks in the final against the Raleigh Wings.
Chicago and Hampton Roads battled to the end of regulation scoreless, sending the championship to overtime. Six minutes into the extra frame, Nigerian National Team forward Mercy Akide struck home the game-winner for Hampton Roads, making them only the second club to win the title with a perfect mark. Raleigh accomplished the feat with a 17-0 record in 1998.
