2019 USL Championship playoffs

Main article: 2019 USL Championship season

The 2019 USL Championship playoffs was the postseason tournament following the 2019 USL Championship regular season. Including USL Pro history, it was the ninth postseason tournament. The tournament began on October 23 and ended with the USL Championship Final on November 17.

2019 USL Championship playoffs

Tournament details
Country	United States Canada
Teams	20
Defending champions	Louisville City FC
Final positions
Champions	Real Monarchs SLC
Runner-up	Louisville City FC
Tournament statistics
Matches played	19
Goals scored	65 (3.42 per match)
Attendance	102,391 (5,389 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Neco Brett Magnus Rasmussen (4)
← 2018 2020 →

The top 10 teams from each conference qualified for the playoffs. Each conference had a "Play-In round" where the 7 seed hosted the 10 seed and the 8 hosted the 9. The lowest remaining seed then played the 1 seed and the other play-in survivor played the 2 seed to form an 8-team playoff bracket. Each of the 8 team playoff brackets consisted of teams within their respective conference and the matches were hosted by the higher seed. The USL Cup will be the season's only match that involves teams from different conferences; it will be hosted by the conference champion with the better regular-season record.^[1]

Phoenix Rising FC clinched the USL Championship regular season title on September 28 and earned the number one seed in the Western Conference.^[2]

Conference standings

The top 10 teams from each conference advanced to the playoffs.

Eastern Conference Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 34 68 2 Nashville SC 34 67 3 Indy Eleven 34 63 4 Louisville City FC 34 60 5 Tampa Bay Rowdies 34 58 6 New York Red Bulls II 34 57 7 North Carolina FC 34 56 8 Ottawa Fury FC 34 52 9 Charleston Battery 34 46 10 Birmingham Legion FC 34 43 11 Saint Louis FC 34 42 12 Loudoun United FC 34 39 13 Charlotte Independence 34 38 14 Atlanta United 2 34 35 15 Memphis 901 FC 34 34 16 Bethlehem Steel FC 34 31 17 Hartford Athletic 34 29 18 Swope Park Rangers 34 26 Source: USL Championship Standings

Western Conference Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 Phoenix Rising FC (X) 34 78 2 Reno 1868 FC 34 60 3 Fresno FC 34 57 4 Real Monarchs (C) 34 56 5 Orange County SC 34 54 6 El Paso Locomotive FC 34 50 7 Sacramento Republic 34 48 8 Austin Bold FC 34 48 9 LA Galaxy II 34 48 10 New Mexico United 34 46 11 San Antonio FC 34 45 12 Rio Grande Valley Toros 34 41 13 Las Vegas Lights FC 34 41 14 Portland Timbers 2 34 38 15 OKC Energy FC 34 38 16 Tulsa Roughnecks 34 34 17 Tacoma Defiance 34 31 18 Colorado Springs Switchbacks 34 27 Source: USL Championship Standings (C) Champions; (X) Regular Season League Champion

Bracket

	Eastern Conference Play-In October 23					Eastern Conference Play-In October 23					Western Conference Play-In October 23					Western Conference Play-In October 23
	7	North Carolina FC	2			8	Ottawa Fury FC	1 (4)			7	Sacramento Republic	2			8	Austin Bold FC	2
	10	Birmingham Legion FC	3			9	Charleston Battery (p)	1 (5)			10	New Mexico United	1			9	LA Galaxy II	0

	Conference Quarterfinals October 26					Conference Semifinals November 1–2					Conference Final November 9					USL Championship Final November 17
	1	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC	7
	10	Birmingham Legion FC	0
						1	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC	1
						4	Louisville City FC (a.e.t.)	2
	4	Louisville City FC	2
	5	Tampa Bay Rowdies	1
											4	Louisville City FC (a.e.t.)	3
	Eastern Conference
											3	Indy Eleven	1
	3	Indy Eleven	1
	6	New York Red Bulls II	0
						3	Indy Eleven	1
						2	Nashville SC	0
	2	Nashville SC	3
	9	Charleston Battery	1
																4	Louisville City FC	1
																4	Real Monarchs SLC	3
	1	Phoenix Rising FC (p)	0 (8)
	8	Austin Bold FC	0 (7)
						1	Phoenix Rising FC	1
						4	Real Monarchs SLC	2
	4	Real Monarchs SLC	6
	5	Orange County SC	2
											4	Real Monarchs SLC (a.e.t.)	2
	Western Conference
											6	El Paso Locomotive FC	1
	3	Fresno FC	2
	6	El Paso Locomotive FC	3
						6	El Paso Locomotive FC	3
						7	Sacramento Republic	0
	2	Reno 1868 FC	1
	7	Sacramento Republic	3

Schedule

Conference Play-In Round

North Carolina FC v Birmingham Legion FC

October 23, 2019 (2019-10-23) East	North Carolina FC	2–3	Birmingham Legion FC	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT	Albadawi 19',  40' Fortune 59',  61'	Report	Hollinger-Janzen 35' Herivaux 66' Williams 90+3'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 3,675 Referee: Tim Ford

Ottawa Fury FC v Charleston Battery

October 23, 2019 (2019-10-23) East	Ottawa Fury FC	1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p)	Charleston Battery	Ottawa, Ontario
4:00 p.m. EDT	Samb 40' Fall  117'	Report	Higashi 27' Marini  116' Lewis  117'	Stadium: TD Place Stadium Attendance: 2,427 Referee: David Barrie
	Penalties
	Fall Haworth Barry Samb Thiago		Lewis Bosua Marini Svantesson van Schaik

Sacramento Republic FC v New Mexico United

October 23, 2019 (2019-10-23) West	Sacramento Republic FC	2–1	New Mexico United	Sacramento, California
4:00 p.m. EDT	Enevoldsen  44', 82' Alemán 45+3' Villarreal  67' Werner  90+3'	Report	Sandoval 1' Padilla  44' Wehan  64' Guzmán  69' Schmidt  90'	Stadium: Papa Murphy's Park Attendance: 9,907 Referee: Elton Garcia

Austin Bold FC v LA Galaxy II

October 23, 2019 (2019-10-23) West	Austin Bold FC	2–0	LA Galaxy II	Austin, Texas
4:00 p.m. EDT	Twumasi 9',  76' Lima  32' Soto  49' McFarlane 54' Braafheid  60'	Report	Harvey  35' Hernández  76' Kamara  77'	Stadium: Bold Stadium Attendance: 2,656 Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr

Conference Quarterfinals

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC v Birmingham Legion FC

October 26, 2019 (2019-10-26) East	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC	7–0	Birmingham Legion FC	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
4:00 p.m. EDT	Brett 13', 27', 34' (pen.), 71' Fisher 17' (o.g.) Dover 45+1' Mertz 62' (pen.) Adewole  77'	Report	Culbertson  31' Lopez  41' Herivaux  61'	Stadium: Highmark Stadium Referee: Mark Allatin

Nashville SC v Charleston Battery

October 26, 2019 (2019-10-26) East	Nashville SC	3–1	Charleston Battery	Nashville, Tennessee
4:00 p.m. EDT	Moloto 10' King  38' Ríos 43' Ockford  77' Davis  85' Jones 88'	Report	Lewis 35' (pen.)	Stadium: First Tennessee Park Attendance: 6,253 Referee: Greg Dopka

Indy Eleven v New York Red Bulls II

October 26, 2019 (2019-10-26) East	Indy Eleven	1–0	New York Red Bulls II	Indianapolis, Indiana
4:00 p.m. EDT	Ouimette 27'	Report		Stadium: Carroll Stadium Attendance: 5,175 Referee: Michael Radchuk

Louisville City FC v Tampa Bay Rowdies

October 26, 2019 (2019-10-26) East	Louisville City FC	2–1	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Louisville, Kentucky
7:00 p.m. EDT	Rasmussen 23', 24' Ownby  56'	Report	Ekra  40' Diakité  70' Guenzatti 80'	Stadium: Louisville Slugger Field Attendance: 4,636 Referee: Farhad Dadkho

Phoenix Rising FC v Austin Bold FC

October 26, 2019 (2019-10-26) West	Phoenix Rising FC	0–0 (a.e.t.) (8–7 p)	Austin Bold FC	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:30 p.m. MST	Lambert  70' Jahn  86'	Report	Soto  14' McFarlane  35' Guadarrama  68' de Villardi  95'	Stadium: Casino Arizona Field Attendance: 6,642 Referee: Elvis Osmanovic
	Penalties
	Flemmings Bakero Calistri Lambert Spencer Farrell Johnson Dia Cochran		Tyrpak de Villardi McFarlane Soto Braafheid Okugo Atuahene Twumasi Taylor

Reno 1868 FC v Sacramento Republic FC

October 26, 2019 (2019-10-26) West	Reno 1868 FC	1–3	Sacramento Republic FC	Reno, Nevada
6:30 p.m. MDT	Hertzog 5'	Report	Werner 8' Iwasa 70' Taintor  73' Enevoldsen 75' Skundrich  84'	Stadium: Greater Nevada Field Attendance: 3,275 Referee: Malik Badawi

Fresno FC v El Paso Locomotive FC

October 26, 2019 (2019-10-26) West	Fresno FC	2–3	El Paso Locomotive FC	Fresno, California
7:30 p.m. PDT	Chaney 49' Strong  51'  86' Cooper 55'	Report	Gómez 19' Kiffe 77' Velásquez 83' (pen.)	Stadium: Chukchansi Park Attendance: 5,352 Referee: Lukasz Szpala

Real Monarchs SLC v Orange County SC

October 26, 2019 (2019-10-26) West	Real Monarchs SLC	6–2	Orange County SC	Herriman, Utah
12:00 p.m. MDT	Chang 13' Martínez 28' Mulholland  34' Blake 59', 90' Schmitt 77' Holt 81'	Report	Orozco 35',  80' Forrester  40'  49' Hume  67' Seaton 90+1'	Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: 2,749 Referee: Ismir Pekmic

Conference Semifinals

Phoenix Rising FC v Real Monarchs SLC

November 1, 2019 (2019-11-01) West	Phoenix Rising FC	1–2	Real Monarchs SLC	Scottsdale, Arizona
7:30 p.m. MST	Flemmings 25' Asante  47'	Report	Blake 33',  61' Chang 43' Powder  84'	Stadium: Casino Arizona Field Attendance: 7,548 Referee: Jon Freemon

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC v Louisville City FC

November 2, 2019 (2019-11-02) East	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Louisville City FC	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
7:00 p.m. EDT	Vancaeyezeele 11' Greenspan  48'	Report	Spencer 51',  85' McMahon  54' Craig  70' DelPiccolo 118'	Stadium: Highmark Stadium Attendance: 6,073 Referee: Michael Radchuk

Nashville SC v Indy Eleven

November 2, 2019 (2019-11-02) East	Nashville SC	0–1	Indy Eleven	Nashville, Tennessee
7:00 p.m. CDT	Washington  24' LaGrassa  81' Ockford  90+2'	Report	Ayoze  22' Ouimette  24' Pasher 59'	Stadium: First Tennessee Park Attendance: 4,174 Referee: Elton García

El Paso Locomotive FC v Sacramento Republic FC

November 2, 2019 (2019-11-02) West	El Paso Locomotive FC	3–0	Sacramento Republic FC	El Paso, Texas
7:30 p.m. MDT	Beckie  25' Gómez 40' Ryan  70' Contreras 83' (pen.) Yuma  86' Velásquez 88'	Report	Alemán  51' Enevoldsen  70' Barahona  87'	Stadium: Southwest University Park Attendance: 7,460 Referee: Farhad Dadkho

Conference Finals

Indy Eleven v Louisville City FC

November 9, 2019 (2019-11-09) East	Indy Eleven	1–3 (a.e.t.)	Louisville City FC	Indianapolis, Indiana
3:00 p.m. EST	Barrett  45+1' Pasher 67' Ouimette  90+2' Hackshaw  102'	Report	Williams  85' Hoppenot 90+4' Rasmussen 94' Ownby  106' Spencer 113' (pen.)	Stadium: Carroll Stadium Attendance: 7,171 Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.

Real Monarchs SLC v El Paso Locomotive FC

November 9, 2019 (2019-11-09) West	Real Monarchs SLC	2–1 (a.e.t.)	El Paso Locomotive FC	Herriman, Utah
1:00 p.m. MST	Schmitt  21' Ryden 48' Portillo  88' Mulholland  90+4' Holt  116', 120'	Report	Fox 45+1' Kiffe  47'  51' Gómez  71'	Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: 4,521 Referee: Rosendo Mendoza

USL Championship Final

Louisville City FC	1–3	Real Monarchs SLC
Rasmussen 6' Williams  89'	Report	Holt 25',  69' Plewa 45' Schmitt  59' Powder 66'

November 17, 2019 (2019-11-17)

7:30 PM EST

Lynn Stadium, Louisville, Kentucky

Attendance: 7,025

Referee: Tim Ford

Championship Game MVP: Konrad Plewa (SLC)

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Neco Brett	Pittsburgh Riverhounds	4
	Magnus Rasmussen	Louisville City FC
3	Jack Blake	Real Monarchs SLC	3
	Erik Holt	Real Monarchs SLC
5	Maikel Chang	Real Monarchs SLC	2
	Thomas Enevoldsen	Sacramento Republic
	Josué Gómez	El Paso Locomotive
	Tyler Pasher	Indy Eleven
	Luke Spencer	Louisville City FC
	Sebastián Velásquez	El Paso Locomotive
11	Nazmi Albadawi	North Carolina FC	1
	Keven Alemán	Sacramento Republic
	Christian Chaney	Fresno FC
	Sebastián Contreras	El Paso Locomotive FC
	Alex Cooper	Fresno FC
	Paolo DelPiccolo	Louisville City FC
	Jordan Dover	Pittsburgh Riverhounds
	Junior Flemmings	Phoenix Rising FC
	Dre Fortune	North Carolina FC
	Andrew Fox	El Paso Locomotive FC
	Sebastián Guenzatti	Tampa Bay Rowdies
	Zachary Herivaux	Birmingham Legion
	Corey Hertzog	Reno 1868 FC
	Kotaro Higashi	Charleston Battery
	Femi Hollinger-Janzen	Birmingham Legion
	Antoine Hoppenot	Louisville City FC
	Cameron Iwasa	Sacramento Republic
	Derrick Jones	Nashville SC
	James Kiffe	El Paso Locomotive
	Zeiko Lewis	Charleston Battery
	Douglas Martínez	Real Monarchs SLC
	Sean McFarlane	Austin Bold FC
	Robbie Mertz	Pittsburgh Riverhounds
	Lebogang Moloto	Nashville SC
	Karl Ouimette	Indy Eleven
	Michael Orozco	Orange County SC
	Konrad Plewa	Real Monarchs SLC
	Noah Powder	Real Monarchs SLC
	Daniel Ríos	Nashville SC
	Kalen Ryden	Real Monarchs SLC
	Mour Samb	Ottawa Fury FC
	Devon Sandoval	New Mexico United
	Tate Schmitt	Real Monarchs SLC
	Michael Seaton	Orange County SC
	Ema Twumasi	Austin Bold FC
	Thomas Vancaeyezeele	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
	Sam Werner	Sacramento Republic
	JJ Williams	Birmingham Legion

Own Goals

• Kyle Fisher (Birmingham) vs Pittsburgh

^[3]