USSF D2 Pro League
 |
|
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Other club(s) from | Canada, Puerto Rico |
| Confederation | CONCACAF |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Folded | 2010 |
| Conferences | USL Conference NASL Conference |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Promotion to | None |
| Relegation to | None |
| Domestic cup(s) |
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Canadian Championship |
| Last champions |
Puerto Rico Islanders (2010) |
| Website | USSF D2 Pro League at ussoccer.com |
| Season | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Puerto Rico Islanders |
| Matches played | 180 |
| Goals scored | 437 (2.43 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Ryan Pore (15 goals) |
| Biggest home win |
POR 3–0 STL (Apr 22) STL 3–0 MTL (Jul 10) MTL 3–0 STL (Jul 21) STL 3–0 POR (Jul 28) POR 3–0 CPB (Aug 29) CAR 3–0 CPB (Sep 3) ROC 3–0 TAM (Sep 11) MTL 3–0 TAM (Sep 19) TAM 6–3 CPB (Oct 1) |
| Biggest away win | CPB 0–5 MTL (Aug 21) |
| Highest scoring | TAM 6–3 CPB (Oct 1) |
| Longest winning run | Rochester Rhinos (6 games, ended Aug 27) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Portland Timbers (10 games, to end the season) |
| Longest winless run | FC Tampa Bay (11 games, ended Oct 1) |
| Longest losing run | Crystal Palace Baltimore (8 games, to end the season) |
| Highest attendance | Portland Timbers (15,418; 4 times) |
| Lowest attendance | Crystal Palace Baltimore (507, Aug 4) |
| Average attendance | 4,449 |
USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) in 2010 to last just one season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding United Soccer Leagues (USL) and the North American Soccer League (NASL). The D2 Pro League was the second tier of the American and Canadian soccer pyramids below Major League Soccer.
On August 27, 2009, Nike agreed to sell their stake in the United Soccer Leagues to investment company NuRock, instead of Jeff Cooper, who had aligned with a group of USL First Division team owners. Disappointed with the sale and state of the league, the ownership group broke away after the 2009 season with the intent to form a new incarnation of the North American Soccer League. The leagues sued each other, but ultimately withdrew their lawsuits and agreed to mediate with the United States Soccer Federation.
The USSF found that three of the NASL teams (NSC Minnesota Stars, Rochester Rhinos, and FC Tampa Bay) had binding contracts to play in the USL First Division in 2010, leaving the NASL with too few teams to be sanctioned. However, this left the USL First Division with only six teams, also too few for sanctioning. The USSF stripped the USL First Division of its sanctioning, and denied sanctioning to the NASL. After a week of negotiations among the three, the USSF agreed to run a 12-team interim league for 2010. The six extant teams in each league would each occupy their own conference, but teams belonging to both leagues would play each other.
...
Wikipedia