The NSCAA Convention is considered one of the pre-eminent gatherings in the soccer industry, featuring numerous coaching tutorials, a large tradeshow of sports professionals and a myriad of other high profile events.

“We are looking forward to returning to the NSCAA Convention again this year,” said USL President Tim Holt, a native of the greater Philadelphia area and Men’s Professional Representative on the NSCAA Board of Directors. “This is one of the marquee events every year and it is important to support the coaches because they are the most influential cog in player development as they interact daily with tomorrow’s stars.”

USL’s new long-term partnership with Umbro will kick off with an expanded exhibit at the convention that will be open during the tradeshow January 14-17. USL and its staff will be located in Umbro’s new 1,600 square foot exhibit throughout the event.

“We are looking forward to our new long-term relationship with USL, an organization with a tremendous presence and history in the sport, heading into the 2010 campaign this summer,” said Richard Nightingale, General Manager of Umbro USA. “We are thrilled to kick this partnership off by featuring USL as part of our newly-expanded Umbro booth for this year’s NSCAA Convention as both organizations begin the new year.”

Holt, one of eight USL representatives at the event, will be a guest on a special three-hour Fox Football Fone-In show, which will broadcast live from the convention Thursday evening. Hosted by Nick Webster and Eric Wynalda, the show will also feature guests such as Don Garber, Tonya Antonucci, Dominic Kinnear, Anson Dorrance and George Gelnovatch.

In all, USL expects over 100 representatives from its teams to also be in attendance at the event from all six levels of USL competition.

League and team representatives, along with USL’s partners and other industry guests will be attending the annual social hosted by USL during the event.

New league for Impact, Whitecaps
As expected, compromise ruled the day.

The two disputing factions in the feud over who runs second-division men’s pro soccer in this part of the planet has been resolved – for the coming season, at least – under intense pressure from the United States Soccer Federation.

The two sides – old, existing USL-1 and new, rebellious NASL-2 – will each form a conference in a new 12-team league that will kick off this spring.

Canada’s two sides, the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps, have been drawn in the “NASL Conference,” along with Carolina, Miami and expansion sides St. Louis and Baltimore. The “USL Conference” includes Portland, Rochester, Puerto Rico, Minnesota, Austin and new boys Tampa Bay.

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The agreement pertains only to the 2010 season, and during the next year U.S. Soccer will continue to work with USL and NASL to build a long-term solution for the future. U.S. Soccer will also be developing new standards to govern Division 2 professional league applicants to ensure the long term viability and sustainability of the leagues and teams.

“We are extremely pleased that we were able to come to a solution that ensures we will have Division 2 professional soccer in the United States in 2010,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati.

“This agreement allows us to continue to develop the professional game in many important markets around the country, while at the same time working towards the long-term stability of Division 2 professional soccer. I’d like to thank the representatives from both the USL and NASL for the time spent during our negotiations, especially their efforts in the past seven days.”

The league will consist of two six-team conferences – the USL Conference and the NASL Conference. The USL Conference will include teams from Austin, Minnesota, Portland, Puerto Rico, Rochester and Tampa Bay. The NASL Conference will consist of teams from Baltimore, Carolina, Miami, Montreal, St Louis and Vancouver.

In the near future, U.S. Soccer will announce details of the new league, including league rules, a match schedule, television rights and other important operational issues.

As part of the agreement, all pending claims between the USL and NASL will be dropped.

We are pleased to have a solution that will provide fans the continued presentation of an elite caliber of professional soccer in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. While some differences remain, the one common agreement was that everyone must play this season, and we are happy that we were able to work with US Soccer to find a compromise for the upcoming 2010 season.

The quality of play on the pitch has risen sharply over the past few years and will no doubt provide for an exciting campaign yet again in 2010.

Alec Papadakis CEO, USL

The Canadian Soccer Association supports the resolution announced today for Division 2 professional soccer in North America.

The Montréal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps FC contribute significantly in developing the game of soccer in Canada. We look forward to working with this new league to promote professional soccer in Canada.

Peter Montopoli General Secretary, Canadian Soccer Association

Today we can say mission accomplished. Since the onset of negotiations, we were confident in achieving a positive outcome. We are proud to state that our fans will be treated to high level soccer in 2010 with 12 teams, including three newcomers, matching up in a top quality championship. More so, the league team owners have now gained control over their destiny, which is very positive for the future of soccer in North America.

Joey Saputo President, Montreal Impact

The decision was made on the recommendation of the Professional League Task Force, which determined that neither organization on its own was able to provide a viable and sustainable operation during the upcoming season. Both organizations were unable to meet U.S. Soccer’s requirement of a minimum of eight viable teams for 2010.

Despite the ruling, the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors has given both organizations seven days to try to work out an interim solution for the 2010 season.

“After carefully reviewing the findings from the Task Force it was clear there are still too many uncertainties for both organizations, which would be extremely difficult to resolve in a timely fashion that would allow them to prepare for the 2010 season,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati.

“In the best interest of soccer in the United States, we decided to not sanction either league at this point. However, we did encourage both leagues to come together in the next week and attempt to develop another plan which would allow a single league to be approved on a provisional basis. We are committed to finding ways to improve the long-term viability of all leagues and teams and continue the growth of soccer in the United States.”

USL-done
2009 draws rapidly to a close, and the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps are missing something really basic and essential as they make their plans for 2010.

A league to play in.

It has already long-since been noted that the vast majority of USL-1 sides refuse to recognize Nu-Rock Holdings as the league’s new owner, and are attempting to split off and start NASL2 on their own.

Nu-Rock’s attempts at “diplomacy” have so far consisted of expelling franchises, cancelling player contracts en masse and filing lawsuits against teams like Tampa Bay, Rochester and Baltimore who caught the stink from the kitchen and are now trying to tip-toe out the back door.

All the while, the United States Soccer Federation – whose approval is needed for any league to operate – are doing everything they can to hold off making a decision, clearly hoping a solution is found that doesn’t involve their having to rule against one side or the other.

Meanwhile, Canada’s only two division-two pro sides – Vancouver MLS-bound in a year, Montreal most likely a year after – don’t actually know for certain if they will be playing soccer at all this summer.

It’s gone on long enough.

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“As the level of sophistication has grown for USL, so too has the quality of organizations outside of our borders that we are working with,” said USL CEO Alec Papadakis. “Forging partnerships with exceptional individuals and organizations abroad will further enhance the opportunities for USL, the clubs and the players. This is an important element to the business as the soccer world no longer consists of isolated regions. We are moving forward by breaking new ground and reaching new heights, and we are proud to have Beswicks by our side leading the way.”

For Beswicks, it will be the firm’s second consecutive trip to the United States for the USL AGM with executives Tim Bailey, Gary Mellor and Simon Woodings having attended last year. Joining Mellor and Woodings this year are Mark Cartwright, Darren Long and Clive Clarke. In addition to nearly the entire firm travelling to Tampa for the 2009 meeting, Beswicks has invited several clubs to join them such as Burnley.

“Sheffield Wednesday, Bolton Wanderers and Fulham all indicated an interest in the exciting changes in USL,” said Mellor, who said the three clubs are keen on attending. “We were overwhelmed last year by the interest from the clubs at all levels looking to expand their horizons and linking up with teams around the world. As a result, we are bringing more people. Personally, I had what seemed a hundred meetings last year and I felt we couldn’t do everybody justice. We want to make sure we have enough people there from our firm on hand to meet the demand for personal meetings in addition to the seminars and panels we will be involved with.”

Burnley, which is already working with the PDL and W-League Cary Clarets teams and has taken tours of the United States, playing games against the Portland Timbers and Ventura County Fusion in 2009, will be represented by Brendan Flood, the club’s operating director. Flood recently published a book, ‘Big Club, Small Town and Me,’ chronicling the story of Burnley FCs meteoric rise to the Premiership from an inside perspective, opening the door to the boardroom and telling the story of the most exhilarating, turbulent and breathtaking years of his life.

One individual among Beswicks’ invited guests has first-hand knowledge of USL as former Portland Timber player Sean McAuley is the current Academy Manager for Sheffield Wednesday. He played 16 games with the club in 2002.

The diverse group of attendees will also include Nuno Esteves, the manager of GD Estoril Praia in Portugal’s second flight as well as Portuguese agent Tony Araujo, who also represents a number of African players.

Heading north to the AGM will be a number of groups from Mexico and South America.

Mexican entrepreneurs Rodrigo Suarez and Eduardo Salamonovitz, affiliated with the Johan Cruyff Institute for Sport Studies, will be attending as representatives of a group of Mexican investors interested in launching a club with United Soccer Leagues.

Also expected are groups from Brazil and Argentina.

Statement Regarding USL First Division
United Soccer Leagues, founded in 1986, continues to be the only organization with Division II and III Men’s Outdoor Professional Leagues sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, providing over 20 years of professional league management experience to its member clubs at all levels of the game.

The new ownership of NuRock Soccer Holdings has made a significant investment in United Soccer Leagues through its acquisition of the business and the retaining of strategic business partners such as Nike, Inc. and Premier Partnerships, which is led by the highly-respected duo of Alan Rothenberg and Randy Bernstein.

While USL does not oppose the right of an entity to affiliate with USSF per the governing organization’s bylaws, it does oppose the current application before the Federation on the grounds that there is misrepresentation, interference with USL business operations and substantial debt amongst the membership of the parties applying for certification.

Although USL is currently working with USL-1 member teams on reforming the structure of league management, USL’s ownership structure and franchise system has been, and will continue to be, in compliance with all USSF and FIFA statutes since its membership as a professional league with the USSF began in 1993.

There is no FIFA regulation stipulating that member leagues be owned by their respective clubs, and in many cases around the world, leagues consist of individual clubs that play in league competitions managed by the respective Federation such as the English leagues (excluding the Premiership), Bundesliga (Germany), La Liga (Spain) and Mexican Primera Division. While some management systems are similar, the models of ownership structure vary greatly throughout FIFA based on each country’s business regulations as well as respective regional confederation and federation guidelines and principles. While there are universal principles woven throughout FIFA, league ownership models are among concepts such as promotion/relegation and the prohibition of two equal-tiered leagues that are not mandated and not necessarily applicable for every federation, such as is the case in the United States. Every league in every federation has its own nuances that make it unique.

The ownership structure of United Soccer Leagues has played a crucial role in maintaining a stable foundation while advancing the sport over decades of growth through both prosperous and difficult financial times. This structure has allowed USL to support and maintain the operation of member clubs such as Montreal and Vancouver during times when the then ownership of the clubs were unable to continue operating, which would have had detrimental affects on both the competition and on all respective markets across the league. With continued financial difficulties being experienced by clubs all around the world as well franchises and leagues in various United States sports entities, USL believes its model, with upcoming reforms to better serve its teams, is an important aspect to a successful future in the USL First Division.

Yes, negotiations with the several existing USL First Division clubs considering forming a breakaway circuit are over says USL CEO Alec Papadakis.

“The negotiations are finished. We decided to continue our preparations for the season 2010 with the teams which wished to remain with us. I would like to thank the two Canadian teams, the Whitecaps and the Impact, for all that contribution to the USL for the past few years,” said Papadakis in a Montreal radio interview.

“While the statements made in the earlier interview were accurate in that we have ceased negotiations with the (breakaway) Team Owner’s Association as a group, we remain in dialogue with certain individual TOA teams about their possible participation in USL-1 for 2010. We are open to the return of the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps to USL-1 for 2010; however, we continue to move forward with our preparations for next season.”

The Whitecaps have one more year to go before joining Major League Soccer in 2011. Yes, the Whitecaps are in limbo.

“While it’s true we haven’t been in dialogue with the USL we have never been told we wouldn’t be welcome back nor have we made a decision that we will be back. We’re still in limbo. One way or another the Whitecaps will be playing soccer next season,” president Bob Lenarduzzi said.

Yes, the Montreal Impact are in negotiations.

“Following the press release issued earlier by the USL, I would also like to confirm that there are still ongoing talks between the Montreal Impact and the USL,” declared Montreal Impact President Joey Saputo.

“The negotiations are not over. We continue to work on various options, including the possibility of seeing the Impact in the USL-1 in 2010.”

Team Ownership Association Update
The Carolina RailHawks, Miami FC and the Minnesota Thunder — are also unhappy with the ownership structure of the USL-1.

USL At A Crossroads

Both legs will air live on Fox Soccer Channel with Saturday’s contest beginning at 9:30 pm ET and the second leg at 2:30 pm ET on October 17.

The pair currently trail the Rochester Rhinos, who won in 1998, 2000 and 2001, and the Seattle Sounders, who captured the league title a record four times in 1995, 1996, 2005 and 2007. The Impact and Whitecaps are joined only by the Colorado Foxes of 1992-93 as two-time champions. Vancouver will be looking to be the first to repeat as champions since the 2000-01 Rhinos.

But while the desire to record history may be there on paper, emotion certainly is bubbling under the surface this year, particularly in Vancouver’s case. The Whitecaps were poised to advance to the CONCACAF Champions League earlier this year via the Nutrilite Canadian Championship tournament, but a stunning 6-1 collapse by the previously-eliminated Impact in a game against Toronto FC in which they rested numerous players cost their league brethren in the tiebreakers. A fact that did not go over well then, and appears to still be an issue heading into the next two weeks.

“We owe Montreal some payback from the Nutrilite [Canadian Championship], so we’ll see if we can go and do a job on them,” captain Martin Nash told Marc Weber of The Province following their series victory over Portland Sunday.

In a strange quirk of numbers, among several trends between the two sides over the years, the two clubs have split series victories the past two years in their two competitions. Vancouver won both meetings against Montreal in the NCC with Montreal following up the two shutouts with three victories over Vancouver in league play – the exact opposite of a year ago.

In 2008, Montreal won the two NCC fixtures while the Whitecaps took the regular season series with a 2-0-1 record. The difference in 2008 was decided in the USL-1 postseason, where Vancouver advanced 2-1 on aggregate with both clubs registering shutouts at home in the Semifinal series en route to claiming their second league championship.

The 2008 postseason was not the first time the two have met in the playoffs. In fact, the other Whitecaps championship also saw their road to the title go through Montreal as they knocked the Impact off 2-0 on aggregate with a 2-0 win in overtime on the road after a scoreless draw in the first leg of the 2006 Semifinals.

Eduardo Sebrango and Tony Donatelli scored the critical goals in that 2006 overtime session. Both now play for the Impact. They are two of seven players currently on the club rosters who have played for the other side.

Sebrango, in fact, is the all-time leader in scoring in the all-time series between the two clubs with three goals to his credit for both. His total of six is two more than any other. David Testo has scored twice, both against Vancouver since the switch, and Charles Gbeke twice, both against Montreal since his move. Along with Donatelli, Montreal’s Joey Gjertsen has one goal, scoring against his former side. Nash and Montreal goalkeeper Srdjan Djekanovic, who could win a second straight title as the back-up keeper, round out the seven.

Regardless of who the players have been since the two clubs played for the first time on May 30, 1993, one trend has remained constant – close contests. In the 45 meetings between the two clubs, 30 have been decided by a goal or finished level, and 32 games have featured a shutout with four of the six draws having finished scoreless. Only once has the losing team scored twice in a game, and the biggest margin of victory has been three (four times by Montreal). Neither club has scored three goals in a game since Montreal posted a 3-0 victory at home June 11, 2004 – a span of 21 games that has also seen 18 shutouts. The one clear difference between the two is the series records. Montreal all-time is 26-13-6 with a 13-5-5 advantage at home and 13-8-1 record in Vancouver.

Four of the five meetings this year have been decided by one goal.

The lone big win, by the series standards, came in the opener when Vancouver posted a 2-0 NCC victory on the road over Montreal on May 20. Rookie phenom Marcus Haber scored in the first minute of action and 2008 USL-1 Championship MVP Gbeke doubled the advantage in the 17th minute. Jay Nolly held on for the shutout.

A week later at home, Gbeke had a penalty stopped by Matt Jordan, but another young standout made a key play as residency PDL player Ethan Gage provided the winner in the 67th minute, eliminating Montreal from NCC championship contention.

The season series in league play kicked off in Vancouver on June 7 with Montreal dishing out a little payback. Former Whitecaps Sebrango and Testo scored in the 2-1 victory. Sebrango opened the scoring 20 minutes in and Haber leveled the match three minutes before the break, but Testo answered right back two minutes later for Montreal.

Two first half goals in Montreal on June 20 propelled the Impact to a second straight win in the series, 2-1. Rocco Placentino connected in the 34th and Roberto Brown added the second five minutes later. Marlon James cut into the deficit in the 63rd, but the Whitecaps were unable to find the equalizer.

The regular season series came to a close just a month ago in a narrow 1-0 affair decided in the final moments in Montreal an September 9. Peter Byers provided the lone strike in stoppage time to give Montreal the sweep.

The USL-1 postseason will start in the North on Thursday evening as the Rochester Rhinos and the two Canadian sides Montreal and Vancouver will all play host to the opening legs of their series.

The Rhinos will take on the Puerto Rico Islanders in a rematch of the 2008 Semifinal series in which Rochester posted a 2-0 victory at home only to see Puerto Rico level at home to force overtime, where they tallied the series winner. The first leg will be at 7:05 pm ET at Marina Auto Stadium and the second leg will be in Bayamon Sunday at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium at 6:00 pm ET. Both games will air on USLlive.com.

The Battery will travel north of the border to visit the Impact in the first leg of their series at Saputo Stadium Thursday at 7:45 pm ET before returning home to host Montreal at Blackbaud Stadium Sunday at 7:00 pm ET. The first leg will be available on USLlive.com and the second will air on Fox Soccer Channel.

Carolina will travel across the continent to visit Vancouver in the opening leg of their series at Swangard Stadium at 10:30 pm ET in Burnaby, BC. The defending champions will then trek to Cary to face the RailHawks at WakeMed Soccer Park at 5:00 pm ET Sunday. Both games will be available on USLlive.com.

Quarterfinal Pairings & Schedule
#2 Carolina RailHawks vs #7 Vancouver Whitecaps
:: Sept 24 at Vancouver – 10:30 pm ET
:: Sept 27 at Carolina – 5:00 pm ET

#3 Puerto Rico Islanders vs #6 Rochester Rhinos
:: Sept 24 at Rochester – 7:05 pm ET
:: Sept 27 at Puerto Rico – 6:00 pm ET

#4 Charleston Battery vs #5 Montreal Impact
:: Sept 24 at Montreal – 7:45 pm ET
:: Sept 27 at Charleston – 7:00 pm ET

Fox Soccer Channel Broadcasts
The USL on FSC schedule shifts to Sunday for the next two weeks and will feature the Charleston Battery playing host to Montreal at 7:00 pm ET on Sunday, September 27.

The following week, the regular season champion Portland Timbers will play host to the lowest remaining playoff seed at 7:00 pm ET Sunday, October 4.

The playoffs will conclude with the USL-1 Championship Series Saturday, October 11 and Saturday, October 17. Both games will air on Fox Soccer Channel.

After TFC’s Dwayne De Rosario and Colorado’s Conor Casey traded goals, O’Brian White broke a 1-1 tie with a looping shot in the 71st just two minutes after the rookie forward came into the game as a substitute. Minutes after White’s goal, it was fellow youngster Nana Attakora who headed in a corner with what ended up being the match-winning goal.

The result was just the second win (2-4-4) for the Reds in their last 10 games in all competitions, but the three points puts them back into the MLS playoff picture. TFC improved to 3-0 all-time against Colorado at BMO Field, and avenged a 1-0 loss to the Rapids last week in the reverse fixture.

Carl Robinson was scheduled to make his return after missing the last two games due to a suspension and then an ankle injury, but the veteran midfielder went down during the pregame warmups with what appeared to be an aggravation of his sore ankle. Amado Guevara, back from international duty with Honduras, was inserted into the lineup in Robinson’s place.

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Video Highlights

More Week 26 Results
Columbus vs Houston
COLUMBUS, OH — Eddie Gaven scored on a penalty kick in the first minute of second-half stoppage time to give the Columbus Crew a dramatic and hard-fought 2-1 victory against the Houston Dynamo in a battle of the top two teams in MLS Sunday afternoon in Crew Stadium.
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Chivas USA vs New England
CARSON, CA — Chivas USA earned a valuable three points on Sunday afternoon, downing the visiting New England Revolution 2-0 in Los Angeles. Goals from Maicon Santos and Sacha Kljestan were the difference as the Red-and-White leapfrogged Real Salt Lake to move into a tie for fourth place in the Western Conference, but more importantly, a tie for the final spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
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DC United vs Seattle
WASHINGTON, DC — Seattle Sounders FC did what no other MLS team has been able to do this season — defeat DC United on their home turf in a league match. Completely against the run of play, Sounders FC got an 84th-minute goal from Fredy Montero to defeat United 2-1 at RFK Stadium for the second time in 10 days and collect a critical three points in the crowded playoff standings.
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New York vs Kansas City
E. RUTHERFORD, NJ — The Kansas City Wizards ended their East Coast road trip with a hard-won 1-0 victory against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday at Giants Stadium, courtesy of Josh Wolff’s early strike.
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Salt Lake vs Chicago
SANDY, UT — Olave’s right-footed volley in the 72nd minute helped RSL force a 1-1 draw with the Chicago Fire at Rio Tinto Stadium. Chris Rolfe put one home in the 44th minute to account for Chicago’s opening goal.
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Los Angeles vs Dallas
CARSON, CA — FC Dallas earned a vital away win on Saturday evening, crushing the LA Galaxy 6-3 in a wild game at The Home Depot Center. Veteran striker Jeff Cunningham was the hero of the night, scoring two goals and notching two assists to help his side to its first victory on the road since May 31.
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DC United vs Kansas City
WASHINGTON, DC — Efficiency was the watchword at RFK Stadium on Wednesday night as DC United rode a composed team performance — and a welcome dose of good fortune — to a 1-0 win against the Kansas City Wizards on a delightful fall evening in the nation’s capital.
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