2007 United Soccer Leagues
The 2007 Season is the 21st edition of the United Soccer Leagues season.
The season kicked off on Friday, April 13 when the 2006 league runners-up Rochester Raging Rhinos traveled to the Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium in Bayamón to take on the Puerto Rico Islanders.
General
- Two new teams join the First Division: the California Victory (San Francisco, CA), and the Carolina RailHawks (Cary, NC).
- The Virginia Beach Mariners franchise was terminated by the league.
- The Toronto Lynx depart the First Division for the Premier Development League (PDL).
- Three new teams join the Second Division: the Bermuda Hogges (Hamilton, Bermuda), the Cleveland City Stars, and Crystal Palace Baltimore.
- The Long Island Rough Riders depart the Second Division for the PDL.
- The Pittsburgh Riverhounds will be on hiatus during 2007 to reorganize.
- Many new teams join the PDL, for a complete list see here.
Honors
| Competition | Champion | Runner-Up | Regular Season Champion/Best USL team |
|---|---|---|---|
| USL First Division | Seattle Sounders | Atlanta Silverbacks | Seattle Sounders |
| USL Second Division | Harrisburg City Islanders | Richmond Kickers | Richmond Kickers |
| USL PDL | Laredo Heat | Michigan Bucks | Hampton Roads Piranhas |
| U.S. Open Cup | New England Revolution (MLS) | FC Dallas (MLS) | Carolina Railhawks/Seattle Sounders |
Standings
First Division
The schedule was not a balanced home and away affair; to make up the four extra games to total 28, each team played their four geographically closest competitors. The playoff format was changed to qualify eight instead of six teams; therefore the first and second league champions obtained seeding to determine home field advantage instead of a first round bye as in previous seasons. The previous bidding to host between the two playoff finalists for the one game cup final was discontinued for this season.[1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Sounders (C, X) | 28 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 37 | 23 | +14 | 54 | Quarterfinal round of playoffs |
| 2 | Portland Timbers | 28 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 32 | 18 | +14 | 51 | |
| 3 | Montreal Impact | 28 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 32 | 21 | +11 | 50 | Quarterfinal round of playoffs and CONCACAF Champions League[lower-alpha 1] |
| 4 | Atlanta Silverbacks | 28 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 40 | 30 | +10 | 43 | Quarterfinal round of playoffs |
| 5 | Rochester Raging Rhinos | 28 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 39 | 36 | +3 | 42 | |
| 6 | Puerto Rico Islanders | 28 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 35 | 34 | +1 | 40 | |
| 7 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 28 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 27 | 24 | +3 | 39 | |
| 8 | Carolina RailHawks | 28 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 24 | 34 | −10 | 32 | |
| 9 | Miami FC | 28 | 9 | 15 | 4 | 31 | 41 | −10 | 31 | |
| 10 | Charleston Battery | 28 | 8 | 14 | 6 | 32 | 39 | −7 | 30 | |
| 11 | Minnesota Thunder | 28 | 5 | 12 | 11 | 32 | 35 | −3 | 26 | |
| 12 | California Victory | 28 | 4 | 17 | 7 | 17 | 43 | −26 | 19 |
- As 2008 Canadian Championship winner
Playoffs
| Quarterfinals September 14/16 | Semifinals September 21/23 | Final September 29 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Seattle Sounders | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| 8 | Carolina RailHawks | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Seattle Sounders (p) | 2 | 1 | 3 (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | Puerto Rico Islanders | 1 | 2 | 3 (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Montreal Impact | 3 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | Puerto Rico Islanders | 2 | 3 | 5 | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Seattle Sounders | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Atlanta Silverbacks | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Atlanta Silverbacks | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Rochester Raging Rhinos | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Atlanta Silverbacks (p) | 1 | 0 | 1 (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Portland Timbers | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Portland Timbers | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| 7 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
Quarterfinals
| Montreal Impact | 3–2 | Puerto Rico Islanders |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Puerto Rico Islanders | 3–0 | Montreal Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Puerto Rico Islanders won 5–3 on Aggregate.
| Carolina Railhawks | 0–2 | Seattle Sounders |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Seattle Sounders | 1–0 | Carolina Railhawks |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Seattle Sounders won 3–0 on Aggregate.
| Atlanta Silverbacks | 2–1 | Rochester Raging Rhinos |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Rochester Raging Rhinos | 1–1 | Atlanta Silverbacks |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Atlanta Silverbacks won 3–2 on Aggregate.
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 1–0 | Portland Timbers |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Portland Timbers | 3–0 | Vancouver Whitecaps |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Portland Timbers won 3–1 on Aggregate.
Semifinals
| Puerto Rico Islanders | 1–2 | Seattle Sounders |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Seattle Sounders | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Puerto Rico Islanders |
|---|---|---|
|
Report | |
| Penalties | ||
| 4–2 | ||
Seattle Sounders won 4–2 on penalties after tying 3–3 on Aggregate.
| Portland Timbers | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | Atlanta Silverbacks |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| 1–3 |  Ríos Rivillo Kandji Ukah |
|
Atlanta Silverbacks won 3–1 on penalties after tying 1–1 on Aggregate.
Final
| Seattle Sounders | 4–0 | Atlanta Silverbacks |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Awards and All-League Teams
First Team
F: Dan Antoniuk (Atlanta Silverbacks); Hamed Diallo (Rochester Raging Rhinos); Sebastien Le Toux (Seattle Sounders) (MVP & Co-Leading Goalscorer)
M: Stephen Armstrong (Charleston Battery); Andrew Gregor (Portland Timbers); Martin Nash (Vancouver Whitecaps); Zinho (Miami FC)
D: Gabriel Gervais (Montreal Impact); David Hayes (Atlanta Silverbacks) (Defender of the Year); Cameron Knowles (Portland Timbers)
G: Josh Wicks (Portland Timbers) (Goalkeeper of the Year)
Coach: Gavin Wilkinson (Portland Timbers) (Coach of the Year)
Second Team
F: Charles Gbeke (Montreal Impact) (Co-Leading Goalscorer); Roger Levesque (Seattle Sounders)
M: Leonardo Di Lorenzo (Montreal Impact); Brian Farber (Minnesota Thunder); Kupono Low (Carolina RailHawks); Johnny Menyongar (Rochester Raging Rhinos)
D: Taylor Graham (Seattle Sounders); Steve Klein (Vancouver Whitecaps); Scot Thompson (Portland Timbers); Marco Velez (Puerto Rico Islanders)
G: Matt Jordan (Montreal Impact)
Second Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond Kickers | 20 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 37 | 15 | +22 | 41 | Regular season champion |
| 2 | Cleveland City Stars | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 31 | 14 | +17 | 39 | Playoff berth clinched |
| 3 | Harrisburg City Islanders (C) | 20 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 26 | 15 | +11 | 38 | |
| 4 | Charlotte Eagles | 20 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 40 | 29 | +11 | 35 | |
| 5 | Crystal Palace Baltimore | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 27 | 20 | +7 | 32 | |
| 6 | Western Mass Pioneers | 20 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 25 | 26 | −1 | 27 | |
| 7 | Wilmington Hammerheads | 20 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 30 | −8 | 19 | |
| 8 | Cincinnati Kings | 20 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 29 | 41 | −12 | 17 | |
| 9 | New Hampshire Phantoms | 20 | 3 | 12 | 5 | 16 | 34 | −18 | 13[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 10 | Bermuda Hogges | 20 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 16 | 45 | −29 | 12 |
- New Hampshire was penalized 1 point for circumstances not released by the USL.
Playoffs
| Semifinals August 18, 7:00 EDT | Final August 25, 8:00 EDT | ||||||||
| 1 | Richmond Kickers (a.e.t.) | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | Charlotte Eagles | 1 | |||||||
| 1 | Richmond Kickers | 1 (7) | |||||||
| 3 | Harrisburg City Islanders (p) | 1 (8) | |||||||
| 2 | Cleveland City Stars | 0 | |||||||
| 3 | Harrisburg City Islanders (a.e.t.) | 1 | |||||||
Semifinals
| Cleveland City Stars | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | Harrisburg City Islanders |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Final
Premier Development League
- See 2007 PDL Season
See also
References
- "Playoff format overhauled". The Vancouver Sun Newspaper. April 20, 2007. Archived from the original on May 30, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- "USL First Division 2007". USLsoccer.com. United Soccer Leagues. Archived from the original on December 18, 2007. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- "USL Second Division 2007". USLsoccer.com. United Soccer Leagues. Archived from the original on December 18, 2007. Retrieved April 8, 2020.