The Portland youth soccer club United PDX will add two semi-professional teams to its ranks later this year, joining the United Soccer League’s second division on the men’s side and the USL W League — the top pre-professional women’s league in the U.S.
United PDX will be the fifth club in Oregon to join USL 2, including OVF Alliance in Albany/Corvallis, Lane United in Eugene, Capital FC in Salem and PDX FC in Portland. Capital FC, Lane United and OVF Alliance are also adding USL W teams.
“USL League Two and USL W League align perfectly with our long term vision at United PDX,” Matt Broadhead, United PDX general manager, said in a release. “To add this platform makes us more complete from top to bottom as a club, and we’re excited to be a part of the USL family!”
United PDX serves more than 3,000 soccer players every year in the Portland metro area. It formed in 2018, when Northeast United Soccer Club and BSC Oregon merged. The program has multiple former players competing at the NCAA Division I level on the men’s side, along with Emily Rice — a Division II national champion for the Western Washington women’s team.
“It’s really exciting to welcome United PDX to League Two and the W League,” USL VP of youth and pre-professional development Joel Nash said in the release. “This is a club that prioritizes connecting with their community, which is always really important when you talk about expansion for these leagues. It’s really thrilling to see so many great clubs in the Pacific Northwest joining our ecosystem.”
— Ryan Clarke, [email protected], Twitter: @RyanTClarke
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