Louisville City
Orange County SC
Sacramento Republic
Phoenix Rising
Real Monarchs
Pittsburgh
Reno
Charleston
Portland Timbers 2
Saint Louis FC
Swope Park Rangers
New York Red Bulls II
Philadelphia II
San Antonio
Indy Eleven
North Carolina
Ottawa Fury
Oklahoma City Energy
Charlotte Independ.
Tampa Bay
Fresno FC
Colorado Springs
Rio Grande
Ventura County
Harrisburg Islanders
Las Vegas Lights
Atlanta United 2
Seattle Sounders B
Richmond Kickers
FC Tulsa
Toronto FC II
Cincinnati
Nashville SC
Informação
Unlike most other nations, there is no system of merit-based promotion and relegation in the American and Canadian pyramids, meaning that the champions of USL-1 could not move up to Major League Soccer and, similarly, the worst teams in MLS were not in danger of being demoted to USL-1. However, some USL-1 teams had in the past chosen to take voluntary relegation to a lower level of the USL system, often to reduce operating costs, while teams had also decided to move up to USL-1 after finding success at the lower levels.
The top seven teams advanced to the playoff tournament, with the Commissioner’s Cup winner (regular season champion) receiving a bye into the semi-finals. Each round consisted of two legs, the lower seeded team hosting the first leg, and the higher seed hosting the second. Prior to 2009, the final was played as a single leg at the higher seeds stadium. After the first legs were completed, the lowest remaining seed played the Commissioners Cup winner, and the higher seeds played each other. The highest remaining seed hosted the penultimate game of the Finals. The playoffs started the week after the completion of the regular season, and typically ended in mid-October.
