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Old Guard Shield highlights tradition in USL

Last Friday morning, you might have noticed a pretty interesting story develop. Headed up by the Steel Army out in Pittsburgh, the Old Guard Shield is an upcoming regular season tournament (think Cascadia Cup) between the Rochester Rhinos, Richmond Kickers, Harrisburg City Islanders, Charleston Battery and (obviously) the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Whoever comes out on top in head to head games will hold the inaugural Old Guard Shield, with the plan being to tour the shield around before the end of the USL season.

These clubs have rich history - not just in USL, but in American Soccer. The USL is in a weird spot with a ton of “MLS 2” sides coming in sometimes with little thought put into branding, which makes the USL feel a bit disjointed at times.