2009 PDL season

USL Premier Development League

Official 2009 PDL Championship logo
Season	2009
Champions	Ventura County Fusion
Matches played	544
Goals scored	1,790 (3.29 per match)
Top goalscorer	Aaron Wheeler, Reading Rage, 17
Biggest home win	9-0, Ottawa Fury over Westchester Flames
Biggest away win	7-1, Ocean City Barons over Newark Ironbound Express 7-1 Los Angeles Legends over Fresno Fuego
Highest scoring	10 goals, Portland Timbers U23's 8-2 Yakima Reds 10 goals, Lancaster Rattlers 5-5 Fresno Fuego 10 goals, Hollywood United Hitmen 7-3 Ogden Outlaws
Average attendance	542
← 2008 2010 →

The 2009 USL Premier Development League season was the 15th season of the PDL. The regular season began on May 1, 2009, and ended on July 19, 2009. The PDL Championship Game was held on August 8, 2009, and was broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel in the United States.^[1]

Ventura County Fusion finished the season as national champions, beating Chicago Fire Premier 2-1 in the PDL Championship game in Ventura, California on August 8, 2009.^[2]

Reading Rage 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 +41 goal difference.

Reading Rage striker Aaron Wheeler was the league's top scorer and MVP, knocking in 17 goals, while his teammate led the league with 10 assists. Mississippi Brilla goalkeeper enjoyed the best goalkeeping statistics, with a goals against average of 0.615 on the season, including 8 shutouts.^[3]

Changes From 2008[]

Name Changes[]

• Cary Railhawks U23's changed their name to the Cary Clarets to reflect their new association with English Championship team Burnley.
• New Orleans Shell Shockers rebranded themselves as the New Orleans Jesters, having terminated their sponsorship deal with the Shell Oil Company.

New Franchises[]

• Eleven franchises have been announced as joining the league this year:

Team Name	Metro Area	Location	Previous Affiliation
Atlanta Blackhawks	Greater Atlanta area	Alpharetta, GA	expansion
Forest City London	London area	London, ON	expansion
Hollywood United Hitmen	West Los Angeles area	Pacific Palisades, CA	expansion
Kitsap Pumas	Kitsap County area	Bremerton, WA	expansion
Portland Timbers U23's	Greater Portland area	Portland, OR	expansion
Real Colorado Foxes	Denver area	Highlands Ranch, CO	expansion
Rio Grande Valley Bravos	Rio Grande Valley area	Pharr, TX	expansion
Rochester Thunder	Rochester area	Rochester, MN	expansion
Seattle Wolves	Seattle area	Tukwila, WA	PCSL
Victoria Highlanders	Victoria area	Victoria, BC	expansion
West Texas United Sockers	Midland-Odessa area	Midland, TX	expansion

On hiatus[]

• One team went on hiatus due to home stadium renovations:
  • Vermont Voltage - St. Albans, Vermont

Folding[]

• Nine teams have been announced as leaving the league prior to the beginning of the season:
  • Atlanta Silverbacks U23's - Chamblee, Georgia
  • Cape Cod Crusaders - Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
  • Colorado Rapids U23's - Boulder, Colorado
  • Palm Beach Pumas - Wellington, Florida
  • Richmond Kickers Future - Richmond, Virginia
  • San Fernando Valley Quakes - Woodland Hills, California
  • San Francisco Seals - San Francisco, California
  • San Jose Frogs - San Jose, California
  • West Michigan Edge - Kentwood, Michigan

Standings[]

In 2009, there was a more balanced 8 divisions (down from 10 in 2008). The top 3 from each division qualified for the play-offs, with the division champion receiving a bye through the first round.

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	Kalamazoo Outrage	16	11	2	3	32	17	+15	36
2	Chicago Fire Premier	16	10	1	5	33	12	+21	35
3	Forest City London	16	8	3	5	27	16	+11	29
4	Michigan Bucks	16	8	5	3	26	22	+4	27
5	Indiana Invaders	16	5	7	4	24	25	−1	19
6	Cleveland Internationals	16	5	9	2	23	26	−3	17
7	Fort Wayne Fever	16	5	9	2	15	26	−11	17
8	Cincinnati Kings	16	4	9	3	17	31	−14	15
9	Toronto Lynx	16	2	13	1	18	40	−22	7

Heartland Division[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Des Moines Menace	16	11	1	4	35	13	+22	37
2	Thunder Bay Chill	16	8	3	5	27	16	+11	29
3	Real Colorado Foxes	16	8	5	3	28	19	+9	27
4	St. Louis Lions	16	6	4	6	29	25	+4	24
5	Rochester Thunder	16	5	10	1	21	25	−4	16
6	Kansas City Brass	16	4	9	3	28	37	−9	15
7	Springfield Demize	16	2	13	1	10	43	−33	7

Eastern Conference[]

Mid Atlantic Division[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Reading Rage	16	13	1	2	58	17	+41	41
2	Carolina Dynamo	16	10	4	2	38	19	+19	32
3	Cary Clarets	16	9	4	3	28	16	+12	30
4	Hampton Roads Piranhas	16	8	5	3	23	21	+2	27
5	West Virginia Chaos	16	5	8	3	23	37	−14	18
6	Fredericksburg Gunners	16	3	10	3	14	35	−21	12
7	Northern Virginia Royals	16	2	10	4	18	35	−17	10
8	Virginia Legacy	16	1	9	6	14	36	−22	9

Northeast Division[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Ottawa Fury	16	12	0	4	48	8	+40	40
2	Long Island Rough Riders	16	12	2	2	32	10	+22	38
3	Ocean City Barons	16	9	4	3	31	15	+16	30
4	Brooklyn Knights	16	7	6	3	25	20	+5	24
5	Newark Ironbound Express	16	6	8	2	38	41	−3	20
6	Rhode Island Stingrays	16	4	9	3	23	41	−18	15
7	Westchester Flames	16	3	8	5	16	36	−20	14
8	New Hampshire Phantoms	16	3	9	4	20	32	−12	13
9	New Jersey Rangers	16	2	12	2	14	44	−30	8

Southern Conference[]

Mid South Division[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Laredo Heat	16	7	1	8	29	18	+11	29
2	West Texas United Sockers	16	8	5	3	25	19	+6	27
3	Austin Aztex U23	16	7	4	5	32	27	+5	26
4	El Paso Patriots	16	8	6	2	27	22	+5	26
5	Rio Grande Valley Bravos	16	6	5	5	32	28	+4	23
6	DFW Tornados	16	5	7	4	29	33	−4	19
7	Houston Leones	16	0	13	3	10	37	−27	3

Note: Austin finish in third place as a result of winning the head-to-head season series 2-0-1 against El Paso.^[4]

Southeast Division[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Mississippi Brilla	16	9	1	6	30	12	+18	33
2	Bradenton Academics	16	9	2	5	32	14	+18	32
3	New Orleans Jesters	16	5	0	11	24	13	+11	26
4	Panama City Pirates	16	6	5	5	23	21	+2	23
5	Baton Rouge Capitals	16	4	8	4	25	26	−1	16
6	Central Florida Kraze	16	4	9	3	18	31	−13	15
7	Nashville Metros	16	2	7	7	16	36	−20	13
8	Atlanta Blackhawks	16	3	10	3	16	31	−15	12

Western Conference[]

Northwest Division[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Kitsap Pumas	16	12	1	3	40	13	+27	39
2	Portland Timbers U23's	16	11	3	2	43	20	+23	35
3	Seattle Wolves	16	10	3	3	29	18	+11	33
4	Cascade Surge	16	7	6	3	29	26	+3	24
5	Victoria Highlanders	16	6	6	4	37	25	+12	22
6	Vancouver Whitecaps Residency	16	6	7	3	26	22	+4	21
7	Tacoma Tide	16	5	7	4	34	40	−6	19
8	Abbotsford Mariners	16	4	10	2	28	36	−8	14
9	Yakima Reds	16	3	11	2	22	49	−27	11
10	Spokane Spiders	16	3	13	0	12	51	−39	9

Southwest Division[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Hollywood United Hitmen	16	10	3	3	38	17	+21	33
2	Los Angeles Legends	16	9	3	4	34	15	+19	31
3	Ventura County Fusion	16	7	2	7	26	21	+5	28
4	BYU Cougars	16	7	5	4	21	22	−1	25
5	Fresno Fuego	16	6	6	4	30	28	+2	22
6	Southern California Seahorses	16	4	4	8	25	22	+3	20
7	Lancaster Rattlers	16	5	7	4	33	38	−5	19
8	Orange County Blue Star	16	5	7	4	20	25	−5	19
9	Ogden Outlaws	16	4	11	1	24	39	−15	13
10	Bakersfield Brigade	16	2	11	3	14	38	−24	9

Playoffs[]

Format[]

The top three teams from each division earn playoff bids. The division champion earns a bye to the Division Finals and the rights to host. The second place team will host the third place team in the Division Semifinals either at their home field or at the division champion's field. The two notable exceptions were the Chicago Fire Premier hosting Forest City London in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Ventura County Fusion hosting the Los Angeles Legends, despite Los Angeles having the higher seed.

Bracket[]

Divisional First Round

Divisional Finals

Conference Finals

PDL Semifinals

PDL Championship

GL1

Kalamazoo Outrage

1

Great Lakes Division

GL2

Chicago Fire Premier

2

GL2

Chicago Fire Premier

1

GL3

Forest City London

0

GL2

Chicago Fire Premier

3

NE3

Ocean City Barons

0

NE1

Ottawa Fury

1

Northeast Division

NE3

Ocean City Barons (AET)

2

NE2

Long Island Rough Riders

0

NE3

Ocean City Barons

2

GL2

Chicago Fire Premier (AET)

2

MA3

Cary Clarets

1

HL1

Des Moines Menace

2

Heartland Division

HL3

Real Colorado Foxes

1

HL2

Thunder Bay Chill

0

HL3

Real Colorado Foxes

1

HL1

Des Moines Menace

0

MA3

Cary Clarets

1

MA1

Reading Rage

1

Mid-Atlantic Division

MA3

Cary Clarets

2

MA2

Carolina Dynamo

1

MA3

Cary Clarets

3

GL2

Chicago Fire Premier

1

SW3

Ventura County Fusion

2

MS1

Laredo Heat (AET)

1

Mid-South Division

MS2

West Texas United Sockers

0

MS2

West Texas United Sockers

2

MS3

Austin Aztex U23

1

MS1

Laredo Heat (AET)

1

SE2

Bradenton Academics

3

SE1

Mississippi Brilla

2

Southeast Division

SE2

Bradenton Academics (AET)

3

SE2

Bradenton Academics

1

SE3

New Orleans Jesters

0

SE2

Bradenton Academics

1

SW3

Ventura County Fusion

6

NW1

Kitsap Pumas

2

Northwest Division

NW3

Seattle Wolves

0

NW2

Portland Timbers U23's

2

NW3

Seattle Wolves

3

NW1

Kitsap Pumas

1

SW3

Ventura County Fusion

2

SW1

Hollywood United Hitmen

1

Southwest Division

SW3

Ventura County Fusion (AET)

3

SW2

Los Angeles Legends

1

SW3

Ventura County Fusion

2

Divisional Semifinals[]

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Divisional Finals[]

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Conference Finals[]

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PDL Semifinals[]

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PDL Championship[]

Award Winners and Finalists[]

The awards finalists, Goalkeeper of the Year, and All-League teams were announced on August 4, 2009, with the winners announced on August 6.^[5]

Most Valuable Player[]

• Aaron Wheeler, F, Reading Rage (Winner)
• , F, Kalamazoo Outrage
• Debola Ogunseye, F, Mississippi Brilla

U19 Player of the Year[]

• Christian Ibeagha, D, Cary Clarets (Winner)
• Sheanon Williams, D, Carolina Dynamo
• Max Touloute, F, Fort Wayne Fever

Defender of the Year[]

• Christian Ibeagha, Cary Clarets (Winner)
• , Fort Wayne Fever
• Daniel Scott, Seattle Wolves
• , New Orleans Jesters

Goalkeeper of the Year[]

• Jimmy Maurer, Chicago Fire Premier

Coach of the Year[]

• Casey Mann, Des Moines Menace (Winner)
• , Long Island Rough Riders
• Mark Spooner, Kalamazoo Outrage
• Brent Whitfield, Los Angeles Legends

All-League and All-Conference Teams[]

Central Conference[]

F: Andre Akpan, CHI; Teal Bunbury, ROC; *, KAL
M: Dave Hertel*, MIC; , TB; Brad Stisser, COL
D: Anthony Di Biase, LON; *, FW; , TB; , KC
G: Jimmy Maurer*, CHI
Honorable Mention: , D, SPR; , F, IND; , D, SL; , F, DM; , M, CLE; Kyle Segebart, D, CIN; Jordan Webb, M, TOR

Eastern Conference[]

F: Cody Arnoux, CAR; Adam Arthur, WV; Aaron Wheeler*, REA
M: *, OTT; Adam Gazda, REA; Zach Loyd, CAR
D: , OTT; Christian Ibeagha*, CRY; , LI; Sheanon Williams, CAR
G: , OCC
Honorable Mention: Frank Alesci, M, BRK; , G, NJ; Kevon Harris, M, HR; Sean Kelley, G, NV; , M, WCH; Jerrod Laventure, F, NWK; , G, FRB; , M, RI; Timothy Murray, G, NH; , M, VIR

Southern Conference[]

F: Zak Boggs, BRD; , RGV; Debola Ogunseye*, MIS
M: , LAR;, LAR; , NO
D: Jamie Cunningham, AUS; Dwyane Demmin, MIS; , PAN; *, NO
G: Ryan Cooper, LAR
Honorable Mention: , M, HOU; , G, WTU; , G, DFW; Tommy Krizanovic, F, CF; Wilfrid Loizeau, M, ATL; , M, BR; , D, NAS; Jorge Muniz, G, EP

Western Conference[]

F: , TAC; Brent Whitfield, LA; , POR
M: Ely Allen, SEA; Tomislav Colic, SC; Michael Farfan, LA; *, HU
D: , OGD; , KIT; *, SEA
G: , KIT
Honorable Mention: , M, BYU; , G, LAN; , M, VIC; , M, VAN; Eddie Gutierrez, M, FRE; Anthony Hamilton, F, VEN; Jacob Hustedt, M, BAK; , G, ABB; , G, ORC; , F, YAK; , F, SPO; Steve Reese, G, CSC

* denotes All-League selection

See also[]

• United Soccer Leagues 2009
• 2009 W-League Season

References[]