Austin Da Luz
Austin da Luz (born October 9, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player. Career Youth and college Da Luz attended St. Stephen's Episcopal School Soccer Academy in Austin, Texas, where he was exposed to high levels of intensive training and competition on a regular basis and was able to travel and participate in international tournament play. Da Luz played college soccer at Wake Forest University from 2006 to 2009 where he appeared in 80 games scoring 13 goals and adding 39 assists. He was a member of Wake Forest's 2007 NCAA College Cup Championship team. During his college years da Luz also played for Austin Aztex U23 in the USL Premier Development League. Professional Da Luz was drafted in the first round (14th overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by New York Red Bulls. In the semi-finals of the pre-season 2010 Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic, da Luz scored the winning goal in the penalty kick shoot-out against the Houston Dynamo, topping off the score at ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New York Red Bulls
The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and began play in the league's inaugural season in 1996 as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. In 2006, the team was sold to Red Bull GmbH and re-branded as part of the company's global network of soccer clubs, hence its current name. The Red Bulls have played their home matches at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey since 2010, having previously played at Giants Stadium. The club is one of two teams in MLS based in the New York metropolitan region along with New York City FC, which entered the league in 2015. The two teams compete against each other in the Hudson River Derby. The Red Bulls have reached the MLS Cup final once in 2008 where they were defeated by the Columbus Crew. The club has won three regular season Supporters' Shield ti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their former owners relocated the San Jose Earthquakes' players and staff to Houston following the 2005 season. For their first six seasons in Houston, the Dynamo were based at Robertson Stadium on the campus of the University of Houston. During the 2012 season, the club moved to PNC Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium in East Downtown Houston. The club is majority owned by Ted Segal, who fully controls ownership after buying out his remaining minority partners in August 2022. The Houston Dynamo have been MLS Cup champions twice, winning during their first two seasons in 2006 and 2007. The club has also won the U.S. Open Cup once, in 2018. They have been MLS Cup runners-up twice, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2011 New York Red Bulls Season
The 2011 New York Red Bulls season was the club's seventeenth year of existence, as well as its sixteenth season in Major League Soccer, the top-flight of American soccer. After a successful turnaround season in 2010, in which Red Bulls finished in third place overall before losing in the quarterfinals of the post-season tournament, the club started 2011 hoping to find consistency, make a deeper run in the MLS Cup Playoffs, and vie for the Supporters Shield. By season's end it was clear the club failed on all three fronts. Red Bulls were labeled the biggest underachievers in MLS after performing with a maddening inconsistency, struggling even to earn the 10th and final spot in an expanded playoff field, and falling again in the playoff quarterfinals. Prior to the 2011 MLS season, New York Red Bulls manager Hans Backe declared that the club's goal for the season was to win the Shield, claiming that it was more of a test for the league title rather than the MLS Cup, which he called ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada—since the 2023 season. The league is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. Major League Soccer is the most recent in a series of men's premier professional national soccer leagues established in the United States and Canada. The predecessor of MLS was the North American Soccer League (NASL), which existed from 1968 until 1984. MLS was founded in 1993 as part of the United States' successful bid to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The inaugural season took place in 1996 with ten teams. MLS experienced financial and operational struggles in its first few years, losing millions of dollars and folding two teams in 2002. Since then, developments such as the proliferation of soccer-specific stadiums around the league, implementation of the Desi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2010 New York Red Bulls Season
The 2010 New York Red Bulls season was their fifteenth in Major League Soccer, and in their existence. Following a dismal 2009 season, the Red Bulls saw the arrival of Swedish head coach Hans Backe. Backe replaced interim coach Richie Williams, who became an assistant. In part of an entire overhaul to the club, the Red Bulls made several notable signings throughout the season including retired French international Thierry Henry; Mexico's national team captain, Rafael Márquez; as well as players including Tim Ream and Joel Lindpere. The Red Bulls went on a worst-to-first campaign, topping the Eastern Conference by one point over Columbus before losing 3–2 on aggregate against San Jose in the quarterfinals of the 2010 MLS Cup Playoffs. Monthly overview November 2009 The contract for defender Leo Krupnik was terminated and he returned to Israel. Midfielder Nick Zimmerman was selected in the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft by the Philadelphia Union on November 25. Veteran midfiel ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2020 USL Championship Season
The 2020 USL Championship season was the tenth season of the USL Championship and fourth under Division II sanctioning. This was the second season under the name "USL Championship", having used the name "United Soccer League" through 2018. Real Monarchs were the defending USL Cup champions. The 2020 season saw 35 teams participate in two conferences during the regular season. On November 8, 2019, Ottawa Fury FC announced that it had suspended operations. The team had received sanctioning from its country's governing body, Canada Soccer, but was denied by U.S. Soccer and the continental governing body of CONCACAF. Additionally, the 2020 season is the first season without Nashville SC. The club's identity transferred to a Major League Soccer team that started play in 2020. The season was suspended on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America. On June 4, the league announced a return to play on July 11, 2020. The playoffs began on October 10, and originally sched ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2019 USL Championship Season
The 2019 USL Championship season is the ninth season of the USL Championship and third under Division II sanctioning. This is the first season in which the league is operating under the name "USL Championship," having used the name "United Soccer League" through 2018. The season began on March 8, 2019, and concluded on October 20, 2019; with each team playing 34 matches. 36 teams competed in the 2019 USL Championship season, split into 2 conferences of 18 teams each. Louisville City FC are the two-time defending USL Cup champions. The 2019 season is the last for the current version of Nashville SC. The club's identity transferred to a Major League Soccer team that started to play in 2020. Additionally, this season was the last for Ottawa Fury FC. On November 8, the club announced that it had suspended operations; Fury FC had received sanctioning from its country's governing body, Canada Soccer, but was denied by U.S. Soccer and the continental governing body of CONCACAF. Chang ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2014 Orlando City SC Season
The 2014 Orlando City SC season was the club's fourth season of existence in Orlando, and their final season playing in the lower divisions. A Major League Soccer expansion franchise with the same name began play in 2015. The team entered the season as the defending USL Pro champions, beating Charlotte Eagles in the Championship Game after finishing second in the regular season. Background On November 19, 2013, it was announced that Orlando City would be the next expansion franchise in Major League Soccer, the league's 21st team, to begin play in 2015. The announcement was made at Church Street Station in downtown Orlando, in the old Cheyenne Saloon, and was attended by an overflow crowd estimated by the Orlando Police Department at around 4,000. This made 2014 their final season in USL Pro. Manager Adrian Heath said that the construction of the team for the 2014 season will be centered around getting players who can potentially move up with the team in 2015. As a result, he ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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USL Pro
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, placing it under Major League Soccer (Division I) in the hierarchy. The USL is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. The league is owned and operated by United Soccer League and was formed as result of the merger of their USL First (USL-1) and Second Divisions (USL-2), following the 2010 season which saw neither the USL-1 nor the North American Soccer League (NASL) receive Division II sanctioning from the USSF, resulting in the temporary USSF Division 2 Pro League. United Soccer Leagues stated that the merger would strengthen the league's position within the American professional soccer landscape through stability, commercial growth and the professional development of soccer in four main regions throughout the United States and Canada. Five U ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league based in the United States. The league was named for, but had no connection to, the original North American Soccer League. The later NASL was founded in 2009, and began play in 2011 with eight teams. From 2013 through 2017, the NASL used a split-season schedule running from April to early November, with a four-week break in July. The spring and fall champions, along with the two teams with best combined spring/fall records met in a four-team single-elimination tournament known as ''The Championship''. The winner of the final claimed the Soccer Bowl trophy. While there was no promotion and relegation with other leagues, former commissioner Bill Peterson repeatedly stated that the league had an interest in introducing promotion and relegation to the pyramid. During its seven seasons of play from 2011 to 2017, it was sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II lea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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MLS International Roster Slots
MLS International Roster Slots are an important piece of roster composition in Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada .... MLS employs a variety of mechanisms to promote parity and domestic player development which include player entry drafts, expansion drafts, allocation drafts, weighted lotteries, and a limit on the number of international roster slots available for each team. The limit on the number of international roster slots makes each slot a valuable commodity for teams to utilize through player signings or trades with other teams. The MLS roster rules for 2019 state: * A total of 192 international roster slots are divided among the 24 teams. In 2008, each MLS team was given the right to have eight international players on its roster and each subs ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Portland Timbers
The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at Providence Park since 2011, when the team began play as an expansion team in the league. The club was founded in 2009, when the city of Portland was awarded an expansion berth to Major League Soccer. The team operating rights are owned by Peregrine Sports under the majority ownership of Merritt Paulson, whose companies had acquired the then-USL Pro team in 2007 and later established the Portland Thorns women's team in 2012 (all MLS franchises are centrally owned by the league itself, which grants operating rights and privileges to the individual club "owners," who are also shareholders in MLS). The club is a phoenix club, and the fourth soccer franchise based in Portland (second top-level) to carry the legacy of the Timbers name, which or ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |