2019 USL Championship Playoffs
The 2019 USL Championship Playoffs was the postseason tournament following the 2019 USL Championship regular season. Including USL Pro history, it was the ninth postseason tournament. The tournament began on October 23 and ended with the USL Championship Final on November 17.
| Country | United States Canada | 
|---|---|
| Teams | 20 | 
| Defending champions | Louisville City FC | 
| Champions | Real Monarchs SLC | 
| Runners-up | Louisville City FC | 
| Matches played | 19 | 
| Goals scored | 65 (3.42 per match) | 
| Attendance | 102,391 (5,389 per match) | 
| Top goal scorer(s) | Neco Brett Magnus Rasmussen (4) | 
| ← 2018  2020 →  | |
The top 10 teams from each conference qualified for the playoffs. Each conference had a "Play-In round" where the 7 seed hosted the 10 seed and the 8 hosted the 9. The lowest remaining seed then played the 1 seed and the other play-in survivor played the 2 seed to form an 8-team playoff bracket. Each of the 8 team playoff brackets consisted of teams within their respective conference and the matches were hosted by the higher seed. The USL Cup will be the season's only match that involves teams from different conferences; it will be hosted by the conference champion with the better regular-season record.[1]
Phoenix Rising FC clinched the USL Championship regular season title on September 28 and earned the number one seed in the Western Conference.[2]
Conference standings
    
The top 10 teams from each conference advanced to the playoffs.
Bracket
    
| Eastern Conference Play-In October 23 | Eastern Conference Play-In October 23 | Western Conference Play-In October 23 | Western Conference Play-In October 23 | |||||||||||||||
| 7 | North Carolina FC | 2 | 8 | Ottawa Fury FC | 1 (4) | 7 | Sacramento Republic | 2 | 8 | Austin Bold FC | 2 | |||||||
| 10 | Birmingham Legion FC | 3 | 9 | Charleston Battery (pen.) | 1 (5) | 10 | New Mexico United | 1 | 9 | LA Galaxy II | 0 | |||||||
| Conference Quarterfinals October 26 | Conference Semifinals November 1–2 | Conference Final November 9 | USL Championship Final November 17 | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Birmingham Legion FC | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Louisville City FC (a.e.t.) | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Louisville City FC | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Louisville City FC (a.e.t.) | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Indy Eleven | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Indy Eleven | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | New York Red Bulls II | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Indy Eleven | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Nashville SC | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Nashville SC | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Charleston Battery | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Louisville City FC | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Real Monarchs SLC | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Phoenix Rising FC | 0 (8) | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Austin Bold FC | 0 (7) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Phoenix Rising FC | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Real Monarchs SLC | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Real Monarchs SLC | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Orange County SC | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Real Monarchs SLC (a.e.t.) | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | El Paso Locomotive FC | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Fresno FC | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | El Paso Locomotive FC | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | El Paso Locomotive FC | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Sacramento Republic | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Reno 1868 FC | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Sacramento Republic | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Schedule
    
    Conference Play-In Round
    
| October 23, 2019 East | North Carolina FC | 2–3 | Birmingham Legion FC | Cary, North Carolina | 
| 7:00 p.m. EDT | Albadawi  19',  40' Fortune  59',  61' | Report | Hollinger-Janzen  35' Herivaux  66' Williams  90+3' | Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 3,675 Referee: Tim Ford | 
| October 23, 2019 East | Ottawa Fury FC | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p) | Charleston Battery | Ottawa, Ontario | 
| 4:00 p.m. EDT | Samb  40' Fall  117' | Report | Higashi  27' Marini  116' Lewis  117' | Stadium: TD Place Stadium Attendance: 2,427 Referee: David Barrie | 
| Penalties | ||||
| Fall  Haworth  Barry  Samb  Thiago  |  Lewis  Bosua  Marini  Svantesson  van Schaik | |||
| October 23, 2019 West | Sacramento Republic FC | 2–1 | New Mexico United | Sacramento, California | 
| 4:00 p.m. EDT | Enevoldsen  44',  82' Alemán  45+3' Villarreal  67' Werner  90+3' | Report | Sandoval  1' Padilla  44' Wehan  64' Guzmán  69' Schmidt  90' | Stadium: Papa Murphy's Park Attendance: 9,907 Referee: Elton Garcia | 
| October 23, 2019 West | Austin Bold FC | 2–0 | LA Galaxy II | Austin, Texas | 
| 4:00 p.m. EDT | Twumasi  9',  76' Lima  32' Soto  49' McFarlane  54' Braafheid  60' | Report | Harvey  35' Hernández  76' Kamara  77' | Stadium: Bold Stadium Attendance: 2,656 Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr | 
Conference Quarterfinals
    
| October 26, 2019 East | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 7–0 | Birmingham Legion FC | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 
| 4:00 p.m. EDT | Brett  13', 27', 34' (pen.), 71' Fisher  17' (o.g.) Dover  45+1' Mertz  62' (pen.) Adewole  77' | Report | Culbertson  31' Lopez  41' Herivaux  61' | Stadium: Highmark Stadium Referee: Mark Allatin | 
| October 26, 2019 East | Nashville SC | 3–1 | Charleston Battery | Nashville, Tennessee | 
| 4:00 p.m. EDT | Moloto  10' King  38' Ríos  43' Ockford  77' Davis  85' Jones  88' | Report | Lewis  35' (pen.) | Stadium: First Tennessee Park Attendance: 6,253 Referee: Greg Dopka | 
| October 26, 2019 East | Indy Eleven | 1–0 | New York Red Bulls II | Indianapolis, Indiana | 
| 4:00 p.m. EDT | Ouimette  27' | Report | Stadium: Carroll Stadium Attendance: 5,175 Referee: Michael Radchuk | 
| October 26, 2019 East | Louisville City FC | 2–1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Louisville, Kentucky | 
| 7:00 p.m. EDT | Rasmussen  23', 24' Ownby  56' | Report | Ekra  40' Diakité  70' Guenzatti  80' | Stadium: Louisville Slugger Field Attendance: 4,636 Referee: Farhad Dadkho | 
| October 26, 2019 West | Phoenix Rising FC | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (8–7 p) | Austin Bold FC | Scottsdale, Arizona | 
| 7:30 p.m. MST | Lambert  70' Jahn  86' | Report | Soto  14' McFarlane  35' Guadarrama  68' de Villardi  95' | Stadium: Casino Arizona Field Attendance: 6,642 Referee: Elvis Osmanovic | 
| Penalties | ||||
| Flemmings  Bakero  Calistri  Lambert  Spencer  Farrell  Johnson  Dia  Cochran  |  Tyrpak  de Villardi  McFarlane  Soto  Braafheid  Okugo  Atuahene  Twumasi  Taylor | |||
| October 26, 2019 West | Reno 1868 FC | 1–3 | Sacramento Republic FC | Reno, Nevada | 
| 6:30 p.m. MDT | Hertzog  5' | Report | Werner  8' Iwasa  70' Taintor  73' Enevoldsen  75' Skundrich  84' | Stadium: Greater Nevada Field Attendance: 3,275 Referee: Malik Badawi | 
| October 26, 2019 West | Fresno FC | 2–3 | El Paso Locomotive FC | Fresno, California | 
| 7:30 p.m. PDT | Chaney  49' Strong  51'  86' Cooper  55' | Report | Gómez  19' Kiffe  77' Velásquez  83' (pen.) | Stadium: Chukchansi Park Attendance: 5,352 Referee: Lukasz Szpala | 
| October 26, 2019 West | Real Monarchs SLC | 6–2 | Orange County SC | Herriman, Utah | 
| 12:00 p.m. MDT | Chang  13' Martínez  28' Mulholland  34' Blake  59', 90' Schmitt  77' Holt  81' | Report | Orozco  35',  80' Forrester  40'  49' Hume  67' Seaton  90+1' | Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: 2,749 Referee: Ismir Pekmic | 
Conference Semifinals
    
| November 1, 2019 West | Phoenix Rising FC | 1–2 | Real Monarchs SLC | Scottsdale, Arizona | 
| 7:30 p.m. MST | Flemmings  25' Asante  47' | Report | Blake  33',  61' Chang  43' Powder  84' | Stadium: Casino Arizona Field Attendance: 7,548 Referee: Jon Freemon | 
| November 2, 2019 East | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Louisville City FC | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 
| 7:00 p.m. EDT | Vancaeyezeele  11' Greenspan  48' | Report | Spencer  51',  85' McMahon  54' Craig  70' DelPiccolo  118' | Stadium: Highmark Stadium Attendance: 6,073 Referee: Michael Radchuk | 
| November 2, 2019 East | Nashville SC | 0–1 | Indy Eleven | Nashville, Tennessee | 
| 7:00 p.m. CDT | Washington  24' LaGrassa  81' Ockford  90+2' | Report | Ayoze  22' Ouimette  24' Pasher  59' | Stadium: First Tennessee Park Attendance: 4,174 Referee: Elton García | 
| November 2, 2019 West | El Paso Locomotive FC | 3–0 | Sacramento Republic FC | El Paso, Texas | 
| 7:30 p.m. MDT | Beckie  25' Gómez  40' Ryan  70' Contreras  83' (pen.) Yuma  86' Velásquez  88' | Report | Alemán  51' Enevoldsen  70' Barahona  87' | Stadium: Southwest University Park Attendance: 7,460 Referee: Farhad Dadkho | 
Conference Finals
    
| November 9, 2019 East | Indy Eleven | 1–3 (a.e.t.) | Louisville City FC | Indianapolis, Indiana | 
| 3:00 p.m. EST | Barrett  45+1' Pasher  67' Ouimette  90+2' Hackshaw  102' | Report | Williams  85' Hoppenot  90+4' Rasmussen  94' Ownby  106' Spencer  113' (pen.) | Stadium: Carroll Stadium Attendance: 7,171 Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr. | 
| November 9, 2019 West | Real Monarchs SLC | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | El Paso Locomotive FC | Herriman, Utah | 
| 1:00 p.m. MST | Schmitt  21' Ryden  48' Portillo  88' Mulholland  90+4' Holt  116',  120' | Report | Fox  45+1' Kiffe  47'  51' Gómez  71' | Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: 4,521 Referee: Rosendo Mendoza | 
USL Championship Final
    
| Louisville City FC | 1–3 | Real Monarchs SLC | 
|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen  6' Williams  89' | Report | Holt  25',  69' Plewa  45' Schmitt  59' Powder  66' | 
Championship Game MVP: Konrad Plewa (SLC)
Top goalscorers
    
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Neco Brett | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 4 | 
|  Magnus Rasmussen | Louisville City FC | ||
| 3 |  Jack Blake | Real Monarchs SLC | 3 | 
|  Erik Holt | Real Monarchs SLC | ||
| 5 |  Maikel Chang | Real Monarchs SLC | 2 | 
|  Thomas Enevoldsen | Sacramento Republic | ||
|  Josué Gómez | El Paso Locomotive | ||
| .svg.png.webp) Tyler Pasher | Indy Eleven | ||
|  Luke Spencer | Louisville City FC | ||
|  Sebastián Velásquez | El Paso Locomotive | ||
| 11 |  Nazmi Albadawi | North Carolina FC | 1 | 
| .svg.png.webp) Keven Alemán | Sacramento Republic | ||
|  Christian Chaney | Fresno FC | ||
|  Sebastián Contreras | El Paso Locomotive FC | ||
|  Alex Cooper | Fresno FC | ||
|  Paolo DelPiccolo | Louisville City FC | ||
|  Jordan Dover | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | ||
|  Junior Flemmings | Phoenix Rising FC | ||
|  Dre Fortune | North Carolina FC | ||
|  Andrew Fox | El Paso Locomotive FC | ||
|  Sebastián Guenzatti | Tampa Bay Rowdies | ||
|  Zachary Herivaux | Birmingham Legion | ||
|  Corey Hertzog | Reno 1868 FC | ||
|  Kotaro Higashi | Charleston Battery | ||
|  Femi Hollinger-Janzen | Birmingham Legion | ||
|  Antoine Hoppenot | Louisville City FC | ||
|  Cameron Iwasa | Sacramento Republic | ||
|  Derrick Jones | Nashville SC | ||
|  James Kiffe | El Paso Locomotive | ||
|  Zeiko Lewis | Charleston Battery | ||
|  Douglas Martínez | Real Monarchs SLC | ||
|  Sean McFarlane | Austin Bold FC | ||
|  Robbie Mertz | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | ||
|  Lebogang Moloto | Nashville SC | ||
| .svg.png.webp) Karl Ouimette | Indy Eleven | ||
|  Michael Orozco | Orange County SC | ||
|  Konrad Plewa | Real Monarchs SLC | ||
|  Noah Powder | Real Monarchs SLC | ||
|  Daniel Ríos | Nashville SC | ||
|  Kalen Ryden | Real Monarchs SLC | ||
|  Mour Samb | Ottawa Fury FC | ||
|  Devon Sandoval | New Mexico United | ||
|  Tate Schmitt | Real Monarchs SLC | ||
|  Michael Seaton | Orange County SC | ||
|  Ema Twumasi | Austin Bold FC | ||
|  Thomas Vancaeyezeele | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | ||
|  Sam Werner | Sacramento Republic | ||
|  JJ Williams | Birmingham Legion | 
Own Goals
References
    
- "Road to the 2019 USL Championship Final Unveiled". USLChampionship.com. October 15, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- Anderson, Jake (September 28, 2019). "Phoenix Rising clinches USL regular-season title with late comeback draw". ArizonaSports.com. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- "Playoffs Stats". United Soccer League. Retrieved November 17, 2019.