The USL Team Draft

March 12^th, 2017 – Five USL writers sit down to record a draft of all thirty USL teams to try and come up with the best combination of six teams. One of the greatest hours in entertainment and podcast history occurs. There are many great jokes. My cat makes some vocal objections to picks. There is much rejoicing.

March 13^th, 2017 – I realize my recording is corrupted. This is just a tribute.

I sat down with four other better known well known writers: Brendan Doherty of The Bent Musket, Roger Graham of Tornado Alley SPC, Evan Villella of The Brotherly Game and Ryan Allen of Indomitable City Soccer for a USL Team Draft. We drafted all 30 teams, six teams to each writer in a snake draft format. The order of a snake draft goes from first to fifth, then back from fifth to first. This pattern continues for all six rounds.

Scoring will be broken down as follows:

USL Championship Winner – 20 Points

USL Championship Runner Up – 10 Points

Conference Runner Up – 5 Points

Team Eliminated in Conference Quarter Finals – 2 Points

Team Eliminated in First Round – 1 Points

Bonuses:

Highest Scoring/Best Defensive Team – 3 points

Second Highest Scoring/Best Defensive Team – 2 Points

Third Highest Scoring/Best Defensive Team – 1 Point

Examples of this scoring from the 2016 season:

New York Red Bulls II would have been worth 26 Points (USL Champ + Best Defense + Best Offense).

Rio Grande Valley Toros would have been worth 3 Points (Eliminated in First Round + 2^nd Best Defense).

The following is the result of the draft, with each team’s 2016 record, playoff and scoring/defensive ranking included.

First Round:

Brendan picks Tampa Bay Rowdies

• 2016 Record: 9-11-12 (9^th in NASL)
• Playoffs: Did Not Qualify
• Scoring Ranking: 4^th of 12 in goals scored
• Defensife Ranking: 9^th of 12 in goals allowed

Evan V picks FC Cincinnati

• 2016 Record: 16-6-8 (3^rd in USL East)
• Playoffs: Eliminated in first round by Charleston (1-2)
• Scoring Ranking: 10^th of 29 in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: T-5^th of 29 in goals allowed

Roger picks Sacramento Republic

• 2016 Record: 14-6-10 (1^st in USL West)
• Playoffs: Eliminated in first round by Orange County (0-0, 4-5 PKs)
• Scoring Ranking: 8^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: T-5^th in goals allowed

Ryan picks Louisville City

• 2016 Record: 17-4-9 (2^nd in USL East)
• Playoffs: Eliminated in Eastern Conference Finals to New York (1-1, 3-4 PKs)
• Scoring Ranking: T-2^nd in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: T-5^th in goals allowed

Evan E picks Rochester Rhinos

• 2016 Record: 13-5-12 (4^th in USL East)
• Playoffs: Eliminated in Eastern Conference Semi-Finals by New York (3-3, 4-5 PKs)
• Scoring Ranking: T-13^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: 3^rd in goals allowed

Second Round

Evan E picks Charleston Battery

• 2016 Record: 13-8-9 (6^th in USL East)
• Playoffs: Eliminated in Eastern Conference Semi-Finals by Louisville City (0-1)
• Scoring Ranking: T-13^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: 11^th in goals allowed

Ryan picks LA Galaxy II

• 2016 Record: 12-7-11 (5^th in USL West)
• Playoffs: Eliminated by Swope Park Rangers in First Round (0-3)
• Scoring Ranking: T-2^nd in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: T-16^th in goals allowed

Roger picks New York Red Bulls II

• 2016 Record: 21-2-6 (1^st in USL East)
• Playoffs: Won USL Championship
• Scoring Ranking: 1^st in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: 1^st in goals allowed

Evan V picks Ottawa Fury

• 2016 Record: 7-15-10 (10^th in NASL)
• Playoffs: Did not qualify for playoffs
• Scoring Ranking: 8^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: T-7^th in goals allowed

Brendan picks Phoenix Rising

• 2016 Record: 9-14-7 (13^th in USL West – As Arizona United)
• Playoffs: Did not qualify for playoffs
• Scoring Ranking: 11^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: 21^st in goals allowed

Third Round

Brendan picks Saint Louis FC

• 2016 Record: 8-12-10 (14^th in USL West)
• Playoffs: Did not qualify for playoffs
• Scoring Ranking: 9^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: T-19^th in goals allowed

Evan V picks Swope Park Rangers

• 2016 Record: 14-10-6 (4^th in USL West)
• Playoffs: Eliminated by New York in USL Championship (1-5)
• Scoring Ranking: 6^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: T-12^th in goals allowed

Roger picks Colorado Springs Switchbacks

• 2016 Record: 14-9-7 (3^rd in USL West)
• Playoffs: Eliminated by Vancouver Whitecaps 2 in first round (1-2)
• Scoring Ranking: T-16^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: T-5^th in goals allowed

Ryan picks Reno 1868

• Did not exist in 2016

Evan E picks Oklahoma City Energy

• 2016 Record: 10-7-13 (7^th in USL West)
• Playoffs: Eliminated by Vancouver Whitecaps 2 in Western Semifinals (2-3)
• Scoring Ranking: T-25^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: 10^th in goals allowed

Fourth Round

Evan E picks Rio Grande Valley Toros

• 2016 Record: 14-7-9 (2^nd in USL West)
• Playoffs: Eliminated by Oklahoma City Energy in first round (2-3)
• Scoring Ranking: 5^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: 2^nd in goals allowed

Ryan picks Charlotte Independence

• 2016 Record: 14-8-8 (5^th in USL East)
• Playoffs: Eliminated by Rochester Rhinos in first round (1-3)
• Scoring Ranking: 4^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: 9^th in goals allowed

Roger picks Richmond Kickers

• 2016 Record: 12-9-9 (7^th in USL East)
• Playoffs: Eliminated by Louisville City in first round (0-2 a.e.t.)
• Scoring Ranking: 24^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: 4^th in goals allowed

Evan V picks San Antonio FC

• 2016 Record: 10-12-8 (10^th in USL West)
• Playoffs: Did not qualify for playoffs
• Scoring Ranking: T-19^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: 12^th in goals allowed

Brendan picks Real Monarchs

• 2016 Record: 10-14-6 (11^th in USL West)
• Playoffs: Did not qualify for playoffs
• Scoring Ranking: 27^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: T-14^th in goals allowed

Fifth Round

Brendan picks Toronto FC II

• 2016 Record: 7-18-5 (12^th in USL East)
• Playoffs: Did not qualify for playoffs
• Scoring Ranking: T-19^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: 28^th in goals allowed

Evan V picks Orange County SC

• 2016 Record: 12-14-4 (8^th in USL West)
• Playoffs: Eliminated by Swope Park Rangers in Western Semifinals (1-2 aet)
• Scoring Ranking: 12^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: T-14^th in goals allowed

Roger picks Vancouver Whitecaps 2

• 2016 Record: 12-9-9 (6^th in USL West)
• Playoffs: Eliminated by Swope Park Rangers in Western Finals (0-3)
• Scoring Ranking: 7^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: T-19^th in goals allowed

Ryan picks Orlando City B

• 2016 Record: 9-13-8 (8^th in USL East)
• Playoffs: Eliminated by New York in first round (0-4)
• Scoring Ranking: T-21^st in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: 23^rd in goals allowed

Evan E picks Portland Timbers 2

• 2016 Record: 12-14-4 (9^th in USL West)
• Playoffs: Did not qualify for playoffs
• Scoring Ranking: T-13^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: T-16^th in goals allowed

Final Round

Evan E picks Pittsburgh Riverhounds

• 2016 Record: 6-17-7 (13^th in USL East)
• Playoffs: Did not qualify for playoffs
• Scoring Ranking: 28^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: T-24^th in goals allowed

Ryan picks Seattle Sounders 2

• 2016 Record: 9-13-8 (12^th in USL West)
• Playoffs: Did not qualify for playoffs
• Scoring Ranking: T-21^st in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: T-24^th in goals allowed

Roger picks Bethlehem Steel

• 2016 Record: 6-14-10 (11^th in USL East)
• Playoffs: Did not qualify for playoffs
• Scoring Ranking: T-25^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: 18^th in goals allowed

Evan V picks Tulsa Roughnecks

• 2016 Record: 5-21-4 (15^th in USL West)
• Playoffs: Did not qualify for playoffs
• Scoring Ranking: 29^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: 29^th in goals allowed

Brendan “picks” Harrisburg City Islanders

• 2016 Record: 8-15-7 (10^th in USL East)
• Playoffs: Did not qualify for playoffs
• Scoring Ranking: T-16^th in goals scored
• Defensive Ranking: 26^th in goals allowed

Final Teams:

Who will take home the bragging rights? Let us know in the comments or through Twitter with a #TeamBrendan, #TeamEvan, #TeamRoger, #TeamRyan or #TeamPony tag!