USL Championship final
Founded2010
OrganiserUSL Championship
RegionUnited States (CONCACAF)
Current championsPhoenix Rising FC
(1st title)
Most successful clubLouisville City and Orlando City
(2 titles each)
BroadcastersCBS
ESPN+
Current2024 USL Championship Playoffs
WebsiteUSLSoccer.com
Americanyes

The USL Championship final is the post-season championship match of the USL Championship, the second tier of professional men's soccer in the United States. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North American sports leagues (i.e. via a playoff following a regular season).

Unlike most soccer leagues, but much like North American sports leagues, the USL champion does not earn promotion into Major League Soccer, due to the fixed membership structure found in the league.

As of 2024, the USL Championship final is typically held in late-November and features the Eastern Conference champion and Western Conference champion.[1] The predecessor to the USL Championship final was the A-League Championship and the USL-1 Championship.

Champions

A-League era (1996–2004)

SeasonWinnerScoreRunner-upBox Score
1996California Jaguars1–1Richmond Kickers[2]
1997Milwaukee Rampage1–1Carolina Dynamo[3]
1998Rochester Raging Rhinos3–1Minnesota Thunder[4]
1999Minnesota Thunder2–1Rochester Raging Rhinos[5]
2000Rochester Raging Rhinos3–1Minnesota Thunder[6]
2001Rochester Raging Rhinos2–0Hershey Wildcats[7]
2002Milwaukee Rampage2–1 (2OT)Richmond Kickers[8]
2003Charleston Battery3–0Minnesota Thunder[9]
2004Montreal Impact2–0Seattle Sounders[citation needed]

USL-1 era (2005–2009)

SeasonWinnerScoreRunner-upVenueAttendanceBox Score
2005Seattle Sounders1–1Richmond KickersQwest Field8,011[10]
2006Vancouver Whitecaps3–0Rochester Raging RhinosPAETEC Park9,547[11]
2007Seattle Sounders4–0Atlanta SilverbacksStarfire Sports Complex4,893[12]
2008Vancouver Whitecaps2–1Puerto Rico IslandersSwangard Stadium[n 1]5,822[13]
2009Montreal Impact3–2[n 2]
3–1[n 2]		Vancouver WhitecapsSwangard Stadium
Saputo Stadium		5,886
13,034		[14]
[15]
  1. ^ The league granted Vancouver the right to host the 2008 final, despite them being the lower seeded team.
  2. ^ Montreal won the two-legged series 6–3 on aggregate.

USL Championship era (2010–present)

SeasonChampionsScoreRunners–upVenueAttendanceMVPBox Score
2011Orlando City2–2Harrisburg City IslandersCitrus Bowl11,220Sean Kelley (ORL)[16]
2012Charleston Battery1–0Wilmington HammerheadsBlackbaud Stadium4,963Jose Cuevas (CHB)[17]
2013Orlando City7–4Charlotte EaglesCitrus Bowl20,886Dom Dwyer (ORL)[18]
2014Sacramento Republic2–0Harrisburg City IslandersBonney Field8,000Rodrigo López (SAC)[19]
2015Rochester Rhinos2–1LA Galaxy IISahlen's Stadium5,247Asani Samuels (ROC)[20]
2016New York Red Bulls II5–1Swope Park RangersRed Bull Arena5,547Brandon Allen (NYRB)[21]
2017Louisville City FC1–0Swope Park RangersLouisville Slugger Field14,456Paolo DelPiccolo (LOU)[22]
2018Louisville City FC1–0Phoenix Rising FCLynn Stadium7,025Luke Spencer (LOU)[23]
2019Real Monarchs SLC3–1Louisville City FCLynn Stadium7,025Konrad Plewa (SLC)[24]
2020No champion due to COVID-19 pandemic[25]
2021Orange County SC3–1Tampa Bay RowdiesAl Lang Stadium7,521Ronaldo Damus (OCO)[26]
2022San Antonio FC3–1Louisville City FCToyota Field8,534Santiago Patiño (SAFC)[27]
2023Phoenix Rising FC1–1Charleston BatteryPatriots Point5,094Rocco Ríos Novo (PHX)[28]
2024Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC3–0Rhode Island FCWeidner Field8,023Juan Tejada (COS)[29]
2025Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC0–0FC TulsaOneok Field9,507Eric Dick (PIT)[30]

Records and statistics

USL Championship titles

ClubWinnerRunner-upYears wonYears runner-up
Louisville City FC222017, 20182019, 2022
Orlando City SC202011, 2013
Charleston Battery1120122023
Phoenix Rising FC1120232018
Sacramento Republic FC102014
Rochester Rhinos102015
New York Red Bulls II102016
Real Monarchs SLC102019
Orange County SC102021
San Antonio FC102022
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC102024
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC102025
Harrisburg City Islanders022011, 2014
Swope Park Rangers022016, 2017
Wilmington Hammerheads FC012012
Charlotte Eagles012013
LA Galaxy II012015
Tampa Bay Rowdies012021
Rhode Island FC012024
FC Tulsa012025
WinnerUSL Cup champions
BoldPlayers' Shield champions
ItalicsNo longer plays in the USL Championship

See also

References

  1. ^ USLChampionship Staff (2023-12-18). "USL Championship Unveils 2024 Regular Season Schedule". USL Championship. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  2. ^ "The Year in American Soccer, 1996". Soccer History USA – Audio Essays on the Beautiful Game. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  3. ^ "A-League 1997 Season". a-leaguearchive.tripod.com. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  4. ^ "A-League 1998 Season". a-leaguearchive.tripod.com. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  5. ^ "A-League 1999 Season". a-leaguearchive.tripod.com. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  6. ^ "A-League 2000 Season". a-leaguearchive.tripod.com. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  7. ^ "2001 A-League Final". OurSports Central. 2001-10-16. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  8. ^ "A-League 2002 Season". a-leaguearchive.tripod.com. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  9. ^ "A-League 2003 Season". a-leaguearchive.tripod.com. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  10. ^ "Seattle Sounders (USL) vs. Richmond Kickers - 1 October 2005 - Soccerway". ke.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  11. ^ "Rochester New York vs. Whitecaps (USSF) - 30 September 2006 - Soccerway". gh.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  12. ^ "Seattle Sounders (USL) vs. Atlanta Silverbacks - 29 September 2007 - Soccerway". ng.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  13. ^ "Vancouver Whitecaps vs Puerto Rico Islanders: live 12 october 2008. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming | Soccer365". soccer365.me. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  14. ^ "Montreal at Vancouver Whitecaps 3:2". 2009-10-10. Archived from the original on 2012-10-06. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  15. ^ "Impact defeat Whitecaps, win USL-1 title". www.sportsnet.ca. 2009-10-17. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  16. ^ "Harrisburg City Islanders at Orlando City". archive.ph. 2011-09-03. Archived 2013-02-05 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  17. ^ USL PRO News Release (2012-09-08). "Charleston Claims USL PRO Title". USL. Archived 2012-09-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  18. ^ USL PRO News Release (2013-09-07). "Orlando City Claims Championship". USL Pro. Archived from the original on 2013-09-11. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  19. ^ USL PRO Game Report (2014-09-27). "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". USL Pro. Archived from the original on 2014-10-18. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  20. ^ LA Galaxy Communications (2015-10-16). "Match Report: LA Galaxy II fall in USL Championship match against the Rochester Rhinos, 2-1 | LA Galaxy". lagalaxy. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  21. ^ "2016 USL Cup Final". www.uslchampionship.com. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  22. ^ "Louisville 1-0 SPKC II (Nov 13, 2017) Game Analysis". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  23. ^ "Louisville 1-0 Phoenix (Nov 8, 2018) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  24. ^ "Real Monarchs 3-1 Louisville (Nov 17, 2019) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  25. ^ Carlisle, Jeff (2020-10-31). "USL final canceled after positive COVID-19 tests". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  26. ^ "Orange County 3-1 Tampa Bay (Nov 28, 2021) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  27. ^ "San Antonio 3-1 Louisville (Nov 13, 2022) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  28. ^ "Phoenix 1-1 Charleston (Nov 12, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  29. ^ "Colorado 3-0 Rhode Island (Nov 23, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  30. ^ "Tulsa 0-0 Pittsburgh (Nov 22, 2025) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 2025-11-22.