TAMPA, Fla. – The top two seeds in the Eastern Conference bracket of the 2025 USL Championship Playoffs presented by Terminix both fell at the first hurdle in a dramatic weekend of action as No. 8 seed Detroit City FC eliminated Players’ Shield winner Louisville City FC and No. 7 seed and defending Eastern Conference title-holder Rhode Island FC eliminated the No. 2 seed Charleston Battery, the second time in three years the top two seeds in the East were both eliminated on the opening weekend.

Western Conference No. 2 seed Sacramento Republic FC was also knocked out as No. 7 seed Orange County SC took victory in a penalty shootout. Elsewhere, the West’s No. 1 seed FC Tulsa defeated defending USL Championship title-holder Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 1-0 for the Scissortails’ first postseason victory in club history, while No. 3 seed New Mexico United also advanced alongside No. 5 seed Phoenix Rising FC.

The 2025 USL Championship Playoffs presented by Terminix will continue this Saturday night with all four games airing live on ESPN+. The Conference Finals will be held the weekend of November 14-16 before the USL Championship Final on Saturday, November 22 on the CBS Television Network, TUDN and SiriusXM FC.

MATCH RECAPS
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

No. 8 Detroit City FC 1, No. 1 Louisville City FC 0

Devon Amoo-Mensah scored the only goal as Detroit City FC recorded the biggest upset in USL Championship Playoffs history by defeating Players’ Shield winner Louisville City FC at Lynn Family Stadium. Le Rouge took the lead 11 minutes before halftime as Amoo-Mensah put home a finish from close range off a corner kick, and from there the defense held up with eight blocked shots and a three-save shutout by Carlos Saldana to earn victory against the side that finished 36 points ahead of them in the regular season standings.

Full Recap & Highlights | Box Score

No. 7 Rhode Island FC 0, No. 2 Charleston Battery 0
Rhode Island advances 5-3 in a penalty shootout

Rhode Island FC went a perfect 5 of 5 from the penalty spot as Aimé Mabika scored the decisive goal to open the fifth round and send the defending Eastern Conference title-holders through against the Charleston Battery at Patriots Point. Both teams had chances in regulation with the Battery’s Cal Jennings being well denied by RIFC’s Koke Vegas and JJ Williams having a powerful header tipped onto the crossbar by Charleston’s Luis Zamudio, but as the game went to the spot Rhode Island maintained the pressure shooting first before the Battery’s Arturo Rodriguez shot high in the third round, offering the opening the visitors walked through to advance.

Full Recap & Highlights | Box Score

No. 3 North Carolina FC 1, No. 6 Loudoun United FC 0

Oalex Anderson scored an early goal to lead North Carolina FC to its first postseason victory in the USL Championship as the hosts eliminated first-time playoff side Loudoun United FC at First Horizon Stadium. The St. Vincent and the Grenadines standout opened the scoring in just the sixth minute, cutting across the top of the penalty area from the right before tucking a shot low into the bottom-right corner. While Loudoun was able to create chances it was unable to beat NCFC goalkeeper Oliver Semmle, who recorded a pair of saves to earn the shutout.

Full Recap & Highlights | Box Score

No. 4 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 0, No. 5 Hartford Athletic 0
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC advances 4-2 in a penalty shootout

Sean Suber scored the decisive goal from the penalty spot, capping a perfect 4 of 4 run for Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC as the hosts advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2022 while eliminating USL Jägermeister Cup winner Hartford Athletic at Highmark Stadium. After a good opening for Hartford, the game became more balanced but offered little in the way of clean-cut chances. Pittsburgh goalkeeper Eric Dick saved from Hartford’s Hadji Barry to open the shootout, however, and from there the Hounds took the initiative with Suber’s goal to end the fourth round closing out the result.

Full Recap & Highlights | Box Score

Western Conference Quarterfinals
No. 1 FC Tulsa 1, No. 8 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 0

Stefan Lukić scored in the second minute of extra time to send FC Tulsa to its first playoff victory in club history as the hosts eliminated defending USL Championship title-holders Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC at ONEOK Field. After a tight opening 90 minutes that saw the sides combine for only three shots on target, Lukić broke the deadlock 80 seconds into the first extra period with a flicked header off a free kick by Jamie Webber. The Switchbacks forced a big late save by Tulsa’s Johan Penaranda to preserve the result on a similar header by Juan Tejada, but the hosts saw out the result.

Full Recap & Highlights | Box Score

No. 7 Orange County SC 0, No. 2 Sacramento Republic FC 0
Orange County SC advances 5-4 in penalty shootout

Orange County goalkeeper Tetsuya Kadono made three saves in the penalty shootout after being introduced late in extra time to send the underdogs through 5-4 from the spot against Sacramento Republic FC at Heart Health Park. Republic FC produced the better chances over the 120 minutes, but the game remained scoreless as both Sacramento’s Rodrigo Lopez and Orange County’s Chris Hegardt were sent off late in the first period of extra time. With both Kadono and Republic FC’s Danny Vitiello making two saves in the opening five rounds, the shootout went on to the seventh round, where OCSC’s Tom Brewitt scored before Kadono made the decisive save on Republic FC’s Jack Gurr to send the visitors through.

Full Recap & Highlights | Box Score

No. 3 New Mexico United 2, No. 6 San Antonio FC 0

Mukwelle Akale and Valentin Noël scored either side of halftime to send New Mexico United to a comfortable victory against San Antonio FC at Isotopes Park. After Noël hit the crossbar early, Akale broke the deadlock in the 20th minute as he cleaned up on the doorstep after an initial shot by Greg Hurst had been parried. Noël then added United’s second when he broke onto a pass by Kipp Keller and put home a precise finish to the bottom-left corner from the right side of the box, sealing the result.

Full Recap & Highlights | Box Score

No. 5 Phoenix Rising FC 1, No. 4 El Paso Locomotive FC 0

Charlie Dennis converted from the penalty spot with four minutes to play as Phoenix Rising advanced past 10-player El Paso Locomotive FC at Southwest University Park. After a tightly-fought first half, Rising went a player up midway through the second half when Locomotive’s Frank Daroma was sent off for a hard foul on Phoenix’s JP Scearce. The visitors ended up making their pressure tell late as a cross from the right was handled by EL Paso’s Tony Alfaro, allowing Dennis to calmly shoot home and send the side into the Western Conference Semifinals.

Full Recap & Highlights | Box Score

2025 USL Championship Playoffs presented by Terminix
Eastern Conference Semifinals
No. 3 North Carolina FC vs. No. 7 Rhode Island FC, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
No. 4 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC vs. No. 8 Detroit City FC, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Western Conference Semifinals
No. 1 FC Tulsa vs. No. 5 Phoenix Rising FC, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
No. 3 New Mexico United vs. No. 7 Orange County SC, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

RESULTS
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
Saturday, November 1
Detroit City FC 1, Louisville City FC 0
North Carolina FC 1, Loudoun United FC 0
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 0, Hartford Athletic 0
Pittsburgh advances 4-2 in a penalty shootout

Sunday, November 2
Rhode Island FC 0, Charleston Battery 0
Rhode Island advances 5-3 in a penalty shootout

Western Conference Quarterfinals
Saturday, November 1
FC Tulsa 1, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 0 AET
New Mexico United 2, San Antonio FC 0
Phoenix Rising FC 1, El Paso Locomotive FC 0

Sunday, November 2
Orange County SC 0, Sacramento Republic FC 0
Orange County advances 5-4 in penalty shootout