According to this article from the New York Times its quite possible that within a few years MLS could expand to a total of 20 teams. Currently the Seattle Sounders will begin play next season and the Philadelphia team the following season. It has already been announced that 2 more teams will be added for the 2011 season and now it seem that MLS might add 2 more teams on top of that. Click to continue reading...

Toronto FC's slump continued last night as they only managed a 1-1 tie against the USL's Montreal Impact. With the point, the Impact won the Nutrilite Canadian Championship and earned a trip to the CONCACAF Champions League Cup, which begins next month.

Now the question is will this win have an effect on a possible move to MLS by Montreal? Click to continue reading...

Last night is the perfect example of why I enjoy the US Open Cup so much. Seeing all these underweight teams try to out punch MLS sides really is enjoyable. Sure, the MLS teams see this as little more then a reserves match, but it is still good fun.

As bad as it is that MLS teams dropped three of the eight games last night, it is actually much better then last season when five top teams fell. Click to continue reading...

The second round of the US Open Cup is in the books and yet again the biggest factor is which team is in the higher division. During the first round, only one lower division team pulled off an upset, resulting in a 15-1 run for higher level clubs. Last night saw the higher division squad take 4 and lose 1, while 3 games involved clubs of the same level. Click to continue reading...

Seven years after MLS folded the Tampa Bay Mutiny, a move that caused many to predict the sudden demise of the league, professional soccer is returning thanks to a new USL First Division squad. The new team will begin play next season.

This announcement comes one day after 'Hillsborough County commissioners gave limited approval to building a $15 million soccer complex and stadium at a site to be determined' but a spokesperson for the team says the two are unrelated as the owners want to build their own stadium in northwest Tampa. Click to continue reading...

The longest running club cup competition in American soccer roars back to life again tonight as the first round of the US Open Cup kicks off. Thirty-two teams from across the county have earned the right to play in this opening night. These teams range from the rag-tag best of the adult leagues to the, "hay we are only one level below MLS" USL First Division. Click to continue reading...

The endless talk of MLS expansion is a fun game, but it is not the only one it town. The USL-First Division is also looking at increasing their numbers, which brings us to Edmond (just north of Oklahoma City), Oklahoma.

The league recently sent a letter to the mayor concerning their interesting in placing a team in the city for 2009, they just need to find some interested investors. Click to continue reading...

Austin, Texas is the home to the newest USL First-Division expansion team, the Austin Aztex. The new club will begin play in 2009 and is also owned by Phil Rawlins. Rawlins also owns Stoke City FC who play in the English Championship League. Not surprisingly, the two teams will work together as far as players are concerned. Click to continue reading...

Fox Soccer Channel will air 28 USL games in 2008 starting April 25. Of these games 25 will be USL First Division (22 regular season/3 post). The three other games will be the title matches for the W-League, PDL and USL Second Division (all of which will be in August).

Here is the full list of TV Broadcasts (all times ET):
Friday April 25 Montreal @ Atlanta 8:00 pm
Friday May 2 Seattle @ Atlanta 8:00 pm
Friday May 9 Miami @ Charleston 8:00 pm
Friday May 16 Minnesota @ Atlanta 8:00 pm
Friday May 23 Seattle @ Vancouver 11:00 pm
Friday May 30 Portland @ Montreal 8:00 pm

Friday June 6 Puerto Rico @ Atlanta 8:00 pm
Friday June 13 Vancouver @ Rochester 8:00 pm
Friday June 20 Minnesota @ Charleston 8:00 pm
Friday June 27 Portland @ Carolina 8:00 pm

Friday July 4 Puerto Rico @ Miami 8:00 pm
Friday July 11 Seattle @ Rochester 8:00 pm
Friday July 18 Miami @ Montreal 8:00 pm
Friday July 25 Montreal @ Rochester 8:00 pm

Friday August 1 Vancouver @ Carolina 8:00 pm
Sunday August 3 W-League Championship TBD
Thursday August 7 Seattle @ Portland 11:00 pm
Saturday August 9 PDL Championship TBD
Friday August 15 Miami @ Carolina 8:00 pm
Friday August 22 Portland @ Vancouver 11:00 pm
Saturday August 23 USL Second Division Championship TBD
Friday August 29 Puerto Rico @ Charleston 8:00 pm

Friday September 5 Minnesota @ Montreal 8:00 pm
Friday September 12 Puerto Rico @ Rochester 8:00 pm
Friday September 19 Carolina @ Charleston 8:00 pm
Sunday September 28 USL-1 Quarterfinals - Second leg TBD

Sunday October 5 USL-1 Semifinals - Second leg TBD
Saturday October 11 USL First Division Championship TBD Click to continue reading...

If Seattle lands an expansion team as expected, the Sounders might end up staying in the USL. What that means is the MLS team might not take the name Sounders with them and if they do not, at least one member of the Sounders' ownership group want to keep the team alive.

Robin Waite would be willing to build a soccer specific stadium in Poulsbo (a city on the Kitsap Peninsula, which is located on the west side of the Puget Sound), for a new version of the Sounders. Click to continue reading...

The 2007 regular season is over and the attendance numbers look good. The league average for the year is 16,485 per game, which is a significant jump from 2006's 15,518 and 2005's 15,108. Actually, 2007 represents the best average since the inaugural run in 1996.

Home AttendanceTeamHGTotalAvgBest vsWorst vsHRLA15363,78224,25227,000*19,225 RSL 6/176-6-3TFC15301,90620,12720,522 LA 8/0519,123 HD 5/165-7-3DC15293,55419,57046,686 LA 8/0912,908 NE 5/0310-2-3NE15251,13216,74235,402 LA 8/129,508 CF 5/068-3-4NY15247,94816,53066,237 LA 8/187,802 CR 5/139-3-3CF15247,35616,49021,374 LA 10/2110,115 CC 6/036-3-6RSL15239,39515,96024,633 LA 9/1913,003 HD 8/044-7-4HD15238,24015,88330,588 LA 10/0711,114 TFC 7/158-3-4FCD15227,18215,14520,500**9,165 NE 4/297-5-3CC15226,70615,11322,555 LA 9/3010,254 KC 6/205-5-5CV15226,22715,08227,000***8,756 FCD 5/2610-1-4CR15221,22914,74918,458 LA 5/2610,677 NE 8/166-4-5KC15173,78411,58632,867 LA 9/277,101 CR 7/225-3-2HG: Number of Home Games, HR: Home Record
* LA reached 27,000 six times - 4/28 CV, 8/23 CV, 9/01 RSL, 9/23 FCD, 10/13 HD & 10/18 NY
** FC Dallas reached 20,500 twice - 4/22 CR & 10/20 KC
*** Chivas USA reached 27,000 twice - 5/20 LA & 9/29 CF

Nothing overly surprising from these numbers. Click to continue reading...

If Saturday night's championship match against Atlanta was indeed the final match of the Sounders in USL play, what a way to go out. They took their fourth title with an impressive 4-0 win over the Silverbacks.

Interestingly, as the players were celebrating their victory on the pitch, the fans chanted 'one more year' in reference to the rumor of the team going dark for the 2008 season. Click to continue reading...

Major League Soccer is coming to Seattle starting in 2009!

According to Ives Galarcep, the league will announce Seattle as their 15th team in two-weeks. As part of the move, the USL First Divison's Seattle Sounders will stop playing after this Saturday's championship match against the Atlanta Silverbacks (the link says Puerto Rico but that is who the Sounders beat to get to the final). Click to continue reading...

Admit it, at some point in your life you thought about owner a profession soccer team, but with the millions it takes to get involved with the MLS and billions it takes to be a player overseas, you never thought it would happen. But wait, if you have an extra $100, your dream can come true.

Last year there was a great deal of excitement when San Francisco was awarded a USL-First Division team. Click to continue reading...

Harrisburg City Islanders (USL-2) 1-2 NE Revolution (MLS)
The US Open Cup quarterfinals are over and the New England Revolution have moved on to the semifinals for the first time in six years.

The Revs jumped out to a 2-goal lead by the quarter hour mark thanks to goals by Andy Dorman and Taylor Twellman, but the Islanders didn't surrender and in the 78' they got one back. Click to continue reading...

The US Open Cup Quarter-final round gets under way tonight with three games on the schedule. The big question going into the action is will the MLS clubs produce. After going 3 for 8 in the last round, they are under pressure to make something happen. However, if results so far are any indication of how things will turn out, it might be a difficult run for the top league in the country. Click to continue reading...

Chivas USA 1-3 Seattle Sounders
The woeful work of MLS clubs in the US Open Cup continued last night as Chivas USA were thrown from the tournament by a Sounders team managed to make the most of everything they got. Much like in MLS play, the goats failed on the road because they could not create anything out of what they were handed. They out shot the Sounder and controlled the ball for significant stretches of the match, but they couldn't make Seattle sweat. Click to continue reading...

The third round of the US Open Cup kicked off last night and there was almost a huge upset. The Atlanta Silverbacks traveled to Dallas and played the MLS team to a 1-1 tie through 120-minutes thanks in large part to the goalkeeping work of Ryan McIntosh. Making this tie even more amazing, Atlanta played the last 40-minutes a man down.

The game came down to kicks and sadly for the Silverbacks, their sixth attempt went high. Click to continue reading...