The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

league in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, operated by

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

(USL). It was at the third tier of

soccer in the United States Soccer in the United States is run by different organizations. The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) governs most levels of Association football, soccer in the country, including the national teams, professional leagues, and amateur leagu ...

, behind

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 Cana ...

(top tier) and the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system ...

(second tier), and one step up from the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

and other leagues in the fourth tier.

History

In 1995 the

United States Interregional Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

(USISL), the de facto second tier of American soccer at the time, the league changed its name to the United States International Soccer League, and split into two leagues, one professional and one amateur. The professional league, initially called the USISL Pro League, was a

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

-sanctioned Division 3 league, while the amateur league, (the 'Premier League'), was given Division 4 status and would later go on to become the

. The first champions of the new USISL Pro League were the

Long Island Rough Riders The Long Island Rough Riders are an American soccer team based in South Huntington, New York, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at Hofs ...

, who beat

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. The team played its home ...

2–1 in the championship game. In 1996, the USISL established a new USISL Select League. The strongest USISL Pro League teams joined this new league, which was given Division 2 status alongside the existing

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

, while the remainder of the teams (plus expansion teams) remained at Division 3 level.

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professional soccer clubs in th ...

became the league's second champions in this year, beating the

Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles are an American professional soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at ...

in a penalty shootout in the 1996 USISL Pro League championship game. In 1997 the league changed its name to the USISL D-3 Pro League to further distinguish itself from the A-League, and then in 1999 the umbrella USISL changed its name to the United Soccer Leagues (USL), and as such the Pro League officially became known as the USL D3 Pro League. In 2003 the name was changed again to the USL Pro Select League, but during the season had to be changed to the USL Pro Soccer League for to legal reasons. In 2005 the league took its final name as the USL Second Division. The USL Second Division dissolved following the 2010 season to make way for

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, pl ...

, which combined the existing USL First and Second divisions and began play in 2011.

List of current and former member clubs

A total of 102 clubs have competed in USL-2. Below is a list of clubs in the USL Second Division between 2005 and 2010 along with their current league affiliation (if any) DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Define $now = 09/01/2014 ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:22 Period = from:01/01/2005 till:12/31/2018 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<# Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:lightline value:rgb(0.5,0.5,0.5) id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a current club id:Former value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a former club id:USSFD2 value:rgb(0.000,0.996,0.996) # Use this color to denote a USSF D2 season id:USL1 value:rgb(0.996,0.598,0.996) # Use this color to denote a club that moved on to USL 1st Div id:PDL value:rgb(0.897,0.698,0.698) # Use this color to denote a club that went to PDL league id:USLPro value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a club that went to USL Pro league id:Hiatus value:rgb(0.996,0.797,0.598) # Use this color to denote a club that was on hiatus for a period but returned PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:Full from:01/01/2005 till:12/31/2010 text:

(2005–2010) bar:1 color:USLPro from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2014 text:

(2011–2014) bar:1 color:PDL from:01/01/2015 till:end text:

USL PDL USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

(2015–present) bar:2 color:Full from:01/01/2005 till:12/31/2007 text:

Cincinnati Kings Cincinnati Kings were a professional American soccer club based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2005, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes ...

(2005–2007) bar:2 color:PDL from:01/01/2007 till:12/31/2012 shift:(20,-5) text:

(2008–2012) bar:3 color:Full from:01/01/2005 till:12/31/2010 text:

Harrisburg City Islanders Penn FC (formerly the Harrisburg City Islanders) was an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the United States soccer ...

(2005–2010) bar:3 color:USLPro from:01/01/2011 till:end text:USL Pro (2011–present) bar:4 color:Full from:01/01/2005 till:12/31/2006 text:

(2005–2006) bar:4 color:PDL from:01/01/2007 till:end shift:(60,-5) text:USL PDL (2007–present) bar:5 color:Full from:01/01/2005 till:12/31/2007 text: New Hampshire Phantoms (2005–2007) bar:5 color:PDL from:01/01/2008 till:end text:USL PDL (2008–present) bar:6 color:Full from:01/01/2005 till:12/31/2005 text: Northern Virginia Royals (2005) bar:6 color:PDL from:01/01/2006 till:end shift:(90,-5) text:USL PDL (2006–present) bar:7 color:Full from:01/01/2005 till:12/31/2006 text: Pittsburgh Riverhounds (2005–2006) bar:7 color:Hiatus from:01/01/2007 till:12/31/2007 text: bar:7 color:Full from:01/01/2008 till:12/31/2010 text: bar:7 color:USLPro from:01/01/2011 till:end text:USL Pro (2011–present) bar:8 color:Full from:01/01/2005 till:12/31/2009 text: Western Mass Pioneers (2005–2009) bar:8 color:PDL from:01/01/2010 till:end text:USL PDL (2010–present) bar:9 color:Full from:01/01/2005 till:12/31/2009 text: Wilmington Hammerheads (2005–2006) bar:9 color:Hiatus from:01/01/2010 till:12/31/2010 text: bar:9 color:USLPro from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2016 text:USL Pro (2011–2016) bar:9 color:PDL from:01/01/2017 till:end text:USL PDL (2017–present) bar:10 color:Full from:01/01/2006 till:12/31/2010 text:

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional ...

(2006–2010) bar:10 color:USLPro from:01/01/2011 till:end text:USL Pro (2011–present) bar:11 color:Full from:01/01/2007 till:12/31/2009 text: Bermuda Hogges (2007–2009) bar:11 color:PDL from:01/01/2010 till:12/31/2011 text:USL PDL (2010–2011) bar:12 color:Full from:01/01/2007 till:12/31/2008 text: Cleveland City Stars (2007–2008) bar:12 color:USL1 from:01/01/2009 till:12/31/2009 shift:(20,-5) text: USL Division 1 (2009) bar:13 color:Full from:01/01/2007 till:12/31/2009 text:

Crystal Palace Baltimore Crystal Palace Baltimore was an American professional soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, US. Founded in 2006, the club was originally named Crystal Palace USA and was affiliated with English side Crystal Palace. The club was a member of t ...

(2007–2009) bar:13 color:USSFD2 from:01/01/2010 till:12/31/2010 text: USSF D2(2010) bar:14 color:Full from:01/01/2007 till:12/31/2010 text:

Real Maryland Monarchs Real Maryland F.C., commonly known as the Real Maryland Monarchs, was an American soccer team based in Rockville, Maryland, United States. Founded in 2007, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the America ...

(2008–2010) bar:14 color:PDL from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2012 text:USL PDL (2011–2012) bar:15 color:Full from:01/01/2010 till:12/31/2010 text:

(2010) bar:15 color:USLPro from:01/01/2011 till:end shift:(60,-5) text:USL Pro (2011–present) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/2005 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightline unit:month increment:6 start:01/01/2005 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text: #> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <#

Past champions

Championships by team

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Usl Second Division

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ea ...

Defunct soccer leagues in the United States Sports leagues established in 1995 Sports leagues disestablished in 2010 1995 establishments in the United States 2010 disestablishments in the United States