Western Conference (USL Championship)

Conference in USL Championship soccer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Western Conference is one of two conferences in the USL Championship, the second level of men's club soccer in the United States.[1]

LeagueUSL Championship
SportSoccer
FoundedJanuary 21, 2015
No. of teams12
Quick facts League, Sport ...
Western Conference
LeagueUSL Championship
SportSoccer
FoundedJanuary 21, 2015
No. of teams12
Most recent
champion		FC Tulsa (2025) (1st title)
Most titlesPhoenix Rising FC (3 titles)
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Current standings

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 FC Tulsa 30 16 5 9 50 30 +20 57 Playoffs
2 Sacramento Republic FC 30 13 8 9 44 27 +17 48[a]
3 New Mexico United 30 14 10 6 45 41 +4 48[a]
4 El Paso Locomotive FC 30 10 9 11 47 45 +2 41
5 Phoenix Rising FC 30 9 8 13 48 48 0 40[b]
6 San Antonio FC 30 11 12 7 39 38 +1 40[b]
7 Orange County SC 30 10 11 9 44 45 −1 39
8 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 30 10 13 7 35 47 −12 37
9 Lexington SC 30 9 12 9 31 42 −11 36
10 Oakland Roots SC 30 8 14 8 42 52 −10 32
11 Monterey Bay FC 30 7 15 8 27 45 −18 29
12 Las Vegas Lights FC 30 6 15 9 23 50 −27 27
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Source: USL Championship Standings
Rules for classification: 1) head-to-head points; 2) head-to-head goal differential; 3) points-per-game within conference; 4) total wins; 5) total goal differential; 6) total goals scored; 7) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 8) disciplinary points; 9) coin toss or drawing of lots
Notes:
  1. [a]
    Sacramento Republic FC are ahead of New Mexico United on head-to-head points: SAC 6, NMU 0.
  2. [b]
    Phoenix Rising FC are ahead of San Antonio FC on head-to-head points: PHX 6, SAN 0.

Members

Current

More information Club, City ...
Club City Stadium
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Colorado Springs, Colorado Weidner Field
El Paso Locomotive FC El Paso, Texas Southwest University Park
FC Tulsa Tulsa, Oklahoma ONEOK Field
Las Vegas Lights FC Las Vegas, Nevada Cashman Field
Lexington SC Lexington, Kentucky Lexington SC Stadium
Monterey Bay FC Seaside, California Cardinale Stadium
New Mexico United Albuquerque, New Mexico Isotopes Park
Oakland Roots SC Oakland, California Pioneer Stadium
Orange County SC Irvine, California Championship Stadium
Phoenix Rising FC Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix Rising Soccer Stadium
Sacramento Republic FC Sacramento, California Heart Health Park
San Antonio FC San Antonio, Texas Toyota Field
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Locations of teams for the 2026 USL Championship season

Conference Lineups

Clubs timeline

Lexington SCMonterey Bay FCOakland Roots SCSan Diego Loyal SCNew Mexico UnitedMemphis 901 FCEastern Conference (USL Championship)El Paso Locomotive FCAustin Bold FCLas Vegas Lights FCFresno FCReno 1868 FCEastern Conference (USL Championship)Swope Park RangersEastern Conference (USL Championship)Eastern Conference (USL Championship)Saint Louis FCSan Antonio FCRio Grande Valley FCWhitecaps FC 2FC TulsaEastern Conference (USL Championship)FC TulsaTulsa Roughnecks FCTacoma DefianceSeattle Sounders FC 2Sacramento Republic FCReal MonarchsPortland Timbers 2Orange County SCOrange County Blues FCEastern Conference (USL Championship)Oklahoma City Energy FCLA Galaxy IIColorado Springs Switchbacks FCAustin AztexPhoenix Rising FCArizona United SC

Conference Member   Club moved to Eastern Conference   Club playing in different league   Former clubs

2015 (12 teams)

Changes from 2014: USL Pro expanded and was rebranded as simply USL; the round robin table was split into two conferences: Eastern and Western.

2016 (15 teams)

Changes from 2015: Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, the Swope Park Rangers and San Antonio FC were added as expansion franchises;[2] Saint Louis FC moved in from the Eastern Conference; the Austin Aztex went on hiatus

2017 (15 teams)

Changes from 2016: Arizona United SC was renamed Phoenix Rising FC; the Orange County Blues was renamed Orange County SC; the Austin Aztex folded; Reno 1868 FC was added as an expansion franchise; Saint Louis FC moved out to the Eastern Conference[3]

2018 (17 teams)

Changes from 2017: Fresno FC and Las Vegas Lights FC were added as expansion franchises; the Vancouver Whitecaps 2 folded; Saint Louis FC moved in from the Western Conference.[4]

2019 (18 teams)

Changes from 2018: Austin Bold FC, El Paso Locomotive FC and the New Mexico United were added as expansion franchises.;[5] Saint Louis FC and the Swope Park Rangers moved out to the Eastern Conference; Seattle Sounders FC 2 rebranded as Tacoma Defiance.

2020 (18 teams)

Group A (4 teams)

Group B (5 teams)

Group C (4 teams)

Group D (5 teams)

Changes from 2019: San Diego Loyal SC was added as an expansion franchise; the Tulsa Roughnecks were renamed FC Tulsa; Fresno FC was disbanded. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic the conference was split into four groups. Two groups of four and two groups of five.[6]

2021 (15 teams)

Mountain Division

Pacific Division

Changes from 2020: The conference was divided into two divisions, Mountain and Pacific; Oakland Roots SC joined in from NISA: the Portland Timbers 2 was withdrawn by the MLS parent club; Reno 1868 FC was disbanded; Oklahoma City Energy and FC Tulsa moved out to the Eastern Conference.[7]

2022 (13 teams)

Changes from 2021: The Mountain and Pacific divisions were dropped; Monterey Bay FC was added as an expansion franchise; the Real Monarchs and the Tacoma Defiance were withdrawn by their MLS parent clubs and moved to MLS Next Pro; Austin Bold FC went on hiatus; will move to a yet-to-be-named Texas city for the 2023 season.[8]

2023 (12 teams)

Changes from 2022: The LA Galaxy II was withdrawn by their MLS parent club and moved to MLS Next Pro;[9]

2024 (12 teams)

Changes from 2023: Rio Grande Valley FC Toros[10] and San Diego Loyal SC[11] folded. FC Tulsa and Memphis 901 FC moved from the Eastern Conference.[12]

2025-2026 (12 teams)

Changes from 2024: Lexington SC joined from USL League One. Memphis 901 FC folded. [13]

Western Conference Playoff champions by year

Bold USL Champions
More information Season, Champions ...
Season Champions Score Runners up
2015 LA Galaxy II 2–1 OKC Energy FC
2016 Swope Park Rangers 3–0 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
2017 Swope Park Rangers 0–0 (7–6 PK) OKC Energy FC
2018 Phoenix Rising FC 2–1 Orange County SC
2019 Real Monarchs SLC 2–1 (AET) El Paso Locomotive FC
2020[a] Phoenix Rising FC 1–1 (4–2 PK) El Paso Locomotive FC
2021 Orange County SC 1–1 (5–3 PK) San Antonio FC
2022 San Antonio FC 2–0 Colorado Springs Switchbacks
2023 Phoenix Rising FC 2–1 Sacramento Republic FC
2024 Colorado Springs Switchbacks 1–0 Las Vegas Lights FC
2025 FC Tulsa 3–0 New Mexico United
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  1. [a]
    USL Championship game canceled due to COVID-19 outbreak in the Tampa Bay Rowdies camp.[14]

Western Conference regular season champions by year

Bold Players' Shield Champions
More information Season, Team ...
Season Team Record Playoffs result
2015 Orange County Blues 14–9–5 (+4) Lost conference semifinals
2016 Sacramento Republic FC 14–10–6 (+16) Lost conference quarterfinals
2017 Real Monarchs SLC 20–5–7 (+28) Lost conference quarterfinals
2018 Orange County SC 20–8–6 (+30) Lost conference final
2019 Phoenix Rising FC 24–4–6 (+53) Lost conference semifinals
2020 Reno 1868 FC 11–2–3 (+22) Lost conference semifinals
2021 Phoenix Rising FC 20–5–7 (+33) Lost conference quarterfinals
2022 San Antonio FC 24–5–5 (+28) Won USL Championship
2023 Sacramento Republic FC 18–6–10 (+25) Lost conference final
2024 New Mexico United 18–11–5 (+2) Lost conference semifinals
2025 FC Tulsa 16–9–5 (+20) Lost finals
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See also

References

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