DC United defeated the Charleston Battery 2-1 in the US Open Cup final on Wednesday night to claim their second Open Cup crown.

The match between two of the more tradional sides in the American game got off to a fast start with DC scoring quickly and Charleston wasting no time in finding an equalizer.

It was the introduction of Fred late in the first half that would change the game. Just after half time the substitute found his way through the Charleston defense to put DC ahead, a lead they would not relenquish despite spirited play from the South Carolina side.

The match was not without controversy however as Charleston had a stoppage time equalizer disallowed for offside, replays disagreed with the decision.

Elsewhere the Puerto Rico Islanders scored twice at the death to get by Costa Rica's Alajuelense. The Costa Ricans went ahead early but the Islanders kept their cool in order to find the two goals they needed to qualify for the group stage. The result gives the USL, two, as many teams in the Champions League as MLS. Marathon of Honduras and Cruz Azul of Mexico also advanced.

The final two preliminary matches take place tonight as Jalapa look to defend their slim lead over San Francisco in Panama, and Pumas take on Harbour View in a one-legged affair followed the cancelation of the first leg due to Hurricane Gustav.

When you think of soccer, football, futbol, calcio, whichever you prefer, it's highly unlikely that you think of places like the Carolinas, Georgia, and Mississippi. But slowly, and quietly big things are happening with soccer in the South.

A large swath of land long ignored by the county's premier league, Major League Soccer, one could be forgiven for not associating soccer with the South. But it's worth looking into. Take Charleston, South Carolina for instance. A gem of a city situated in South Carolina's picturesque "Low Country", Charleston is ripe with history and beauty, both man made and natural. On Daniel Island in Charleston sits another gem, little known Blackbaud Stadium was America's first professional "soccer-specific stadium". Built in 1999 and seating 5,112 in two cozy stands along either sideline the stadium, affectionately called Battery Park by supporters after a nearby Revolutionary War artillery site, is home to the USL First Division's Charleston Battery. Founded in 1993 Charleston is the most senior clubs in the anything but stable American soccer landscape. The Battery have twice won the USL Championship and their stadium has become something of a "must see" to American soccer hardcores due to the quietly significant roll it played in the current wave of soccer-specific stadiums.

Charleston's principal rivals are the Atlanta Silverbacks. As much as it pains me, a proud Charlottean, to say it, Atlanta is very much the heartbeat of the South and the capital of all things Southern. It is also home to RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium, a wonderful little soccer-only facility located near I-85 (I-85 links together several major Southern cities). Atlanta's stadium, originally named Silverbacks' Park until sponsorship from real estate giants RE/MAX, currently seats around 5,000 but chairman Boris Jerkunica has grand plans to shape the stadium into a 13,000-seat complex with a 3,000-seat mini stadium in hopes of hosting major youth tournaments. Despite speculation of a possible MLS expansion effort spearheaded by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who made his fortune as the owner of Home Depot, the Silverbacks look set to continue their plans.

North of Charleston and Atlanta, North Carolina is home to four USL teams, two of which play in soccer stadiums with a third in the planning stages. The Carolina Railhawks play in the USL First Division out of the 7,000-seat WakeMed Soccer Park (formerly SAS Stadium) in Cary, North Carolina - a bedroom community of the capital Raleigh. Originally built to host the now defunct women's professional team the Carolina Courage WakeMed Park has been a perfect fit for the Railhawks, now in their second season. The debut season for the triangle side saw them see off MLS opposition en route to the US Open Cup Semi-Final. The Railhawks also field a women's side in the W-League, and two reserve teams, one in the PDL and one in the Super-20 League.

Not far away from the Triangle is Greensboro, home to the Carolina Dynamo who play out of Macpherson Stadium. Recently, the club announced plans to expand their quaint 1,500-seat Browns Summit home into a professional quality 7,000-seat stadium. Like the Battery, the Dynamo were founded in 1993 and have tasted success, winning two championships before abandoning professionalism. The return of professional soccer to the Triad could be a real possibility if the expansion goes through. Down I-85 from Greensboro is Charlotte, the "Queen City" is North Carolina's largest with a population of around 700,000. In 2006 the town of Matthews (southeast of Charlotte) and the Charlotte Eagles announced plans to build a 13 field sports complex featuring a 6,000-seat soccer stadium. Assuming the plan goes through, North Carolina would have three possible professional soccer stadiums, more than any state in the Union. Again, quiet progess.

North Carolina's forth entry into the USL is the Second Division side the Wilmington Hammerheads. While they have no plans for a soccer only stadium, the Hammerheads are the sole tenants of the 6,000-seat Legion Stadium. The Hammerheads have won the USL Second Division once, in 2003.

Two nice stories from the PDL come from the "Deep South". First the Mississippi Brilla. Located in Clinton, near Jackson, the Brilla have quickly developed a large following in the Magnolia State. Many doubted that the beautiful game could take hold in a State like Mississippi, but the Brilla, named in honor of the Biblical Matthew 5:16 ("Therefore, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.") seem determined to prove them wrong. The other story comes from World famous New Orleans. As everyone is well aware, the Crescent City was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. After the storm passed over, the New Orleans Shell Shockers arrived to find their home ground, the City owned Pan-American Stadium in City Park, in ruin. The organization quickly pledged $1,000,000 to the city in order to rebuild not just the stadium, but the entire park. Currently the Shell Shockers play out of the 26,500-seat Tad Gormley Stadium at Reggie Bush Field.

Seattle's MLS team will be called the Sounders, keeping alive almost 35 years of history. 35 years may not seem like much history to people outside of North America, but in the fragile world of soccer on this continent it's an eternity.

Among the honors won by the Sounders are two divisional titles in the old North American Soccer League, four USL First Division championships (including the most recent), and two trips to the US Open Cup semi-finals (including last season's run which included a 5-1 drubbing of the Colorado Rapids).

The Sounders name won 82% of the total vote as a write-in choice, it was not among the three original choices on offer and a write-in option was only added following the outrage of longtime Sounders fans and many across the country. The original three choices were "Seattle FC", "Seattle Alliance", and "Seattle Republic". Of the three only "Seattle FC" is tolerable, I heard someone describe "Seattle Alliance" as "something that sounds like an HMO", and "Seattle Republic" sounds like a newspaper. In the end the people had their say and justice won out.

In ten days the United Soccer Leagues, the American equivalent of England's Football League, will kick-off it's 22nd season as the Charleston Battery make the journey down the east coast to play Miami FC while the Montreal Impact make the transcontinental flight to British Columbia to take on the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Despite the fact that a ball has yet to be kicked in anger 2008 has already proved highly dramatic for the USL starting with the loss of it's San Francisco based team the California Victory. California served as a farm team of sorts for the Spanish Segunda Division side Deportivo Alavés and was run by Ukrainian-American businessman Dmitry Pietrman, then a major shareholder in the Spanish club. After running battles with Pietrman the rest of the Alavés ownership decided to pull their support for the USL team leaving it without a leg to stand on. There is, however, a grassroots effort underway to save the club which can be found at http://www.savethevictory.org/

But the drama surrounding the Victory proved to only be the tip of the iceberg as it was announced Major League Soccer would expand to Seattle in 2009 meaning that the USL would lose one of it's most storied and well supported clubs, the Seattle Sounders. In late 2007 it was confirmed that 2008 would indeed be the Sounders' final season in the USL as the club announced it would play all of it's matches (with the exception of an opening week derby against Portland) at the 2,000-seat Starfire Stadium in Tukwila.

Despite all this, the news managed to get worse as news surfaced that the ownership of the Rochester Rhinos, a team which had become synonymous with the USL, had defaulted on $10.6 million in loans. The Rhinos story did manage to end well as Rob Clark, owner of Utica, New York-based Adirondack Bank, swooped in to save the club. Fans were able to breathe a second sigh of relief when it was announced that the club would be able to remain at the PAETEC Park home the fans had begged the city for.

There was, however, one highlight during the offseason on January 22nd when English club Stoke City announced it would purchase a USL-1 franchise to be located in Austin, Texas. The hidiously named "Aztex" will begin play in 2009, while a reserve side baring the same name will play in the PDL this season.

The USL has announced that it has it's sights set on medium-sized markets not currently being targeted by MLS. Among the cities listed were Omaha, Nebraska (whose 6,000-seat Morrison Stadium would be perfect for a USL-1 team), San Antonio, Texas, Phoenix, Arizona, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Tampa, Florida. I've heared murmurings of ownership groups in the latter two cities but not a peep from any of the others. Some believe that the Tampa group (actually in nearby Clearwater) may have connections to Scientology, I don't really care to step on that anthill.

On the field the Sounders should do well in their farewell season. They have better players than anyone else in the league and the entire squad will be keen to show well with a possible MLS contract as a reward. Last season's league MVP Sebastian Le Toux should have the same impact he did last season. Seattle's main challenge should come from Montreal. The Impact will be keen to christen their new stadium with a championship and have the players to do so if they play to their potential. At the bottom will probably be the Rhinos, but their fans are unlikely to fuss too much given that the club was literally days from going out of existence less than a month ago.

The USL-2 will have many changes on display as well. Pittsburgh returns from their self-imposed exile and will be joined by new boys Real Maryland FC based out of Germantown near Washington, DC. Both New Hampshire and Cincinnati have elected to relegate themselves to the PDL. As usual it will be hard for the field to match the class of Richmond and Charlotte who should battle until the end with the Kickers coming out on top, though last year's champion Harrisburg has the quality to spring another surprise.

Predictions:

USL1 - Champions: Seattle, Runners-up: Montreal

USL2 - Champions: Richmond, Runners-up: Charlotte