The Charlotte Eagles had become the dominant club in USL’s second flight, and as many would have predicted the Eagles returned to the final for a fourth straight time in the league. The new player on the block, however, was Richmond, a side that had advanced to the USL First Division final the year before.

With a lineup missing several players who stayed in USL-1, the Kickers came out of the gates with a surprising 1-0 loss at home to Cincinnati before proceeding to reel off an 11-game unbeaten run as they ran away with the regular season title. Leading the way was second-year forward Robert Ssejjemba, who took his new starting role with confidence and dominated the league statistically with 38 points and 17 goals.

As Richmond pulled away to what would be an 11-point gap ahead of the regular season runners-up, the next six clubs were neck and neck to the end with Charlotte finishing second, two points ahead of Pittsburgh and Cincinnati and five in front of a trio tied for fifth.

The 13-3-4 Kickers faced Cincinnati in the semifinals, advancing 2-1 on aggregate to face the Eagles, who soared past the Riverhounds in the USL-2 Semifinals 6-1 on aggregate.

Richmond dominated play en route to a 2-1 win over Charlotte and their first title since the 1995 ‘Double’ when they won the Premier Development League and US Open Cup championships.