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.

USL Premier Development League
Season2008
ChampionsThunder Bay Chill
2007
2009

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 Junior Garcia was the league's top scorer and MVP, knocking in 15 goals. Fresno Fuego's Fabricio Codeceira 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 edit

Name changes edit

  • 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 edit

  • 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 edit

Final standings edit

Legend
Team won the Division Title
Team qualified for playoff berth

Central Conference edit

Great Lakes Division edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

Mid Atlantic Division edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

Mid South Division edit

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 edit

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

Western Conference edit

Northwest Division edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

  Chicago Fire Premier0 – 2  Kalamazoo Outrage
Cutshaw   52' (Report) Warmer   19'
  42' (OG)
Alvino   62'
Muckey   63'
Attendance: 75
Referee: Pawel Wydra (USA)

  Thunder Bay Chill3 – 1  Colorado Rapids U23's
Oliveira   9'   56'
Coronado   33'
Gold   60'
Swartzendruber   74'
Paterson   86'
Putrus   90'
Zendejas   90'
(Report) Warner   7'   78'
Schmoker   28'
Charles   49'   84'
Howlan   76'
Hemmi   90'
Attendance: 1,005
Referee: Mike Delecruz (CAN)

  Cleveland Internationals2 – 1  Toronto Lynx
Williams   20'
Nanchoff   26'
Nagbe   54'
Zemanski   83'
(Report) DeAbreu   42'
Scott   44'   54'
Binstock   82'
Attendance: 45
Referee: Chris Ponso (USA)

Conference semifinals edit

  Bradenton Academics1 – 2  Austin Aztex U23
Ingvarsson   17'
Gavin   25'
Bello   74'
Maxwell   83'
(Report) Papandrea   39'   66'
Godbolt   56'   59'
Bernard   64'
Vincens   65'
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Robert Mauws (USA)

  Cape Cod Crusaders0 – 0
(AET)
  Brooklyn Knights
Maloney   33'
Munro   73'
(Report) Damiani   27'
Gonzales   82'
Ortega   93'
Dos Santos   108'
Penalties
Munro  
Maloney  
Lynn  
Vercollone  
3 – 5   Matteo
  Damiani
  Guerra
  Dos Santos
  Kulkov
Attendance: 280
Referee: Tim Snyder (USA)

  Central Florida Kraze1 – 2  Laredo Heat
Araujo   45'
Wolfe   54'
Mattson   90'
(Report) Cruz   21'
Garcia   52'   90+'
Mulamba   53'   63'
Infante   87'
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Agostino Minasola (USA)

  Reading Rage4 – 2
(AET)
  Newark Ironbound Express
Ports   22'
O'Connor   66'
Burgess   67'   109' (PK)
Taranto   74'
Benson   92'
(Report) Kotynski   4'
Robinson   29'
Karcz   30'   62'
Grato   82'
Bilbao   83'
Chencinski   100'
Stamatis   100'
Ruesgen   102'
Attendance: 657
Referee: Bo Maroo (USA)

  Cleveland Internationals0 – 2  Thunder Bay Chill
(Report) Putrus   17'
Coronado   21'   45'
Alvarado   27'
Swartzendruber   66'
Intermoia   82'

  Vancouver Whitecaps Residency3 – 1
(AET)
  San Fernando Valley Quakes
Leslie   65'
Davies   69'
Dosanjh   86'
Edwini-Bonsu   90+6'   110'
Russell   114'   116'
Sandhu   118'
(Report) Borak   72'
Agwu   82'   84'
Tracy   104'
Attendance: 1,291
Referee: Mike Kampmeinert (USA)

  Michigan Bucks1 – 3
(AET)
  Kalamazoo Outrage
DeMartin   31'
Morisset   39'
Clark   120'
(Report) Alvino   34'
Oatley   86'   111'   120'
Muckey   98'

  Fresno Fuego0 – 3  Tacoma Tide
Alvarado   32'
Calvo   89'
Nunes   89'
(Report) Scott   18'
Mueller   30'
Schomaker   76'
Tangney   90'
Attendance: 3,214
Referee: Maurizio Laudini (USA)

Conference finals edit

  Laredo Heat3 – 1  Austin Aztex U23
Galvan   4'
Mulamba   12'   68'
Quinones   17'
Cruz   26'
Garcia   47'   51'
Morales   80'
(Report) Alvarez   4'
Vega   5'
Watson   26' (PK)   64'
Godbolt   36'   41'
Attendance: 100
Referee: Martin Bell (USA)

  Reading Rage1 – 0  Brooklyn Knights
Burgess   40'   45'
Rowling   69'
(Report) Matteo   40'
Smith   43'
Gonzalez   53'
Damiani   61'
Carrizo   77'
Alvarado   90'
Attendance: 510
Referee: Ian Bongaardt (USA)

  Kalamazoo Outrage0 – 4  Thunder Bay Chill
Howard   10' Milroth   11'
Intermoia   20'
Oliveira   45' (PK)
Swartzendruber   59'
C. Gold   75'   81'

  Vancouver Whitecaps Residency4 – 1  Tacoma Tide
Edwini-Bonsu   41'   64'
Semenets   66'
Russell   86'
Johnstone   87'
(Report) Mueller   46'
Knapp   54'
Agu   82'
Schomaker   90'
Attendance: 510
Referee: Colin Arblaster (USA)

PDL semifinals edit

  Thunder Bay Chill2 – 1  Vancouver Whitecaps Residency
Alvarado   52'
Milroth   61'   79'
Zendejas   90+4'
Leslie   41'
Dosanjh   56'
Davies   81'
Edwini-Bonsu   89'   90+4'   90+4'
Attendance: 1,546
Referee: Frank Carpino (CAN)

  Laredo Heat2 – 0  Reading Rage
Quinones   29'
Ramos   41'
Garcia   78'
Humphrey   87'
O'Connor   50'
Sanders   84'

PDL final edit

  Laredo Heat1 – 1
(AET)
  Thunder Bay Chill
Blackwell   33'
Ibarra   46'
Infante   83'
Galvan   90'
(Report) Putrus   34'
Da Silva   44'
Milroth   56'   76'
Oliveira   63'   76'
J. Gold   64'
Penalties
  Galvan
  Ordaz
  Su
1 – 4 Oliveira  
Swartzendruber  
C. Gold  
Intermoia  

Awards and All-League team edit

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

See also edit