The United Soccer Leagues (USL) First Division has modified its playoff format for 2007.

Starting next season, the first eight out of the 13 teams in the standings will take part in post-season play, as opposed to six in 2006, and a bye will no longer be awarded for finishing first or second.

The top seeded team will square off against the eighth, the second against the seventh – and so on – in a home and away series on total goals.

After the quarterfinal round, teams will be re-seeded according to their place in the final standings, with the top remaining seeds playing against the lowest remaining seeds.

There will also be two additional expansion teams in the USL First Division in 2007 - the Carolina Railhawks and the California Victory.

The Railhawks will be based in Cary, North Carolina and will play their home games at the SAS Soccer Park, with former Rochester Raging Rhinos player Scott Schweitzer as head coach.

The Victory will play at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, the San Francisco 49ers’ (NFL) previous home. The owner of the new franchise, Dmitry Piterman, is also the chairman of Spanish first division club Deportivo Alaves.

The Toronto Lynx left the First Division to play in the USL Premier Development League (PDL). With the Lynx’ departure, only two Canadian teams remain in the league: Montreal and Vancouver.