Meanwhile in the USL - Level 2 of the US Pyramid

Sports Illustrated reported last week that the USL is going to split and occupy both a Division 2 and Division 3 status in US Soccer starting in 2019. It may seem like the writing is on the wall for the NASL.

There was some speculation that several MLS "2" sides would prefer to drop down to Division 3 status so as not to comply with USSF Division 2 rules. The first google hit on Division 2 standards is from 2010...5,000 seat stadiums and 3/4 of the teams from a market size of 750,000 or better, and must have $750,000 letter of credit.

I started looking in to the USL, which I have pretty much ignored. This (young) season independent USL sides are averaging 5,305 attendance, whereas MLS affiliated USL sides are only averaging 1,700 in attendance. To be fair, NASL clubs are average 5,782.

USL Attendance Tracker

The USL website is actually pretty cool. You can watch every game streaming from their Match and Scores tabs anytime you want. They also have position and pass distribution trackers just like the MLS website you you can analyze the game after the fact. I spot checked a few...lower division sides seem to play very narrow. I have included their goals of the week video today so you can get a feel for the quality and atmosphere.

Chatter on fan boards is that the two division USL could provide a model for promotion and relegation, though it was acknowledged this probably wouldn't work out since the primary benefit of USL is regional play to reduce travel costs.

In the MLS, despite two scoreless draws on Friday, goals per game seems to be way up this year at 2.91 so far. last season total was 2.81. The quality definitely seems to be higher than last year as all teams are having to up their game to keep up.

LA's two best players right now are Emannuel Boateng and Romain Allesandrini. Allesandrini left Marseille at 28 years old. Boateng is allegedly only 23 from Ghana, and he has very quick feet and tight dribbling control. LA now has fewer points than Minnesota, however. Their goal this week is good enough for a video:

Keeping track of Atlanta, they lost at home and drew on the road to playoff teams from last year and crushed non-playoff teams. I still need to see more but they are definitely incisive.

Schweinsteiger came out and proved he has still got it. His goal was fine, but his two killer through balls late in the game is what will help Chicago.

Minnesota beat a hapless Salt Lake without a coach. Former (successful) Red Bulls coach Mike Petke takes over today. The field still has the end zones painted with "Minnesota". Not only is it ugly, but it also looks slippery.

Several teams, including Seattle and San Jose, opted not to start their internationals who had played earlier in the week. It is sort of a shame that MLS can't figure this out. Dempsey looked incredibly dangerous when he did come on in the second half. He just looks like he is having fun playing. It is like he is on a different level. Everyone else makes it look like work.

Click here for link at https://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2017/03/30/usl-division-thr