2008 PDL season

USL Premier Development League
Season	2008
Champions	Thunder Bay Chill
	← 2007 2009 →

The 2008 USL Premier Development League season was the 14th season of the PDL. The regular season started on April 26, 2008, and ended on July 20, 2008. The playoffs began on July 22, 2008, and ended with the PDL Championship Game on August 9, 2008.

Thunder Bay Chill finished the season as national champions, beating Laredo Heat on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie in the PDL Championship game in Laredo, Texas on 9 August 2008.

Michigan Bucks finished with the best regular season record in the league, winning 13 out of their 16 games, suffering just one loss, and finishing with a +27 goal difference.

Yakima Reds striker was the league's top scorer and MVP, knocking in 15 goals. Fresno Fuego's led the league with 13 assists, while Austin Aztex U23 keeper Miguel Gallardo enjoyed the best goalkeeping statistics, with a goals-against average of 0.615 per game, and keeping 9 clean sheets in his 13 games.

Changes from 2007[]

Name changes[]

Abbotsford Rangers changed their name to the Abbotsford Mariners to reflect the name of their parent organization.
Los Angeles Storm changed their name to the Los Angeles Legends to reflect the name of their parent organization.
The expansion Austin Stampede were renamed the Aztex U23 after the Austin Aztex USL-1 franchise was announced for 2009 and acquired controlling interest in the PDL team.

New franchises[]

Nine franchises joined the league this year, including six brand new teams:

Team Name	Metro Area	Location	Previous Affiliation
Austin Aztex U23	Greater Austin area	Round Rock, TX	expansion
Cincinnati Kings	Greater Cincinnati area	Wilder, KY	relegated from USL-2
Houston Leones	Greater Houston area	Richmond, TX	expansion
Kalamazoo Outrage	Kalamazoo area	Kalamazoo, MI	expansion
New Hampshire Phantoms	Hillsborough County area	Manchester, NH	relegated from USL-2
New Jersey Rangers	Northern New Jersey area	Denville, NJ	expansion
Newark Ironbound Express	Newark area	Newark, NJ	expansion
Panama City Pirates	Panama City area	Panama City Beach, FL	expansion
Vancouver Whitecaps Residency	Metro Vancouver area	Burnaby, BC	transferred from PCSL

Folding[]

Five teams left the league prior to the beginning of the season:
- Albany Admirals - Schenectady, New York
- Austin Lightning - Austin, Texas
- Cocoa Expos - Cocoa, Florida
- Delaware Dynasty - New Castle, Delaware
- Sioux Falls Spitfire - Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Final standings[]

Legend
Team won the Division Title
Team qualified for playoff berth

Central Conference[]

Great Lakes Division[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Michigan Bucks	16	13	1	2	40	13	+27	41
2	Cleveland Internationals	16	10	3	3	41	19	+22	33
3	Toronto Lynx	16	8	6	2	28	21	+7	26
4	Cincinnati Kings	16	3	10	3	14	32	−18	12
5	West Virginia Chaos	16	1	8	7	17	32	−15	10

Source:^{[citation needed]}

Midwest Division[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Chicago Fire Premier	16	8	2	6	26	12	+14	30
2	Kalamazoo Outrage	16	8	6	2	27	24	+3	26
3	Indiana Invaders	16	6	6	4	20	21	−1	22
4	Fort Wayne Fever	16	2	9	5	16	33	−17	11
5	West Michigan Edge	16	2	10	4	18	40	−22	10

Source:^{[citation needed]}

Heartland Division[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Thunder Bay Chill	16	13	2	1	42	17	+25	40
2	Colorado Rapids U23's	16	8	5	3	34	25	+9	27
3	Des Moines Menace	16	7	4	5	29	18	+11	26
4	St. Louis Lions	16	7	5	4	29	27	+2	25
5	Kansas City Brass	16	6	9	1	23	30	−7	19
6	Springfield Demize	16	0	16	0	8	48	−40	0

Source:^{[citation needed]}

The top two teams in each division qualify for the playoffs. The Conference champion receives a bye into the Conference Semifinals, with the third place team from that division receiving a playoff berth.

Eastern Conference[]

Mid Atlantic Division[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Reading Rage	16	11	3	2	32	12	+20	35
2	Fredericksburg Gunners	16	8	8	0	27	23	+4	24
3	Hampton Roads Piranhas	16	6	7	3	22	23	−1	21
4	Virginia Legacy	16	4	8	4	16	31	−15	16
5	Northern Virginia Royals	16	3	8	5	20	34	−14	14
6	Richmond Kickers Future	16	2	8	6	17	27	−10	12

Source:^{[citation needed]}

New England Division[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Cape Cod Crusaders	16	9	3	4	33	16	+17	31
2	Ottawa Fury	16	9	4	3	38	22	+16	30
3	Vermont Voltage	16	8	7	1	28	30	−2	25
4	New Hampshire Phantoms	16	3	9	4	14	28	−14	13
5	Rhode Island Stingrays	16	2	9	5	21	38	−17	11

Source:^{[citation needed]}

Northeast Division[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Brooklyn Knights	16	10	2	4	33	17	+16	34
2	Newark Ironbound Express	16	8	2	6	33	17	+16	30
3	Long Island Rough Riders	16	8	4	4	36	26	+10	28
4	Westchester Flames	16	7	7	2	30	30	0	23
5	Ocean City Barons	16	6	5	5	29	25	+4	23
6	New Jersey Rangers	16	2	12	2	12	42	−30	8

Source:^{[citation needed]}

The Division Champions and the Second Place team with the most points qualify for the playoffs.

Southern Conference[]

Mid South Division[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Austin Aztex U23	16	10	5	1	25	11	+14	31
2	Laredo Heat	16	8	4	4	33	15	+18	28
3	El Paso Patriots	16	8	5	3	22	20	+2	27
4	Mississippi Brilla	16	7	6	3	26	23	+3	24
5	Baton Rouge Capitals	16	7	8	1	20	23	−3	22
6	DFW Tornados	16	6	7	3	17	20	−3	21
7	New Orleans Shell Shockers	16	5	8	3	18	28	−10	18
8	Houston Leones	16	3	11	2	17	38	−21	11

Source:^{[citation needed]}

Southeast Division[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Central Florida Kraze	16	11	3	2	38	18	+20	35
2	Bradenton Academics	16	10	2	4	37	13	+24	34
3	Cary RailHawks U23's	16	9	5	2	40	29	+11	29
4	Atlanta Silverbacks U23's	16	9	6	1	38	29	+9	28
5	Panama City Pirates	16	7	6	3	35	20	+15	24
6	Carolina Dynamo	16	7	7	2	35	31	+4	23
7	Nashville Metros	16	3	13	0	12	42	−30	9
8	Palm Beach Pumas	16	1	15	0	9	62	−53	−1^[a]

Source:^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

^ Palm Beach deducted 4 points for failing to fulfil three fixtures.

Western Conference[]

Northwest Division[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Tacoma Tide	16	11	4	1	46	23	+23	34
2	Vancouver Whitecaps Residency	16	11	4	1	34	14	+20	34
3	Yakima Reds	16	9	6	1	31	25	+6	28
4	BYU Cougars	16	7	6	3	21	20	+1	24
5	Ogden Outlaws	16	6	8	2	18	21	−3	20
6	Abbotsford Mariners	16	5	8	3	26	32	−6	18
7	Cascade Surge	16	3	8	5	17	35	−18	14
8	Spokane Spiders	16	3	11	2	20	43	−23	11

Source:^{[citation needed]}

Southwest Division[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	San Fernando Valley Quakes	16	8	2	6	32	25	+7	30
2	Fresno Fuego	16	9	5	2	38	27	+11	29
3	Ventura County Fusion	16	8	5	3	24	14	+10	27
4	San Francisco Seals	16	8	5	3	21	17	+4	27
5	San Jose Frogs	16	7	6	3	26	20	+6	24
6	Los Angeles Legends	16	6	6	4	32	25	+7	22
7	Bakersfield Brigade	16	4	5	7	16	21	−5	19
8	Orange County Blue Star	16	5	8	3	24	31	−7	18
9	Southern California Seahorses	16	3	8	5	15	27	−12	14
10	Lancaster Rattlers	16	2	10	4	18	39	−21	10

Source:^{[citation needed]}

The top two teams in each division qualify for the playoffs.

Playoffs[]

The Divisional Round for the Central Conference took place July 22–23, 2008, with the Conference Championships taking place between July 25–27. The PDL Semifinals took place on August 2, and the final was played on August 9.

Playoff bracket[]

Divisional Round

Conference Semifinals

Conference Finals

National Semifinals

PDL Championship Game

C1

Michigan Bucks

1

MW2

Kalamazoo Outrage (AET)

3

MW1

Chicago Fire Premier

0

MW2

Kalamazoo Outrage

2

MW2

Kalamazoo Outrage

0

Central Conference

HL1

Thunder Bay Chill

4

HL1

Thunder Bay Chill

3

HL2

Colorado Rapids U23's

1

HL1

Thunder Bay Chill

2

GL1

Cleveland Internationals

0

GL1

Cleveland Internationals

2

GL2

Toronto Lynx

1

HL1

Thunder Bay Chill

2

NW2

Vancouver Whitecaps Residency

1

NW1

Tacoma Tide

3

SW2

Fresno Fuego

0

NW1

Tacoma Tide

1

Western Conference

NW2

Vancouver Whitecaps Residency

4

SW1

San Fernando Valley Quakes

1

NW2

Vancouver Whitecaps Residency (AET)

3

HL1

Thunder Bay Chill (AET/PSO)

1 (4)

MS2

Laredo Heat

1 (1)

MA

Reading Rage (AET)

4

WC

Newark Ironbound Express

2

MA

Reading Rage

1

Eastern Conference

NE

Brooklyn Knights

0

NE

Brooklyn Knights (AET/PSO)

0 (5)

NWE

Cape Cod Crusaders

0 (3)

MA

Reading Rage

0

MS2

Laredo Heat

2

MS1

Austin Aztex U23

2

SE2

Bradenton Academics

1

MS1

Austin Aztex U23

1

Southern Conference

MS2

Laredo Heat

3

SE1

Central Florida Kraze

1

MS2

Laredo Heat

2

Divisional round[]

July 22, 2008
5:00 ET

Kalamazoo Outrage	2 – 0	Chicago Fire Premier
19' 42' (OG) Alvino 62' 63'	(Report)	52'

Toyota Park
Bridgeview, Illinois

Attendance: 75

Referee: Pawel Wydra (USA)

July 22, 2008
7:30 ET

Colorado Rapids U23's	1 – 3	Thunder Bay Chill
Warner 7' 78' 28' 49' 84' 76' Hemmi 90'	(Report)	9' 56' 33' Gold 60' Swartzendruber 74' 86' 90' 90'

Chapples Park Stadium
Thunder Bay, Ontario

Attendance: 1,005

Referee: Mike Delecruz (CAN)

July 23, 2008
7:00 ET

Toronto Lynx	1 – 2	Cleveland Internationals
42' Scott 44' 54' 82'	(Report)	Williams 20' Nanchoff 26' Nagbe 54' Zemanski 83'

Lakewood, Ohio

Attendance: 45

Referee: Chris Ponso (USA)

Conference semifinals[]

July 25, 2008
5:00 ET

Bradenton Academics	1 – 2	Austin Aztex U23
17' Gavin 25' 74' Maxwell 83'	(Report)	39' 66' Godbolt 56' 59' Bernard 64' 65'

Seminole Soccer Complex
Sanford, Florida

Attendance: 1,500

Referee: Robert Mauws (USA)

July 25, 2008
5:30 ET

Cape Cod Crusaders	0 – 0 (AET)	Brooklyn Knights
33' 73'	(Report)	27' 82' 93' 108'
Penalties
	3 – 5	Guerra Kulkov

Reading, Pennsylvania

Attendance: 280

Referee: Tim Snyder (USA)

July 25, 2008
7:30 ET

Laredo Heat	2 – 1	Central Florida Kraze
Cruz 21' Garcia 52' 90+' 53' 63' Infante 87'	(Report)	45' Wolfe 54' 90'

Seminole Soccer Complex
Sanford, Florida

Attendance: 1,500

Referee: Agostino Minasola (USA)

July 25, 2008
8:00 ET

Newark Ironbound Express	2 – 4 (AET)	Reading Rage
4' Robinson 29' 30' 62' 82' Bilbao 83' Chencinski 100' 100' 102'	(Report)	22' 66' Burgess 67' 109' (PK) 74' 92'

Reading, Pennsylvania

Attendance: 657

Referee: Bo Maroo (USA)

July 26, 2008
5:30 ET

Cleveland Internationals	0 – 2	Thunder Bay Chill
	(Report)	17' 21' 45' 27' Swartzendruber 66' 82'

Ultimate Soccer Arena
Pontiac, Michigan

Referee: Clifton Ellis (USA)

July 26, 2008
7:30 ET

Vancouver Whitecaps Residency	3 – 1 (AET)	San Fernando Valley Quakes
Leslie 65' Davies 69' 86' Edwini-Bonsu 90+6' 110' Russell 114' 116' Sandhu 118'	(Report)	Borak 72' 82' 84' Tracy 104'

Chukchansi Park
Fresno, California

Attendance: 1,291

Referee: Mike Kampmeinert (USA)

July 26, 2008
7:30 ET

Kalamazoo Outrage	3 – 1 (AET)	Michigan Bucks
Alvino 34' 86' 111' 120' 98'	(Report)	DeMartin 31' 39' Clark 120'

Ultimate Soccer Arena
Pontiac, Michigan

Referee: Marc Lawrence (USA)

July 26, 2008
10:30 ET

Fresno Fuego	0 – 3	Tacoma Tide
32' 89' Nunes 89'	(Report)	Scott 18' Mueller 30' 76' 90'

Chukchansi Park
Fresno, California

Attendance: 3,214

Referee: Maurizio Laudini (USA)

Conference finals[]

July 26, 2008
7:00 ET

Laredo Heat	3 – 1	Austin Aztex U23
Galvan 4' 12' 68' 17' Cruz 26' Garcia 47' 51' 80'	(Report)	4' 5' Watson 26' (PK) 64' Godbolt 36' 41'

Seminole Soccer Complex
Sanford, Florida

Attendance: 100

Referee: Martin Bell (USA)

July 27, 2008
4:30 ET

Brooklyn Knights	0 – 1	Reading Rage
40' 43' 53' 61' 77' 90'	(Report)	Burgess 40' 45' 69'

Reading, Pennsylvania

Attendance: 510

Referee: Ian Bongaardt (USA)

July 27, 2008
7:00 ET

Kalamazoo Outrage	0 – 4	Thunder Bay Chill
10'		11' 20' 45' (PK) Swartzendruber 59' 75' 81'

Ultimate Soccer Arena
Pontiac, Michigan

Referee: Jason White (USA)

July 27, 2008
10:00 ET

Vancouver Whitecaps Residency	4 – 1	Tacoma Tide
Edwini-Bonsu 41' 64' Semenets 66' Russell 86' 87'	(Report)	Mueller 46' Knapp 54' 82' 90'

Chukchansi Park
Fresno, California

Attendance: 510

Referee: Colin Arblaster (USA)

PDL semifinals[]

August 2, 2008
7:00 ET

Vancouver Whitecaps Residency	1 – 2	Thunder Bay Chill
Leslie 41' 56' Davies 81' Edwini-Bonsu 89' 90+4' 90+4'		52' 61' 79' 90+4'

Chapples Park Stadium
Thunder Bay, Ontario

Attendance: 1,546

Referee: Frank Carpino (CAN)

August 2, 2008
9:15 ET

Reading Rage	0 – 2	Laredo Heat
50' 84'		29' 41' Garcia 78' 87'

Texas A&M International University Soccer Complex
Laredo, Texas

Attendance: 1,693

Referee: Carlos Salas (USA)

PDL final[]

August 9, 2008
8:45 ET

Thunder Bay Chill	1 – 1 (AET)	Laredo Heat
34' 44' 56' 76' 63' 76' J. Gold 64'	(Report)	33' Ibarra 46' Infante 83' Galvan 90'
Penalties
Swartzendruber	4 – 1	Galvan Su

Texas A&M International University Soccer Complex
Laredo, Texas

Attendance: 3,451

Referee: Jasen Anno (USA)

Awards and All-League team[]

F: Carlos Araujo (Central Florida Kraze); Felix Garcia (Laredo Heat) (U19 Player of the Year); (Yakima Reds) (league MVP)
M: (Ottawa Fury); (Fresno Fuego); Adam Gazda (Reading Rage); Nate Jafta (Michigan Bucks)
D: Darrius Barnes (Cary RailHawks U23's); Mike Holody (Michigan Bucks); (Austin Aztex U23) (Defender of the Year)
G: Miguel Gallardo (Austin Aztex U23) (Goalkeeper of the Year)
Coach: Wolfgang Suhnholz (Austin Aztex U23)

2008 PDL season

Contents

Changes from 2007[]

Name changes[]

New franchises[]

Folding[]

Final standings[]

Central Conference[]

Great Lakes Division[]

Midwest Division[]

Heartland Division[]

Eastern Conference[]

Mid Atlantic Division[]

New England Division[]

Northeast Division[]

Southern Conference[]

Mid South Division[]

Southeast Division[]

Western Conference[]

Northwest Division[]

Southwest Division[]

Playoffs[]

Playoff bracket[]

Divisional round[]

Conference semifinals[]

Conference finals[]

PDL semifinals[]

PDL final[]

Awards and All-League team[]

See also[]