2008 United Soccer Leagues

The 2008 Season is the 22nd edition of the United Soccer Leagues season.

The season kicked off on Friday, April 12 with two First Division games, as the Charleston Battery visited Miami FC and the Montreal Impact visited the Vancouver Whitecaps.

General

Changes in the First Division: the California Victory take the 2008 season off, leaving 11 teams playing a 30-game schedule.
Changes in the Second Division: the Pittsburgh Riverhounds return from hiatus, and Real Maryland FC join as an expansion team. However, the Cincinnati Kings and New Hampshire Phantoms drop to the PDL. 10 teams play a 20-game schedule this season.
In the PDL, 5 teams withdrew for the 2008 season, while 7 expansion teams and the two voluntary relegations increase the league to 67 teams in 10 divisions across 4 conferences. Teams play a 16-game league schedule.

Honors

Competition	Champion	Runner-Up	Regular Season Champion/Best USL team
USL First Division	Vancouver Whitecaps	Puerto Rico Islanders	Puerto Rico Islanders
USL Second Division	Cleveland City Stars	Charlotte Eagles	Charlotte Eagles
USL PDL	Thunder Bay Chill	Laredo Heat	Michigan Bucks
U.S. Open Cup	D.C. United (MLS)	Charleston Battery (USL-1)	Charleston Battery
Canadian Championship	Montreal Impact	Toronto FC (MLS)	n/a

Standings

First Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Puerto Rico Islanders	30	15	6	9	43	23	+20	54	Commissioner's Cup, bye to semifinal round of playoffs
2	Vancouver Whitecaps (C)	30	15	7	8	34	28	+6	53	First round of playoffs
3	Montreal Impact	30	12	12	6	33	28	+5	42
4	Rochester Rhinos	30	11	10	9	35	32	+3	41^[a]
5	Charleston Battery	30	11	12	7	34	36	−2	40^[b]
6	Seattle Sounders	30	10	10	10	37	36	+1	40^[b]
7	Minnesota Thunder	30	10	11	9	40	38	+2	39
8	Carolina RailHawks	30	9	11	10	34	43	−9	37
9	Miami FC	30	8	12	10	28	34	−6	34^[c]
10	Atlanta Silverbacks	30	8	12	10	37	50	−13	34^[c]
11	Portland Timbers	30	7	13	10	26	33	−7	31

Source: ^[2]
Rules for classification: Tie-breaker order: 1. Head-to-head points; 2. Total wins; 3. Goal difference; 4. Goals for; 5. Lottery
(C) Playoff Champion
Notes:

^ Rochester deducted 1 point for use of an ineligible player on August 10, 2008^[1]
^ ^a ^b CHA: 4 pts; SEA: 4 pts
^ ^a ^b MIA: 7 pts; ATL: 1 pt

Playoffs

Teams were re-seeded for semifinal matchups
Vancouver was selected by the league to host the final despite being the lower seeded team

First round September 26/28					Semi-finals October 3/5					Final October 12

6	Seattle Sounders	2	1	3

3	Montreal Impact	1	3	4
					3	Montreal Impact	1	0	1

					2	Vancouver Whitecaps	0	2	2
7	Minnesota Thunder	0	4	4

2	Vancouver Whitecaps	2	3	5
										2	Vancouver Whitecaps	2

										1	Puerto Rico Islanders	1
5	Charleston Battery	0	1	1

4	Rochester Rhinos	2	0	2
					4	Rochester Rhinos	2	0	2

					1	Puerto Rico Islanders (a.e.t)	0	3	3

First Round

September 26, 2008

7:35 PM EDT

First Leg

Rochester Rhinos	2–0	Charleston Battery
Ball 49' Guppy 86' Delicate 90' Bertz 90'	Report

PAETEC Park
Rochester, New York

Attendance: 6,923

Referee: Chris Penso

September 28, 2008

7:00 PM EDT

Second Leg

Charleston Battery	1–0	Rochester Rhinos
Alonso 12' Fuller 42'	Report	Palguta 41' Smith 53' Gregor 61'

Blackbaud Stadium
Charleston, South Carolina

Attendance: 2,131

Referee: Doug Wolff

Rochester Rhinos won 2–1 on Aggregate.

September 26, 2008

10:00 PM EDT

First Leg

Seattle Sounders	2–1	Montreal Impact
Alcaraz-Cuellar 15' 75' O'Brien 42' (pen.) Besagno 51' Gardner 61' Sakuda 78'	Report	Pesoli 21' 71' 83' Braz 86' Brown 90'

Starfire Sports Complex
Tukwila, Washington

Attendance: 2,865

Referee: Edvin Jurisevic

September 28, 2008

5:00 PM EDT

Second Leg

Montreal Impact	3–1	Seattle Sounders
Lorenzo 31' Testo 45' 56' Braz 68' Placentino 75' Ribeiro 90'	Report	Levesque 59' 74' Alcaraz-Cuellar 62' Jackson 90' O'Brien 90'

Saputo Stadium
Montreal, Quebec

Attendance: 11,134

Referee: Mauricio Navarro

Montreal Impact won 4–3 on Aggregate.

September 26, 2008

10:00 PM EDT

First Leg

Vancouver Whitecaps	2–0	Minnesota Thunder
Greenfield 27' (o.g.) Sebrango 58' Hirano 73' Moose 89'	Report	Schulte 31' Cvilikas 76'

Swangard Stadium
Burnaby, British Columbia

Attendance: 4,943

Referee: Carol Anne Chenard

September 28, 2008

6:05 PM EDT

Second Leg

Minnesota Thunder	4–3	Vancouver Whitecaps
Gonzalez 23' Tarley 64' 73' Sánchez 77' deRoux 78' Moojen 90' (pen.) Schulte 90'	Report	Valente 3' Nash 44' Sebrango 55'

National Sports Center
Blaine, Minnesota

Attendance: 3,811

Referee: NA

Vancouver Whitecaps won 5–4 on Aggregate.

Semifinals

October 3, 2008

7:35 PM EDT

First Leg

Rochester Rhinos	2–0	Puerto Rico Islanders
Smith 18' Gregor 63' Menyongar 78' Fitzpatrick 90'	Report	Krause 33' Miranda 36' Jones 36' 90'

PAETEC Park
Rochester, New York

Attendance: 7,001

Referee: Niko Bratsis

October 5, 2008

6:00 PM EDT

Second Leg

Puerto Rico Islanders	3–0 (a.e.t.)	Rochester Rhinos
Noel 10' Atieno 33' Steele 40' Telesford 70' Arrieta 119'	Report	Earls 32'

Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium
Bayamón, Puerto Rico

Attendance: 9,112

Referee: Tony Russo

Puerto Rico Islanders won 3–2 on Aggregate in Extra Time.

October 3, 2008

8:00 PM EDT

First Leg

Montreal Impact	1–0	Vancouver Whitecaps
Ribeiro 52' 61' Aguilera 88'	Report	Charles 29' Nolly 52'

Saputo Stadium
Montreal, Quebec

Attendance: 12,002

Referee: Steve DePiero

October 5, 2008

6:30 PM EDT

Second Leg

Vancouver Whitecaps	2–0	Montreal Impact
Moose 10' Clarke 37' Sebrango 41' Charles 56' Addlery 81'	Report	Testo 40' Pizzolitto 48' Gatti 64' Braz 80'

Swangard Stadium
Burnaby, British Columbia

Attendance: 4,992

Referee: Dave Gantar

Vancouver Whitecaps won 2–1 on Aggregate.

Final

October 12, 2008

7:00 PM EDT

Second Leg

Vancouver Whitecaps	2–1	Puerto Rico Islanders
Gbeke 55', 74' Kindel 71'	Report	Gbandi 68'

Swangard Stadium
Burnaby, British Columbia

Attendance: 5,822

Referee: Mark Kadlecik

USL First Division 2008 Champions
Vancouver Whitecaps FC Second title

Awards and All-League Teams

First Team
F: Alex Afonso (Miami FC) (Leading Goalscorer); Macoumba Kandji (Atlanta Silverbacks)
M: Osvaldo Alonso (Charleston Battery); Stephen deRoux (Minnesota Thunder); Martin Nash (Vancouver Whitecaps); Jonathan Steele (Puerto Rico Islanders) (MVP)
D: Cristian Arrieta (Puerto Rico Islanders) (Defender of the Year); Taylor Graham (Seattle Sounders); David Hayes (Atlanta Silverbacks); Nevio Pizzolitto (Montreal Impact)
G: Bill Gaudette (Puerto Rico Islanders) (Goalkeeper of the Year)
Coach: Colin Clarke (Puerto Rico Islanders) (Coach of the Year)

Second Team
F: Sebastien Le Toux (Seattle Sounders); Eduardo Sebrango (Vancouver Whitecaps)
M: Leonardo Di Lorenzo (Montreal Impact); Johnny Menyongar (Rochester Rhinos); Ricardo Sanchez (Minnesota Thunder); Matt Watson (Carolina RailHawks)
D: Wesley Charles and Takashi Hirano (Vancouver Whitecaps); Cameron Knowles (Portland Timbers); Scott Palguta (Rochester Rhinos)
G: Matt Jordan (Montreal Impact)

Second Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Charlotte Eagles	20	13	2	5	45	15	+30	44	Regular season champion
2	Richmond Kickers	20	14	4	2	48	20	+28	44	Qualified for playoffs
3	Cleveland City Stars	20	10	3	7	33	16	+17	37
4	Crystal Palace Baltimore	20	11	8	1	30	30	0	34
5	Harrisburg City Islanders	20	7	3	10	33	20	+13	31
6	Western Mass Pioneers	20	5	9	6	19	29	−10	20^[a]
7	Wilmington Hammerheads	20	4	9	7	32	33	−1	19
8	Pittsburgh Riverhounds	20	4	10	6	25	37	−12	18
9	Bermuda Hogges	20	5	13	2	21	50	−29	17
10	Real Maryland Monarchs	20	3	15	2	15	51	−36	10^[a]

Source: ^[3]
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Western Mass and Real Maryland deducted 1 point

Playoffs

First Round August 13			Semifinals August 16			Final August 23

			1	Charlotte Eagles	2
4	Crystal Palace Baltimore (AET/PK)	2 (7)	4	Crystal Palace Baltimore	1
5	Harrisburg City Islanders	2 (6)				1	Charlotte Eagles	1
						3	Cleveland City Stars	2
			2	Richmond Kickers	0
3	Cleveland City Stars	4	3	Cleveland City Stars(AET)	1
6	Western Mass Pioneers	2

First round

August 13, 2008

7:00 PM EDT

Cleveland City Stars	4–2	Western Mass Pioneers
Schulte 14' Bundu 23', 89' Hlavaty 32' Otieno 69' Sarkodie 81' Ruud 88'	Report	Augustine 13' Deren 16' Molinari 34' 68' Krause 43' 64' Wrona 44' Klinger 66'

Krenzler Field
Cleveland, Ohio

Attendance: 1,683

Referee: Chris Penso (United States)

August 13, 2008

7:30 PM EDT

Crystal Palace Baltimore	2–2 (a.e.t.)	Harrisburg City Islanders
Brooks 10' Healey 30' Teixeira 59'	Report	Heins 14' Oduor 75' Schofield 119'
Penalties
Harada Harkin Teixeira Healey Lookingland Brooks Marshall Flores	7–6	Heins Pelletier Marples Schofield Bixler Fisher Bloes Calvano

UMBC Stadium
Catonsville, Maryland

Attendance: 1,352

Referee: Bryan Roslund (United States)

Semifinals

August 16, 2008

7:00 PM EDT

Charlotte Eagles	2–1	Crystal Palace Baltimore
Herrera 48' (pen.) Swinehart 51' Woods 65' Long 70' Boss 90'	Report	Harada 5' Teixeira 54' Brooks 59'

Restart Field
Charlotte, North Carolina

Attendance: 1,188

Referee: Jeff Muschik

August 16, 2008

7:00 PM EDT

Richmond Kickers	0–1 (a.e.t.)	Cleveland City Stars
Nyzamba 30' Bulow 67' Gorres 77' Jones 101'	Report	Ruud 99' Sella 108'

University of Richmond Stadium
Richmond, Virginia

Attendance: 2,693

Referee: Daniel Stead

Final

August 23, 2008

8:00 PM EDT

Cleveland City Stars	2–1	Charlotte Eagles
Otieno 15' Bundu 39' Schulte 66' Leibbrandt 89'	Report	Long 17' Swinehart 52' Shak 65' Kabwe 87' Smith 90'

Krenzler Field
Cleveland, Ohio

Attendance: 2,016

Referee: Jason Krnac

Awards and All-League team

First Team
F: Jorge Herrera (Charlotte Eagles); Boyzzz Khumalo (Pittsburgh Riverhounds); Dustin Swinehart (Charlotte Eagles) (league MVP)
M: Mike Burke (Richmond Kickers); Floyd Franks (Cleveland City Stars); Shintaro Harada (Crystal Palace Baltimore)
D: Brady Bryant and Steve Shak (Charlotte Eagles); Sascha Gorres (Richmond Kickers); Mark Schulte (Cleveland City Stars) (Defender of the Year)
G: Terry Boss (Charlotte Eagles)
Coach: Mark Steffens (Charlotte Eagles) (Coach of the Year)
Rookie of the Year: Stanley Nyazamba (Richmond Kickers)

Second Team
F: Gary Brooks (Crystal Palace Baltimore); Sallieu Bundu (Cleveland City Stars); Jeff Deren (Western Mass Pioneers)
M: Trey Alexander (Wilmington Hammerheads); Justin Evans (Pittsburgh Riverhounds); Matthew Mbuta (Crystal Palace Baltimore)
D: Dustin Bixler (Harrisburg City Islanders); Trevor McEachron (Richmond Kickers); Federico Molinari (Western Mass Pioneers); Dame Walters (Wilmington Hammerheads)
G: Ronnie Pascale (Richmond Kickers)

Premier Development League

See 2008 PDL Season

References

^ "Rhinos penalized for infraction". United Soccer Leagues. August 15, 2008. Archived from the original on March 26, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
^ "USL First Division 2008". USLsoccer.com. United Soccer Leagues. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
^ "USL Second Division 2008". USLsoccer.com. United Soccer Leagues. Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2020.

External links

Official USL Site

[table_hth_ROC0.49326736456401-2] Rochester deducted 1 point for use of an ineligible player on August 10, 2008^[1]

[table_hth_CHA0.49326736456401-3] CHA: 4 pts; SEA: 4 pts

[table_hth_MIA0.49326736456401-4] MIA: 7 pts; ATL: 1 pt

[table_hth_WMP0.094272969800175-6] Western Mass and Real Maryland deducted 1 point

[1] "Rhinos penalized for infraction". United Soccer Leagues. August 15, 2008. Archived from the original on March 26, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2011.

[5] "USL First Division 2008". USLsoccer.com. United Soccer Leagues. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved April 8, 2020.

[7] "USL Second Division 2008". USLsoccer.com. United Soccer Leagues. Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2020.

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