The USL Championship on Tuesday announced its 2021 playoff structure, which will feature 16 teams when the regular season concludes in the last weekend of October.
The top four teams from previously announced divisions will advance into a regionalized, single-elimination bracket. The top two clubs in each of the Atlantic, Central, Mountain and Pacific Divisions will earn hosting rights in the Eastern and Western Conference quarterfinals regardless of total points.
Division winners will be matched with the fourth-place team, while second-placed teams will meet third-placed teams from the opposing division in the conference quarterfinals. Following the conference quarterfinals, home advantage will be determined by total points earned regardless of division rank for the remainder of the postseason.
The season will conclude with the USL Championship Final on Sunday, Nov. 28, with kickoff at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN or ESPN 2 and ESPN Deportes.
Louisville City FC hails from a Central Division including rival Indy Eleven along with Atlanta United 2, Birmingham Legion FC, FC Tulsa, OKC Energy FC, Memphis 901 FC and Sporting Kansas City II.
During the regular season, the boys in purple will see each of those division rivals four times, twice home and away, starting with Saturday’s opener at 7:30 p.m. Saturday against Atlanta United 2 at Lynn Family Stadium.
Following state guidelines set by Gov. Andy Beshear, LouCity will kick off Saturday in front of a 50% capacity crowd.. Fans are encouraged to purchase season tickets and gain priority for access to games. Call (502) LOU-CITY during regular business hours or visit www.loucity.com/tickets for more information.
