The 2006 Season was the 20th edition of the United Soccer Leagues season.
General
- Miami FC joined the First Division.
- The Richmond Kickers departed the First Division for the Second Division.
- The Northern Virginia Royals departed the Second Division for the Premier Development League (PDL).
- 9 new teams joined the PDL while 5 teams folded, for a complete list see here.
Honors
| Competition | Champion | Runner-Up | Regular Season Champion/Best USL team |
|---|---|---|---|
| USL First Division | Vancouver Whitecaps | Rochester Raging Rhinos | Montreal Impact |
| USL Second Division | Richmond Kickers | Charlotte Eagles | Richmond Kickers |
| USL PDL | Michigan Bucks | Laredo Heat | Carolina Dynamo |
| U.S. Open Cup | Chicago Fire (MLS) | Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) | Carolina Dynamo (PDL) |
| Voyageurs Cup | Montreal Impact | Toronto Lynx | n/a |
Standings
First Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal Impact (S) | 28 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 31 | 15 | +16 | 51 | Bye to semifinal round of playoffs |
| 2 | Rochester Raging Rhinos | 28 | 13 | 4 | 11 | 34 | 21 | +13 | 50 | |
| 3 | Charleston Battery | 28 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 33 | 25 | +8 | 46[lower-alpha 1] | First round of playoffs |
| 4 | Vancouver Whitecaps (C) | 28 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 40 | 28 | +12 | 46[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 5 | Miami FC | 28 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 47 | 44 | +3 | 39 | |
| 6 | Puerto Rico Islanders | 28 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 38 | |
| 7 | Seattle Sounders | 28 | 11 | 13 | 4 | 42 | 48 | −6 | 37 | |
| 8 | Atlanta Silverbacks | 28 | 10 | 13 | 5 | 36 | 42 | −6 | 35 | |
| 9 | Virginia Beach Mariners | 28 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 26 | 37 | −11 | 32[lower-alpha 2] | |
| 10 | Toronto Lynx | 28 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 30 | 36 | −6 | 32[lower-alpha 2] | |
| 11 | Portland Timbers | 28 | 7 | 15 | 6 | 25 | 39 | −14 | 27[lower-alpha 3] | |
| 12 | Minnesota Thunder | 28 | 7 | 15 | 6 | 34 | 45 | −11 | 27[lower-alpha 3] |
Playoffs
Quarterfinals and Semifinals 2-game aggregate
Higher seeded team hosted first game
- Exception: Montreal hosted second game vs Vancouver
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Rochester Raging Rhinos | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Charleston Battery | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | Charleston Battery | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||
| 6 | Puerto Rico Islanders | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | Rochester Raging Rhinos | 0 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Vancouver Whitecaps (a.e.t.) | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 4 | 2 | 6 | 1 | Montreal Impact | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||
| 5 | Miami FC | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
Quarterfinals
| Puerto Rico Islanders | 0–1 | Charleston Battery |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Charleston Battery won 3–2 on Aggregate.
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 4–1 | Miami FC Blues |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Fraser Romário Gomez |
| Miami FC Blues | 0–2 | Vancouver Whitecaps |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Vancouver Whitecaps won 6–1 on Aggregate.
Semifinals
| Rochester Raging Rhinos | 1–0 | Charleston Battery |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Charleston Battery | 0–0 | Rochester Raging Rhinos |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Rochester Raging Rhinos won 1–0 on Aggregate.
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 0–0 | Montreal Impact |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Montreal Impact | 0–2 (a.e.t.) | Vancouver Whitecaps |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Vancouver Whitecaps won 2–0 on Aggregate in Overtime.
Final
| USL First Division 2006 champions |
|---|
Vancouver Whitecaps FC First title |
Awards and All-League Teams
First Team
F: Romario (Miami FC) (Co-Leading Goalscorer); Cam Weaver (Seattle Sounders) (Co-Leading Goalscorer)
M: Ben Hollingsworth (Charleston Battery); Luke Kreamalmeyer (Portland Timbers); Zinho (Miami FC); Joey Gjertsen (Vancouver Whitecaps) (MVP)
D: Gabriel Gervais (Montreal Impact) (Defender of the Year); Geordie Lyall (Vancouver Whitecaps); Mauricio Segovia (Puerto Rico Islanders); Andrew Gregor (Seattle Sounders)
G: Greg Sutton (Montreal Impact) (Goalkeeper of the Year)
Coach: Michael Anhaeuser (Charleston Battery) (Coach of the Year)
Second Team
F: Alen Marcina (Puerto Rico Islanders); Greg Simmonds (Virginia Beach Mariners)
M: Leonardo Di Lorenzo (Montreal Impact); Jeff Clarke (Vancouver Whitecaps); Rodrigo Rios (Atlanta Silverbacks); Gavin Glinton (Charleston Battery))
D: Nevio Pizzolitto (Montreal Impact); Matt Bobo (Atlanta Silverbacks); Kenney Bertz (Rochester Raging Rhinos); Steve Klein (Vancouver Whitecaps)
G: Scott Vallow (Rochester Raging Rhinos)
Second Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond Kickers (O) | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 50 | 20 | +30 | 43 | Regular season champion |
| 2 | Charlotte Eagles | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 29 | 27 | +2 | 32 | Playoff berth clinched |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 27 | 20 | +7 | 30 | |
| 4 | Cincinnati Kings | 20 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 28 | 27 | +1 | 30 | |
| 5 | New Hampshire Phantoms | 20 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 27 | 43 | −16 | 27[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 6 | Western Mass Pioneers | 20 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 31 | 28 | +3 | 27 | |
| 7 | Harrisburg City Islanders | 20 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 34 | 35 | −1 | 27 | |
| 8 | Wilmington Hammerheads | 20 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 30 | 31 | −1 | 19 | |
| 9 | Long Island Rough Riders | 20 | 3 | 12 | 5 | 15 | 40 | −25 | 14 |
- ↑ New Hampshire was penalized 1 point for use of an ineligible player in a game.
Playoffs
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||
| 1 | Richmond Kickers | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | Cincinnati Kings | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
| 1 | Richmond Kickers | 2 | |||||||||
| 2 | Charlotte Eagles | 1 | |||||||||
| 3 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| 2 | Charlotte Eagles | 4 | 2 | 6 | |||||||
Semifinals
| Richmond Kickers | 2–1 | Cincinnati Kings |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Cincinnati Kings | 0–0 | Richmond Kickers |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Richmond Kickers won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 0–4 | Charlotte Eagles |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Charlotte Eagles | 2–1 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Charlotte Eagles won 6–1 on Aggregate.
Final
| Richmond Kickers | 2–1 | Charlotte Eagles |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Premier Development League
- See 2006 PDL Season
See also
References
- ↑ "USL First Division 2006". USLsoccer.com. United Soccer Leagues. Archived from the original on November 11, 2006. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
- ↑ "USL Second Division 2006". USLsoccer.com. United Soccer Leagues. Archived from the original on November 11, 2006. Retrieved April 3, 2020.