(TAMPA, Fla.) – The United Soccer League (USL) today was granted provisional Division 2 status by the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) Board of Directors, beginning with the 2017 season.

Earlier this year, the USL submitted its application and supporting documentation for entry into Division 2. This landmark decision by USSF supports the USL’s vision to become one of the most globally recognized second division professional soccer leagues. 

Since 2014, the USL has more than doubled in size. Ottawa Fury FC, Reno 1868 FC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies are joining as new clubs for next season while Nashville SC will begin play in 2018 with further expansion on the horizon.

“The USL is honored to receive U.S. Soccer Federation Division 2 status, which provides further validation about our League’s financial sustainability, national footprint, ownership quality, stadium infrastructure and player development,” said Alec Papadakis, the USL Chief Executive Officer. “Our teams have invested more than $100 million into stadium development in the last year to enhance the experience for the 1.5 million passionate fans that attended games in 2016, the 1,000-plus players and nearly 100 coaches that have positioned our League as a highly sophisticated competition model that cultivates strong regional rivalries.”

The USL’s expansive national footprint features teams in 21 of the top 50 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas and three of the top six populated Canadian cities. This year, team markets reached 75 million people including 30 million who lived in a region where the USL was the only professional league.

“After an exhaustive process working with both leagues, in the best interest of the sport the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors has decided to grant provisional Division II status to the USL,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. “U.S. Soccer will create an internal working group that will work with the league to set a pathway to meet the full requirements for Division II and allow for the larger goal of creating a sustainable future. We look forward to another productive year for professional soccer in this country.”

With the USL kicking off its 2017 season in late March, the League will be announcing its official schedule and conference alignments soon.

“Today is a big day for the Tulsa Roughnecks and for professional soccer in the city of Tulsa. The United Soccer League continues to make giant strides in its goal to become one of the top Division 2 leagues in the world. We are proud to have the Roughnecks and Tulsa be a part of the process as USL and its teams continue to grow their presence in the international soccer community.” said Brian Carroll, Vice President of the Tulsa Roughnecks FC.

More Information: www.USLSoccer.com.

About United Soccer League

The United Soccer League is the fastest growing professional soccer league in the world with teams in 19 states and three Canadian provinces. Since 2014, the USL has doubled in size and established a sizeable North American footprint with strong ownership, experienced executives and regional rivalries.

The USL prides itself on three key tenets when identifying a potential expansion city. First, a strong local ownership group. Second, a millennial and diverse population. Third, plans for a soccer-specific stadium to showcase the game in the way it was supposed to be, while giving supporters a first-class venue.

In 2016, the USL experienced record growth with a total season attendance of almost 1.5 million, a 33 percent increase from 2015. The average attendance for the league’s top-10 drawing teams was 6,724, a 25 percent increase year-over-year.

Creating an engaging environment for passionate fans, the USL aims to establish all clubs as owners or primary tenants of 8,000-10,000 seat soccer-specific stadiums by 2020. Teams have invested more than $100 million into stadium infrastructure in the last year to enhance the experience for the USL’s passionate fans, 900-plus players and nearly 100 coaches in building a highly sophisticated league.

Expanding its broadcast reach with ESPN and SiriusXM partnerships, USL “Games of the Week” were available this year on ESPN3 to 99 million households. The USL aired more than 500 games last season through its Match Center. Recently, the USL finalized a $10 million investment and partnership with VISTA Worldlink to create USL Productions, which will create more than 1,000 hours of live match coverage for 2017. Additionally, statistical analysis will be powered by Opta – the world’s leading provider of live, detailed sports data – who will manage and deliver in-depth details for all USL games.

Based in Tampa, Fla., the USL supports its teams with operational excellence through 50-plus employees and 16 departments including Analytics, Competition, Creative, Digital, League Operations, Marketing, Merchandise/Licensing, Team Services, USL Productions and more.

Follow the USL at USLSoccer.com, on USL Match Center, and on social media via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

The Tulsa Roughnecks FC has unveiled a new website that is a part of the new United Soccer League Digital Network. The new site is now active and can be accessed at the new URL address of RoughnecksFC.com.

The completely redesigned site will offer visitors increased content with multiple news and video options specifically designed to increase fan engagement. As part of the USL’s Digital Network, it is set up to play a critical role in the League’s digital-first strategy.

The site will give visitors the opportunity to easily access USL-produced, TRFC content. It is constructed to also optimize the user experience for mobile uses, regardless of device. In addition, it will give fans full access to Roughnecks statistics, advanced stats and information through USL’s partnership with Opta for the 2017 season.

“We’re excited to launch the newly branded RoughnecksFC site,” said Rob Gardenhire, the team’s VP of Marketing & Business Development. “The chance to offer more integrated league content will afford our fans the opportunity to view up to the minute stats and standings throughout the USL in 2017. As fans continue to view sports as an increasingly mobile experience, our site’s mobile responsiveness should lend itself to a better user experience for all Roughnecks soccer fans.”

Lastly, the new site will also continue to be the place for Tulsa soccer fans to visit when seeking to purchase Roughnecks match tickets online.

In regard to the USL Digital Network, USL President Jake Edwards said, “The Digital Network’s goal is to meet and exceed the demand of our ever-growing supporter base as well as the appetite of today’s soccer consumer who are equally driven by digital content and engagement.” 

The 2017 season will mark the third year of play in the USL for the Roughnecks.

The Sacramento Republic FC jumped out to a 2-0 lead after just 19 minutes, carried a 3-0 advantage into halftime and closed out the Roughnecks’ second United Soccer League season with a 4-0 triumph Saturday night in front of 4,158 faithful fans at ONEOK Field.

Tulsa finished the campaign with a final record of 5-21-4.

“All the interviews that we had this year could be the same interview,” said Coach David Irving. “It’s the same story, we give three goals away. You can’t do that. That’s been our Achilles’ heel. It’s been a challenging year for everyone – the organization, the players, me – everyone.”

With the win, Sacramento (14-6-10) moved into first place in the Western Conference standings, at least temporarily, pending the results of Colorado Springs’ later game against Orange County.

The lone bright spot for the Roughnecks on this night was the play of rookie goalkeeper Hunter Harrison, who made his first appearance of the season coming in to replace starter Jake Feener after halftime.

Harrison, who played a year at Oral Roberts University and spent most of the season as the Roughnecks’ third goalkeeper, made three saves on the night, all of them difficult ones, and was named the Roustabouts’ “Man of the Match.”

“It felt nice to finally play in my first game,” Harrison said. “It’s been a year since I played, so it takes hard work, a lot of training, a lot of progress.  It also takes a lot of help from your teammates to keep your confidence going when you’re not playing. And when you get your chance, you have to go out there and play, and once I got in, I was able to show something.”

Photo Right of Hunter Harrison by Rich Crimi

Sacramento controlled the ball for much of the first half and went ahead just 10 minutes into the match. James Kiffe fed a pass from the left into the middle, where Mackenzie Pridham volleyed it waist-high from 10 yards out. The shot went down and bounced up and over Feener.

The Republic went up 2-0 in the 19th minute on Cameron Iwasa’s team-leading 12th goal of the season. Iwasa carried into the middle and drilled a shot from 20 yards out that took a deflection off a Tulsa defender leaving Feener with no chance as the ball rolled in off the left goalpost.

Tulsa’s deficit grew to three in the 35th minute after a foul by Kaleem, which earned him a yellow card and gave the Republic a free kick in the middle of the field about, 22 yards out. Daniel Barrera, the USL’s assists leader, took an impressive left-footed shot that curled around the wall of Roughneck defenders, past the diving Feener and just inside the right post.

After halftime, Irving inserted Harrison in place of Feener, and he made his first professional save in the 55th minute, a sliding, point-blank stop on Pridham.

“That was always in our plans,” Irving said of playing Harrison in the finale. “We weren’t going to make the playoffs, and he’s done well. He’s trained with us, he’s worked out every day and he’s young.  He was at ORU, and he did very well, no complaints. He enjoyed it too. He was a little nervous, but he got his feet wet, as you might say.”

Harrison came up big again in the 68th minute, making back-to-back stops. Octavio Guzman’s pass from the left side found Michael Da Fonte in the middle, about 10 yards out, for a header that forced Harrison to make a leaping save, deflecting the ball up and off the crossbar. The rebound bounced right out to Iwasa for a point-blank volley, and Harrison reached up for a left hand save while down on the ground as the offside flag went up. 

The Republic got the fourth goal just seconds before stoppage time ended, one final, cruel kick to close out the Roughnecks year, as Harry Williams put home a 15-yard shot past the diving Harrison just inside the right goalpost.

Photo Left of Gary Cennerazzo by Brooke Carroll

Somehow that seemed like a fitting end to a disappointing season for Tulsa, one that started out with an encouraging win in the first game but was quickly followed by a 0-5-1 winless skid. Things just spiraled from there, as the Roughnecks lost five straight games at one point, and were 2-10-2 after 14 outings. A promising 3-2-1 stretch followed that, but the Roughnecks couldn’t sustain the momentum, last getting three points in a 2-1 victory over Arizona United SC on July 30.

But as Coach Irving pointed out, while the results didn’t go their way, they always put forth an inspired effort.

“A least I can say this – we never laid down, we always tried, they never quit on me, and regardless of the results, they worked their socks off,” Irving said. “We weren’t quite good enough. But, all credit to them, they could have lied down and rolled over, but they showed up for practice every day.”