| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States Canada  | 
| Teams | 16 | 
| Defending champions | Rochester Rhinos | 
| Final positions | |
| Champions | New York Red Bull II | 
| Runner-up | Swope Park Rangers | 
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 15 | 
| Goals scored | 50 (3.33 per match) | 
| Scoring leader(s) | Brandon Allen (6) | 
The 2016 USL playoffs is a postseason tournament following the 2016 United Soccer League regular season, the second since the league rebranded for the 2015 season. Including USL Pro history, it is the fifth postseason tournament. The tournament began on September 30 and will last until October 23.[1]
Sixteen teams (top 8 per conference) will compete, up from 12 last season, in the single elimination tournament. Teams will be seeded one through eight in each conference. The conference semifinal winners will play against each other in the Conference Championship, which will serve as the overall semifinals for the playoff. The winners of the Eastern and Western Conference Championship will play for the championship. The winner of the playoffs will be crowned league champion with the USL Cup.
USL conference standings
The top 8 teams from each conference advance to the USL playoffs.
| 
 Eastern Conference 
  | 
 Western Conference 
 Source: 2016 USL Standings  | 
 
  | 
Bracket
Schedule
Conference quarterfinals
| September 30, 2016 | Swope Park Rangers | 3–0 | LA Galaxy II | Kansas City, Missouri | 
| 7:30 pm CDT | Tyrpak  Gonzalez  | 
USL Report | Amaya  Villarreal Covarrubias Payeras  | 
Stadium: Swope Soccer Village Attendance: 1,885 Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.  | 
| September 30, 2016 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC | 1–2 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 | Colorado Springs, Colorado | 
| 7:00 pm MDT | Vercollone  Ibeagha  | 
USL Report | Greig  Froese  | 
Stadium: Switchbacks Stadium Attendance: 2,405 Referee: Ramy Touchan  | 
| October 1, 2016 | Rochester Rhinos | 3–1 | Charlotte Independence | Rochester, New York | 
| 6:05 pm EDT | Fall  Dos Santos Tergou Totsch  | 
USL Report | Duckett  Hassan Davidson Metcalf Martínez  | 
Stadium: Rochester Rhinos Stadium Attendance: 2,080 Referee: Henrik Karlsson  | 
| October 1, 2016 | Rio Grande Valley FC Toros | 2–3 | Oklahoma City Energy | Edinburg, Texas | 
| 7:30 pm CDT | Luna  Ward Bird Greene  | 
USL Report | Ryden  Olsson Bonner  | 
Stadium: H-E-B Park Attendance: 2,701 Referee: Rosendo Mendoza  | 
| October 1, 2016 | Sacramento Republic FC | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p)  | Orange County Blues FC | Sacramento, California | 
| 7:30 pm PDT | USL Report | Sheldon  Mirković Griffiths  | 
Stadium: Bonney Field Attendance: 10,962 Referee: Timothy Ford  | |
| Penalties | ||||
| Trickett-Smith  Iwasa Koval Guzman Cole  | 
Meeus  Chaplow Stevanovic Barouch Crettenand  | 
|||
| October 2, 2016 | New York Red Bulls II | 4–0 | Orlando City B | Harrison, New Jersey | 
| 4:00 pm EDT | Long  Bezecourt Allen  | 
USL Report | Ribeiro  Neal Heath  | 
Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 1,088 Referee: Matthew Kreitzer  | 
| October 2, 2016 | FC Cincinnati | 1–2 | Charleston Battery | Cincinnati, Ohio | 
| 4:00 pm EDT | Stevenson  | 
USL Report | Tsonis  Chang Prince  | 
Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 30,187 Referee: Kevin Terry Jr.  | 
| October 2, 2016 | Louisville City FC | 2–0 (a.e.t.) | Richmond Kickers | Louisville, Kentucky | 
| 7:00 pm EDT | Davis IV  Hoffman  | 
USL Report | Asante  Lee Yeisley Yomby Troyer  | 
Stadium: Louisville Slugger Field Attendance: 5,467 Referee: Andrew Musashe  | 
Conference semifinals
| October 7, 2016 | New York Red Bulls II | 3–3 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)  | Rochester Rhinos | Harrison, New Jersey | 
| 7:00 pm | Etienne  Allen Adams Metzger Carroll  | 
USL Report | Farrell  Dos Santos Tergou Fall  | 
Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 1,229 Referee: Luis Guardia  | 
| Penalties | ||||
| Long  Etienne Allen Metzger Plewa  | 
||||
| October 8, 2016 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 | 3–2 | Oklahoma City Energy | Vancouver, British Columbia | 
| 3:00 pm | Seymore  Froese Greig Haber  | 
USL Report | Thomas  König Andrews Pitter  | 
Stadium: Thunderbird Stadium Attendance: 1,308 Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere  | 
| October 8, 2016 | Louisville City FC | 1–0 | Charleston Battery | Louisville, Kentucky | 
| 7:30 pm | Smith  Dacres Reynolds  | 
USL Report | Tsonis  Marini Adjetey Woodbine  | 
Stadium: Louisville Slugger Field Attendance: 6,581 Referee: Mark Kadlecik  | 
| October 9, 2016 | Swope Park Rangers | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Orange County Blues FC | Kansas City, Missouri | 
| 4:00 pm | Gonzalez  Duke Alvarado Meyer Kelly  | 
USL Report | Rauhofer  | 
Stadium: Swope Soccer Village Attendance: 2,181 Referee: Nima Saghafi  | 
Conference finals
| October 15, 2016 | Swope Park Rangers | 3–0 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 | Kansas City, Missouri | 
| 7:30 PM | Tyrpak  Selbol Molano Kelly  | 
USL Report | de Wit  | 
Stadium: Swope Soccer Village Attendance: 2,922 Referee: Juan Guzman  | 
| October 16, 2016 | New York Red Bulls II | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)  | Louisville City FC | Harrison, New Jersey | 
| 6:00 PM | Valot  Williams  | 
USL Report | Craig  Reynolds  | 
Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 2,709 Referee: Robert Sibiga  | 
| Penalties | ||||
| Etienne  Long Allen Bezecourt  | 
||||
USL Championship
| October 23, 2016 | New York Red Bulls II | 5–1 | Swope Park Rangers | Harrison, New Jersey | 
| 8:00 PM | Etienne  Allen Metzger Bezecourt  | 
USL Report | Granitto  | 
Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 5,547 Referee: Armando Villarreal  | 
Championship Game MVP: Brandon Allen (NYRB)
Top goalscorers
References
- ↑ "2016 USL Cup Playoffs Field Set". uslsoccer.com. Retrieved September 26, 2016.