The road to the USL Championship final — which will air on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 12 p.m. ET on CBS — begins Friday. Everyone will be chasing Louisville City FC following their record-tying season with 24 wins. It tied San Antonio FC’s record as all eyes are on the favorites potentially securing their first championship since 2018. They could come up against Phoenix Rising who won the 2023 USL Championship if each makes the final but it will be a tough journey to get there.
Rhode Island FC and the Las Vegas Lights make their USL postseason debuts while Nick Markanich leads the Charleston Battery after setting a new USL single-season scoring record with 28 goals in 33 matches. Anything can happen in the single-elimination format. The bracket won’t be reseeded, and if matches are level after 90 minutes, they will then be followed by two 15-minute periods of extra time before going to penalties to determine who moves on if still tied.
USL Championship Playoffs bracket
USL Championship
USL Championship Playoffs schedule
All times Eastern
First round
Friday, Nov. 1
Las Vegas Lights FC vs. Sacramento Republic FC, 10:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, Nov. 2
Memphis 901 FC vs. Orange County SC, 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
Charleston Battery vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Detroit City FC vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Louisville City FC vs. North Carolina FC, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC vs. Oakland Roots SC, 8 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, Nov. 3
Indy Eleven vs. Rhode Island SC, 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
New Mexico United vs. Phoenix Rising FC, 8 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Can Louisville win it all?
In their 10th consecutive season of making the USL Championship Playoffs, Louisville City have become the class of the league. But when it has come to actually winning the championship, they’ve struggled to get over the hump. It’s one of the things that’s the beauty of a single elimination tournament but it’s up to Danny Cruz to coach his side over the hump. Behind the scoring prowess of Wilson Harris who scored 19 goals this season, they have the ability to defeat any team in the league.
Running into a team like the Charleston Battery will give Louisville challenges but there’s a reason why this side has been setting the standard for the league. But despite doing that, they haven’t won a championship since 2018 so the time to change that is now.
Welcome to the new teams
The Las Vegas Lights and Rhode Island FC will be making their first appearances in the playoffs and their expectations are high. Vegas struggled at the end of the season but won five of their final 10 matches to make it and were able to get results against other playoff sides like Sacramento, Phoenix, and Orange County. Given that they’ve already gotten past Sacramento once, Khori Bennett and the side will be comfortable in being able to do it again.
In Rhode Island, the expansion side came into the league with high expectations and are already meeting them in year one. Their soccer-specific stadium at Tidewater Landing is already under construction showing the investment in the team but that doesn’t mean that this season was a write-off at all. Led by head coach and general manager Khano Smith, Rhode Island will enter playoffs with a six-match unbeaten streak for a critical match against the Charleston Battery. Striker Noah Fuson led all of the USL with 10 assists this season and his creativity will be something that the team leans on for their first-ever playoff match.
Will a new team win the title?
Of the 16 teams to take part in the playoffs, only five have won the title before. Lousiville, Charleston, Orange County, Sacramento and Phoenix are the sides to have done it which means that there’s a good chance that a new team could win the league. One side who will be looking to be the team to do that is New Mexico United in the Western Conference. New Mexico finished first in the west with 59 points on the back of their defense.
Their matches are usually close ones but with opportunistic finishes, they’re able to make things happen. Another side to watch is the Pittsburgh Riverhounds who withstood a poor start to the season to be able to make the playoffs. Only allowing 28 goals in 34 matches, Bob Lilley’s men will be prepared for the occasion.
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