2006 USL Pro Schedules Announced
Published on December 15, 2005 under USL First Division (USL-1) News Release
TAMPA, FL - United Soccer Leagues announced the 2006 regular season schedules for the USL First and Second Divisions. Both leagues begin play on Friday, April 21. The 12-team USL First Division opens the season with the Puerto Rico Islanders playing host to the Atlanta Silverbacks while the nine-team USL Second Division will open play with the second-year Cincinnati Kings visiting the defending champion Charlotte Eagles.
Opening Weekend will continue with two more games in each league the following night and three US First Division contests on Sunday.
In the USL First Division Saturday, the Virginia Beach Mariners host the Toronto Lynx and the Portland Timbers travel to Vancouver to take on the rival Whitecaps. The USL First Division Miami expansion franchise kicks off its inaugural season Sunday at home against the 2004 champion Montreal Impact while the defending champion Seattle Sounders visit the Minnesota Thunder and the Silverbacks and Islanders square off once more.
Ten of the 12 USL First Division sides will begin play on opening weekend with the Charleston Battery kicking their season off the following Saturday at home against the Virginia Beach Mariners and the three-time champion Rochester Raging Rhinos starting on the road against Miami May 5.
In the USL Second Division, Opening Weekend continues with the Kings visiting the Richmond Kickers, who moved to the league after nine seasons in the USL First Division, and the Long Island Rough Riders playing host to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
The second week of action features a rematch of the 2005 championship with Western Mass Pioneers traveling to Charlotte Friday, April 28 for their season opener. The return trip by Charlotte to Ludlow, Mass., where the 2005 final was held, will be May 26.
Also opening play the second weekend of the season will be 2005 semifinalists Harrisburg City Islanders and Wilmington Hammerheads. Harrisburg hosts Cincinnati Saturday, April 29 with Wilmington playing host to Western Mass the same evening. New Hampshire also opens their season that night with a trip to Long Island.
The USL First Division season consists of 28 matches per team with home-and-away contests against each opponent and additional games against regional rivals.
The 168-game USL First Division schedule wraps up the weekend of September 7-10 with 11 teams in 10 matches. The Virginia Beach Mariners are the lone club not playing the final weekend, wrapping up their campaign the previous Sunday.
The USL First Division playoffs, utilizing the same format of the previous year, begins the following week with a pair of two-leg, aggregate score series in the First Round, featuring third to sixth place teams with the top two teams from the regular season receiving byes to the semifinals. The semifinals will also be two-leg, aggregate score series the following week with the USL First Division championship game September 30.
The USL Second Division season consists of 20 games per team with home-and-away contests against each opponent and additional matches against regional rivals.
The 90-game USL Second Division schedule comes to a close the weekend of August 11-13 with six games. Cincinnati, who is in the league opener, will also play in the regular season finale with a visit to Western Mass.
The USL Second Division playoffs, following the same format as 2005, will begin the following week with a pair of two-leg aggregate score series for the semifinals. The USL Second Division Championship game will be the following weekend, August 26.
USL First Division Stories from December 15, 2005
- Whitecaps release 2006 regular season schedule - Vancouver Whitecaps
- Timbers announce 2006 schedule - Portland Timbers
- Sounders 2006 schedule announced - Seattle Sounders
- Toronto Lynx Announce 2006 Schedule - Toronto Lynx
- 2006 USL Pro Schedules Announced - USL-1
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