The 2018 USL season was the eighth season of the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

and second under Division II sanctioning. The previous season, the USL had provisional Div. II sanctioning from the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

(U.S. Soccer) along with the North American Soccer League, but was given full sanctioning for the 2018 season with a two-year deadline to meet the full requirements set by U.S. Soccer.

Louisville City FC Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the USL Championship, known through the 2018 season as the United Soccer League (USL), which is currently the second tier of th ...

were the defending USL Cup champions, while

Real Monarchs Real Monarchs is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of, the Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. While the senior club is ...

were the defending Supporters’ Shield champions. This season was the last for four teams in the USL, with all changing leagues for 2019 and beyond.

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team succeeded the lower-division team of the ...

will join

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

. MLS side

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

announced that its reserve side,

Toronto FC II Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, who play in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as well as ...

, would drop to

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championsh ...

, a third-level league slated to launch in 2019, and the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

also chose to drop to League One for 2019 and beyond. Near the end of the season, Penn FC announced that it would suspend professional operations for 2019 and resume play in League One in 2020. It was also the final season for the league under the "United Soccer League" name. Effective with the 2019 season, the league has been rebranded as the USL Championship.

Changes from 2017

;Expansion * Atlanta United 2 *

Fresno FC Fresno Football Club was an American professional soccer team based in Fresno, California. Founded in 2017, the team was a member of the USL Championship, a second-tier league in the American Soccer Pyramid. Their first game took place on Marc ...

* Las Vegas Lights FC *

Nashville SC Nashville Soccer Club is a Major League Soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The team began play in the league in 2020 as a continuation of the USL club of the same name and plays its home matches at Geodis Park. It is principally owned ...

;Joined from NASL *

Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2014, before moving to the United Soccer League in 2018. The franchise plays ...

North Carolina FC North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games ...

;On hiatus *

Orlando City B Orlando City B (or OCB for short) is an American soccer club that began play in 2016 and currently plays in MLS Next Pro. Owned by Orlando City SC and based at the Orlando City training facility in Kissimmee, the club plays its home games at Os ...

** During the 2018 season, City B's MLS parent,

Orlando City SC Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the ...

, announced that City B would resume play in 2019 as a founding member of USL League One. *

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos t ...

** During the 2018 season, the Rhinos announced they would not return to the USL's top flight. The team will not resume professional operations until the 2020 season, at which time it will join USL League One. ;Folded * Vancouver Whitecaps 2

Rule changes

Regular season games will now be considered official after the 70th minute. Teams are allowed a fourth substitution in extra time for the USL Playoffs. Teams will submit a 23-player squad at least 48 hours before kickoff. A team's 18-player gameday roster may now contain a maximum of five players signed to USL Academy contracts.

Teams

Other venues

*Four Toronto FC II home games were played at Marina Auto Stadium in Rochester, New York. *Nashville's March 24 game against Pittsburgh, and the July 7 game against FC Cincinnati, were played at

Nissan Stadium Nissan Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Owned by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, it is primarily used for football and is the home field of the Tennessee Titans of the Nat ...

. *Toronto's May 9 game against Penn FC was moved to Monarch Park Stadium due to

BMO Field BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Constructed on the site of the former Exhibit ...

needing time to recover due to a busy early schedule. *The conclusion of a suspended game from June 16 between Atlanta United 2 and Ottawa was played August 7 at

Fifth Third Bank Stadium Fifth Third Bank Stadium, known as Kennesaw State University Stadium until 2013, is a stadium near Kennesaw, Georgia, that is primarily used as the home for the Kennesaw State Owls football team as well as the KSU women's soccer and women's la ...

Kennesaw, Georgia Kennesaw is a suburban city northwest of Atlanta in Cobb County, Georgia, United States, located within the greater Atlanta metropolitan area. Known from its original settlement in the 1830s until 1887 as Big Shanty, it became Kennesaw under its ...

Competition format

The season began on March 16 and ends on October 14. The top eight finishers in each conference qualify for the playoffs.

Managerial changes

‡

Luke Spencer Luke Spencer is a fictional character in the American television soap opera '' General Hospital'', played by Anthony Geary from 1978 until his departure in July 2015. Geary holds the record for most Daytime Emmy wins for Outstanding Lead Actor i ...

, Paolo DelPiccolo, & George Davis IV appointed joint interim head coaches.

League table

;Eastern Conference ;Western Conference

Results table

Playoffs

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

USL Championship

Championship Game MVP:

( LOU)

Attendance

Average home attendances

Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance. ^† Two Toronto FC II home matches were moved to Highmark Stadium and Sportsplex at Matthews due to unplayable field conditions. Updated to games of October 14, 2018.
Sources
USLSoccer Stadium Digest

Statistical leaders

Top scorers

Source:

Top assists

Source:

Shutouts

Source:

Hat-tricks

League awards

Individual awards

* Most Valuable Player: Emmanuel Ledesma ( CIN) * Defender of the Year: Forrest Lasso ( CIN) * Young Player of the Year: Efrain Alvarez ( LAG) * Goalkeeper of the Year:

Maxime Crépeau Maxime Crépeau (born May 11, 1994) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC and the Canadian national team. He is regarded as one of the best active goalkeepers in Major Le ...

(

OTT Ott, OTT or O.T.T. may refer to: Entertainment * OTT (group), a pop band from the late 1990s * Ott (record producer), British record producer and musician * "O.T.T" (song), a song by Fugative * ''O.T.T.'' (television series), a UK TV programme f ...

) * Coach of the Year: Alan Koch ( CIN) * Golden Boot: Cameron Lancaster ( LOU) * Assists Champion: Emmanuel Ledesma ( CIN) * Golden Glove: Evan Newton ( CIN)

All-League teams

First Team F: Thomas Enevoldsen (

OCO Oco ( eu, Oko) is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_mott ...

), Cameron Lancaster ( LOU), Daniel Rios (

NCA NCA may refer to: Businessses and organisations Australia * National Capital Authority, a government authority for development planning of the Capital Territory * National Crime Authority, defunct investigative agency India * Nuclear Command Aut ...

)
M: Tah Anunga (

CHS CHS may refer to: Businesses and organizations Healthcare bodies * Canadian Hemophilia Society, a non-profit * Center for Healthy Sex, a therapy center in Los Angeles, U.S. * Community Health Systems, an American hospital network Other businesses ...

), Solomon Asante ( PHX), Emmanuel Ledesma ( CIN), Aodhan Quinn (

)
D: Paco Craig ( LOU), Joe Greenspan (

PIT Pit or PIT may refer to: Structure * Ball pit, a recreation structure * Casino pit, the part of a casino which holds gaming tables * Trapping pit, pits used for hunting * Pit (motor racing), an area of a racetrack where pit stops are conducted * ...

), Forrest Lasso ( CIN)
G: Maxime Crépeau (

) Second Team F: Hadji Barry ( SPR), Ataulla Guerra (

), Cameron Iwasa (

SAC SAC or Sac may refer to: Organizations Education * Santa Ana College, California, US * San Antonio College, Texas, US * St. Andrew's College, Aurora, Canada * Students' Administrative Council, University of Toronto, Canada * SISD Student Activiti ...

)
M: Kyle Bekker (

), Corben Bone ( CIN), Kenardo Forbes (

), Lebo Moloto ( NSH)
D: Ayoze ( IND), Darnell King ( SAN), Denso Ulysse (

SEA The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

)
G: Josh Cohen (

)

References

{{2018 in Canadian soccer USL Championship seasons 2018 in American soccer leagues