2020 USL Championship Playoffs

The 2020 USL Championship Playoffs was the post-season championship of the 2020 USL Championship. It was the tenth edition of the USL Championship Playoffs. The playoffs began on October 10, and originally scheduled to conclude with the USL Championship Final on November 1. The Final was then cancelled the day before because several Tampa Bay Rowdies players and staff tested positive for COVID-19. The championship would not be awarded.[1]

Main article: 2020 USL Championship season
2020 USL Championship Playoffs
CountryUnited States
Teams16
ChampionsTampa Bay Rowdies
(Eastern Conference)
Phoenix Rising FC
(Western Conference)
Matches played14
Goals scored37 (2.64 per match)
Attendance25,836 (1,845 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)Corey Hertzog
(3 goals)
← 2019
2021 →

Real Monarchs were the defending USL Championship champions, but failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Qualified teams

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

Format

The top two teams in each group will qualify for the 2020 Championship Playoffs. They will begin on October 10, featuring a single-elimination, 16-team bracket. Under the revised season format, four group winners in each conference will earn hosting rights for the Eastern and Western Conference Quarterfinals. Following the opening round, hosting rights will be determined by regular season record. All playoff matches will stream live on ESPN+ except the Championship final on ESPN.[2][3]

Conference tables

Western Conference
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts PPG Qualification
1 Reno 1868 FC 16 11 2 3 43 21 +22 36 2.25 Conference Quarterfinals
2 Phoenix Rising FC 16 11 3 2 46 17 +29 35 2.19
3 San Antonio FC 16 10 3 3 30 14 +16 33 2.06
4 El Paso Locomotive FC 16 9 2 5 24 14 +10 32 2.00
5 Sacramento Republic 16 8 2 6 27 17 +10 30 1.88
6 New Mexico United 15 8 4 3 23 17 +6 27 1.80
7 FC Tulsa 15 6 2 7 21 16 +5 25 1.67
8 LA Galaxy II 16 8 6 2 29 32 −3 26 1.63
9 Orange County SC 16 7 6 3 18 18 0 24 1.50
10 San Diego Loyal SC 16 6 5 5 17 18 −1 23 1.44
11 Austin Bold FC 16 5 4 7 30 26 +4 22 1.38
12 Tacoma Defiance 16 4 10 2 25 32 −7 14 0.88
13 Colorado Springs Switchbacks 16 2 7 7 19 28 −9 13 0.81
14 Real Monarchs 16 3 11 2 14 25 −11 11 0.69
15 Las Vegas Lights FC 16 2 9 5 24 34 −10 11 0.69
16 Rio Grande Valley Toros 14 2 9 3 17 28 −11 9 0.64
17 OKC Energy FC 16 1 8 7 12 29 −17 10 0.63
18 Portland Timbers 2 16 3 13 0 20 50 −30 9 0.56
Source: USL Championship Standings
Rules for classification: 1) points per game; 2) points; 3) total wins; 4) total goal differential; 5) total goals scored; 6) disciplinary points; 7) coin toss or drawing of lots.

Eastern Conference
Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts PPG Qualification
1 Louisville City FC 16 11 3 2 28 12 +16 35 2.19 Conference Quarterfinals
2 Hartford Athletic 16 11 3 2 31 24 +7 35 2.19
3 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 16 11 4 1 39 10 +29 34 2.13
4 Tampa Bay Rowdies 16 10 3 3 25 11 +14 33 2.06
5 Charleston Battery 15 9 3 3 26 15 +11 30 2.00
6 Charlotte Independence 16 8 4 4 24 22 +2 28 1.75
7 Birmingham Legion FC 16 7 5 4 29 19 +10 25 1.56
8 Saint Louis FC 16 7 5 4 22 21 +1 25 1.56
9 Indy Eleven 16 7 7 2 21 19 +2 23 1.44
10 North Carolina FC 15 6 8 1 17 21 −4 19 1.27
11 Memphis 901 FC 15 4 7 4 24 31 −7 16 1.07
12 Sporting Kansas City II 16 5 10 1 21 30 −9 16 1.00
13 Miami FC 16 4 8 4 20 34 −14 16 1.00
14 New York Red Bulls II 16 5 11 0 30 37 −7 15 0.94
15 Atlanta United 2 16 3 10 3 23 33 −10 12 0.75
16 Philadelphia Union II 16 2 11 3 20 45 −25 9 0.56
17 Loudoun United FC 13 1 9 3 10 28 −18 6 0.46
Source: USL Championship Standings
Rules for classification: 1) points per game; 2) points; 3) total wins; 4) total goal differential; 5) total goals scored; 6) disciplinary points; 7) coin toss or drawing of lots.

Bracket

Conference quarter-finals
October 10 (ESPN+) 		Conference semi-finals
October 17 (ESPN+) 		Conference finals
October 24 (ESPN+) 		USL Championship
Cancelled
            
A1 Reno 1868 FC 4
B2 LA Galaxy II 1
A1 Reno 1868 FC 2 (4)
B1 Phoenix Rising FC (p) 2 (5)
B1 Phoenix Rising FC (a.e.t.) 1
A2 Sacramento Republic FC 0
B1 Phoenix Rising FC (p) 1 (4)
Western Conference
C1 El Paso Locomotive FC 1 (2)
C1 El Paso Locomotive FC (p) 2 (4)
D2 FC Tulsa 2 (2)
C1 El Paso Locomotive FC (p) 1 (5)
C2 New Mexico United 1 (3)
D1 San Antonio FC 0
C2 New Mexico United (a.e.t.) 1
B1 Phoenix Rising FC Ø
H1 Tampa Bay Rowdies Ø
E1 Louisville City FC 2
F2 Pittsburgh Rivehounds 0
E1 Louisville City FC 2
E2 Saint Louis FC 0
F1 Hartford Athletic 0
E2 Saint Louis FC 1
E1 Louisville City FC 1
Eastern Conference
H1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2
G1 Charlotte Independence 1
H2 Charleston Battery (a.e.t.) 2
H2 Charleston Battery 0
H1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 1
H1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 4
G2 Birmingham Legion FC 2

Schedule

Conference Quarterfinals
October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10) EastHartford Athletic0–1 Saint Louis FC Hartford, Connecticut
7:00 PM EDT Report Rivas  90+3' Stadium: Dillon Stadium
Attendance: 2,194
Referee: Kevin Broadley
October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10) East Tampa Bay Rowdies 4–2Birmingham Legion FCSt. Petersburg, Florida
7:30 PM EDT
Report
Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Attendance: 1,098
Referee: Eric Tattersall
October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10) East Louisville City FC 2–0Pittsburgh Riverhounds SCLouisville, Kentucky
7:30 PM EDT
Report Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium
Attendance: 4,900
Referee: Elton García
October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10) EastCharlotte Independence1–2 (a.e.t.) Charleston Battery Matthews, North Carolina
8:00 PM EDT Roberts  64' Report
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews
Attendance: 100
Referee: Lukasz Szpala
October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10) West Reno 1868 FC 4–1LA Galaxy IIReno, Nevada
7:00 PM MDT
Report
Stadium: Greater Nevada Field
Attendance: 250
Referee: Matthew Thompson
October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10) WestSan Antonio FC0–1 (a.e.t.) New Mexico United San Antonio, Texas
7:00 PM CDT Report Wehan  101' Stadium: Toyota Field
Attendance: 2,175
Referee: Elijio Arreguin
October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10) West El Paso Locomotive FC 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)		FC TulsaEl Paso, Texas
7:30 PM MDT Carrijó  19', 82' Report
Stadium: Southwest University Park
Attendance: 1,659
Referee: Brandon Stevis
Penalties
October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10) West Phoenix Rising FC 1–0 (a.e.t.)Sacramento Republic FCScottsdale, Arizona
7:30 PM MST Asante  114' Report Stadium: Casino Arizona Field
Referee: Elvis Osmanovic

Conference Semifinals
October 17, 2020 East Louisville City FC 2–0Saint Louis FCLouisville, Kentucky
7:30 PM EDT
Report Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium
Attendance: 4,900
Referee: Lukasz Szpala
October 17, 2020 East Tampa Bay Rowdies 1–0Charleston BatterySt. Petersburg, Florida
7:30 PM EDT Mkosana  79' Report Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Attendance: 1,301
Referee: Ismir Pekmic
October 17, 2020 WestReno 1868 FC2–2 (a.e.t.)
(4–5 p)		 Phoenix Rising FC Reno, Nevada
6:00 PM PDT
Report
Stadium: Greater Nevada Field
Attendance: 700
Referee: Kevin Broadley
Penalties
October 17, 2020 West El Paso Locomotive FC 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(5–3 p)		New Mexico UnitedEl Paso, Texas
7:30 PM MDT Mares  30' Report Parkes  90+5' Stadium: Southwest University Park
Attendance: 1,659
Referee: Jon Freemon
Penalties

Conference Finals
October 24, 2020 (2020-10-24) EastLouisville City FC1–2 Tampa Bay Rowdies Louisville, Kentucky
7:30 PM EDT Lachowecki  45' (o.g.) Report
Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium
Attendance: 4,900
Referee: Jon Freemon
October 24, 2020 (2020-10-24) West Phoenix Rising FC 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)		El Paso Locomotive FCScottsdale, Arizona
7:30 PM MST Schweitzer  18' Report Rebellón  59' Stadium: Casino Arizona Field
Referee: Elton García
Penalties
Bakero
Whelan
Farrell
Moar 		Carrijó
Ross
Ryan
Gómez

USL Championship Final

The Final was cancelled the day before because several Tampa Bay Rowdies players and staff tested positive for COVID-19. The championship would not be awarded.[1]

November 1, 2020 (2020-11-01) Tampa Bay Rowdies Cancelled Phoenix Rising FC St. Petersburg, Florida
8:30 PM EST Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Note: Phoenix relinquished the right to host the final as a gesture of respect to the LGBTQ community for the incident between Phoenix Rising and San Diego Loyal on September 30.[4]

    Top goalscorers
    As of October 31, 2020[5]
    Rank Player Club Goals
    1 Corey Hertzog Reno 1868 FC 3
    2 Solomon Asante Phoenix Rising FC 2
    Leandro Carrijó El Paso Locomotive FC
    Sebastián Guenzatti Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Cameron Lancaster Louisville City FC
    Lucky Mkosana Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Kevin Partida Reno 1868 FC


    Awards

    References
    1. "USL Championship Final Cancelled, Season Concludes with Tampa Bay, Phoenix as Conference Title-Winners". USLChampionship.com. October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
    2. "USL Championship Confirms 2020 Postseason Structure". USLChampionship.com. September 14, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
    3. "USL Championship Final to Air on ESPN and ESPN Deportes". USLChampionship.com. September 23, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
    4. "Phoenix Rising FC Relinquishes 2020 Championship Final Hosting Rights". USLChampionship.com. October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
    5. "Playoffs Stats". United Soccer League. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
    6. "Tampa Bay's Doherty Claims Fans' Choice Goal of the Playoffs Award". USLChampionship.com Staff. November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
    7. "New Mexico's Mizell Takes Fans' Choice Save of the Playoffs Award". USLChampionship.com Staff. November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
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