| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States Canada |
| Teams | 20 |
| Defending champions | Louisville City FC |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Real Monarchs SLC |
| Runner-up | Louisville City FC |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 19 |
| Goals scored | 65 (3.42 per match) |
| Attendance | 102,391 (5,389 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) |
Neco Brett Magnus Rasmussen (4) |
The 2019 USL Championship Playoffs was the postseason tournament following the 2019 USL Championship regular season. Including USL Pro history, it was the ninth postseason tournament. The tournament began on October 23 and ended with the USL Championship Final on November 17.
The top 10 teams from each conference qualified for the playoffs. Each conference had a "Play-In round" where the 7 seed hosted the 10 seed and the 8 hosted the 9. The lowest remaining seed then played the 1 seed and the other play-in survivor played the 2 seed to form an 8-team playoff bracket. Each of the 8 team playoff brackets consisted of teams within their respective conference and the matches were hosted by the higher seed. The USL Cup will be the season's only match that involves teams from different conferences; it will be hosted by the conference champion with the better regular-season record. [1]
Phoenix Rising FC clinched the USL Championship regular season title on September 28 and earned the number one seed in the Western Conference. [2]
Conference standings
The top 10 teams from each conference advanced to the playoffs.
Bracket
| Eastern Conference Play-In October 23 | Eastern Conference Play-In October 23 | Western Conference Play-In October 23 | Western Conference Play-In October 23 | |||||||||||||||
| 7 | North Carolina FC | 2 | 8 | Ottawa Fury FC | 1 (4) | 7 | Sacramento Republic | 2 | 8 | Austin Bold FC | 2 | |||||||
| 10 | Birmingham Legion FC | 3 | 9 | Charleston Battery ( p) | 1 (5) | 10 | New Mexico United | 1 | 9 | LA Galaxy II | 0 | |||||||
| Conference Quarterfinals October 26 | Conference Semifinals November 1–2 | Conference Final November 9 | USL Championship Final November 17 | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Birmingham Legion FC | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Louisville City FC ( a.e.t.) | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Louisville City FC | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Louisville City FC ( a.e.t.) | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Indy Eleven | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Indy Eleven | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | New York Red Bulls II | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Indy Eleven | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Nashville SC | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Nashville SC | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Charleston Battery | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Louisville City FC | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Real Monarchs SLC | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Phoenix Rising FC ( p) | 0 (8) | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Austin Bold FC | 0 (7) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Phoenix Rising FC | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Real Monarchs SLC | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Real Monarchs SLC | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Orange County SC | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Real Monarchs SLC ( a.e.t.) | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | El Paso Locomotive FC | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Fresno FC | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | El Paso Locomotive FC | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | El Paso Locomotive FC | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Sacramento Republic | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Reno 1868 FC | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Sacramento Republic | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Schedule
Conference Play-In Round
| October 23, 2019 East | North Carolina FC | 2–3 | Birmingham Legion FC | Cary, North Carolina |
| 7:00 p.m. EDT |
Albadawi  19',  40'Fortune 59', 61' |
Report |
Hollinger-Janzen 35' Herivaux 66'Williams 90+3' |
Stadium:
Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 3,675 Referee: Tim Ford |
| October 23, 2019 East | Ottawa Fury FC | 1–1 (
a.e.t.) (4–5 p) | Charleston Battery | Ottawa, Ontario |
| 4:00 p.m. EDT |
Samb 40' Fall 117' |
Report |
Higashi 27' Marini 116'Lewis 117' |
Stadium:
TD Place Stadium Attendance: 2,427 Referee: David Barrie |
| Penalties | ||||
Fall  Haworth Barry Samb  Thiago |
Lewis
Bosua
Marini
Svantesson
van Schaik |
|||
| October 23, 2019 West | Sacramento Republic FC | 2–1 | New Mexico United | Sacramento, California |
| 4:00 p.m. EDT |
Enevoldsen 44', 82' Alemán 45+3'Villarreal 67'Werner 90+3' |
Report |
Sandoval 1' Padilla 44'Wehan 64'Guzmán 69'Schmidt 90' |
Stadium:
Papa Murphy's Park Attendance: 9,907 Referee: Elton Garcia |
| October 23, 2019 West | Austin Bold FC | 2–0 | LA Galaxy II | Austin, Texas |
| 4:00 p.m. EDT |
Twumasi 9', 76' Lima 32'Soto 49'McFarlane 54'Braafheid 60' |
Report |
Harvey 35' Hernández 76'Kamara 77' |
Stadium:
Bold Stadium Attendance: 2,656 Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr |
Conference Quarterfinals
| October 26, 2019 East | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 7–0 | Birmingham Legion FC | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| 4:00 p.m. EDT |
Brett 13', 27', 34' (
pen.), 71' Fisher 17' (
o.g.)Dover 45+1'Mertz 62' (
pen.)Adewole 77' |
Report |
Culbertson 31' Lopez 41'Herivaux  61' |
Stadium:
Highmark Stadium Referee: Mark Allatin |
| October 26, 2019 East | Nashville SC | 3–1 | Charleston Battery | Nashville, Tennessee |
| 4:00 p.m. EDT |
Moloto 10' King 38'Ríos 43'Ockford 77'Davis 85'Jones 88' |
Report |
Lewis 35' (
pen.) |
Stadium:
First Tennessee Park Attendance: 6,253 Referee: Greg Dopka |
| October 26, 2019 East | Indy Eleven | 1–0 | New York Red Bulls II | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 4:00 p.m. EDT |
Ouimette 27' |
Report | Stadium:
Carroll Stadium Attendance: 5,175 Referee: Michael Radchuk |
| October 26, 2019 East | Louisville City FC | 2–1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 7:00 p.m. EDT |
Rasmussen 23', 24' Ownby 56' |
Report |
Ekra 40' Diakité 70'Guenzatti 80' |
Stadium:
Louisville Slugger Field Attendance: 4,636 Referee: Farhad Dadkho |
| October 26, 2019 West | Phoenix Rising FC | 0–0 (
a.e.t.) (8–7 p) | Austin Bold FC | Scottsdale, Arizona |
| 7:30 p.m. MST |
Lambert 70' Jahn 86' |
Report |
Soto 14' McFarlane 35'Guadarrama 68'de Villardi 95' |
Stadium:
Casino Arizona Field Attendance: 6,642 Referee: Elvis Osmanovic |
| Penalties | ||||
|
Flemmings Bakero Calistri Lambert Spencer Farrell Johnson Dia Cochran |
Tyrpak
de Villardi
McFarlane
Soto
Braafheid
Okugo
Atuahene
Twumasi
Taylor |
|||
| October 26, 2019 West | Reno 1868 FC | 1–3 | Sacramento Republic FC | Reno, Nevada |
| 6:30 p.m. MDT |
Hertzog 5' |
Report |
Werner 8' Iwasa 70'Taintor 73'Enevoldsen 75'Skundrich 84' |
Stadium:
Greater Nevada Field Attendance: 3,275 Referee: Malik Badawi |
| October 26, 2019 West | Fresno FC | 2–3 | El Paso Locomotive FC | Fresno, California |
| 7:30 p.m. PDT |
Chaney 49' Strong 51' 86'Cooper 55' |
Report |
Gómez 19' Kiffe 77'Velásquez 83' (
pen.) |
Stadium:
Chukchansi Park Attendance: 5,352 Referee: Lukasz Szpala |
| October 26, 2019 West | Real Monarchs SLC | 6–2 | Orange County SC | Herriman, Utah |
| 12:00 p.m. MDT |
Chang 13' Martínez 28'Mulholland 34'Blake 59', 90'Schmitt 77'Holt 81' |
Report |
Orozco 35', 80' Forrester 40' 49'Hume 67'Seaton 90+1' |
Stadium:
Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: 2,749 Referee: Ismir Pekmic |
Conference Semifinals
| November 1, 2019 West | Phoenix Rising FC | 1–2 | Real Monarchs SLC | Scottsdale, Arizona |
| 7:30 p.m. MST |
Flemmings 25' Asante 47' |
Report |
Blake 33', 61' Chang 43'Powder 84' |
Stadium:
Casino Arizona Field Attendance: 7,548 Referee: Jon Freemon |
| November 2, 2019 East | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 1–2 ( a.e.t.) | Louisville City FC | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| 7:00 p.m. EDT |
Vancaeyezeele 11' Greenspan 48' |
Report |
Spencer 51', 85' McMahon 54'Craig 70'DelPiccolo 118' |
Stadium:
Highmark Stadium Attendance: 6,073 Referee: Michael Radchuk |
| November 2, 2019 East | Nashville SC | 0–1 | Indy Eleven | Nashville, Tennessee |
| 7:00 p.m. CDT |
Washington 24' LaGrassa 81'Ockford 90+2' |
Report |
Ayoze 22' Ouimette 24'Pasher 59' |
Stadium:
First Tennessee Park Attendance: 4,174 Referee: Elton García |
| November 2, 2019 West | El Paso Locomotive FC | 3–0 | Sacramento Republic FC | El Paso, Texas |
| 7:30 p.m. MDT |
Beckie 25' Gómez 40'Ryan 70'Contreras 83' (
pen.)Yuma 86'Velásquez 88' |
Report |
Alemán 51' Enevoldsen 70'Barahona 87' |
Stadium:
Southwest University Park Attendance: 7,460 Referee: Farhad Dadkho |
Conference Finals
| November 9, 2019 East | Indy Eleven | 1–3 ( a.e.t.) | Louisville City FC | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 3:00 p.m. EST |
Barrett 45+1' Pasher 67' Ouimette 90+2' Hackshaw 102' |
Report |
Williams 85' Hoppenot 90+4' Rasmussen 94' Ownby 106' Spencer 113' (
pen.) |
Stadium:
Carroll Stadium Attendance: 7,171 Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr. |
| November 9, 2019 West | Real Monarchs SLC | 2–1 ( a.e.t.) | El Paso Locomotive FC | Herriman, Utah |
| 1:00 p.m. MST |
Schmitt 21' Ryden 48' Portillo 88' Mulholland 90+4' Holt 116', 120' |
Report |
Fox 45+1' Kiffe 47'  51' Gómez 71' |
Stadium:
Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: 4,521 Referee: Rosendo Mendoza |
USL Championship Final
| Louisville City FC | 1–3 | Real Monarchs SLC |
|---|---|---|
|
Rasmussen 6' Williams 89' |
Report |
Holt 25', 69' Plewa 45'Schmitt 59'Powder 66' |
Championship Game MVP: Konrad Plewa ( SLC)
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Neco Brett
|
Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 4 |
Magnus Rasmussen
|
Louisville City FC | ||
| 3 |
Jack Blake
|
Real Monarchs SLC | 3 |
Erik Holt
|
Real Monarchs SLC | ||
| 5 |
Maikel Chang
|
Real Monarchs SLC | 2 |
|
Thomas Enevoldsen
|
Sacramento Republic | ||
Josué Gómez
|
El Paso Locomotive | ||
Tyler Pasher
|
Indy Eleven | ||
|
Luke Spencer
|
Louisville City FC | ||
Sebastián Velásquez
|
El Paso Locomotive | ||
| 11 |
Nazmi Albadawi
|
North Carolina FC | 1 |
|
Keven Alemán
|
Sacramento Republic | ||
|
Christian Chaney
|
Fresno FC | ||
Sebastián Contreras
|
El Paso Locomotive FC | ||
Alex Cooper
|
Fresno FC | ||
|
Paolo DelPiccolo
|
Louisville City FC | ||
Jordan Dover
|
Pittsburgh Riverhounds | ||
|
Junior Flemmings
|
Phoenix Rising FC | ||
Dre Fortune
|
North Carolina FC | ||
|
Andrew Fox
|
El Paso Locomotive FC | ||
Sebastián Guenzatti
|
Tampa Bay Rowdies | ||
Zachary Herivaux
|
Birmingham Legion | ||
|
Corey Hertzog
|
Reno 1868 FC | ||
Kotaro Higashi
|
Charleston Battery | ||
Femi Hollinger-Janzen
|
Birmingham Legion | ||
|
Antoine Hoppenot
|
Louisville City FC | ||
|
Cameron Iwasa
|
Sacramento Republic | ||
|
Derrick Jones
|
Nashville SC | ||
|
James Kiffe
|
El Paso Locomotive | ||
Zeiko Lewis
|
Charleston Battery | ||
Douglas Martínez
|
Real Monarchs SLC | ||
|
Sean McFarlane
|
Austin Bold FC | ||
|
Robbie Mertz
|
Pittsburgh Riverhounds | ||
Lebogang Moloto
|
Nashville SC | ||
|
Karl Ouimette
|
Indy Eleven | ||
|
Michael Orozco
|
Orange County SC | ||
Konrad Plewa
|
Real Monarchs SLC | ||
|
Noah Powder
|
Real Monarchs SLC | ||
|
Daniel Ríos
|
Nashville SC | ||
|
Kalen Ryden
|
Real Monarchs SLC | ||
Mour Samb
|
Ottawa Fury FC | ||
|
Devon Sandoval
|
New Mexico United | ||
|
Tate Schmitt
|
Real Monarchs SLC | ||
|
Michael Seaton
|
Orange County SC | ||
Ema Twumasi
|
Austin Bold FC | ||
Thomas Vancaeyezeele
|
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | ||
|
Sam Werner
|
Sacramento Republic | ||
|
JJ Williams
|
Birmingham Legion |
Own Goals
- Kyle Fisher ( Birmingham) vs Pittsburgh
References
- ^ "Road to the 2019 USL Championship Final Unveiled". USLChampionship.com. October 15, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ Anderson, Jake (September 28, 2019). "Phoenix Rising clinches USL regular-season title with late comeback draw". ArizonaSports.com. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ "Playoffs Stats". United Soccer League. Retrieved November 17, 2019.