skip navigation

USL Championship Unveils 2020 Season Format

By Orange County SC Communications, 06/24/20, 10:15AM PDT

Share

Upon restart of league, Orange County SC will complete a 16-game regular season

IRVINE, CA. – With today’s USL Championship announcement of the competition structure for the remainder of the 2020 season Orange County SC is excited to return to play under a modified format that will see clubs divided into eight groups to complete a 16-game regular season followed by a single-elimination playoff.

“We are excited about the recent developments and the new competition structure that will allow us to resume the 2020 USL season,” said Jeff Garner, OCSC President of Business Relations. “We are looking forward to getting back out on the field and continuing to provide the best soccer experience we can for our fans."

Under the 2020 format OCSC will play 15 remaining games from the schedule. OCSC will compete in Group B made up of five west coast teams. Group announcements will begin on Thursday June 25th, at 9AM/PT with the announcement of Group B dropping on the official USL social media channels at 9:30AM/PT.

A 2020 schedule is expected soon with July 11th as the earliest possible game date. When play resumes all OCSC games will be available on ESPN+ or Cox YurView.

The full competition structure is as follows:

Regular Season Structure

In order to limit travel, the regular season will see the Championship’s clubs divided into eight regionalized groups, and each team will complete a 16-game regular season. There will be five groups made up of four teams, and three groups made up of five teams to cover the 35 member clubs of the Championship.

The regular season games will be played over 13 weeks, concluding on the weekend of October 2-4. Games completed prior to the season suspension in March will be counted and included in the schedule, with teams that were active on the opening weekend of the season having 15 games remaining in their schedule.

Both San Diego Loyal SC and the Tacoma Defiance – who completed two games prior to the season suspension – will have 14 games remaining in their respective schedules. The three clubs that did not play prior to the season suspension – Birmingham Legion FC, Hartford Athletic and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC – will play their full 16 games upon the resumption of play.

Balance of Schedule

Each team’s schedule will be made up of 12 games from within its own group, with the remaining four games to be played against teams that fall within a similar geographic region. Through this, each team placed in a four-team group will play its three fellow group members four times, while each team placed in a five-team group will play its four fellow group members three times.

Games played prior to the suspension of the season will count toward the allotment of 16 overall games, either as in-group contests or as one of the additional four contests that will complete the schedule.

Teams will be initially scheduled to play a balanced schedule of eight games home and away in the regular season. However, the Board of Governors has also approved the ability for clubs to play an unbalanced amount of home and away matches, if necessary. For example, if a club is experiencing difficulties with venue availability due to the impact of COVID-19 in their community.

Five Substitution Rule

As was previously announced, the Championship will allow five substitutes to be used for the remainder of the 2020 season, with each team having three opportunities to make its substitutions during regular play. Substitutions may also be made at halftime without counting against a club’s three in-game opportunities.

2020 USL Championship Playoffs Structure

The top two teams from each group in the regular season will advance to the 2020 USL Championship Playoffs, producing a field of 16 teams overall in a regionalized single-elimination bracket. Group winners will be paired with Group runners-up in the Round of 16, with home advantage being determined by record for the remainder of the bracket.

###

ABOUT ORANGE COUNTY SOCCER CLUB

Orange County Soccer Club is Orange County’s only professional soccer team that is part of the United Soccer League (USL), the fastest-growing Division II professional soccer league in the world. The USL is comprised of 35 teams across the United States. The team plays its home games at the Orange County Great Park’s Championship Soccer Stadium, located in Irvine, CA. Nestled in the heart of the Great Park, Championship Soccer Stadium has a capacity of over 5,000 for Orange County SC matches. Orange County SC was one of 12 founding members of the USL during its inaugural 2011 season. The preceding club, Orange County Blues, won the 2015 Western Conference Regular Season Championship and reached the Western Conference Semi-Finals of the USL Playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Team owner and Chief Investment Officer of LARO Properties, James Keston, purchased and re-branded the team in 2017. Keston, who actively oversees all operations of the team, is dedicated to providing a pathway to professional soccer and a world-class soccer organization that focuses on the fans, players and youth clubs of Orange County.

In December 2019, Orange County SC entered into a strategic partnership with Rangers FC from the Scottish Premier League.

For more information about Orange County Soccer Club, and to experience professional soccer in the OC, visit: http://www.orangecountysoccer.com.

For more information about the United Soccer League, visit: http://www.uslsoccer.com.

Media Contact:

Chad Romiti

Communications Director for OCSC

chad@orangecountysoccer.com

(949) 293-7781

OC News