In response to the Team Owner’s Association (TOA) announcement that the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Crystal Palace Baltimore will be joining a prospective new professional soccer league, United Soccer Leagues (USL) has issued the following statement:

The Portland Timbers today announced the club’s 2010 tryout schedule, which will include the annual invite-only combine and an open tryout. The open tryout will be held January 23-24, while the invite-only combine will take place January 30-31.

Rochester Rhinos General Manager and Director of Soccer Operations Pat Ercoli announced that the club has agreed to terms with Bob Lilley as the team’s next head coach. Lilley is a two-time USL-1 Coach of the Year with ten seasons of USL-1 coaching experience under his belt, having previously been at the helm with Hershey Wildcats, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps.

The Portland Timbers today announced that forward Mandjou Keita will join top-flight Indian club Salgaocar Sport Club on loan during the 2009-10 I-League Division 1 season.

The National Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum distributed the 2010 Player Ballot Monday to all voters. The ballot features 24 retired national team and professional players who all have contributed to the growth of soccer in the United States, including nine former players of USL leagues.

In the Austin Aztex's continuing quest to find young talent, President Phil Rawlins and director Gary Mellor recently made a scouting trip to Senegal. They were the guests of Salif Diao, who was a past captain of the Senegal national team and is currently a first-team player of Aztex affiliate, Stoke City. Head coach Adrian Heath, meanwhile, was in Haiti scouting potential new additions.

Named the new Chief Executive Officer for the USL First Division’s Austin Aztex in late October, Djorn Buchholz, the former general manager in Minnesota, made the big trip south and kicked off his new post with his first day in the office Monday. USLsoccer.com caught up with Buchholz for a brief update on his first day and the future for the club.

United Soccer Leagues issued the following statement regarding the USL First Division in response to the announcement of an application before the United States Soccer Federation for a new Division II Men’s Outdoor Professional League submitted, in part, by former USL-1 franchises.

In a sweeping move to clean house in preparation for the 2010 season, the Austin Aztex FC announced the release of 14 players from the 2009 roster, who had options available for next season. "Our expectations as a club were to make the playoffs," said head coach Adrian Heath. "We didn’t achieve that and we know that things have to change for next season."

In the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the USL story centered around the surprising success of former USL players leading Trinidad & Tobago in the tournament. In just over a week, former Richmond Kicker Tim Brown will take the field in what will be the most important 90 minutes in New Zealand soccer history.

A new era kicked off for the United Soccer Leagues First Division Tuesday in Beaverton, Oregon at the headquarters of Nike and Umbro (Nike Inc.), a worldwide leader in sports apparel and leading strategic partner of USL. Owners of USL-1 clubs, prestigious partners Beswicks Sports and Premier Partnerships and USL management gathered to chart a new direction for the flagship professional league that included expansion, international affiliations and corporate opportunities.