USL League One

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USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championship and other leagues. As of 2024, the league has 14 teams who play 30 regular season games, followed by playoffs. All teams also participate in the USL Cup, adding an additional four games, followed by knockout rounds.

History

Early years (2017–2020)

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Main article: 2019 USL League One season

The USL Championship was granted second division sanctioning by the United States Soccer Federation in January 2017, leaving the third tier of American soccer unoccupied. From 1996 to 2009, the United Soccer League operated leagues at the lower divisions under various names, including the USL Second Division in the third tier.[1] On April 2, 2017, the USL announced that it would launch a new third division league in 2019, with a minimum of eight clubs and relaxed requirements compared to the second division USL.[2][3] The new league had the temporary name USL Division III (USL D3).[2] The league announced that they would target cities with a population of 150,000 to one million, mostly in cities currently without a professional team.[4]

In the following months, the league began searching for cities and markets in which to locate new member teams. A tour of prospective cities in the southeastern United States was conducted by the league's vice president from April to May 2017,[5] followed by a visit to North Carolina and a similar tour of the Midwest in late May.[6][7] After the closing of the southeastern tour, the league announced a possible plan for Tormenta FC, a Premier Development League team from Georgia, to join the league.[8]

The unveiling of the first founding member, South Georgia Tormenta FC, took place on January 25, 2018.[9] This was followed by FC Tucson on February 6,[10][11] Greenville Triumph SC on March 13,[12][13] and Madison, Wisconsin on May 17.[14] Toronto FC II of the USL was announced on July 2,[15] and Chattanooga, Tennessee was announced on August 1.[16] Three USL Championship teams, Penn FC, the Rochester Rhinos and the Richmond Kickers, also announced plans to move to League One by 2020 due to financial difficulties.[17][18][19] On October 2, 2018, the tenth and final founding member was revealed to be the reserve team of FC Dallas. Four days later, the club unveiled its branding as North Texas SC.

The league filed for Division III status with the USSF on August 14, 2018. Ten founding teams were listed in the application.[20][21] On December 14, 2018, USSF voted to provisionally sanction League One as a Division 3 league for 2019.[22][non-primary source needed][better source needed] The league currently shares Division III status with MLS Next Pro and the National Independent Soccer Association.[23]

The first League One game was played on March 29, 2019, when Tormenta FC defeated Greenville Triumph SC 1–0 before a crowd of 3,519 at Eagle Field in Erk Russell Park. Alex Morrell scored the first goal in the 72nd minute.[24][25] At the end of the season, Lansing Ignite FC folded.[26]

Departure of MLS reserve teams and expansion (2020–present)

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Main articles: 2020 USL League One season, 2021 USL League One season, 2022 USL League One season, 2023 USL League One season, and 2024 USL League One season

For the 2020 season, Union Omaha joined the league.[27] Additionally, the New England Revolution and Inter Miami CF placed reserve teams in the league, bringing the total number of teams to 12.[28]

On June 21, 2021, Major League Soccer announced the creation of a new professional soccer league, MLS Next Pro, which began play in 2022 and would host all of MLS's reserve teams along with some independent teams.[29] Fort Lauderdale CF, New England Revolution II, North Texas SC and Toronto FC II all joined MLS Next Pro after the 2021 League One season.[30] Former League One side Orlando City B joined MLS Next Pro for the inaugural 2022 season following a hiatus that began after the club completed the 2020 League One season.[30] Rochester New York FC, formerly known as Rochester Rhinos, announced on December 5, 2021, that the club would be joining MLS Next Pro as its first independent club.[31] Rochester had announced in 2018 their intentions to join League One for the 2020 season, though stadium delays and other financial issues kept the club on hiatus for four years.[32][33] On October 5, 2021, the USL announced it had awarded Lexington Pro Soccer an expansion team for the 2023 season. It would be League One's first club based in Kentucky.[34] The club's identity was revealed as Lexington Sporting Club on March 22, 2022.[35]

Central Valley Fuego FC, Charlotte Independence and Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC began play in 2022.[36][37][38] On June 3, 2022, USL announced that they had granted a group based out of Wilmington, North Carolina the exclusive rights to pursue a League One expansion team for the area with the goal of joining in 2024. Wilmington had been the home of long time USL club Wilmington Hammerheads FC, who played in various USL leagues from 1996 until 2017.[39] On July 12, 2022, USL announced that a newly formed club, Santa Barbara Sky FC, would be joining League One for the 2024 season,[40] though their debut would later be delayed until 2025,[41] then cancelled entirely, instead joining USL Championship beginning in 2026.[42] Following the conclusion of the 2022 regular season, FC Tucson announced a self-relegation back to USL League Two.[43] Shortly after FC Tucson announced their self-relegation, One Knoxville SC announced they would turn professional and join League One for 2023, following a successful debut season that saw them reach the USL League Two conference finals.[44] On October 7, 2022, the league announced that an expansion team in Spokane, Washington, named Spokane Velocity.[45] On December 8, 2022, it was announced that USL League Two club Lane United FC acquired exclusive rights to pursue a League One franchise in Lane County, Oregon.[46]

Over the course of autumn 2023, the league announced three more expansion teams: one in Portland, Maine,[47] named Portland Hearts of Pine,[48] one in Sherman, Texas, named Texoma FC,[49] and one in Lancaster, California,[50] named AV Alta FC.[51] The league announced a further three expansion teams in early 2024, first in Naples, Florida, later unveiled as FC Naples,[52] followed by teams in Eugene, Oregon,[53] and Mount Vernon, New York, the latter named Westchester SC.[54] All of these teams except for Eugene are scheduled to begin play in the 2025 season. The Eugene team will be operated by the same group behind Lane United FC, but the team identity will be completely rebranded.

In August 2024, the USL announced that Lexington SC would be moving from League One to the Championship.[55]

In October 2024, the league granted expansion teams to Corpus Christi, Texas, and Boise, Idaho.[56][57] Corpus Christi is expected to join for the 2026 season, with nothing yet set for Boise.

On November 14, 2024, the USL announced that it had terminated Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC's franchise agreement and that Central Valley Fuego and the league "had come to a mutual decision to part ways."[58]

Within just the span of a month, three new teams were announced as expansion franchises into League One. In mid-February, the league granted an expansion team to Paterson, New Jersey to begin play for the 2026 season at historic Hinchliffe Stadium.[59] After the announcement, two League 2 teams, Sarasota Paradise and Fort Wayne FC, declared their intention to go fully professional and join League One in 2026.[60][61]

Teams

The league will have 14 teams participating in the 2025 season.[62]

Team City Stadium Capacity Founded Joined Head coach
Current teams
AV Alta FC Lancaster, California Lancaster Municipal Stadium 5,300 2023 2025 United States Brian Kleiban
Charlotte Independence Charlotte, North Carolina American Legion Memorial Stadium 10,500 2014 2022 United States Mike Jeffries
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC East Ridge, Tennessee CHI Memorial Stadium[lower-roman 1] 2,500 2018 2019 England Scott Mackenzie
Forward Madison FC Madison, Wisconsin Breese Stevens Field 5,000 2018 2019 United States Matt Glaeser
Greenville Triumph SC Greenville, South Carolina Paladin Stadium[63] 16,000 2018 2019 Bermuda Rick Wright
FC Naples Naples, Florida Paradise Coast Sports Complex Stadium 5,000 2024 2025 United States Matt Poland
One Knoxville SC Knoxville, Tennessee Covenant Health Park[lower-roman 2] 6,500 2021 2023 United States Ian Fuller
Portland Hearts of Pine Portland, Maine Fitzpatrick Stadium 6,000 2023 2025 United States Bobby Murphy
Richmond Kickers Richmond, Virginia City Stadium 6,000 1993 2019 United States Darren Sawatzky
South Georgia Tormenta FC Statesboro, Georgia Tormenta Stadium[lower-roman 1] 5,300 2015 2019 Scotland Ian Cameron
Spokane Velocity FC Spokane, Washington ONE Spokane Stadium 5,100 2021 2024 England Leigh Veidman
Texoma FC Sherman, Texas Historic Bearcat Stadium 6,500 2023 2025 England Adrian Forbes
Union Omaha Papillion, Nebraska Werner Park[lower-roman 2][lower-roman 1][64] 9,023 2019 2020 England Dominic Casciato
Westchester SC Mount Vernon, New York The Stadium at Memorial Field 3,900 2024 2025 Republic of Ireland Dave Carton

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Future clubs

Team City Stadium Capacity Founded Joining Head coach
Planned expansion teams
Boise Pro Soccer[57] Boise, Idaho The Stadium at Expo Idaho[65] 6,000 2024 2026 TBD
Corpus Christi Professional Soccer[56] Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi Sports Complex 5,000 2024 2026 TBD
USL Eugene[53] Eugene, Oregon Civic Park Stadium[66] 3,500 2024 2026 TBD
Fort Wayne FC Fort Wayne, Indiana New Stadium in Fort Wayne[67] 8,400 2019 2026 United States Mike Avery
North Jersey Pro Soccer[59] Paterson, New Jersey Hinchliffe Stadium 10,000 2025 2026 TBD
Sarasota Paradise[68] Lakewood Ranch, Florida Premier Sports Campus 3,000 2022 2026 TBD

Location map

USL League One clubs
Blue pog.svg Current club Red pog.svg Future club

Former teams

Club City Stadium Capacity Joined Final season Fate Ref.
Central Valley Fuego FC Fresno, California Fresno State Soccer Stadium[lower-roman 1] 1,000 2022 2024 Moved to The League for Clubs [58][69]
Fort Lauderdale CF Fort Lauderdale, Florida DRV PNK Stadium[lower-roman 1] 18,000 2020 2021 Moved to MLS Next Pro [30]
Lansing Ignite FC Lansing, Michigan Cooley Law School Stadium[lower-roman 2] 7,527 2019 2019 Folded [26]
Lexington SC Lexington, Kentucky Lexington SC Stadium[lower-roman 1] 7,500 2023 2024 Moved to USL Championship [70]
New England Revolution II Foxborough, Massachusetts Gillette Stadium 20,000 2020 2021 Moved to MLS Next Pro [30]
North Carolina FC Cary, North Carolina WakeMed Soccer Park[lower-roman 1] 10,000 2021 2023 Moved to USL Championship [71]
North Texas SC Arlington, Texas Choctaw Stadium 48,114 2019 2021 Moved to MLS Next Pro [30]
Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC Windsor, Colorado 4Rivers Equipment Stadium 2,500 2022 2024 Franchise agreement terminated [58]
Orlando City B Kissimmee, Florida Osceola County Stadium 5,400 2019 2020 Moved to MLS Next Pro [30]
Toronto FC II Toronto, Ontario BMO Training Ground 1,000 2019 2021 Moved to MLS Next Pro [30]
FC Tucson Tucson, Arizona Kino North Stadium 3,200 2019 2022 Moved to USL League Two [72]

Timeline

Champions

Teams that no longer participate in USL League One are in italics.

Season Playoff champions Players' Shield[lower-alpha 1]
2019 North Texas SC North Texas SC
2020 Greenville Triumph SC[lower-alpha 2] Greenville Triumph SC
2021 Union Omaha Union Omaha
2022 South Georgia Tormenta FC Richmond Kickers
2023 North Carolina FC Union Omaha
2024 Union Omaha Union Omaha

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USL League One Finals

Season Champions Score Runners–up Venue Attendance MVP
2019 North Texas SC 1–0[73] Greenville Triumph SC Toyota Stadium 3,245 Arturo Rodríguez (NTX)
2020 Greenville Triumph SC Cancelled[74] Union Omaha Legacy Early College Field N/A N/A
2021 Union Omaha 3–0[75] Greenville Triumph SC Werner Park 5,221 Damià Viader (OMA)
2022 South Georgia Tormenta FC 2–1[76] Chattanooga Red Wolves SC Optim Sports Medicine Field 3,045 Kazaiah Sterling (TRM)
2023 North Carolina FC 1–1 (5–4 PK)[77] Charlotte Independence WakeMed Soccer Park 4,487 Raheem Somersall (NCA)
2024 Union Omaha 3–0[78] Spokane Velocity FC Werner Park 5,849 Joe Gallardo (OMA)

See also

Notes

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References

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External links

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Template:USL League One Young Player of the Year Award

United Soccer League divisions
50px 50px 50px
Championship League One League Two
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