The USL First Division owners are holding meetings in Beaverton, Oregon this week in the midst of the ongoing dispute with the Team Owners Association. On the docket was a revamping of the league in light of the likely departure of the TOA teams; what this means for the future of USL-1 will be revealed in the coming days, though word is that several changes are possible.


Among those changes could be expansion to fill the void created by departing teams, and NuRock president Alex Papadakis indicated Canada may be in those plans. Another possibility is Detroit, a city off the radar for MLS but seemingly appropriate for USL-1.


Though their showdown with the league is not yet over, several TOA owners did in fact attend the meetings in Beaverton. There's no indication that those attending were looking for a reconciliation with NuRock; the TOA clubs still take issue with the private ownership of the league and a few meetings in Oregon won't undo those concerns.


While USL looks to round out their top division for next year, it's possible that one of their lower divisions could take a hit. USL-2, populated with teams like Crystal Palace Baltimore and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, may go on hiatus. The waves caused by the TOA defection will likely be felt for years to come.


Much is still unknown about how USL will cope, and the status of the TOA teams and their potential new league still remains in question, but the next week should provide a few more answers.

*UPDATE* The USL didn't waste any time; here's a press release on the meetings. Expansion teams in Ottawa and Edmonton are mentioned, as well a groups from Baltimore and Detroit.

Last night, the third round of the US Open Cup began. The third round is the first appearance of MLS clubs in the tournament proper, when the "giants" take on those clubs from lesser leagues in David v. Goliath match ups.

Score one for David.

Score four, actually, because out of six games pitting USL sides from two different divisions against the higher-profile Major League Soccer clubs, four teams from the lower divisions came out on top.

The USL-2 Wilmington Hammerheads beat the Chicago Fire 1-0. The USL-2 Harrisburg City Islanders beat the New England Revolution 2-1, in a game that saw the Revs finish with nine men. The Rochester Rhinos knocked off the defending MLS Cup champions in penalties, and the Charleston Battery took care of Chivas USA 3-1.

Four upsets, and four more bullets for the quality argument; last night did nothing to dispel the myth that USL teams are close to or on par with MLS clubs, and it's bound to set off a barrage of said argument across the soccer community.

That's right, I said myth.

MLS clubs should be, and in my estimation still are not matter the results of last night, superior to their USL counterparts. But MLS clubs are making my belief increasingly shaky, and I'm beginning to find myself frustrated with the amount of ammunition available to those that think otherwise. But one round of one-off victories by a few committed and hard-charging teams does not prove an argument for USL being equal to MLS. What is does prove is that MLS on the whole should be ashamed of itself; because the league chooses to sleepwalk through the Open Cup at almost every turn, because coaches choose to put out what amounts to reserve sides, and because the players themselves are likely less motivated to play well than they might in other competitions, the league finds itself where it is today.

Six games, four losses. Even the fact that three of the upsets took place at the home stadiums of the USL clubs involved doesn't lessen the blow; and although "upsets happen" and the "any given night" rule certainly applies in the Open Cup, it's not an unreasonable expectation that the teams from the richer league should come out on top more often than not. Clearly, expectations mean nothing when one of the participants treats the games as they would a reserve match.

The "ouch" factor is incredibly high today for America's top division, and it has no one to blame but itself. It's clear that few truly care about the under-publicized and under-funded Open Cup, and as long as that's the case, results like those we witnessed last night will continue to happen.

The romance of a tournament like the US Open Cup is undeniable. The potential for massive upsets and lower division teams shining against bigger clubs is appealing. But for me, it sucks away the romance to see MLS teams field lineups full of players we barely recognize, and it does the game as a whole no favors in the United States. Despite opinions to the contrary, when Major League Soccer gets a black eye, the public perception of American soccer on the whole takes a hit. For better or worse, the overall health of professional soccer in the United States is directly tied to the success of MLS, both on and off the pitch; last night is yet another example of the league missing the point and shooting themselves in the foot, both because so many of its teams went down to "lesser" opponents and because many of those teams refused to treat their opponents or the competition in which they were playing with the proper respect.

MLS teams, from top to bottom and in almost every case, should be better then USL teams. I still believe that, but it's getting increasingly difficult to back up that argument. For that I blame the league.

Shame on you MLS. There's no shame in being upset; there's shame in being upset when you're clearly not giving it your all.

Last night, teams from American leagues like USL-1, USL-2, the USL Premier Development League, and even the United States Adult Soccer Association competed in the second round of the 2009 US Open Cup. While only two "upsets" (i.e. the team from the lower league coming out on top) occurred, the tournament is still a draw for the hard core fan of the game in this country. The potential for a team from the higher profile MLS winning the tournament is still there, as unlikely as it may be.

But that's exactly what the tournament needs at this point. I've made clear my feelings on the Open Cup, those being that as long as the competition is not highly regarded by MLS sides, the tournament will struggle to gain any traction beyond the passionate fans of the teams involved. If a "lower" (that's for all of you USL-1 fans out there that want to put your league on the same level as MLS) league team can lift the trophy this year, it just might shock the big boys into treating the tournament a little better.

No matter the reaction by MLS or its clubs, the Open Cup desperately needs a shock winner. The status quo isn't cutting it anymore.

Of the non-MLS teams remaining in the competition, five are from USL-1, two are from USL-2, and one is a Premier Development League side. As nice as it would be to see the PDL Ocean City Barons pull off a miracle and make it all the way to the Cup Final, it's probably too much to ask. The Barons are an amateur club after all, and they'll be facing the MLS Eastern Conference-leading DC United in Round 3. No matter what type of team Tom Soehn decides to play against the Barons, they will be massive favorites.

It's from among the seven other USL teams that the chances for an upset lie. One or two (at least) are bound to get out of the third round, beating their MLS opponents. USL-1 clubs are known to beat the big boys on a fairly regular basis, and there's no reason to expect that this year's Cup will be any different. While MLS clubs will line up less-that-full-strength teams, the USL teams will take the match more seriously, relishing the chance to prove that they're better than their "second division" reputation. It's simply a matter of following through at this point; while USL-1 clubs might go deep into the tournament, even as far as the final, they haven't been able to win the Cup since Rochester's 1999 victory.

I know little about the two USL-2 clubs still in the tournament, though I wouldn't be surprised to see one pull off a massive upset. The Harrisburg City Islanders take on the New England Revolution, and with a congested schedule and injuries to deal with, I doubt Steve Nichol will be putting much into the match. The other USL-2 side, the Wilmington Hammerheads, have the more difficult task, facing off against a Chicago Fire club that traditionally does well in US Open Cup play.

If you're a fan of an MLS club, you might not be tracking with my hope that someone other than one of them lift the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup this year. If you're a fan of a club that has yet to make an appearance in the CONCACAF Champions League, you might not want to see a lesser team earn that spot. But the Open Cup competition is laboring, and laboring mightily. It will take an upset winner, someone other than the usual suspects, to inject some life into the tournament.

So when Round 3 comes around on June 30th, and the "minnows" are facing off against the "whales", I'll be rooting for upsets. If the the Open Cup isn't going anywhere, and it sure doesn't seem like it will if it hasn't yet, then it desperately needs a breath of new life. Maybe MLS clubs missing out will do just that.