July 11, 2021 – Bradenton, FL –
On July 6th, USL League Two announced the locations for the 2021 quarterfinals and conference semifinals. It will take place on July 16th, Lionsbridge Fc and SC United Bantams will host the Southern Conference, Des Moines Menace and Mississippi Brilla FC will host the Central Conference and the Eastern Conference will be hosted by the Western Mass Pioneers and Northern Virginia FC(awaiting official playoff qualification).
Lionsbridge FC was added to the league in 2018, and the team has always finished outside of the playoffs. This year, they’ll get their opportunity, as TowneBank Stadium in Newport News, Virginia will host three Southern Conference teams for the first time. The four remaining teams will square off at the Southeastern Freight Lines Soccer Center in Columbia, which is home to the SC United Bantams. SC United Bantams are now the favourites to win the deep south Division with a record of 10-1, which will see them receive a higher seed and advance to the conference quarterfinals. SC United Bantams will go far in these playoffs they will have the momentum on their side.
The Central Conference will begin with the teams starting in Des Moines, Iowa and Jackson, Mississippi, including both, the homes of the Des Moines Menace and Mississippi Brilla FC. Des Moines has always had a solid regular season but has always fallen short in the playoffs. After hosting the playoffs two years in a row, the team needs to embark on a title run this season. Mississippi Brilla FC barely missed the playoffs in 2019 and is looking for retribution. The squad had a solid regular season, but the playoffs are considerably more difficult than in 2019.
The Western Massachusetts Pioneers will now take the Northeast Division and host the three other Eastern Conference teams in the Lusitano Stadium in Ludlow, Massachusetts, which was constructed in 1918 and is the oldest stadium in New England. West Chester United SC, who has a 10-1 overall record and will win the Mid Atlantic Division, will most likely be the team’s major challenge. Unlike in 2019, when the Pioneers were defeated in the Conference Finals by Reading United AC, the team now possesses a home-field advantage.
The eight winners of the Southern, Central and Eastern Conference Semifinals and the two division winners from the Western Conference will go on to compete in the Conference Finals and potentially the National Semifinals on July 23-25.
