2011 USL Pro season

The 2011 USL Pro season was the 25th season of third-division soccer in the United States,[1] and was the inaugural season of the United Soccer Leagues' (USL) new professional competition. The league is effectively a combination of the USL's former First and Second Divisions.

USL Pro
Season2011
ChampionsOrlando City SC
Commissioner's CupOrlando City SC
Matches played108
Goals scored273 (2.53 per match)
Top goalscorerJhonny Arteaga (13)
Biggest home winHAR 4, CHE 0
(July 2)
HAR 5, NEW 1
(July 20)
ORL 4, HAR 0
(August 12)
Biggest away winANT 7, PRU 0
(April 27)
Highest scoringANT 7, PRU 0
(April 27)
CHB 4, CHE 3
(August 12)
Longest winning run6 games:
RIC (April 2 – 7 May)
ANT (April 23 – 8 May)
Longest unbeaten run11 games:
ORL (April 9 – June 4)
Longest winless run13 games:
DDL (June 8 – July 27)
Longest losing run7 games:
ANT (June 24 – July 16)
Highest attendance11,220
ORL vs HAR
(September 3) (Championship)
Lowest attendance105
LAB vs PRU (April 20)
Average attendance2,274
2012 →

Following the conclusion of the regular season in August, a postseason tournament, known as the USL Pro Playoffs, took place between the top eight clubs during the season. The quarterfinals was played between August 19–20,[2] the semifinals between August 26–28,[2] and the championship took place on September 3.[2]

Teams

USL Pro was initially set to feature 15 clubs that would be aligned into three conferences of five clubs: the "American", "National" and "International" conferences. The league announced that each club would play an unbalanced schedule with a total of 24 matches.[3] Initially, the International Division clubs were intended to play each other four times, twice home and twice away, with four games apiece at home and away against competition from the American and National Divisions.[3] The American and National Division clubs were intended to play each other twice: home and away, regardless of division.[3]

Original Divisional Alignment
American Division Charleston Battery, Charlotte Eagles, Orlando City SC, Richmond Kickers, Wilmington Hammerheads
National Division Dayton Dutch Lions, F.C. New York, Harrisburg City Islanders, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Rochester Rhinos
International Division Antigua Barracuda, Los Angeles Blues, Puerto Rico United, River Plate Puerto Rico, Sevilla FC Puerto Rico

However, on May 10, 2011, the USL formally removed the three Puerto Rico Soccer League teams and announced that all remaining teams would continue to play a 24-game schedule.[4]

Stadiums and Locations
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Antigua Barracuda St. John's, Antigua Stanford Cricket Ground 5,000
Charleston Battery Charleston, South Carolina Blackbaud Stadium 5,100
Charlotte Eagles Charlotte, North Carolina Restart Field 2,000
Dayton Dutch Lions Bellbrook, Ohio Miami Valley South Stadium 3,000
F.C. New York Jamaica, New York Belson Stadium 2,600
Harrisburg City Islanders Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Skyline Sports Complex 5,000
Los Angeles Blues Fullerton, California Titan Stadium 10,000
Orlando City SC Orlando, Florida Citrus Bowl 65,438
Pittsburgh Riverhounds Bridgeville, Pennsylvania Chartiers Valley High School 2,500
Richmond Kickers Richmond, Virginia City Stadium 22,000
Rochester Rhinos Rochester, New York Sahlen's Stadium 13,768
Wilmington Hammerheads Wilmington, North Carolina Legion Stadium 6,000

Personnel and Kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team Head Coach Captain Jersey manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Antigua Barracuda Billy McEwan Dave Carr Joma
Charleston Battery Michael Anhaeuser Stephen Armstrong Umbro avVenta
Charlotte Eagles Mark Steffens Josh Rife Puma Coca-Cola
Dayton Dutch Lions Ivar van Dinteren Bret Jones Under Armour Scoutforall.com
F.C. New York Matt Weston Paul Shaw[5] Umbro Treiber
Harrisburg City Islanders Bill Becher Nike Capital Blue Cross/Snickers
Los Angeles Blues Charlie Naimo Shahryar Dastan Nike Marriott
Orlando City SC Adrian Heath Ian Fuller Umbro Orlando Health
Pittsburgh Riverhounds Justin Evans Umbro #1 Cochran
Richmond Kickers Leigh Cowlishaw Adidas HCA Virginia
Rochester Rhinos Bob Lilley Umbro Non-Smoking Coalition
Wilmington Hammerheads David Irving Umbro New Hanover Regional Medical Center

Standings
Locations of teams for the 2011 USL Pro season

American Division
Pos Team Pld W T L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Orlando City SC (C) 24 15 6 3 36 16 +20 51 2011 USL Pro Commissioner's Cup, 2011 USL Pro Playoffs
2 Wilmington Hammerheads (A) 24 14 3 7 42 30 +12 45 2011 USL Pro Playoffs[lower-alpha 1]
3 Richmond Kickers (A) 24 12 5 7 35 21 +14 41
4 Charleston Battery (A) 24 10 5 9 24 25 −1 35
5 Charlotte Eagles 24 9 6 9 32 29 +3 33
6 Antigua Barracuda 24 9 2 13 32 32 0 29
Source: USL Pro official standings
Rules for classification: Points, then tiebreak: 1) Head-to-head record based on total points in League games, 2) Total wins in League games, 3) Goal difference in League games, 4) Goals scored in League games, etc.[6]
(A) Advances to USL Pro Playoffs; (C) Commissioner's Cup (best regular season record).
Notes:
  1. The top four clubs in each division are guaranteed spots in the 2011 USL Pro Playoffs.

National Division
Pos Team Pld W T L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Rochester Rhinos (A) 24 12 4 8 31 23 +8 40 2011 USL PRO Playoffs[lower-alpha 1]
2 Harrisburg City Islanders (A) 24 10 7 7 37 30 +7 37
3 Los Angeles Blues (A) 24 8 9 7 34 29 +5 33
4 Pittsburgh Riverhounds (A) 24 7 6 11 23 32 −9 27
5 F.C. New York 24 6 7 11 27 37 −10 25
6 Dayton Dutch Lions 24 2 6 16 21 54 −33 12
Source: USL Pro official standings
Rules for classification: Points, then tiebreak: 1) Head-to-head record based on total points in League games, 2) Total wins in League games, 3) Goal difference in League games, 4) Goals scored in League games, etc.[7]
(A) Advances to USL Pro Playoffs.
Notes:
  1. The top four clubs in each division are guaranteed spots in the 2011 USL PRO Playoffs.

Results table
Abbreviation and Color Key:
Antigua Barracuda FC – ANT • Charleston Battery – CHB • Charlotte Eagles – CHE • Dayton Dutch Lions – DDL
FC New York – NEW • Los Angeles Blues – LAB • Harrisburg City Islanders – HAR • Orlando City SC – ORL
Pittsburgh Riverhounds – PIT • Richmond Kickers – RIC • Rochester Rhinos – ROC • Wilmington Hammerheads – WIL
Puerto Rico United – PRU† • River Plate Puerto Rico – RPP† • Sevilla FC Puerto Rico – SPR†

Home  • Away  • Win  • Loss  • Draw

ClubMatch
123456789101112131415161718192021222324
Antigua Barracuda FCLABSPR†SPR†PRU†RPP†LABRPP†RPP†ROCCHEROCROCORLORLORL†NEW†PIT†WILWIL†RICLAB†LAB†LAB†LAB†
1–20–13–27–01–01–02–01–00–20–21–22–22–11–31–20–20–20–12–30–12–11–21–13–0
Charleston BatteryCHEDAYRICCHEPITPITROCNEWWILRICHARNEWHARDAYWIL†PITLAB†ORLWILDAYROCORLORL†CHE
1–02–11–22–10–00–00–10–10–32–12–11–10–11–02–00–20–01–02–12–20–10–11–24–3
Charlotte EaglesCHBORLNEWCHBLABLABANTDAYORLWILDAYPITHARNEWRICRICHARWILWILROCROCPITHARCHB
0–10–10–01–21–22–12–01–10–03–02–02–00–43–12–11–21–11–00–32–23–02–20–13–4
Dayton Dutch LionsCHBROCRICORLLABCHEPITHARNEWCHBCHEROCRIC†ORLHARLAB†LAB†PITCHBHARNEW†RICNEWWIL
1–22–30–60–11–11–12–11–40–30–10–20–11–30–02–21–11–41–32–22–32–00–30–51–2
FC New YorkORLCHEORLHARCHBWILPITRICROCCHEDAYRICHAR†RIC†ANT†CHEROCPITPITWILDAY†HARROC†DAY
0–30–01–21–11–01–30–22–22–11–13–00–21–50–02–01–31–31–21–11–31–20–02–15–0
Harrisburg City IslandersPITNEWROCRICORLCHBPIT†CHBDAYROCRICLABLABCHEDAYCHEWILNEW†LABDAYWILNEWCHEORL
0–11–11–01–11–31–24–21–04–10–11–01–12–14–02–21–11–35–11–13–22–10–01–00–4
Los Angeles BluesSPR†ANTPRU†RPP†ANTCHECHEDAYPITHAR†HAR†CHB†WIL†DAY†DAY†RIC†HAR†ANT†ANT†ANT†WIL†ANT†RIC†RIC†
3–02–14–21–10–12–11–21–13–01–11–20–02–41–14–12–11–11–22–11–11–20–30–00–0
Orlando City SCRICNEWCHEPRU†NEWDAYPITROCHARRICCHEWILANTWILANT†ANTPITROCDAYCHBROCCHBCHB †HAR
0–23–01–02–22–11–01–00–03–12–00–04–21–21–13–12–10–01–00–00–12–11–02–14–0
Pittsburgh RiverhoundsRICHARWILCHBCHBORLNEWLABWILHAR†DAYWILROCCHECHBORLANT †NEWNEWDAYROCRICCHEROC
1–21–01–30–00–00–12–00–30–02–41–21–30–30–22–00–02–02–11–13–10–32–02–20–1
Richmond KickersORLPITROCCHBDAYWILHARCHBORLNEWNEWHARNEWROCDAY †CHECHE†ANT†LABPIT†DAYWILLAB†LAB†
2–02–11–02–16–02–11–11–20–22–22–00–10–01–23–11–22–11–01–20–23–02–00–00–0
Rochester RhinosRICWILDAYHARCHBANTORLWILNEWANTANTHARPITDAYRICORLNEWORLPITCHECHBCHENEW†PIT
0–10–13–20–11–02–00–01–11–22–12–21–03–01–02–10–13–11–23–02–21–00–31–20–1
Wilmington HammerheadsROCPITRICNEWCHBROCPITORLPITCHEORLCHB†LAB†ANT†ANTCHBHARCHECHENEWHARLAB†RICDAY
1–03–11–23–13–01–10–02–43–10–31–10–24–21–03–21–23–10–13–03–12–12–10–22–1

†Puerto Rican teams were removed from USL Pro League on 10 May. All results against them that took place to that date were kept and future games were rescheduled amongst the remaining teams.

Playoffs

The top four teams in each division at the end of the regular season qualified for a single-elimination playoff for the USL Pro Championship. The championship match was played at 7:00 pm on Saturday, September 3, and saw Orlando City SC defeat the Harrisburg City Islanders in a penalty shootout. Orlando City SC earned the right to host the championship match by virtue of their better regular-season record.

Divisional Semifinals Divisional Finals USL PRO Championship
         
A1 Orlando City SC (a.e.t.) 3
A4 Charleston Battery 1
A1 Orlando City SC 3
American Division
A3 Richmond Kickers 0
A2 Wilmington Hammerheads 0 (4)
A3 Richmond Kickers (pen.) 0 (5)
A1 Orlando City SC (pen.) 2 (3)
N2 Harrisburg City Islanders 2 (2)
N1 Rochester Rhinos 4
N4 Pittsburgh Riverhounds 0
N1 Rochester Rhinos 1
National Division
N2 Harrisburg City Islanders 2
N2 Harrisburg City Islanders 3
N3 Los Angeles Blues 2
August 19, 2011 (2011-08-19) QF Harrisburg City Islanders 3–2 Los Angeles Blues Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
7:30 pm EDT Bloes  5'
Welker  34', 39'
Ombiji  52'
Pelletier  62'  66'		 Report Tudela  11'  61'
Dastan  33'
García  45+'  72'
Rivera  58'
Sesay  61'		 Stadium: Skyline Sports Complex
Attendance: 1,033
Referee: Michael Donovan
August 19, 2011 (2011-08-19) QF Rochester Rhinos 4–0 Pittsburgh Riverhounds Rochester, New York
7:30 pm EDT Rosenlund  10'
Donatelli  28'
Kissi  47'
Cost  85'		 Report Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium
Attendance: 3,273
Referee: Robert Sigiba
August 19, 2011 (2011-08-19) QF Wilmington Hammerheads 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(4–5 p)		 Richmond Kickers Wilmington, North Carolina
7:30 pm EDT Nicholson  49'
Parratt  99'		 Report Heins  47'
Görres  100'		 Stadium: Legion Field
Attendance: 3,849
Referee: Moo Hackett
Penalties
Budnyi
Jata
Barrera
Cuero
Bagley[8] 		Görres
Bulow
Hiroyama
Delicâte
Bangura
August 20, 2011 (2011-08-20) QF Orlando City SC 3–1 (a.e.t.) Charleston Battery Orlando, Florida
7:30 pm EDT Griffin  44'
Chin  100'
Neal  118'		 Report Wiltse  34'
Kelly  59'  102'
Paterson  64'
Falvey  102'
Peverley  120'		 Stadium: Citrus Bowl
Attendance: 7,609
Referee: Rob Mauws
August 26, 2011 (2011-08-26) SF Rochester Rhinos 1–2 Harrisburg City Islanders Rochester, New York
7:30 pm EDT Donatelli  27'
Kissi  45'
Kirk  51'		 Report Basso  6'
Marshall  27'
Calvano  34'
Schofield  38'  80'
Ombiji  42'		 Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium
Attendance: 3,598
Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero
August 27, 2011 (2011-08-27) SF Orlando City SC 3–0 Richmond Kickers Orlando, Florida
7:30 pm EDT Boden  19'
Jérôme  45+2'
Chin  70'		 Report Wallace  3'
Kalungi  89'		 Stadium: Citrus Bowl
Attendance: 8,304
Referee: Andres Pfefferkorn
September 3, 2011 (2011-09-03) F Orlando City SC 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(3–2 p)		 Harrisburg City Islanders Orlando, Florida
7:00 pm EDT Gallardo  48'
Molino  64'
Olum  89'
Boden  110'
Neal  116' (pen.)		 Report Basso  5'
Pelletier  45+'
Welker  77'
Harrison  90+'
Noone  90+5'
Touray  95'
Langley  111'
Bloes  113'		 Stadium: Citrus Bowl
Attendance: 11,220
Referee: Matt Foerster
Penalties
Neal
Álvarez
Campbell
Boden
Jorsling [9]		 Becerra
Angulo
Noone
Basso
Touray

Championship Game MVP: Sean Kelley (ORL)

Statistical leaders

Top Goalkeepers

(Minimum of 1080 Minutes Played)

Rank Goalkeeper Club GP MINS SVS GA GAA W-L-T SHO
1 Miguel Gallardo Orlando City SC 22 1980 68 15 0.681 12-3-6 11
2 Andrew Dykstra Charleston Battery 13 1170 30 11 0.846 7-4-2 5
3 Ronnie Pascale Richmond Kickers 23 2070 64 21 0.913 12-7-4 9
4 Neal Kitson Rochester Rhinos 23 2070 76 22 0.956 12-7-4 9
5 Brock Duckworth Wilmington Hammerheads 18 1620 71 46 1.166 11-5-2 4
6 Óscar Dautt Los Angeles Blues 20 1800 77 53 1.200 6-6-8 5
7 Eric Reed Charlotte Eagles 24 2160 81 29 1.208 9-9-6 8
8 Keita de Castro Antigua Barracuda 19 1710 58 23 1.210 8-8-1 5
9 Chase Harrison Harrisburg City Islanders 20 1800 59 26 1.300 8-6-6 5
10 Hunter Gilstrap Pittsburgh Riverhounds 23 2070 98 30 1.304 7-11-5 9

Source:[10]

League Awards

[11]

  • Most Valuable Player: Yordany Álvarez (ORL)
  • Rookie of the Year: Luke Mulholland (WIL)
  • Defender of the Year: Rob Valentino (ORL)
  • Goalkeeper of the Year: Miguel Gallardo (ORL)
  • Coach of the Year: Adrian Heath (ORL)

All-League Teams

[12]

First Team

F: Jhonny Arteaga (NEW), Matthew Delicâte (CHB), Maxwell Griffin (ORL)
M: Yordany Álvarez (ORL), Jorge Herrera (CHE), Luke Mulholland (WIL)
D: Nelson Akwari (LAB), Gareth Evans (WIL), Rob Valentino (ORL), William Yomby (RIC)
G: Miguel Gallardo (ORL)

Second Team

F: José Angulo (HAR), George Davis IV (DAY), Jason Yeisley (PIT)
M: Lewis Neal (ORL), Lawson Robinson (ANT), Jamie Watson (ORL)
D: George Dublin (ANT), Colin Falvey (CHB), Kyle Hoffer (NEW), Troy Roberts (ROC)
G: Neal Kitson (ROC)

References

  1. Litterer, Dave (October 23, 2003). "The Year in American Soccer – 1986". The American Soccer Archives. Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
  2. Opening Round Of USL PRO Playoffs Set, archived from the original on May 24, 2012, retrieved August 15, 2011
  3. "USL PRO Postseason Format Unveiled". USL PRO. Demosphere. January 24, 2011. Archived from the original on January 29, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  4. "USL reforms Agreement with PRSL". United Soccer Leagues. May 10, 2011. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  5. "Shaw to Captain F.C. New York". F.C. New York. April 8, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  6. See Rule 2.11 League Regulations Archived October 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  7. See Rule 2.11 League Regulations
  8. "Kickers Beat Hammerheads In Shootout". Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  9. "Orlando Takes Victory In Shootout". Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  10. "USL PRO – Top 10 Stats Leaders". Archived from the original on July 16, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
  11. "USL PRO Awards Winners Announced". United Soccer Leagues. September 2, 2011. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  12. "USL PRO All-League Teams Announced". United Soccer Leagues. August 30, 2011. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
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