The Canadian members of USL showed a lot of promise for an unprecedented year of success with the Calgary Storm, Vancouver Breakers and Vancouver Whitecaps playing well.

 

The expansion Storm flew through their PDL season, suffering just two losses en route to the Regular Season Championship. Goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld was the clear favorite for Goalkeeper of the Year and nearly propelled the club to the title. The Westchester Flames, who finished Third the year before did not want any part of the Canadian glory and defeated the Storm 3-1 in Des Moines for the PDL Championship.

 

With one Canadian dream dashed, the Breakers quickly picked up the flag and continued on a path to to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The path led the 12-1-1 side to the W-1 Championships in Virginia Beach, but a severe thunderstorm washed away the rejoicing that was to be as the Boston Renegades proved capable of waiting out the two-hour delay that cancelled the Third Place Game and virtually vacated the stadium with no outlook for clear weather. Once the storm broke, however, it was all Boston in a 5-1 game.

 

Nearly a month later, the Breakers’ counterpart squad started their A-League postseason after claiming the regular season Western Conference title and a first round bye with a 16-8-2 mark. The Whitecaps received an early scare falling behind San Diego in the first leg 2-0, but rebounded with a 4-1 win at home. Unfortunately for the Whitecaps, Hershey’s vaunted defense and inpenetrable goalkeeper were next up. Home field advantage turned horribly against the Vancouver, falling at home to the Wildcats in the first leg 4-0, virtually assuring the upcoming elimination in Hershey. Although Vancouver’s season was over, the club managed to grab a victory, albeit bitter, with a 1-0 win at Hershey.

 

The Rochester Rhinos went on to claim the A-League crown and it was the Charlotte Eagles in their second straight W-2 Final that claimed a championship. The Utah Blitzz capped a remarkable season off with a narrow 1-0 win over the upstart Greenville Lions in the D3 Pro League Championship.