The 2000 USL Premier Development League season was the 6th PDL season. The season began in April 2000 and ended in August 2000.

USL Premier Development League
Season2000
ChampionsChicago Sockers
1999
2001

Chicago Sockers finished the season as national champions, beating Mid-Michigan Bucks 1–0 in the PDL Championship game. Westchester Flames had finished with the best regular season record in the league, winning 15 out of their 18 games, suffering just three losses, and finishing with a +26 goal difference.

Changes from the 1999 season

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Rules

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This is the first year that the PDL used ties in the standings, whereas previous seasons employed a shootout.

Name changes

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The following teams changed their name:

New teams

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10 New teams were added, including 8 expansion teams:

Team Name Metro Area Location Previous Affiliation
  Alabama Saints Birmingham area Birmingham, AL returned from hiatus
  Boulder Nova Boulder area Boulder, CO expansion
  Broward County Wolfpack Broward County area Fort Lauderdale, FL expansion
  Dayton Gems Dayton Area Dayton, OH expansion
  New Brunswick Brigade New Brunswick area New Brunswick, NJ expansion
  North Jersey Imperials North Jersey area Paramus, NJ from D3 Pro League
  Palm Beach Pumas Palm Beach area Palm Beach, FL expansion
  South Florida Future Southwest Florida area Sarasota, FL returned from hiatus
  Tampa Bay Hawks Tampa Bay Area Palm Harbor, FL expansion
  Thunder Bay Chill Thunder Bay Area Thunder Bay, Ontario expansion

Folding

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Eight teams folded before the season:

Standings

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Legend
Division champion
Team qualified for playoff berth
Regular season champion and bye into PDL Semifinals.

Central Conference

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Great Lakes Division

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Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD BP Pts
1 Mid-Michigan Bucks 18 14 3 1 64 21 +43 14 71
2 Dayton Gems 18 9 8 1 37 35 +2 7 44
3 West Michigan Edge 18 9 9 0 32 38 −6 7 43
4 Kalamazoo Kingdom 18 9 9 0 37 37 0 7 43
5 Indiana Invaders 18 8 10 0 35 43 −8 5 37
6 Lexington Bluegrass Bandits 18 5 13 0 26 47 −21 5 25
Source: [citation needed]

Heartland Division

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Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD BP Pts
1 Chicago Sockers 18 13 5 0 45 17 +28 10 62
2 Rockford Raptors 18 9 7 2 38 35 +3 8 46
3 Des Moines Menace 18 10 8 0 63 28 +35 5 45
4 Wisconsin Rebels 18 9 8 1 34 25 +9 6 43
5 Twin Cities Tornado 18 7 9 2 26 33 −7 2 32
6 Thunder Bay Chill 18 4 13 1 20 49 −29 2 19
Source: [citation needed]

Provisional Teams

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Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD BP Pts
1 Louisiana Outlaws[a] 12 5 5 2 25 25 0 5 27
2 Alabama Saints[a] 7 1 4 2 6 14 −8 1 7
3 Central Jersey Riptide[a] 10 1 9 0 10 31 −21 1 5
Source: [citation needed]
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Provisional teams are not eligible for playoffs

Eastern Conference

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Northeast Division

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Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD BP Pts
1 Westchester Flames 18 15 3 0 47 21 +26 10 70
2 Vermont Voltage 18 11 6 1 37 22 +15 8 53
3 New York Freedom 18 10 7 1 45 24 +21 8 49
4 Brooklyn Knights 18 9 8 1 30 32 −2 4 41
5 North Jersey Imperials 18 7 11 0 38 49 −11 6 34
6 New Brunswick Brigade 18 2 15 1 22 56 −34 1 10
Source: [citation needed]

Southeast Division

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Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD BP Pts
1 Tampa Bay Hawks 18 12 5 1 52 35 +17 9 58
2 Bradenton Academics 18 11 6 1 43 27 +16 8 53
3 Cocoa Expos 18 11 6 1 38 27 +11 6 51
4 Central Florida Kraze 18 10 6 2 46 34 +12 8 50
5 Palm Beach Pumas 18 8 8 2 39 43 −4 7 41
6 South Florida Future 18 8 10 0 30 43 −13 3 35
7 Broward County Wolfpack 18 4 12 2 36 56 −20 7 25
8 Miami Breakers 18 3 14 1 27 46 −19 5 18
Source: [citation needed]

Western Conference

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Rocky Mountain Division

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Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD BP Pts
1 Colorado Comets 18 12 5 1 51 29 +22 7 56
2 Wichita Jets 18 8 8 2 46 60 −14 7 41
3 Boulder Nova 18 8 9 1 38 32 +6 7 40
4 Kansas City Brass 18 5 11 2 41 56 −15 6 28
5 Colorado Springs Stampede 18 5 11 2 27 46 −19 3 25
Source: [citation needed]

Northwest Division

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Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD BP Pts
1 Yakima Reds 18 12 5 1 59 29 +30 11 60
2 Spokane Shadow 18 11 4 3 43 36 +7 7 54
3 Seattle Sounders Select 18 11 6 1 33 28 +5 6 51
4 Abbotsford 86ers Select 18 8 9 1 49 44 +5 9 42
5 Cascade Surge 18 5 11 2 34 28 +6 6 28
6 Willamette Valley Firebirds 18 3 15 0 28 71 −43 4 16
Source: [citation needed]

Southwest Division

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Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD BP Pts
1 San Fernando Valley Heroes 18 11 7 0 57 48 +9 12 56
2 Central Coast Roadrunners 18 11 7 0 51 39 +12 9 53
3 Nevada Zephyrs 18 7 11 0 32 43 −11 4 32
4 San Gabriel Valley Highlanders 18 4 14 0 35 66 −31 4 20
Source: [citation needed]

Playoffs

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Format

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Mid-Michigan won the PDL Regular Season title and a bye to the National Semi-Finals. This moved Dayton up to the Great Lakes Division first place spot and allowed West Michigan into the playoffs, taking the second place spot for the division.

For the Central and Eastern divisions, the top seeds from each division face the second place team from the opposite division. For the Western Conference, the division champion with the most points will play the wild card, while the two remaining division champions play each other.

Conference playoffs

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Central Semifinals Central Finals
      
HL1   Chicago Sockers 6
GL2   West Michigan Edge 0
HL1   Chicago Sockers 2
GL1   Dayton Gems 0
GL1   Dayton Gems 1
HL2   Rockford Raptors 0
Central Conference Playoffs
Conference Semifinal
Rockford Raptors0–1Dayton Gems
Report
  • Cummings   55'
Conference Semifinal
Chicago Sockers6–0West Michigan Edge
Central Conference Final
Chicago Sockers2–0Dayton Gems
Eastern Semifinals Eastern Finals
      
NE1   Westchester Flames 1
SE2   Bradenton Academics 0
NE1   Westchester Flames 1
SE1   Tampa Bay Hawks 0
SE1   Tampa Bay Hawks (AET/PSO) 2 (4)
NE2   Vermont Voltage 2 (2)
Eastern Conference Playoffs
Conference Semifinal
Tampa Bay Hawks2–2 (a.e.t.)Vermont Voltage
Penalties
4–2
Conference Semifinal
Bradenton Academics0–1Westchester Flames
Eastern Conference Final
Westchester Flames1–0Tampa Bay Hawks
Western Semifinals Western Finals
      
NW   Yakima Reds 2
WC   Spokane Shadow 0
NW   Yakima Reds 1
RM   Colorado Comets 0
RM   Colorado Comets 4
SW   San Fernando Valley Heroes 1
Western Conference Playoffs
Conference Semifinal
Colorado Comets4–1San Fernando Valley Heroes
Report
Conference Semifinal
Spokane Shadow0–2Yakima Reds
Report
Western Conference Final
Yakima Reds1–0Colorado Comets

PDL championship

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PDL Semifinals PDL Finals
      
PDL   Mid-Michigan Bucks 5
NW   Yakima Reds 2
PDL   Mid-Michigan Bucks 0
HL1   Chicago Sockers 1
NE1   Westchester Flames 0
HL1   Chicago Sockers 5 PDL Third Place
NW   Yakima Reds 2
NE1   Westchester Flames 5

[1]

PDL National Semifinals
Mid-Michigan Bucks5–2Yakima Reds
Report
White Pine Stadium
Saginaw Township, Michigan
Attendance: 526

Westchester Flames0–5Chicago Sockers
Report
White Pine Stadium
Saginaw Township, Michigan


Third Place Game
Westchester Flames5–2Yakima Reds
Report
White Pine Stadium
Saginaw Township, Michigan


PDL Championship Game
Mid-Michigan Bucks0–1Chicago Sockers
Report
White Pine Stadium
Saginaw Township, Michigan
Attendance: 1,220

References

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