2017 USL season

[Bison44]

No CDN on last weeks squad, this week Bradley Kamdem (Rhinos) and Zach Ellis-Hayden (OCB) both scored and made the team of the week.  

[Rocket Robin]

USL Sets Record Weekly Per-Game-Attendance Mark

By USLSoccer.com Staff, 06/19/17, 4:02PM EDT

USL Teams averaged more than 8,300 per game for first time in Week 13

TAMPA, Fla. – The United Soccer League’s outstanding attendance figures in the 2017 Regular Season broke a new barrier over the past week as the USL recorded the four highest attendances outside Major League Soccer. Led by the league’s independent clubs, which averaged a record crowd of 8,331 across eight games, the USL averaged more than 6,000 fans per game for the week for the first time in the league’s history.

More than 70,000 fans saw the 12 league contests in Week 13 of the season, surpassing the previous record average of 5,918 in Week 5 earlier this year. The USL has now posted 18 sellout crowds this season, matching its total from the same point a season ago, and has seen its average attendance rise by 27 percent through 13 weeks.

FC Cincinnati continued to feature prominently with a crowd of 21,074 for its thrilling 2-2 draw against the Charleston Battery on Saturday night. The crowd added to a stellar week for FCC, which also welcomed more than 30,000 fans for its Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup victory against Columbus Crew SC on Wednesday night.

Additionally, Sacramento Republic FC recorded a sellout crowd of 11,569 fans in a 2-1 victory against Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2, while both Louisville City FC and Rio Grande Valley FC posted attendances of more than 8,500 fans. The Toros’ attendance of 8,656 was their highest regular-season attendance to date at the newly-opened H-E-B Park, surpassed only by their sellout crowd in the venue’s inaugural game against Liga MX’s Monterrey in March. The Charlotte Independence also welcomed a sellout crowd to the Sportsplex at Matthews on Saturday night as the club opened its new home with a 2-0 victory against the Harrisburg City Islanders.

The USL also saw another pair of goals garner national attention, with both San Antonio FC’s Kris Tyrpak (Saturday) and FC Cincinnati’s Andrew Wiedeman (Sunday) earn a place on the ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 for their excellent finishes in Saturday’s action. USL players have now earned a place in the Top 10 on six different occasions this year, by far the most in the league’s history, as the league’s profile in the North American sporting landscape continues to rise. 

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and the Toronto FC II game must have been counted if they said there were twelve games last week.  That means the Wednesday afternoon school day crowd of 1295 (twelve HUNDRED ninety-five would be included to drag down the average.  1295 was one of TFC II's larger crowds. 

Attendance:   another reason USL wants to spilt off the MLS II and B teams. 

 

[Kent]

TFC II vs Orlando City B - 1,295
NYRB II vs Belthlehem Steel - 495
Portland Timbers 2 vs OKC Energy - 2,317
Rochester Rhinos vs Ottawa Fury - 2,548
Charlotte Independence vs Harrisburg City Islanders - 2,648
FC Cincinatti vs Charleston Battery - 21,074
Richmond Kickers vs Tampa Bay Rowdies - 4,034
Louisville City vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds - 8,741
Rio Grande Valley vs LA Galaxy II - 8,656
San Antonio FC vs Tulsa Roughnecks - 7,376
Sacramento Republic vs Vancouver Whitecaps 2 - 11,569
Swope Park Rangers vs Phoenix Rising - 1,405

Total: 72,158
Average: 6,013
Average not including MLS B teams: 8,330

The subheadline claim of an 8,300 average is pretty dishonest, but the meat of the article seems to have it's facts straight.

Those are some impressive crowds though. It will be interesting to see if the league keeps growing or at least maintaining these numbers in the years ahead, or if we are seeing a golden age of support due to the hopes of getting promoted to MLS.

[shermanator]

Steven Sandor has an article up on TFC II and WFC 2 falling short of the "540 minutes per game for Canadians" requirement for sanctioning.

https://the11.ca/falling-short-tfcii-wfc2-need-to-boost-canadian-content-in-order-to-meet-mandated-quotas/

With the following quote from the CSA:

“Teams are monitored by Canada Soccer throughout the season to ensure that they are respecting the conditions of sanction to play in a cross-border league.  We acknowledge that various factors have to be considered on a game-by-game basis and work with the teams in ensuring that Canadian content is adhered to over the playing season.”