2008 United Soccer Leagues

August 2023 March 2026 The 2008 season was the 22nd edition of the United Soccer Leagues. The season kicked off on Friday, April 12 with two First Division games, as the Charleston Battery visited Miami FC and the Montreal Impact visited the Vancouver Whitecaps. General Changes in the First Division: the California Victory take the 2008 season off, leaving 11 teams playing a 30-game schedule. Changes in the Second Division: the Pittsburgh Riverhounds return from hiatus, and Real Maryland FC join as an expansion team. However, the Cincinnati Kings and New Hampshire Phantoms drop to the PDL. 10 teams play a 20-game schedule this season. In the PDL, 5 teams withdrew for the 2008 season, while 7 expansion teams and the two voluntary relegations increase the league to 67 teams in 10 divisions across 4 conferences. Teams play a 16-game league schedule. Honors CompetitionChampionRunner-upRegular season champion/Best USL teamUSL First DivisionVancouver WhitecapsPuerto Rico IslandersPuerto Rico IslandersUSL Second DivisionCleveland City StarsCharlotte EaglesCharlotte EaglesUSL PDLThunder Bay ChillLaredo HeatMichigan BucksU.S. Open CupD.C. United (MLS)Charleston Battery (USL-1)Charleston BatteryCanadian ChampionshipMontreal ImpactToronto FC (MLS) n/a Standings First Division USL First Division 2008 Regular Season title Puerto Rico Islanders (1st Title) Vancouver Whitecaps (2nd Title) 165 381 NIR Jonathan Steele, Puerto Rico Islanders BRA Alex Afonso, Miami FC (15 goals) PUR Bill Gaudette, Puerto Rico Islanders 2007 2009 main WDL Q y y PRI Puerto Rico Islanders VAN Vancouver Whitecaps MTL Montreal Impact ROC Rochester Rhinos CHA Charleston Battery SEA Seattle Sounders MIN Minnesota Thunder CAR Carolina RailHawks MIA Miami FC ATL Atlanta Silverbacks POR Portland Timbers 15 9 6 43 23 15 8 7 34 28 C 12 6 12 33 28 11 9 10 35 32 11 7 12 34 36 10 10 10 37 36 10 9 11 40 38 9 10 11 34 43 8 10 12 28 34 8 10 12 37 50 7 10 13 26 33 -1 Rochester deducted 1 point for use of an ineligible player on August 10, 2008Rhinos penalized for infraction http://usl1.uslsoccer.com/recentnews/269957.html United Soccer Leagues June 28, 2011 August 15, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20120326100740/http://usl1.uslsoccer.com/recentnews/269957.html March 26, 2012 dead mdy-all CHA: 4 pts; SEA: 4 pts CHA MIA: 7 pts; ATL: 1 pt MIA green1 Commissioner's Cup, bye to semifinal round of playoffs C #BBEBFF First round of playoffs Q Q Q Q Q Q Playoff Champion complete http://www.uslsoccer.com/standings/8588667.html dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110610164341/http://www.uslsoccer.com/standings/8588667.html 10 June 2011 USL First Division 2008 USLsoccer.com United Soccer Leagues 8 April 2020 Tie-breaker order: 1. Head-to-head points; 2. Total wins; 3. Goal difference; 4. Goals for; 5. Lottery Playoffs Teams were re-seeded for semifinal matchupsVancouver was selected by the league to host the final despite being the lower seeded team 2/2/1 score y 0 7/8 First round September 26/28 Semi-finals October 3/5 Final October 12 160px 6 Seattle Sounders 2 1 3 3 Montreal Impact 1 3 4 2 Vancouver Whitecaps 2 3 5 7 Minnesota Thunder 0 4 4 4 Rochester Rhinos 2 0 2 5 Charleston Battery 0 1 1 n BYE 1 Puerto Rico Islanders 3 Montreal Impact 1 0 1 2 Vancouver Whitecaps 0 2 2 4 Rochester Rhinos 2 0 2 1 Puerto Rico Islanders (a.e.t) 0 3 3 2 Vancouver Whitecaps 2 1 Puerto Rico Islanders 1 First Round First Leg September 26, 2008 7:35 PM EDT Rochester Rhinos 2–0 https://web.archive.org/web/20090109011716/http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/946271.html Charleston Battery Ball 49 Guppy 86 Delicate 90 Bertz 90 PAETEC ParkRochester, New York 6,923 Chris Penso Second Leg September 28, 2008 7:00 PM EDT Charleston Battery 1–0 https://web.archive.org/web/20081202061048/http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/946274.html Rochester Rhinos Alonso 12 Fuller 42 Palguta 41 Smith 53 Gregor 61 Blackbaud StadiumCharleston, South Carolina 2,131 Doug Wolff Rochester Rhinos won 2–1 on Aggregate. First Leg September 26, 2008 10:00 PM EDT Seattle Sounders 2–1 https://web.archive.org/web/20090123211806/http://uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/946273.html Montreal Impact Alcaraz-Cuellar 15 75 O'Brien 42 pen. Besagno 51 Gardner 61 Sakuda 78 Pesoli 21 2 71 83 Braz 86 Brown 90 Starfire Sports ComplexTukwila, Washington 2,865 Edvin Jurisevic Second Leg September 28, 2008 5:00 PM EDT Montreal Impact 3–1 https://web.archive.org/web/20081202061102/http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/946275.html Seattle Sounders Lorenzo 31 Testo 45 56 Braz 2 68 77 Placentino 75 Ribeiro 90 Levesque 59 0 74 Alcaraz-Cuellar 62 Jackson 0 90 O'Brien 0 90 Saputo StadiumMontreal, Quebec 11,134 Mauricio Navarro Montreal Impact won 4–3 on Aggregate. First Leg September 26, 2008 10:00 PM EDT Vancouver Whitecaps 2–0 https://web.archive.org/web/20140307123520/http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/946272.html Minnesota Thunder Greenfield 27 o.g. Sebrango 58 Hirano 73 Moose 89 Schulte 31 Cvilikas 76 Swangard StadiumBurnaby, British Columbia 4,943 Carol Anne Chenard Second Leg September 28, 2008 6:05 PM EDT Minnesota Thunder 4–3 https://web.archive.org/web/20081202061107/http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/946276.html Vancouver Whitecaps Gonzalez 23 Tarley 64 73 Sánchez 0 77 deRoux 78 Moojen 90 pen. Schulte 90 Valente 3 Nash 44 Sebrango 55 National Sports CenterBlaine, Minnesota 3,811 NA Vancouver Whitecaps won 5–4 on Aggregate. Semifinals First Leg October 3, 2008 7:35 PM EDT Rochester Rhinos 2–0 https://web.archive.org/web/20081004191101/http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/950519.html Puerto Rico Islanders Smith 18 Gregor 63 Menyongar 78 Fitzpatrick 90 Krause 33 Miranda 0 36 Jones 2 36 90 PAETEC ParkRochester, New York 7,001 Niko Bratsis Second Leg October 5, 2008 6:00 PM EDT Puerto Rico Islanders 3–0 https://web.archive.org/web/20081014124416/http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/950521.html Rochester Rhinos Noel 10 Atieno 33 Steele 40 Telesford 70 Arrieta 119 Earls 32 y Juan Ramón Loubriel StadiumBayamón, Puerto Rico 9,112 Tony Russo Puerto Rico Islanders won 3–2 on Aggregate in Extra Time. First Leg October 3, 2008 8:00 PM EDT Montreal Impact 1–0 https://web.archive.org/web/20081004191053/http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/950518.html Vancouver Whitecaps Ribeiro 52 61 Aguilera 88 Charles 29 Nolly 0 52 Saputo StadiumMontreal, Quebec 12,002 Steve DePiero Second Leg October 5, 2008 6:30 PM EDT Vancouver Whitecaps 2–0 https://web.archive.org/web/20090109021850/http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/950520.html Montreal Impact Moose 10 Clarke 37 Sebrango 41 Charles 56 Addlery 81 Testo 40 Pizzolitto 48 Gatti 64 Braz 80 Swangard StadiumBurnaby, British Columbia 4,992 Dave Gantar Vancouver Whitecaps won 2–1 on Aggregate. Final Second Leg October 12, 2008 7:00 PM EDT Vancouver Whitecaps 2–1 https://web.archive.org/web/20081017164635/http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/957734.html Puerto Rico Islanders Gbeke 55 74 Kindel 71 Gbandi 68 Swangard StadiumBurnaby, British Columbia 5,822 Mark Kadlecik USL First Division2008 Champions CAN Vancouver Whitecaps FC Second Awards and All-League Teams First Team F: BRA Alex Afonso (Miami FC) (Leading Goalscorer); SEN Macoumba Kandji (Atlanta Silverbacks) M: CUB Osvaldo Alonso (Charleston Battery); JAM Stephen deRoux (Minnesota Thunder); CAN Martin Nash (Vancouver Whitecaps); NIR Jonathan Steele (Puerto Rico Islanders) (MVP) D: PUR Cristian Arrieta (Puerto Rico Islanders) (Defender of the Year); USA Taylor Graham (Seattle Sounders); USA David Hayes (Atlanta Silverbacks); CAN Nevio Pizzolitto (Montreal Impact) G: PUR Bill Gaudette (Puerto Rico Islanders) (Goalkeeper of the Year) Coach: NIR Colin Clarke (Puerto Rico Islanders) (Coach of the Year) Second Team F: FRA Sebastien Le Toux (Seattle Sounders); CUB Eduardo Sebrango (Vancouver Whitecaps) M: ARG Leonardo Di Lorenzo (Montreal Impact); LBR Johnny Menyongar (Rochester Rhinos); MEX Ricardo Sanchez (Minnesota Thunder); ENG Matt Watson (Carolina RailHawks) D: SVG Wesley Charles and JAP Takashi Hirano (Vancouver Whitecaps); NZL Cameron Knowles (Portland Timbers); USA Scott Palguta (Rochester Rhinos) G: USA Matt Jordan (Montreal Impact) Second Division USL Second Division 2008 Regular Season title Charlotte Eagles (1st Title) Cleveland City Stars (1st Title) 100 301 USA Dustin Swinehart, Charlotte Eagles USA Dustin Swinehart, Charlotte Eagles (16 goals) PUR Terry Boss, Charlotte Eagles 2007 2009 main WDL Q y CHE Charlotte Eagles RIC Richmond Kickers CLE Cleveland City Stars CRY Crystal Palace Baltimore HAR Harrisburg City Islanders WMP Western Mass Pioneers WIL Wilmington Hammerheads PIT Pittsburgh Riverhounds BER Bermuda Hogges RMM Real Maryland Monarchs 13 5 2 45 15 14 2 4 48 20 10 7 3 33 16 C 11 1 8 30 30 7 10 3 33 20 5 6 9 19 29 4 7 9 32 33 4 6 10 25 37 5 2 13 21 50 3 2 15 15 51 -1 Western Mass and Real Maryland deducted 1 point -1 WMP #ccccff Regular season champion C #ccffcc Qualified for playoffs Q Q Q Q Q Playoff Champion complete http://www.uslsoccer.com/standings/8629965.html dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090420091336/http://www.uslsoccer.com/standings/8629965.html 20 April 2009 USL Second Division 2008 USLsoccer.com United Soccer Leagues 9 April 2020 Playoffs First Round August 13 Semifinals August 16 Final August 23 4 Crystal Palace Baltimore (AET/PK) 2 (7) 5 Harrisburg City Islanders 2 (6) 3 Cleveland City Stars 4 6 Western Mass Pioneers 2 1 Charlotte Eagles 2 4 Crystal Palace Baltimore 1 2 Richmond Kickers 0 3 Cleveland City Stars(AET) 1 1 Charlotte Eagles 1 3 Cleveland City Stars 2 First round August 13, 2008 7:00 PM EDT Cleveland City Stars 4–2 Report Western Mass Pioneers Schulte 14 Bundu 23 89 Hlavaty 32 Otieno 69 Sarkodie 81 Ruud 88 Augustine 13 Deren 16 Molinari 2 34 68 Krause 43 64 Wrona 0 44 Klinger 66 Krenzler FieldCleveland, Ohio 1,683 Chris Penso (United States) August 13, 2008 7:30 PM EDT Crystal Palace Baltimore 2–2 https://web.archive.org/web/20081123121831/http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/875225.html Harrisburg City Islanders Brooks 10 Healey 30 Teixeira 59 Heins 14 Oduor 75 Schofield 119 y Harada Harkin Teixeira Healey Lookingland Brooks Marshall Flores 7–6 Heins Pelletier Marples Schofield Bixler Fisher Bloes Calvano UMBC StadiumCatonsville, Maryland 1,352 Bryan Roslund (United States) Semifinals August 16, 2008 7:00 PM EDT Charlotte Eagles 2–1 https://web.archive.org/web/20081123122305/http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/875226.html Crystal Palace Baltimore Herrera 48 pen. Swinehart 51 Woods 65 Long 70 Boss 0 90 Harada 5 Teixeira 54 Brooks 59 Restart FieldCharlotte, North Carolina 1,188 Jeff Muschik August 16, 2008 7:00 PM EDT Richmond Kickers 0–1 https://web.archive.org/web/20081123034203/http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/875227.html Cleveland City Stars Nyzamba 30 Bulow 67 Gorres 77 Jones 101 Ruud 99 Sella 108 y University of Richmond StadiumRichmond, Virginia 2,693 Daniel Stead Final August 23, 2008 8:00 PM EDT Cleveland City Stars 2–1 https://web.archive.org/web/20081123124335/http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/886781.html Charlotte Eagles Otieno 15 Bundu 39 Schulte 66 Leibbrandt 89 Long 17 Swinehart 52 Shak 65 Kabwe 87 Smith 90 Krenzler FieldCleveland, Ohio 2,016 Jason Krnac Awards and All-League team First Team F: COL Jorge Herrera (Charlotte Eagles); RSA Boyzzz Khumalo (Pittsburgh Riverhounds); USA Dustin Swinehart (Charlotte Eagles) (league MVP) M: USA Mike Burke (Richmond Kickers); USA Floyd Franks (Cleveland City Stars); JAP Shintaro Harada (Crystal Palace Baltimore) D: USA Brady Bryant and USA Steve Shak (Charlotte Eagles); GER Sascha Gorres (Richmond Kickers); USA Mark Schulte (Cleveland City Stars) (Defender of the Year) G: Terry Boss (Charlotte Eagles) Coach: USA Mark Steffens (Charlotte Eagles) (Coach of the Year) Rookie of the Year: ZIM Stanley Nyazamba (Richmond Kickers) Second Team F: JAM Gary Brooks (Crystal Palace Baltimore); SLE Sallieu Bundu (Cleveland City Stars); USA Jeff Deren (Western Mass Pioneers) M: USA Trey Alexander (Wilmington Hammerheads); USA Justin Evans (Pittsburgh Riverhounds); CMR Matthew Mbuta (Crystal Palace Baltimore) D: USA Dustin Bixler (Harrisburg City Islanders); USA Trevor McEachron (Richmond Kickers); ARG Federico Molinari (Western Mass Pioneers); JAM Dame Walters (Wilmington Hammerheads) G: USA Ronnie Pascale (Richmond Kickers) Premier Development League See 2008 PDL Season References External links Official USL Site defunct 2008 2008 2–3 Category:2008 in Canadian soccer