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PHOENIX — Didier Drogba, enduring the worst season of his storied Chelsea career in the spring of 2012, met a young French coach, Patrice Carteron. Five years later, the bond formed between the two is at the core of Phoenix Rising FC’s emergence as United Soccer League title contender and...
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USL soccer will make its triumphant return, hopefully, beginning July 11 with a regionalized group system and a reduced schedule. Each team has been divided among eight groups, four for each conference, and will primarily be playing against teams in its own group. Each team will play up to...
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Per the Gold Cup’s provisional 40-player rosters submitted by participating nations, the Gold Cup could have as many as 31 current or former players from the lower divisions of U.S. Soccer. Twenty-six of 31 currently play in the USL Championship, four in USL League One and one in the...
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Cha-Ching. Corked Champagne. Celebrations. On April 18, MLS confirmed what everyone except Don Garber had said out loud — MLS would be expanding to 30 teams, already accelerating beyond their previously set upper limit of 28. While this is good news for the top division, what does it mean...
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It’s officially Open Cup season once again, my favorite time of year filled with chaos and giant-slayers and more soccer than one can possibly hope to follow simultaneously. Trust me, I’ve tried. The 2019 Open Cup features a whopping 84 teams, and while it’s down slightly from last year,...
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We’ve had a few weeks of USL Championship action, and while I was going to wait a bit longer before going all number nerdy, things have been far too chaotic to ignore. Upsets galore, some expansion teams doing unexpectedly well, some doing far worse than I predicted, and generally...
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Welcome back to the 2019 USL mega preview series, covering every single one of the 36 teams contesting the 2019 USL Championship season. If you missed Part I, go check it out here. We left off halfway through the Western Conference, so we’ll pick up right there and dive...
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The USL released its 2018 All-League Teams on Monday, honoring 22 of the best footballers in the league this season. Louisville City FC, last year’s champions, will host Didier Drogba and Phoenix Rising FC in Thursday’s USL Cup final looking to make it back-to-back titles. 2018 USL All-League First...
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Lower League America returns with Episode 8 covering the USL playoffs, as both the Eastern and Western Conference finals will kick off this weekend. New York Red Bulls II will visit Louisville City FC on Friday night, while Orange County SC will host Phoenix Rising FC on Saturday. The...
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With the United Soccer League set to field three separate divisions for the first time since 2009, I think it’s time we talked about the history of the various USL-operated leagues, and of the USL as an organization. Consider this adjacent to my recent “Understanding the pyramid” piece. The...
PHOENIX — Didier Drogba, enduring the worst season of his storied Chelsea career in the spring of 2012, met a young French coach, Patrice Carteron. Five years later, the bond formed between the two is at the core of Phoenix Rising FC’s emergence as United Soccer League title contender and...
USL soccer will make its triumphant return, hopefully, beginning July 11 with a regionalized group system and a reduced schedule. Each team has been divided among eight groups, four for each conference, and will primarily be playing against teams in its own group. Each team will play up to...
Per the Gold Cup’s provisional 40-player rosters submitted by participating nations, the Gold Cup could have as many as 31 current or former players from the lower divisions of U.S. Soccer. Twenty-six of 31 currently play in the USL Championship, four in USL League One and one in the...
Cha-Ching. Corked Champagne. Celebrations. On April 18, MLS confirmed what everyone except Don Garber had said out loud — MLS would be expanding to 30 teams, already accelerating beyond their previously set upper limit of 28. While this is good news for the top division, what does it mean...
It’s officially Open Cup season once again, my favorite time of year filled with chaos and giant-slayers and more soccer than one can possibly hope to follow simultaneously. Trust me, I’ve tried. The 2019 Open Cup features a whopping 84 teams, and while it’s down slightly from last year,...
We’ve had a few weeks of USL Championship action, and while I was going to wait a bit longer before going all number nerdy, things have been far too chaotic to ignore. Upsets galore, some expansion teams doing unexpectedly well, some doing far worse than I predicted, and generally...
Welcome back to the 2019 USL mega preview series, covering every single one of the 36 teams contesting the 2019 USL Championship season. If you missed Part I, go check it out here. We left off halfway through the Western Conference, so we’ll pick up right there and dive...
The USL released its 2018 All-League Teams on Monday, honoring 22 of the best footballers in the league this season. Louisville City FC, last year’s champions, will host Didier Drogba and Phoenix Rising FC in Thursday’s USL Cup final looking to make it back-to-back titles. 2018 USL All-League First...
Lower League America returns with Episode 8 covering the USL playoffs, as both the Eastern and Western Conference finals will kick off this weekend. New York Red Bulls II will visit Louisville City FC on Friday night, while Orange County SC will host Phoenix Rising FC on Saturday. The...
With the United Soccer League set to field three separate divisions for the first time since 2009, I think it’s time we talked about the history of the various USL-operated leagues, and of the USL as an organization. Consider this adjacent to my recent “Understanding the pyramid” piece. The...