The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 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 United States soccer league system below Major League Soccer. The league also included two clubs from Canada and one club from Puerto Rico.

History

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.

Teams

TeamCityStadiumFoundedHead coach
USL Conference
Austin AztexAustin, TexasHouse Park2008Adrian Heath
NSC Minnesota StarsBlaine, MinnesotaNational Sports Center2009Manny Lagos
Portland TimbersPortland, OregonPGE Park2001Gavin Wilkinson
Puerto Rico IslandersBayamón, Puerto RicoJuan Ramón Loubriel Stadium2003Colin Clarke
Rochester RhinosRochester, New YorkMarina Auto Stadium1996Bob Lilley
FC Tampa BayTampa, FloridaGeorge M. Steinbrenner Field2008Perry Van der Beck (interim)
NASL Conference
Carolina RailHawks FCCary, North CarolinaWakeMed Soccer Park2006Martin Rennie
Crystal Palace BaltimoreCatonsville, MarylandRidley Athletic Complex2006Jim Cherneski
Miami FCMiami, FloridaFIU Stadium, Lockhart Stadium2006Daryl Shore
Montreal ImpactMontreal, QuebecSaputo Stadium1992Marc Dos Santos
AC St. LouisFenton, MissouriAnheuser-Busch Center2009Dale Schilly
Vancouver Whitecaps FCBurnaby, British ColumbiaSwangard Stadium1986Teitur Thordarson

Competition format

Pods

It was announced that the season would be centered around what are called pods. The pods were constructed around geographic regions and did not follow conference lines. Teams within the same pod played each other four times, twice at home and twice away. Teams played one team outside of their pod four times, twice at home and twice away, and played the rest of the teams outside their pod twice, once at home and once away. This resulted in a thirty-game season for each team, and had the additional advantage of reducing travel costs. The season ended a playoff format to crown a league champion.

PodTeams
1NSC Minnesota StarsPortland TimbersAC St. LouisVancouver Whitecaps FC
2Crystal Palace BaltimoreCarolina RailHawks FCMontreal ImpactRochester Rhinos
3Austin AztexMiami FCPuerto Rico IslandersFC Tampa Bay

Playoff format

At the end of the regular season, the top teams in each conference qualified for the playoffs as the top two seeds. In addition, the remaining six teams with the highest point totals, regardless of conference, also advanced to the playoffs.

Each round of the playoffs was a two-game aggregate goal series (the away goals rule was not applied as a tie-breaker). In the event that the aggregate score is tied after the second game of the series, the teams played two 15-minutes periods of extra time. If the score is still tied after extra time, the series was to be decided by a penalty shootout.

2010 season

NASL Conference standings

NASL Conference
PosTeamvtePldWLTGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Carolina RailHawks FC3013984432+1247Conference leader, qualified for playoffs
2Vancouver Whitecaps FC30105153222+1045Qualified for playoffs
3Montreal Impact30121173630+643
4Miami FC30711123749−1233
5AC St. Louis3071583248−1629
6Crystal Palace Baltimore3061862455−3124

USL Conference standings

USL Conference
PosTeamvtePldWLTGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Rochester Rhinos3016863824+1454Conference leader, qualified for playoffs
2Austin Aztex3015785340+1353Qualified for playoffs
3Portland Timbers30137103423+1149
4NSC Minnesota Stars30111273236−440
5Puerto Rico Islanders30911103735+237
6FC Tampa Bay30712114146−532

Playoff standings

USSF Division 2 Pro League
PosTeamPldWLTGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Rochester Rhinos3016863824+1454Conference leaders, qualified for playoffs
2Carolina Railhawks FC3013984432+1247
3Austin Aztex3015785340+1353Qualified for playoffs
4Portland Timbers30137103423+1149
5Vancouver Whitecaps FC30105153222+1045
6Montreal Impact30121173630+643
7NSC Minnesota Stars30111273236−440
8Puerto Rico Islanders (C)30911103735+237
9Miami FC30711123749−1233
10FC Tampa Bay30712114146−532
11AC St. Louis3071583248−1629
12Crystal Palace Baltimore3061862455−3124

Match results

Color Key: Home • Away • Win • Loss • Draw
ClubMatch
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
Austin Aztex (AUS)MTLSTLROCMINTAMCPBTAMMIACPBPUEPORVANMIAMIAPUEROCSTLMIATAMPUECARPORVANMINPUETAMSTLSTLCARMTL
2–02–11–22–12–22–13–33–12–02–10–01–23–12–11–10–02–03–14–20–23–21–12–22–01–31–11–24–21–30–2
Carolina RailHawks (CAR)STLMINROCMIATAMPUEMTLPORVANCPBMTLSTLPUEMTLROCROCVANMTLROCCPBMIAAUSTAMPUECPBPORMINCPBPUEAUS
2–00–11–11–11–22–12–01–11–11–12–22–02–00–11–00–12–22–00–21–22–12–32–12–33–00–00–14–22–13–1
Crystal Palace Baltimore (CPB)TAMPUESTLVANPORAUSROCPORAUSMIAROCCARMINMINPUEROCMTLSTLMTLMIAMTLCARROCMTLPORCARVANCARPORTAM
0–11–30–10–01–01–21–02–10–23–31–21–11–31–00–20–02–10–11–10–10–02–10–20–50–30–30–32–41–33–6
Miami FC (MIA)ROCVANTAMCARMINMINAUSPUEMTLCPBPORAUSAUSTAMPORVANPUETAMAUSCPBPUETAMCARROCSTLMTLROCSTLROCPUE
1–10–01–11–11–11–01–32–41–13–31–01–31–21–10–21–31–10–21–31–01–13–31–21–31–32–12–14–21–01–1
NSC Minnesota Stars (MIN)VANCARPUETAMROCAUSMTLMIAMIATAMSTLROCMTLPORPORCPBCPBTAMSTLPUEVANSTLPORVANPORAUSSTLCARVANTAM
0–21–01–31–00–31–21–21–10–11–33–20–01–01–00–23–10–11–02–21–11–12–22–20–10–10–23–01–01–03–1
Montreal Impact (MTL)AUSPORPUEMINVANPORCARMIAMINTAMROCCARVANROCSTLCARCPBSTLVANCPBCARCPBROCCPBROCPUEMIATAMVANAUS
0–21–11–02–10–01–00–21–10–12–11–12–21–21–20–31–01–23–00–11–10–20–01–25–02–02–11–23–01–02–0
Portland Timbers (POR)ROCSTLMTLVANCPBSTLMTLCPBCARAUSMIAMINMINTAMVANMIAVANSTLTAMROCMINSTLMINAUSCPBPUECARPUECPBVAN
1–03–01–12–10–11–10–11–21–10–00–10–12–01–00–02–02–10–32–20–12–21–01–01–13–01–00–01–03–12–2
Puerto Rico Islanders (PUE)MINCPBMTLCARTAMMIAAUSSTLVANTAMROCAUSCPBCARTAMMIAMINROCMIATAMAUSSTLCARPORVANMTLAUSPORCARMIA
3–13–10–11–21–24–21–20–11–11–00–31–12–00–20–01–11–13–11–11–12–01–13–20–10–01–23–10–11–21–1
Rochester Rhinos (ROC)MIAPORAUSMINCARSTLCPBVANVANMINCPBMTLPUEMTLAUSCPBCARTAMPUECARPORCARMTLCPBMIAMTLTAMMIAMIASTL
1–10–12–13–01–12–10–10–22–10–02–11–13–02–10–00–00–11–01–31–01–02–02–12–03–10–23–01–20–12–1
AC St. Louis (STL)CARAUSPORVANCPBROCPORTAMMINPUEVANCARVANMTLMINAUSMTLCPBPORMINVANPORPUETAMMIAMINAUSMIAAUSROC
0–21–20–30–11–01–21–10–32–31–00–00–21–13–02–20–20–31–03–02–20–00–11–12–23–10–32–12–42–41–2
FC Tampa Bay (TAM)CPBMINMIAAUSCARAUSSTLMINPUEVANMTLPUEPORMIAMINPUEROCMIAPORAUSPUEMIAVANCARSTLROCAUSMTLMINCPB
1–00–11–12–22–13–33–03–12–10–11–20–10–11–10–10–00–12–02–22–41–13–31–11–22–20–31–10–31–36–3
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (VAN)MINMIASTLPORCPBMTLROCROCTAMCARAUSPUESTLMTLPORSTLMIAPORMINMTLCARSTLMINTAMAUSPUECPBMINMTLPOR
2–00–01–01–20–00–02–01–21–01–12–11–10–02–10–01–13–11–21–11–02–20–01–01–12–20–03–00–10–12–2

Final regular season results. Based on the results at the and

Playoffs

Each round was a two-game aggregate goal series. Home teams for the first game of each series listed at the bottom of the bracket.

QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
1Rochester Rhinos022
8Puerto Rico Islanders213
5Vancouver Whitecaps FC000
8Puerto Rico Islanders (a.e.t.)022
4Portland Timbers011
5Vancouver Whitecaps FC202
2Carolina RailHawks FC011
8Puerto Rico Islanders213
3Austin Aztex022
6Montreal Impact235
2Carolina RailHawks FC022
6Montreal Impact101
2Carolina RailHawks FC044
7NSC Minnesota Stars000

Quarterfinals

October 7, 2010Puerto Rico Islanders2–0Rochester RhinosBayamón, Puerto Rico
8:05PM ASTFaña 44' Foley 77'Stadium: Bayamón Soccer Complex
October 9, 2010Rochester Rhinos2–1 (2–3 agg.)Puerto Rico IslandersRochester, New York
7:00PM EDTHoxie 39' Hamilton 54'Rivera 21'Stadium: Marina Auto Stadium Attendance: 4,620
October 7, 2010Vancouver Whitecaps FC2–0Portland TimbersBurnaby, British Columbia
7:30PM PDTKoffie 1' Nash 13' (pen.)Stadium: Swangard Stadium Attendance: 5,018 Referee: Mathieu Bourdeau
October 10, 2010Portland Timbers1–0 (1–2 agg.)Vancouver Whitecaps FCPortland, Oregon
6:00PM PDTMarcelin 49'Stadium: Merlo Field Attendance: 4,884
October 6, 2010Montreal Impact2–0Austin AztexMontreal, Quebec
7:30PM EDTGerba 39', 76'Stadium: Stade Saputo Attendance: 7,962 Referee: Daniel Belleau
October 9, 2010Austin Aztex2–3 (2–5 agg.)Montreal ImpactAustin, Texas
7:30PM CDTGriffin 43' Johnson 57'Gerba 4', 49' Sebrango 89'Stadium: House Park Attendance: 2,872
October 6, 2010NSC Minnesota Stars0–0Carolina RailHawks FCBlaine, Minnesota
7:00PM CDTStadium: National Sports Center Attendance: 686
October 9, 2010Carolina RailHawks FC4–0 (4–0 agg.)NSC Minnesota StarsCary, North Carolina
7:00PM EDTPaladini 64' Gardner 72' Lowery 84' Kallman 88' (o.g.)Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 2,556

Semifinals

October 14, 2010Puerto Rico Islanders0–0Vancouver Whitecaps FCBayamón, Puerto Rico
8:05PM ASTStadium: Bayamón Soccer Complex Attendance: 2,831
October 17, 2010Vancouver Whitecaps FC0–2 (0–2 agg.)Puerto Rico IslandersBurnaby, British Columbia
4:00PM PDTAddlery 113', 120'Stadium: Swangard Stadium Attendance: 5,325
October 14, 2010Montreal Impact1–0Carolina RailHawks FCMontreal, Quebec
7:30PM EDTDi Lorenzo 35'Stadium: Stade Saputo Attendance: 7,502
October 17, 2010Carolina RailHawks FC2–0 (2–1 agg.)Montreal ImpactCary, North Carolina
5:00PM CDTRusin 73' Heinemann 90'Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 2,869

Finals

October 24, 2010Puerto Rico Islanders2–0Carolina RailHawks FCJuan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
7:05PM ASTGbandi 4' Faña 20'Attendance: 6,257
October 30, 2010Carolina RailHawks FC1–1 (1–3 agg.)Puerto Rico IslandersWakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, North Carolina
7:00PM ESTHeinemann 10'Gbandi 7'Attendance: 5,074

Statistical leaders

RankPlayerNationClubGoals
Top scorers Rank Player Nation Club Goals 1 Ryan Pore USA Portland Timbers 15 2 Eddie Johnson ENG Austin Aztex 14 3 Aaron King USA FC Tampa Bay 12 4 Bright Dike USA Portland Timbers 10 Maxwell Griffin USA Austin Aztex 6 Mike Ambersley USA AC St. Louis 9 David Foley ENG Puerto Rico Islanders Ali Gerba CAN Montreal Impact Abe Thompson USA Miami FC 10 Paulo Araujo Jr. BRA Miami FC 8 Etienne Barbara MLT Carolina RailHawks Leonardo Di Lorenzo ARG Montreal Impact Isaac Kissi GHA Rochester RhinosTop assists Rank Player Nation Club Assists 1 Luke Kreamalmeyer USA AC St. Louis 8 Martin Nash CAN Vancouver Whitecaps 3 Leonardo Di Lorenzo ARG Montreal Impact 7 Jamie Watson USA Austin Aztex 5 Yordany Álvarez CUB Austin Aztex 5 Sandy Gbandi LBR Puerto Rico Islanders Leonard Griffin USA Austin Aztex Maxwell Griffin USA Austin Aztex Andrew Hoxie USA Rochester Rhinos Lawrence Olum KEN Austin Aztex Ryan Pore USA Portland Timbers Tyler Rosenlund CAN Rochester Rhinos Cornelius Stewart VIN Vancouver Whitecaps
1Ryan PoreUSAPortland Timbers15
2Eddie JohnsonENGAustin Aztex14
3Aaron KingUSAFC Tampa Bay12
4Bright DikeUSAPortland Timbers10
Maxwell GriffinUSAAustin Aztex
6Mike AmbersleyUSAAC St. Louis9
David FoleyENGPuerto Rico Islanders
Ali GerbaCANMontreal Impact
Abe ThompsonUSAMiami FC
10Paulo Araujo Jr.BRAMiami FC8
Etienne BarbaraMLTCarolina RailHawks
Leonardo Di LorenzoARGMontreal Impact
Isaac KissiGHARochester Rhinos
RankPlayerNationClubAssists
1Luke KreamalmeyerUSAAC St. Louis8
Martin NashCANVancouver Whitecaps
3Leonardo Di LorenzoARGMontreal Impact7
Jamie WatsonUSAAustin Aztex
5Yordany ÁlvarezCUBAustin Aztex5
Sandy GbandiLBRPuerto Rico Islanders
Leonard GriffinUSAAustin Aztex
Maxwell GriffinUSAAustin Aztex
Andrew HoxieUSARochester Rhinos
Lawrence OlumKENAustin Aztex
Ryan PoreUSAPortland Timbers
Tyler RosenlundCANRochester Rhinos
Cornelius StewartVINVancouver Whitecaps

Individual awards

AwardWinnerClubRef.
Most Valuable PlayerUnited States Ryan PorePortland Timbers
Defender of the YearUnited States Greg JanickiVancouver Whitecaps
Goalkeeper of the YearUnited States Jay NollyVancouver Whitecaps
Rookie of the YearUnited States Maxwell GriffinAustin Aztex FC
Coach of the YearUnited States Bob LilleyRochester Rhinos
Best XI
GoalkeeperDefendersMidfieldersForwards
United States Jay Nolly (VAN)United States Greg Janicki (VAN) United States Aaron Pitchkolan (ROC) United States Troy Roberts (ROC)United States Ryan Pore (POR) Canada Martin Nash (VAN) United States Jamie Watson (AUS) Brazil Paulo Araujo Jr. (MIA) United States Daniel Paladini (CAR)England Eddie Johnson (AUS) Canada Ali Gerba (MTL)