# 2008 United Soccer Leagues

The 2008 Season is the 22nd edition of the United Soccer Leagues season.
The season kicked off on Friday, April 12 with two First Division games, as the Charleston Battery visited Miami FC and the Montreal Impact visited the Vancouver Whitecaps.

## General

* Changes in the First Division: the California Victory take the 2008 season off, leaving 11 teams playing a 30-game schedule.
* Changes in the Second Division: the Pittsburgh Riverhounds return from hiatus, and Real Maryland FC join as an expansion team. However, the Cincinnati Kings and New Hampshire Phantoms drop to the PDL. 10 teams play a 20-game schedule this season.
* In the PDL, 5 teams withdrew for the 2008 season, while 7 expansion teams and the two voluntary relegations increase the league to 67 teams in 10 divisions across 4 conferences. Teams play a 16-game league schedule.

## Honors

| Competition | Champion | Runner-Up | Regular Season Champion/Best USL team |
| USL First Division | Vancouver Whitecaps | Puerto Rico Islanders | Puerto Rico Islanders |
| USL Second Division | Cleveland City Stars | Charlotte Eagles | Charlotte Eagles |
| USL PDL | Thunder Bay Chill | Laredo Heat | Michigan Bucks |
| U.S. Open Cup | D.C. United (MLS) | Charleston Battery (USL-1) | Charleston Battery |
| Canadian Championship | Montreal Impact | Toronto FC (MLS) | n/a |

## Standings
### First Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Puerto Rico Islanders | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 43 | 23 | +20 | 54 | Commissioner's Cup, bye to semifinal round of playoffs |
| 2 | Vancouver Whitecaps (C) | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 34 | 28 | +6 | 53 | First round of playoffs |
| 3 | Montreal Impact | 30 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 33 | 28 | +5 | 42 | First round of playoffs |
| 4 | Rochester Rhinos | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 35 | 32 | +3 | 41 | First round of playoffs |
| 5 | Charleston Battery | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 34 | 36 | −2 | 40 | First round of playoffs |
| 6 | Seattle Sounders | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 37 | 36 | +1 | 40 | First round of playoffs |
| 7 | Minnesota Thunder | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 40 | 38 | +2 | 39 | First round of playoffs |
| 8 | Carolina RailHawks | 30 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 34 | 43 | −9 | 37 | |
| 9 | Miami FC | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 28 | 34 | −6 | 34 | |
| 10 | Atlanta Silverbacks | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 37 | 50 | −13 | 34 | |
| 11 | Portland Timbers | 30 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 26 | 33 | −7 | 31 | |
* ↑ Rochester deducted 1 point for use of an ineligible player on August 10, 2008
* 1 2 CHA: 4 pts; SEA: 4 pts
* 1 2 MIA: 7 pts; ATL: 1 pt

#### Playoffs

Teams were re-seeded for semifinal matchups Vancouver was selected by the league to host the final despite being the lower seeded team
| First round September 26/28 | First round September 26/28 | First round September 26/28 | First round September 26/28 | First round September 26/28 | Semi-finals October 3/5 | Semi-finals October 3/5 | Semi-finals October 3/5 | Semi-finals October 3/5 | Semi-finals October 3/5 | Final October 12 | Final October 12 | Final October 12 |
| 6 | Seattle Sounders | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Montreal Impact | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Montreal Impact | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | Montreal Impact | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | |
| | | | | | 2 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | |
| 7 | Minnesota Thunder | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | |
| 2 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 2 | 3 | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 2 | 3 | 5 | | | | | | 2 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Puerto Rico Islanders | 1 |
| 5 | Charleston Battery | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | 1 | Puerto Rico Islanders | 1 |
| 4 | Rochester Rhinos | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Rochester Rhinos | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | Rochester Rhinos | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | |
| | | | | | 1 | Puerto Rico Islanders (a.e.t) | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | |

#### First Round

Rochester Rhinos won 2–1 on Aggregate.
Montreal Impact won 4–3 on Aggregate.
Vancouver Whitecaps won 5–4 on Aggregate.

#### Semifinals

Puerto Rico Islanders won 3–2 on Aggregate in Extra Time.
Vancouver Whitecaps won 2–1 on Aggregate.

#### Final

* USL First Division 2008 Champions
* Vancouver Whitecaps FC Second title

#### Awards and All-League Teams

First Team F: Alex Afonso (Miami FC) (Leading Goalscorer); Macoumba Kandji (Atlanta Silverbacks) M: Osvaldo Alonso (Charleston Battery); Stephen deRoux (Minnesota Thunder); Martin Nash (Vancouver Whitecaps); Jonathan Steele (Puerto Rico Islanders) (MVP) D: Cristian Arrieta (Puerto Rico Islanders) (Defender of the Year); Taylor Graham (Seattle Sounders); David Hayes (Atlanta Silverbacks); Nevio Pizzolitto (Montreal Impact) G: Bill Gaudette (Puerto Rico Islanders) (Goalkeeper of the Year) Coach: Colin Clarke (Puerto Rico Islanders) (Coach of the Year)
Second Team F: Sebastien Le Toux (Seattle Sounders); Eduardo Sebrango (Vancouver Whitecaps) M: Leonardo Di Lorenzo (Montreal Impact); Johnny Menyongar (Rochester Rhinos); Ricardo Sanchez (Minnesota Thunder); Matt Watson (Carolina RailHawks) D: Wesley Charles and Takashi Hirano (Vancouver Whitecaps); Cameron Knowles (Portland Timbers); Scott Palguta (Rochester Rhinos) G: Matt Jordan (Montreal Impact)

### Second Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Charlotte Eagles | 20 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 45 | 15 | +30 | 44 | Regular season champion |
| 2 | Richmond Kickers | 20 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 48 | 20 | +28 | 44 | Qualified for playoffs |
| 3 | Cleveland City Stars (C) | 20 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 33 | 16 | +17 | 37 | Qualified for playoffs |
| 4 | Crystal Palace Baltimore | 20 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 34 | Qualified for playoffs |
| 5 | Harrisburg City Islanders | 20 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 33 | 20 | +13 | 31 | Qualified for playoffs |
| 6 | Western Mass Pioneers | 20 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 19 | 29 | −10 | 20 | Qualified for playoffs |
| 7 | Wilmington Hammerheads | 20 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 32 | 33 | −1 | 19 | |
| 8 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 20 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 25 | 37 | −12 | 18 | |
| 9 | Bermuda Hogges | 20 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 21 | 50 | −29 | 17 | |
| 10 | Real Maryland Monarchs | 20 | 3 | 15 | 2 | 15 | 51 | −36 | 10 | |
* 1 2 Western Mass and Real Maryland deducted 1 point

#### Playoffs

| First Round August 13 | First Round August 13 | First Round August 13 | Semifinals August 16 | Semifinals August 16 | Semifinals August 16 | Final August 23 | Final August 23 | Final August 23 |
| | | | 1 | Charlotte Eagles | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Crystal Palace Baltimore (AET/PK) | 2 (7) | 4 | Crystal Palace Baltimore | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Harrisburg City Islanders | 2 (6) | | | | 1 | Charlotte Eagles | 1 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Cleveland City Stars | 2 |
| | | | 2 | Richmond Kickers | 0 | | | |
| 3 | Cleveland City Stars | 4 | 3 | Cleveland City Stars(AET) | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Western Mass Pioneers | 2 | | | | | | |

#### Awards and All-League team

First Team F: Jorge Herrera (Charlotte Eagles); Boyzzz Khumalo (Pittsburgh Riverhounds); Dustin Swinehart (Charlotte Eagles) (league MVP) M: Mike Burke (Richmond Kickers); Floyd Franks (Cleveland City Stars); Shintaro Harada (Crystal Palace Baltimore) D: Brady Bryant and Steve Shak (Charlotte Eagles); Sascha Gorres (Richmond Kickers); Mark Schulte (Cleveland City Stars) (Defender of the Year) G: Terry Boss (Charlotte Eagles) Coach: Mark Steffens (Charlotte Eagles) (Coach of the Year) Rookie of the Year: Stanley Nyazamba (Richmond Kickers)
Second Team F: Gary Brooks (Crystal Palace Baltimore); Sallieu Bundu (Cleveland City Stars); Jeff Deren (Western Mass Pioneers)
M: Trey Alexander (Wilmington Hammerheads); Justin Evans (Pittsburgh Riverhounds); Matthew Mbuta (Crystal Palace Baltimore)
D: Dustin Bixler (Harrisburg City Islanders); Trevor McEachron (Richmond Kickers); Federico Molinari (Western Mass Pioneers); Dame Walters (Wilmington Hammerheads)
G: Ronnie Pascale (Richmond Kickers)

### Premier Development League

* See 2008 PDL Season