The 2018 USL Cup Playoffs was the postseason tournament following the 2018 United Soccer League regular season, the fourth since the league rebranded for the 2015 season, and second as a USSF Division II league. Including USL Pro history, it was the seventh postseason tournament. The tournament began on the weekend of October 20 and ended on November 8.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States Canada |
| Teams | 16 |
| Defending champions | Louisville City FC |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Louisville City FC |
| Runner-up | Phoenix Rising FC |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 15 |
| Goals scored | 43 (2.87 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Didier Drogba Brian Ownby Michael Seaton (3) |
Sixteen teams (top 8 per conference) competed in the single elimination tournament. Teams were seeded one through eight in each conference. The conference semifinal winners played against each other in the Conference Championship, which served as the overall semifinals for the playoff. The winners of the Eastern and Western Conference Championship played for the USL Cup. The winner of the playoffs was to be crowned league champion.
FC Cincinnati clinched the USL regular-season title on September 26 and was the number one seed in the Eastern Conference.[1]
Conference standings
The top 8 teams from each conference advance to the USL playoffs.
Western Conference
| Pos | Team | Pld | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orange County SC | 34 | 66 |
| 2 | Sacramento Republic | 34 | 65 |
| 3 | Phoenix Rising FC | 34 | 63 |
| 4 | Real Monarchs | 34 | 60 |
| 5 | Reno 1868 FC | 34 | 59 |
| 6 | Portland Timbers 2 | 34 | 55 |
| 7 | Swope Park Rangers | 34 | 53 |
| 8 | Saint Louis FC | 34 | 53 |
| 9 | San Antonio FC | 34 | 50 |
| 10 | OKC Energy FC | 34 | 43 |
| 11 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 34 | 39 |
| 12 | Fresno FC | 34 | 39 |
| 13 | Rio Grande Valley Toros | 34 | 38 |
| 14 | LA Galaxy II | 34 | 37 |
| 15 | Las Vegas Lights FC | 34 | 31 |
| 16 | Seattle Sounders FC 2 | 34 | 25 |
| 17 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 34 | 21 |
Source: 2018 USL standings
Bracket
Schedule
Conference quarterfinals
| October 20, 2018[2] East | FC Cincinnati | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (6–5 p) | Nashville SC | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| 4:00 p.m. EDT | Bone  95'Smith  104'Ledesma 111' | Report | Davis 110' Bourgeois 115'Tyrpak 116' | Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 20,217 Referee: Farhad Dadkho |
| Penalties | ||||
Adi  McLaughlin Smith Hoyte Lasso Walker | Doyle Allen Winn LaGrassa Tyrpak Davis | |||
| October 20, 2018[3] East | Charleston Battery | 0–1 | New York Red Bulls II | Charleston, South Carolina |
| 7:00 PM EDT | Bolt 16' | Report | Barlow 21' Stroud 66' | Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 1,687 Referee: Rosendo Mendoza |
| October 20, 2018 East | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (7–8 p) | Bethlehem Steel FC | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| 7:00 PM EDT | Zemanski 25' Dover 86'Roberts 105' 109'Forbes 113'Holland  119' | Report | Moumbagna 45' Ngalina 70'Chambers 109'Nanco 111' | Stadium: Highmark Stadium Attendance: 5,189 Referee: Michael Radchuk |
| Penalties | ||||
| Kerr Forbes Banjo Greenspan François Vancaeyezeele Dabo Lee | Chambers Nanco Holness Moar Skundrich Mahoney Real Mbaizo | |||
| October 20, 2018 East | Louisville City FC | 4–1 | Indy Eleven | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 7:30 p.m. EDT | McCabe 29', 48' 66' Ilić 42'Lancaster 73' | Report | Mitchell 46' Saad 67'Ouimette 72' | Stadium: Louisville Slugger Field Attendance: 6,763 Referee: Mark Allatin |
| October 19, 2018 West | Phoenix Rising FC | 3–0 | Portland Timbers 2 | Tempe, Arizona |
| 7:30 p.m. MST | Drogba 28' Johnson 62' Asante 90' | Report | Zambrano 40' Hanson 84' Diz Pe 90+5' | Stadium: Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex Attendance: 7,511 Referee: Rubiel Vazquez |
| October 20, 2018 West | Real Monarchs | 0–1 | Reno 1868 FC | Herriman, Utah |
| 3:00 PM MDT | Velásquez 45+4' | Report | Brown 90+2' | Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Ismir Pekmic |
| October 20, 2018 West | Orange County SC | 4–0 | Saint Louis FC | Irvine, California |
| 7:00 PM PDT | Seaton 11', 29', 64' 21' Quinn 47'Bjurman 66' | Report | Walls 21' Hertzog 88' | Stadium: Championship Soccer Stadium Attendance: 3,360 Referee: Ramy Touchan |
| October 20, 2018 West | Sacramento Republic FC | 1–2 | Swope Park Rangers | Sacramento, California |
| 7:30 PM PDT | Bijev 16' Matjašič 38'Hord 68' | Report | Kuzain 27' Barry 31'Akhmatov 58' | Stadium: Papa Murphy's Park Attendance: 11,569 Referee: Joseph Dickerson |
Conference semifinals
| October 27, 2018 East | FC Cincinnati | 0–1 | New York Red Bulls II | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| 4:00 p.m. EDT | Adi 41' | Report | Moreno 12' 72' | Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 16,617 Referee: Tim Ford |
| October 27, 2018 East | Louisville City FC | 2–0 | Bethlehem Steel FC | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 7:30 p.m. EDT | Ownby 34', 59' 79' Smith 64' | Report | Moar 57' Mbaizo 83'Ofeimu 86' | Stadium: Louisville Slugger Field Attendance: 6,881 Referee: Farhad Dadkho |
| October 26, 2018 West | Phoenix Rising FC | 4–2 | Swope Park Rangers | Tempe, Arizona |
| 7:30 p.m. MST | Johnson 22' Drogba 29' 90+4'Cortez 36'Lambert 48' | Report | Blackwood 26' Barry 33'Akhmatov 49' | Stadium: Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex Attendance: 7,707 Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr. |
| October 27, 2018 West | Orange County SC | 1–0 | Reno 1868 FC | Irvine, California |
| 7:00 PM PDT | Alston 21' Quinn 29'Duke 90+2' | Report | Richards 12' Brown 41'Hoppenot 45+2' | Stadium: Championship Soccer Stadium Attendance: 4,021 Referee: Victor Rivas |
Conference finals
| November 2, 2018 East | Louisville City FC | 5–1 | New York Red Bulls II | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 7:30 p.m. EDT | Ilić 23' (pen.), 40' Spencer 32' Davis 61' Craig 65' Ownby 69', 81' Williams 73', 75' McCabe 80' | Report | Ndam 22' Tinari 44' Barlow 60' | Stadium: Louisville Slugger Field Attendance: 10,059 Referee: Ramy Touchan |
| November 3, 2018 West | Orange County SC | 1–2 | Phoenix Rising FC | Irvine, California |
| 7:00 p.m. PDT | Chaplow 47' Hashimoto 82' | Report | Cortez 2' Drogba 73' Forbes 90+7' | Stadium: Championship Soccer Stadium Attendance: 5,189 Referee: Tim Ford |
USL championship
| November 8, 2018[4] Final | Louisville City FC | 1–0 | Phoenix Rising FC | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 8:00 PM EST | Smith 45' Spencer 62', 90+1' Ranjitsingh 90+3' | Report | Farrell 39' Drogba 73' Lambert 85' | Stadium: Lynn Stadium Attendance: 7,025 Referee: Joseph Dickerson |
Championship Game MVP: Luke Spencer (LOU)
Top goalscorers
References
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