There are plenty of compelling storylines for the 2008 USL First Division season involving the Carolina RailHawks and the rest of the league. Here are a few from around USL-1 worth keeping an eye on.

Absent Victory

Unlike the Carolina RailHawks, the California Victory, the other USL-1 expansion team in 2007, will not play a second season. The team folded when its parent club, Spain’s Deportivo Alavés, withdrew its funding.

The ramifications of not having the team could be huge, largely because everyone else in the league could almost always count on earning points against the Victory, who went 4-17-7 last year.

Portland, the regular-season runner-up with 51 points, played California five times last season and took the maximum 15 points from those games. While the Timbers were a good team, the fact they played the Victory more times than anyone else in the league and won each game, certainly didn’t hurt their cause.

No one will have that sort of advantage this year. All 11 teams will play 30 games, with each team will playing each other three times. Seven teams will make the playoffs, with the regular-season champ receiving a first-round bye.

Seattle swan song

With its entire starting 11 from last year’s championship team back at Qwest Field, the Seattle Sounders are the favorites to win it all again this year.

One thing that could get in the way of that is the team’s move to MLS in 2009. As of right now, one of the only things about the USL-1 team that will remain the same when it moves to MLS is the team name. So that leaves current players in a bit of a lurch. Are they going to make the move with the team, or are they going to be let go? Will 2008 beat a season-long audition for them?

Montreal to MLS

Montreal has yet to be awarded an MLS franchise, but the city’s chances got a boost last month when George Gillett and Joey Saputo teamed up and voiced their desire to bring MLS to Montreal. Gillett owns the NHL’s Canadiens and is in the process of absolving his ownership of the English soccer club Liverpool. Saputo’s family owns the USL-1’s Montreal Impact, and he is the club president.

The Impact has been among the best franchises in USL-1 for several years. But like Seattle, will questions about MLS hang around all season? Will that affect how the team plays?

Rochester revival

The Rhinos were the model franchise of the league for years. Then came the 2007-08 offseason, in which the ownership group (RailHawks President and GM Chris Economides included) had a handful of lawsuits filed against it for failing to pay bills. By mid-January, it looked like that team would fold.

But new owners were found and the season was saved. Now the Rhinos, who are no longer Raging, have to win back one of the most fervent fan bases in the league. Because they have perhaps the most to play for this season, they could be among the most dangerous teams in the league.

Puerto Rico and World Cup Qualifying

The Puerto Rico national team was revived late last year and is coached by Colin Clarke, who also coaches the USL-1’s Islanders. The national team beat the Dominican Republic last month to advance to the second round of regional qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

Several members of the Islanders also play for the national team. They have a home-and-home series with Honduras in June. How will Clarke divide his team between coaching the Islanders week in and week out while also preparing for the World Cup Qualifier?

U.S. Open Cup

The eight U.S.-based USL-1 teams are set to play in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup later in the year. Last season, five of the tournament’s eight quarterfinalists were from USL-1 or USL-2. Carolina and Seattle both reached the semifinal before losing to MLS teams. Since 1996, Rochester is the only lower division team to appear in the final (the Rhinos did so in 1996 and won the championship in 1999). Will that drought end this year?