2010 USSF 2nd Division Schedule Should Be Released Today or Tomorrow-NSC Minnesota Openers Revealed
All sources seem to be saying that the USSF 2nd Division schedule will FINALLY be out this afternoon or tomorrow morning. It also sounds as if US Soccer will be releasing the schedule themselves in a press release. After all, it is their league this year, which is probably something they are regretting more and more by the day. US Soccer is quickly learning what a pain in the ass running a league can be with owners who all have legitimate reasons why they do and don’t like a schedule.
I don’t have the full schedule but I can tell you a number of things about NSC Minnesota’s schedule.
1) As was reported here several weeks ago, the USSF 2nd Division league schedule will be based on a system that is not balanced but will instead try to be economical by playing teams within a region more often than teams out of a team’s region. These regions would not be conference affiliated and are for scheduling purposes only. The 2-conferences, USL and NASL, will both be broken down into 3 regions with 4 teams in each region. All teams will play the three other teams in their region 4 times (2 home and 2 away) and one team out of their region 4 times (2 home and 2 away). A team would then play all other teams in the other 2 regions 2 times (1 home and 1 away) making a 30-game schedule.
2) NSC Minnesota will have Portland, Vancouver and AC St. Louis in their travel group. Rumors are that Minnesota will end up playing Puerto Rico 4 times as the opponent out of their group. If this is correct, it makes a very brutal and possibly the worst travel schedule out of all 12 teams. It also seems that Minnesota will be at a disadvantage playing 3 of the top Division II teams in the league 4 times.
3) Minnesota will open the season April 11th at Vancouver. I hope they get the torches out in case they need to clear the field of ice or snow. The average temperature for Vancouver on April 11th is 9°C or 48.2 °F.
4) Minnesota’s home opener is also early this year. April 24th NSC Minnesota will take on the Tampa Bay Rowdies at the NSC. Average temperature in Minneapolis on April 24th is 52°F. Bring those fair weather Florida boys on!
Comments are closed.
The average temp. in Vancouver is about 9C all winter, so you’ll likely be OK….
It was unlikley that Minnesota was going to get a favorable travel schedule no matter what given the placement of the franchises. I guess having that extra trip to PR is more travel than average, but with no teams in WI or IL, it will be lots of miles logged for the Stars in any event.
But I’m looking forward to opening night and to the rest of the schedule’s release.
Any word on playoff format?
You’re right on about the travel schedule. We are going to get screwed no matter what, but the PR is almost insult to injury and not entirely fair. However, who knows exactly how it came to be and it is possible if the NSC wanted home games during NSC Tournaments that its something they may have had to sacrifice. But thats just a guess on my part; no fact.
Everyone seems very mum on the playoffs and I’m wondering if its even decided yet? We will know more later today….hopefully. Sources are telling me that there is one team team that is holding things up for everyone at the moment.
Can you tell us who that team is?
I honestly don’t know and am rather glad I don’t know. I might be prone to address the issue rather directly. This scheduling stuff has already been drawn out far to long because of a couple of teams. Time to get it done for the good of everyone.
What teams were responsible for making the schedule announcement come out so late?
As to travel, there’s always the question of which destinations are cheapest by air. I wonder if there’s any special link between Minneapolis and Puerto Rico. That might explain them wanting the long trip. Just a wild guess. I don’t know anything about cheapest fares, but at this point, I would think that teams would try hard to make that part of the equation.
Vancouver has actually been having an uncharacteristically warm winter, to the dismay of the 2010 Olympics. They have had to truck in snow to Whistler, where the outdoor events are taking place.
I admire Inside MN Soccer for referring to the Tampa Bay team as the “Rowdies.”
Maybe Vancouver could truck in snow from MN? Per this post, I hereby grant the Vancouver Olympic Committee a temporary easement to my property to have complete access to my propoerty for the sole purpose of snow removal. Have at it gents!
The special connection between Minneapolis and Puerto Rico is only that they’re both isolated. That pairing is unfortunate, but practically speaking there isn’t a better one.
PR has to fly to every game, obviously; MN could maybe bus to St. Louis but that’s pretty much it. So when it comes to out-of-region games, they’re both pretty cut off, and more so than anyone else in the league. (St. Louis and Austin at least have each other at long range; Austin’s also in PR’s region so it can’t be PR’s extra.)
Where there’s nobody to put you with that doesn’t mean big travel budgets, the only thing to do is find somebody in the same boat from another region and give you each other. So Baltimore (well-placed within its region, but with long distances for points beyond) gets Portland (who have Vancouver, but no good non-region trips), Minnesota gets Puerto Rico, and we’ll have to wait and see what other odd match-ups arise. (My predictions: the other two long ones to get four games will be Vancouver vs. Montreal, as a fun event for Canadian fans, and Rochester vs. Miami for no good reason other than that any attempt at sanity will most likely put Tampa Bay with Carolina and Austin with St Louis and that’s what’s left.)
PR’s a worse one to catch than most, since you have to pay that much more for airfare outside the lower forty-eight, but *somebody* had to get stuck with a second trip to Puerto Rico. Looks like it’s Minnesota – and while it’s a shame to saddle a new team with that one, I have no doubt that NSC will rise to the challenge and the Stars will show the rest of the league that they’re here to stay.
The schedule is out. Go to the USLsoccer [dot] com web site for their press release and a corresponding .pdf file you can open.
NSC Minnesota has a press release detailing their schedule : nscminnesota [dot] org
Minnesota doesn’t get saddled with a second trip to Puerto Rico – that goes to Carolina, and Minnesota gets domestic airfare with a second trip to Tampa. This seems fairer, to me – and I’m not just saying that because it’s good for the Stars, since Carolina is my other team.
NSCMN may have a tough schedule, but that’s great for MN soccer fans as we get to see some of the league’s more talented teams often at the Nessy.
NSC Minnesota totally ruined my plans of watching “So You Think You Can Dance” on Wednesday nights this summer. They better create an awesome mascot to make up for this!
As a Vancouverite who now lives in MN, I assure you Vancouver weather is a walk in the park for any Minnesotan, that is if you don’t mind the grey sky and persistent drizzle of rain. I’m excited about the season, and even though the travel has to be hard on the players and club finances, seing PR in MN will only increase the level of play here. Go MSN MN Stars! (boy that’s a mouthful)
“US Soccer is quickly learning what a pain in the ass running a league can be….”
As the NASL will find out next year.
“They have had to truck in snow to Whistler, where the outdoor events are taking place.”
Incorrect, I work in the ski business. Whistler is father up in the mountains with a base at 2100′ and has plenty of snow. The Snowboard events are being held at Cypress Mountain which is right above Vancouver and that’s where they have little snow.
Baseball plays earlier in similar climates. Europe plays thru the winter, all be it not has “harsh” as MN – but again April?. The sports center can do at least two things to combat this: Move early games to metrodome (ha) or move one of the youth tournaments to encourage a fan base. Might have to plan around a grand opening vs a season opening. Could ownership of other teams have an angle on MN?
Cam, I think you understand, with the scheduling and sanctioning of tournaments that is not something you just move. It has to be planned nearly a year in advance. We all know that playing in the Metrodome is not really very affordable. Instead you have a team playing in early season that could be nice, could be crappy. So the opener could go either way as well. The only thing you could do is try harder next year to get a later opener in the norther states. I think if NASL gets the league next year that is exactly what they will attempt to do.
“Could ownership of other teams have an angle on MN?” I have no idea what you are asking here?
Brian, Metrodome – moving or making a youth tournament, (Shhhhhhhh don’t tell anyone but I am being cynical!!!!!!!) No –we/MN – beggars can’t be choosers. We can complain about the April games either here or in Canada. That’s my point.
I can see soccer working soccer out in 50 degree weather, baseball, probably more miserable. Just don’t prop and promote the heck out of an opener if the attendance will damage the image. I could just see a cold cloudy April day and 378 people in the stands the first time KARE or WCCO bring camera’s. I suggest assigning the larger promotion and push the heck out of the first game they may have large numbers and ok weather. Of course Memorial Day is unpredictable in MN.
What I mean by the owners: did Minnesota have equal rep or how was the schedule made? For instance, do older franchises with more boisterous owners have any twist in the final schedule? At first, when I read your article, I was under the impression that IMS reader folks were not happy or somehow think MN may have been short changed.
That’s all I meant, is the schedule fair and who really made it? And no, I don’t think even the NSC can invent a new youth event that quick (again – a joke!) and certainly they would not play at another facility all be it the Plastic Barnyard (Metrodome).
Thanks for your updates anyway -well done as always!
Sorry, missed some of the humor. Shot right by me. The scenario that you laid out for the opener could very well happen.
Actually, the schedule this year looks about as fair as any schedule the Thunder ever had.