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Western Conference (USL Championship)

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The Western Conference is one of two conferences in USL Championship soccer.[1]

Western Conference
LeagueUSL Championship
SportSoccer
FoundedJanuary 21, 2015
No. of teams12
Most recent
champion(s)		Colorado Springs Switchbacks (2024) (1st title)
Most titlesPhoenix Rising FC (3 titles)

Current standings

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Pos Team
 Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 New Mexico United 34 18 11 5 46 44 +2 59 Playoffs
2 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 34 15 12 7 48 40 +8 52
3 Memphis 901 FC 34 14 11 9 52 41 +11 51
4 Las Vegas Lights FC 34 13 10 11 49 46 +3 50
5 Sacramento Republic FC 34 13 11 10 46 34 +12 49
6 Orange County SC 34 13 14 7 38 45 −7 46
7 Oakland Roots SC 34 13 16 5 37 57 −20 44
8 Phoenix Rising FC 34 11 14 9 33 39 −6 42
9 San Antonio FC 34 10 15 9 36 49 −13 39
10 FC Tulsa 34 9 14 11 33 48 −15 38
11 Monterey Bay FC 34 8 16 10 29 44 −15 34
12 El Paso Locomotive FC 34 8 18 8 27 46 −19 32
Source: USL Championship Standings
Rules for classification: 1) head-to-head points; 2) head-to-head goal differential; 3) points-per game within conference; 4) total wins; 5) total goal differential; 6) total goals scored; 7) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 8) disciplinary points; 9) coin toss or drawing of lots

Members

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Current

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Club City Stadium
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Colorado Springs, Colorado Weidner Field
El Paso Locomotive FC El Paso, Texas Southwest University Park
FC Tulsa Tulsa, Oklahoma ONEOK Field
Las Vegas Lights FC Las Vegas, Nevada Cashman Field
Monterey Bay FC Seaside, California Cardinale Stadium
New Mexico United Albuquerque, New Mexico Isotopes Park
Oakland Roots SC Oakland, California Pioneer Stadium
Orange County SC Irvine, California Championship Stadium
Phoenix Rising FC Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix Rising Soccer Stadium
Sacramento Republic FC Sacramento, California Heart Health Park
San Antonio FC San Antonio, Texas Toyota Field
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Locations of teams for the 2024 USL Championship season

Conference Lineups

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Clubs timeline

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Monterey Bay FCOakland Roots SCSan Diego Loyal SCNew Mexico UnitedMemphis 901 FCEastern Conference (USL Championship)El Paso Locomotive FCAustin Bold FCLas Vegas Lights FCFresno FCReno 1868 FCEastern Conference (USL Championship)Swope Park RangersEastern Conference (USL Championship)Eastern Conference (USL Championship)Saint Louis FCSan Antonio FCRio Grande Valley FCWhitecaps FC 2FC TulsaEastern Conference (USL Championship)FC TulsaTulsa Roughnecks FCTacoma DefianceSeattle Sounders FC 2Sacramento Republic FCReal MonarchsPortland Timbers 2Orange County SCOrange County Blues FCEastern Conference (USL Championship)Oklahoma City Energy FCLA Galaxy IIColorado Springs Switchbacks FCAustin AztexPhoenix Rising FCArizona United SC

Conference Member   Club moved to Eastern Conference   Club playing in different league   Former clubs

2015 (12 teams)

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Changes from 2014: USL Pro expanded and was rebranded as simply USL; the round robin table was split into two conferences: Eastern and Western.

2016 (15 teams)

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Changes from 2015: Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, the Swope Park Rangers and San Antonio FC were added as expansion franchises;[2] Saint Louis FC moved in from the Eastern Conference; the Austin Aztex went on hiatus

2017 (15 teams)

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Changes from 2016: Arizona United SC was renamed Phoenix Rising FC; the Orange County Blues was renamed Orange County SC; the Austin Aztex folded; Reno 1868 FC was added as an expansion franchise; Saint Louis FC moved out to the Eastern Conference[3]

2018 (17 teams)

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Changes from 2017: Fresno FC and Las Vegas Lights FC were added as expansion franchises; the Vancouver Whitecaps 2 folded; Saint Louis FC moved in from the Western Conference.[4]

2019 (18 teams)

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Changes from 2018: Austin Bold FC, El Paso Locomotive FC and the New Mexico United were added as expansion franchises.[5]; Saint Louis FC and the Swope Park Rangers moved out to the Eastern Conference; Seattle Sounders FC 2 rebranded as Tacoma Defiance.

2020 (18 teams)

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Group A (4 teams)

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Group B (5 teams)

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Group C (4 teams)

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Group D (5 teams)

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Changes from 2019: San Diego Loyal SC was added as an expansion franchise; the Tulsa Roughnecks were renamed FC Tulsa; Fresno FC was disbanded. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic the conference was split into four groups. Two groups of four and two groups of five.[6]

2021 (15 teams)

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Mountain Division

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Pacific Division

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Changes from 2020: The conference was divided into two divisions, Mountain and Pacific; Oakland Roots SC joined in from NISA: the Portland Timbers 2 was withdrawn by the MLS parent club; Reno 1868 FC was disbanded; Oklahoma City Energy and FC Tulsa moved out to the Eastern Conference.[7]

2022 (13 teams)

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Changes from 2021: The Mountain and Pacific divisions were dropped; Monterey Bay FC was added as an expansion franchise; the Real Monarchs and the Tacoma Defiance were withdrawn by their MLS parent clubs and moved to MLS Next Pro; Austin Bold FC went on hiatus; will move to a yet-to-be-named Texas city for the 2023 season.[8]

2023 (12 teams)

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Changes from 2022: The LA Galaxy II was withdrawn by their MLS parent club and moved to MLS Next Pro;[9]

2024 (12 teams)

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Changes from 2023: Rio Grande Valley FC Toros[10] and San Diego Loyal SC[11] folded. FC Tulsa and Memphis 901 FC moved from the Eastern Conference.[12]

Western Conference Playoff champions by year

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Bold USL Champions
Season Champions Score Runners Up
2015 LA Galaxy II 2–1 OKC Energy FC
2016 Swope Park Rangers 3–0 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
2017 Swope Park Rangers 0–0 (7–6 PK) OKC Energy FC
2018 Phoenix Rising FC 2–1 Orange County SC
2019 Real Monarchs SLC 2–1 (AET) El Paso Locomotive FC
2020[a] Phoenix Rising FC 1–1 (4–2 PK) El Paso Locomotive FC
2021 Orange County SC 1–1 (5–3 PK) San Antonio FC
2022 San Antonio FC 2–0 Colorado Springs Switchbacks
2023 Phoenix Rising FC 2–1 Sacramento Republic FC
2024 Colorado Springs Switchbacks 1–0 Las Vegas Lights FC
  1. ^ USL Championship game canceled due to COVID-19 outbreak in the Tampa Bay Rowdies camp.[13]

Western Conference regular season champions by year

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Bold Players' Shield Champions
Season Team Record Playoffs result
2015 Orange County Blues 14–9–5 (+4) Lost conference semifinals
2016 Sacramento Republic FC 14–10–6 (+16) Lost conference quarterfinals
2017 Real Monarchs SLC 20–5–7 (+28) Lost conference quarterfinals
2018 Orange County SC 20–8–6 (+30) Lost conference final
2019 Phoenix Rising FC 24–4–6 (+53) Lost conference semifinals
2020 Reno 1868 FC 11–2–3 (+22) Lost conference semifinals
2021 Phoenix Rising FC 20–5–7 (+33) Lost conference quarterfinals
2022 San Antonio FC 24–5–5 (+28) Won USL Championship
2023 Sacramento Republic FC 18–6–10 (+25) Lost conference final
2024 New Mexico United 18–11–5 (+2) Lost conference semifinals

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Expanded USL Unveils 2015 Format". United Soccer League (USL). January 21, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  2. ^ "2016 USL Alignment and Format Announced". United Soccer League (USL). January 20, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  3. ^ "USL Announces 2017 Conference Alignment". www.uslsoccer.com. United Soccer League (USL). January 9, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  4. ^ "USL Announces 2018 Conference Alignment". soccerstadiumdigest.com. Soccer Stadium Digest. January 12, 2018. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  5. ^ "USL Championship Unveils 2019 Conference Alignment". United Soccer League (USL). December 13, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  6. ^ Lenard, John (June 26, 2020). "USL Championship announces Eastern Conference groups". 3rddegree.net. 3rd Degree. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  7. ^ "USL Championship Releases 2021 League Alignment, Republic FC in Pacific Division". www.sacrepublicfc.com. Sacramento Republic FC. March 2, 2021. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  8. ^ Krysinsky, John (December 21, 2021). "USL Championship releases 2022 schedule format and conference realignment". pittsburghsoccernow.com. Pittsburgh, PA: PGH Soccer Now. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  9. ^ "USL sets Championship's 2023 conference alignment, season format". www.loucity.com. Louisville, KY: Louisville City FC. December 20, 2022. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  10. ^ "OFFICIAL STATEMENT: Rio Grande Valley FC Cease Operations". www.RGVFC.com. Rio Grande Valley FC. December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  11. ^ "USL to Transfer San Diego Franchise Rights" (Press release). USL Championship. August 24, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  12. ^ "USL Championship Unveils 2024 Regular Season Schedule". USL Championship. USL Championship Staff. December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  13. ^ Carlisle, Jeff (2020-10-31). "USL final between Tampa Bay and Phoenix canceled after COVID-19 positives". www.espn.com. ESPN. Archived from the original on 2022-11-07. Retrieved 2022-11-06. The USL Championship final between the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Phoenix Rising has been canceled after multiple Tampa Bay players tested positive for COVID-19, the league announced on Saturday.
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