USL PRO News Release
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
TAMPA, Fla. – The Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer announced today that they will launch stand-alone USL PRO teams, Portland Timbers 2 and Seattle Sounders 2. “T2” and “S2”, as they will be known, become the seventh and eighth new franchises announced for the 2015 season. The Cascadia rivals will join the highly successful LA Galaxy II - who reached the 2014 USL PRO semifinals - as MLS-owned clubs in USL PRO, with more official announcements for the 2015 season expected in the coming weeks.
T2 will play its home games at Merlo Field on the campus of the University of Portland, while S2 will be based at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Washington. Both clubs also announced unique founders programs that provide participating fans with unique benefits including ticket discounts, private events and voting rights for team decisions. Andrew Opatkiewicz, with a decade of professional sports experience and a targeted focus in professional soccer, was announced as Sounders FC 2 General Manager.
“The addition of Seattle & Portland marks the beginning of the next phase of MLS owned and operated teams joining USL PRO, and the continued elevation in the competition and sophistication of our league,” USL CEO Alec Papadakis said. “As two of the best supported MLS clubs with roots in USL, we welcome these outstanding organizations into USL PRO for 2015. These announcements set off several new and exciting initiatives - both on and off the field - that will come from USL PRO during the next several months.”
Former long-time members of the USL professional division, both clubs have continued to operate teams in the under-23 PDL for several seasons and now add a crucial additional step in the path of progression for their young talent. The Timbers U-23s are the only club in PDL history to record a perfect season (2010), as they went 20-0-0 to claim the league championship. The Sounders U23’s claimed the PDL’s Western Conference Championship in 2012, when they were led by All-League selection and current USMNT star DeAndre Yedlin.
Portland joined USL’s professional leagues in 2001 and claimed regular season championships in 2004 and 2009. Last year was the club’s best in MLS to date, as it finished first in the Western Conference during the regular season, which secured a place in the CONCACAF Champions League. This season the club partnered with 2014 USL PRO champion Sacramento Republic FC, with goalkeeper Jake Gleeson playing a key role in Republic FC’s championship run.
Seattle Sounders FC became a member of USL’s professional divisions in 1994 and claimed four league championships before making the move to MLS in 2009. Since then, the club has claimed the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup four times, including this season, and currently sits on top of the MLS regular-season standings as it takes aim at its first Supporter’s Shield led by U.S. National Team standout Clint Dempsey and former Charleston Battery standouts Osvaldo Alonso and Lamar Neagle.
USL PRO featured 14 teams in 2014 with new franchises already announced for 2015 in Austin, Charlotte, Colorado Springs, Louisville, St. Louis, and Tulsa.
