1996... SIZZLIN WITH THE SELECT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reaching its 10th Anniversary with much success over the years, USL celebrates by designing and launching the final element of the developmental pyramid by creating the Select League. The Select League, a higher level of Division III at the time, was granted Division II status for the upcoming 1997 season by USSF, an action that would have far-reaching effects for soccer in North America in the near future. The Select League was just another selling point for USL as it came to an agreement with Major League Soccer, which made its debut in ‘96, to serve as a player development system for the Division I league. The year was historic on the field as well with the USL shootout coming into play in two of the four championship matches. The Select and D3 Pro League championships came down to the revolutionary tiebreaker, which would be dropped after the ‘99 season, allowing draws for the first time in USL history. Kevin Rueda gave the California Jaguars the Select title over the Richmond Kickers with three saves in the shootout and Eddie Pigford handed the Charleston Battery the D3 crown by stopping a penalty kick late in regulation, a blistering shot in overtime and two shootout attempts versus the Charlotte Eagles. In the PDL, it was two West Coast teams battling it out on the opposite side of the country in Cocoa, Fla. for the championship. At the final whistle it was the Central Coast Roadrunners edging the San Francisco Bay Seals, who would move on to D3 the next year, by the score of 1-0. Bryan Taylor, who scored the game-winner and five of his team’s six goals in the “Premier Six” tournament, would move on to play in MLS. The Roadrunners would go on to win a second consecutive championship while playing host to the ‘97 PDL Finals. The Maryland Pride left no doubts in the W-League “Swizzlin’ Six” championship tournament, winning the title without allowing a single goal in their three matches. The final statement was a 3-0 blanking of the Dallas Lightning, who were the only other team in the league with one loss.
1997... A-LEAGUE JOINS THE FOLD
Although the A-League was producing successful players of its own, it was inevitable that it would either disappear as the turn of the century neared or find a medium with USL. In October of 1996 the two leagues got together; and in 1997, history was made with the merger that would finalize the USL soccer dynasty. The two leagues, although taking separate paths in their ventures over the years, came together after 10 years of co-existence.
The new-age A-League was a compilation of the 1996 A-League clubs and a number of highly regarded teams from the now obsolete Select League as well as a few D3 Pro League and PDL teams.
Two former Select League teams met in the first USL A-League championship with the Miwaukee Rampage defeating the Carolina Dynamo in a shootout. After the second overtime finished tied at 1-1, Rampage goalkeeper Carmine Isacco made two saves as he blanked the Dynamo in the shootout for the championship.
With the addition of the A-League as the focal point of the season, it was the D3 Pro League and former PDL San Francisco Bay Seals making the headlines and stealing the spotlight. The Seals became the first cinderella team to make a run in the U.S. Open Cup since the debut of MLS. The D3 Seals first knocked off the ‘95 and ‘96 A-League champion Seattle Sounders before upsetting MLS’ Kansas City Wizards, 2-1, and the San Jose Clash, by the same 2-1 score, to reach the semi-finals of the tournament. The run continued until they fell in a shootout, after tying the defending Open Cup and two-time MLS champion D.C. United, 1-1, through regulation and overtime.
The Albuquerque Geckos, with two goals and an assist from Luis Labastida, defeated the Charlotte Eagles, 4-1, for the ‘97 D3 championship on their home turf. The ‘97 PDL Finals host Central Coast Roadrunners repeated as champions with a narrow 2-1 victory over the Cocoa Expos and the Long Island Lady Riders became the first team to win two W-League Championships with a 2-1 shootout victory over Chicago. The Lady Riders’ Kim Wyant allowed one goal in the nine-round shootout.
1998... W GOES TWO FOR ONE
Continued growth and success prompted USL to divide the elite women’s league into two levels in 1998, forming W-1 and W-2. Teams in the two leagues would continue playing interleague games for travel-purposes but the mission was simple. If multiple levels worked for the men’s side of the sport, there was no reason why it shouldn’t for the women’s side.
The W-League, which saw numerous current and future U.S. National Team players gracing the field in its uniforms went on to a spectacular ‘98 season, in which the Raleigh Wings won their first of two consecutive championships in W-1 and the Fort Collins Force captured the first W-2 title. The Wings, with a strong contingent of powerhouse Univ. of North Carolina players, edged the hometown Boston Renegades in a high-scoring 4-3 championship match. Fort Collins, however, handily defeated the Hampton Roads Piranhas, 3-1, behind Maren Hendershot’s two goals.
The Rochester Raging Rhinos continued their dominant role on and off the field. On the field, Rochester stomped through the regular season with a league-best 24-4 record. The Raging Rhinos allowed just six goals in their six playoff games that concluded with a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Thunder, who would return the favor in ‘99, for the A-League championship.
The Chicago Stingers won their first of the franchise’s three consecutive league titles in ‘98 by erasing a two-goal halftime deficit to defeat the New Hampshire Phantoms, 3-2, in overtime. Chicago, regrouping as the Sockers in the PDL in ‘99, would go on to win the PDL championship in their two seasons in the league.
In 1998, the San Gabriel Valley Highlanders, who reached the semi-finals in ‘97, gave the Southwest Division its third consecutive PDL championship by knocking off the previously undefeated Jackson Chargers, 3-2, in the Final. The Highlanders retained the crown won by the Central Coast Roadrunners in ‘96 and ‘97.
1999... A NEW LOOK : USL
With two successful years following the merger -- a landmark moment in the system’s history -- and the new millennium on the horizon, the organization underwent its final image change, creating United Soccer Leagues.
Marking the occasion was the long-awaited birth of the Super Y-League, adding the first level in the North American soccer development pyramid. Its debut was not grand in size at 25 teams, but was a tremendous success as the number of teams tripled the following year.
Stealing the spotlight from the Super Y-League however, were the A-League’s Rochester Raging Rhinos, who stunned the nation with a remarkable run in the U.S. Open Cup. The Raging Rhinos defeated four straight Major League Soccer teams to become the first non-MLS team to claim the Dewar Cup since the First Division league’s inception.
The Minnesota Thunder prevented the Rhinos from winning the double, though, capturing the A-League title with a 3-1 victory at the National Sports Center.
The second-year Western Mass Pioneers defeated Northern Conference rival South Jersey Barons, 2-1, to win the D3 Pro League title and the Chicago Sockers handed the Spokane Shadow a 3-1 loss to claim their first of two consecutive PDL National Championships before a Shadow-record crowd of 3,843.
The Raleigh Wings and Chicago Cobras battled to the bitter end with the Raleigh Wings capturing their second straight W-1 title in a shootout after the match finished tied, 2-2.
The North Texas Heat were level, 1-1, with the W-2 National Championship host Springfield Sirens at halftime, but broke the game open with four goals in an 18-minute span in the second half to capture the title.
Eight teams gathered for the Super Y-League’s inaugural U14 and U15 Finals. The Atlanta Fire swept the U14 tournament to capture the league’s first U14 championship. The Central Jersey Riptide won the U15 crown as well by sweeping through the U15 tournament.
2000... HISTORY ON THE FIELD
Minnesota-Rochester III capped off the 2002 season with the Raging Rhinos reclaiming the A-League title with a 3-1 victory in front of 14,276 fans at Frontier Field.
The story of the year may have been the stunning upsets in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup by the PDL’s Chicago Sockers and Mid Michigan Bucks over the Kansas City Wizards and New England Revolution, respectively. The Sockers downed Kansas City in penalty kicks of a scoreless match while the Bucks stunned the Revs on the road 1-0, scoring two minutes into stoppage time.
The Charlotte Eagles took the D3 Pro League crown in convincing fashion by handing the regular season champion New Jersey Stallions a 5-0 loss in front of 5,350 fans in Charlotte. The club’s success led to promotion to the A-League for the following season.
Bret Hall continued to work his magic, leading the Sockers to their second straight PDL title with a 1-0 win over the Bucks in the championship game. The championship was his third consecutive for the franchise, which played in the D3 Pro League as the Stingers in 1998.
In the W-League, the Raleigh Wings were finally dethroned as W-1 Champions by the Chicago Cobras. Chicago, who had lost in shootouts the previous year to Raleigh and in 1995 to Long Island, came out victorious in the tiebreaker, ending Raleigh’s two-year championship run. The W-2 title went to the Springfield Sirens, who denied Charlotte a sweep of men’s and women’s titles. Springfield breezed through the season with an 11-1 mark and captured the title against the Charlotte Lady Eagles with a 2-1 victory.
The Super Y-League exploded in growth in its second season, growing from 16 teams to 75 for 2000
