2009 PDL season

USL Premier Development League

Official 2009 PDL Championship logo
Season 2009
Champions Ventura County Fusion
...
Matches played 544
Goals scored 1790 (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 Jon Ports led the league with 10 assists. Mississippi Brilla goalkeeper Josh Pantazelos enjoyed the best goalkeeping statistics, with a goals against average of 0.615 on the season, including 8 shutouts.[3]

Contents

Changes From 2008

Name Changes

New Franchises

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

Folding

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.

Purple indicates division title clinched
Green indicates playoff berth clinched

Central Conference

Great Lakes Division

Place Team P W L T GF GA GD Points
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

Place Team P W L T GF GA GD Points
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 17
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
Place Team P W L T GF GA GD Points
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
Place Team P W L T GF GA GD Points
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 10 3 20 32 -12 13
9 New Jersey Rangers 16 2 12 2 14 44 -30 8

Southern Conference

Mid South Division
Place Team P W L T GF GA GD Points
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
Place Team P W L T GF GA GD Points
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
Place Team P W L T GF GA GD Points
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 2 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
Place Team P W L T GF GA GD Points
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
                                               
  Heartland Division     GL1   Kalamazoo Outrage 1  
  GL2   Chicago Fire Premier 1     GL2   Chicago Fire Premier 2    
  GL3   Forest City London 0         GL2   Chicago Fire Premier 3  
      NE3   Ocean City Barons 0    
  Mid-Atlantic Division     NE1   Ottawa Fury 1    
  NE2   Long Island Rough Riders 0     NE3   Ocean City Barons (AET) 2  
  NE3   Ocean City Barons 2       GL2   Chicago Fire Premier (AET) 2  
    MA3   Cary Clarets 1    
  Great Lakes Division     HL1   Des Moines Menace 2  
  HL2   Thunder Bay Chill 0     HL3   Real Colorado Foxes 1    
  HL3   Real Colorado Foxes 1         HL1   Des Moines Menace 0  
      MA3   Cary Clarets 1  
  Northeast Division     MA1   Reading Rage 1    
  MA2   Carolina Dynamo 1     MA3   Cary Clarets 2  
  MA3   Cary Clarets 3       GL2   Chicago Fire Premier 1
    SW3   Ventura County Fusion 2
  Northwest Division     MS1   Laredo Heat (AET) 1  
  MS2   West Texas United Sockers 2     MS2   West Texas United Sockers 0    
  MS3   Austin Aztex U23 1         MS1   Laredo Heat (AET) 1  
      SE2   Bradenton Academics 3    
  Southwest Division     SE1   Mississippi Brilla 2    
  SE2   Bradenton Academics 1     SE2   Bradenton Academics (AET) 3  
  SE3   New Orleans Jesters 0       SE2   Bradenton Academics 1  
    SW3   Ventura County Fusion 6  
  Mid-South Division     NW1   Kitsap Pumas 2  
  NW2   Portland Timbers U23's 2     NW3   Seattle Wolves 0    
  NW3   Seattle Wolves 3         NW1   Kitsap Pumas 1  
      SW3   Ventura County Fusion 2  
  Southeast Division     SW1   Hollywood United Hitmen 1    
  SW2   Los Angeles Legends 1     SW3   Ventura County Fusion (AET) 3  
  SW3   Ventura County Fusion 2  

Divisional Semifinals

July 21, 2009
7:30 PM EDT
Cary Clarets 3 - 1 Carolina Dynamo Macpherson Stadium
Browns Summit, North Carolina
Referee: (USA)
Ibeagha 34'
Schilawski  59' 72'
Grossman 65'
O'Brien 68'
Petrasso  90'
(Report) Rojo 32'
Shriver  66'
Roberts 70'

July 22, 2009
8:00 PM EDT
Ocean City Barons 2 - 0 Long Island Rough Riders Cy Donnelly Stadium
South Huntington, New York
Attendance: 436
Referee: Bill Renderos (USA)
Neptune 34'
Carmichael  23'
Noone  73'
(Report)

July 22, 2009
8:30 PM CDT
Austin Aztex U23 1 - 2 West Texas United Sockers Grande Communications Stadium
Midland, Texas
Attendance: 1,460
Referee: Jonathan Johnson (USA)
McFayden  17' 42'
Helton 32'
Mirsky 71'
(Report) Rios 23'
Becerra 24'
Everson  46'
Furness  51' 59'
Franco 69'
James 90'

July 23, 2009
2:00 PM PDT
Seattle Wolves 3 - 2 Portland Timbers U23's PGE Park
Portland, Oregon
Attendance: 235
Referee: David Grbavac (USA)
Chursky  30'  81'  90'
Zimmerman 52'
(Report) Brown  6'
Youngblood  33'
Farfan 90'

July 23, 2009
8:00 PM EDT
Forest City London 0 - 1 Chicago Fire Premier Hefner Soccer Complex
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Referee: David Jarzc (USA)
Di Biase 70' (Report) Akpan  67'
Sinovic 69'

July 23, 2009
7:00 PM PDT
Los Angeles Legends 1 - 2 Ventura County Fusion Bulldog Stadium
Ventura, California
Attendance: 560
Referee: Federico Figari (USA)
Js. Barton 4'
Randolph 57'
Whitfield  77'
(Report) Motagalvan  7'
Hamilton  18'
Byrne 34'
Barrera 68'
Hill 80'

July 24, 2009
7:00 PM CDT
New Orleans Jesters 0 - 1 Bradenton Academics M&F Bank Stadium
Ridgeland, Mississippi
Attendance: 234
Referee: Justin Brown (USA)
Young 27'
Callon  59', 90'
Duncan 88'
Gledhill 90'
(Report) Morris  34'
Hepple  88'
Kendall 90'

July 24, 2009
7:30 PM CDT
Real Colorado Foxes 1 - 0 Thunder Bay Chill Valley Stadium
West Des Moines, Iowa
Attendance: 161
Referee: Hidajet Tica (USA)
Donaldson 26'
Cephers  49'
Jennings 51'
Stisser 87'
(Report) Neto 16'
Bukoski 51'
Putrus 77'
Abolaji 77'

Divisional Finals

July 25, 2009
3:00 PM PDT
Ventura County Fusion 3 - 1
(AET)
Hollywood United Hitmen Stadium by the Sea
Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 358
Referee: Steve Elliott (USA)
Byrne  35'
Barrera 96'
Myerson  105'  117'
Becerra 111'
(Report) Hazdovac  26'

July 25, 2009
7:00 PM EDT
Cary Clarets 2 - 1 Reading Rage Don Thomas Stadium
Reading, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 518
Referee: Tim Snyder (USA)
Minogue 19'
Ibeagha 21'
Petrasso 35'
Drake  60'
Brown 64'
Lassiter  69'
 90' (OG)
(Report) Mulholland 15'
Bienenfeld 45'
Hogan 54'
Wheeler  57'
Burke  86'

July 25, 2009
7:00 PM EDT
Ocean City Barons 2 - 1
(AET)
Ottawa Fury Algonquin College Soccer Complex
Ottawa, Ontario
Attendance: 780
Referee: Senussi Ali (USA)
Richter 35'
Melchionni 45'
Noone 45'  60'
Bellamy  98'
(Report) Maloney  7'
Pradié 63'
Schippers 104'

July 25, 2009
7:30 PM EDT
Chicago Fire Premier 2 - 1 Kalamazoo Outrage Loy Norrix High School
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Attendance: 530
Referee: Jason White (USA)
Cutshaw  67' (PK)
Edgar  77'
(Report) Oatley  58'
Lima 83'

July 25, 2009
7:00 PM CDT
Bradenton Academics 3 - 2
(AET)
Mississippi Brilla Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium
Jackson, Mississippi
Attendance: 1,806
Referee: Thai Huynh (USA)
Lopes  22'
Boggs 45'  85'
Williams 53'
Reis 77'
Durkin  90+'
Ingvarsson 91'
Morris  99'
McFarland 120'
(Report) Hunt  33'
Lawrence 41'
Paulini 75'
Lilly  90+'
Lemma  90+'

July 25, 2009
7:30 PM CDT
Real Colorado Foxes 1 - 2 Des Moines Menace Valley Stadium
West Des Moines, Iowa
Attendance: 3,683
Referee: Dan Cataldi (USA)
Donaldson  4' (PK) 11'
Werth 88'
Salvaggione 90'
(Report) Jordan  27' (PK)
Salem  38'
Schmoker 41'
Pearson 62'
Jordan 78'

July 25, 2009
8:15 CDT
West Texas United Sockers 0 - 1
(AET)
Laredo Heat Texas A&M International University Soccer Complex
Laredo, Texas
Attendance: 1,425
Referee: Courtney Jackson (USA)
Collazo 5'
Furness 36'
Everson 45'
Steven 115'
(Report) Ordaz 50'
Mulamba 74'
Ramos  119'

July 25, 2009
7:30 PM PDT
Seattle Wolves 0 - 2 Kitsap Pumas Bremerton Memorial Stadium
Bremerton, Washington
Attendance: 2,329
Referee: Jeremy Hanson (USA)
Bates 41'
Morris 51'
Scott 90'
(Report) Phillips  15'  71'

Conference Finals

July 31, 2009
5:00 PM CDT
Ocean City Barons 0 - 3 Chicago Fire Premier Valley Stadium
West Des Moines, Iowa
Attendance: 3,633
Referee: Doug Wolff (USA)
Carmichael 38'
Banks 73'
K. Miller 79'
Chapman  88'
(Report) Blades  18' 75'
Braun  66'
Akpan 75'
Cutshaw  76'

July 31, 2009
5:30 PM CDT
Ventura County Fusion 2 - 1 Kitsap Pumas Texas A&M International University Soccer Complex
Laredo, Texas
Attendance: 55
Referee: Jorge Luna Hernandez (USA)
Hamilton  26'
Aghasyan 83'
López  92+' 92+'
(Report) Lipset  45'
Mohn 51'

July 31, 2009
7:30 PM CDT
Cary Clarets 1 - 0 Des Moines Menace Valley Stadium
West Des Moines, Iowa
Attendance: 3,633
Referee: George Major (USA)
Fitzgerald 28'
Brown 48'
Grossman  70'
Drake 79'
Ibeagha  90'
(Report) Schmoker 48'
Salem 74'
Mujdzic 28'

July 31, 2009
8:30 PM CDT
Bradenton Academics 3 - 1
(AET)
Laredo Heat Texas A&M International University Soccer Complex
Laredo, Texas
Attendance: 1,498
Referee: John Lohr (USA)
McFarland 19'
Hepple  20'
Reis 63'
Voutier 87'
Morris  116'
Lopes  120'
(Report) Mulamba 19'
Quinones  57' 120'
Bautista 68'
Infante 97'
Perez  113'

PDL Semifinals

August 1, 2009
7:30 PM CDT
Cary Clarets 1 - 2
(AET)
Chicago Fire Premier Valley Stadium
West Des Moines, Iowa
Attendance: 206
Referee: Landis Wiley (USA)
Drake  63' (PK)
Grossman 65'
O'Brien 99'
Petrasso 105'
Bouemboue  110'
Willis  120'
Gutierrez (coach)  120'
(Report) Braun  38'
Rice 63'
Rodriguez (coach)  67'
Akpan  95'

August 1, 2009
8:15 PM CDT
Ventura County Fusion 6 - 1 Bradenton Academics Texas A&M International University Soccer Complex
Laredo, Texas
Attendance: 101
Referee: Andrew Gage (USA)
Guzman 27'
López  38'
Becerra 40'
Hamilton  45'  54'
Barrera  53'
Guerrero 62'
Aghasyan  90'
(Report) Lopes  35'
Reis 45'

PDL Championship

August 8, 2009
7:00 PM PDT
Chicago Fire Premier 1 - 2 Ventura County Fusion Bulldog Stadium
Ventura, California
Attendance: 3,512
Referee: Alejandro Mariscal (USA)
Blades 47'
Akpan  74'
Sunderland (coach)  90'
(Report) Becerra  8'
Guzman  33'
Smarte 35'
Mikkelsen (coach)  60'
Motagalvan 70'  92+'
Smith (coach)  92+'

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

U19 Player of the Year

Defender of the Year

Goalkeeper of the Year

Coach of the Year

All-League and All-Conference Teams

Central Conference

F: Andre Akpan, CHI; Teal Bunbury, ROC; Tom Oatley*, KAL
M: Dave Hertel*, MIC; Nolan Intermoia, TB; Brad Stisser, COL
D: Anthony Di Biase, LON; Bonivenger Misiko*, FW; Wilson Neto, TB; Brian Wurst, KC
G: Jimmy Maurer*, CHI
Honorable Mention: Justin Ferguson, D, SPR; Saidi Isaac, F, IND; David Mueller, D, SL; Armin Mujdzic, F, DM; Yoram Mwila, M, CLE; Kyle Segebart, D, CIN; Jordan Webb, M, TOR

Eastern Conference

F: Cody Arnoux, CAR; Adam Arthur, WV; Aaron Wheeler*, REA
M: Will Beague*, OTT; Adam Gazda, REA; Zach Lloyd, CAR
D: Brien Chamney, OTT; Christian Ibeagha*, CRY; Rich Martinez, LI; Sheanon Williams, CAR
G: Tunde Ogunbiyi, OCC
Honorable Mention: Frank Alesci, M, BRK; Zachary Carr, G, NJ; Kevon Harris, M, HR; Sean Kelley, G, NV; Michael Konicoff, M, WCH; Jerrod Laventure, F, NWK; Ken Manaham, G, FRB; Matthew Marcin, M, RI; Timothy Murray, G, NH; Ian Stowe, M, VIR

Southern Conference

F: Zak Boggs, BRD; Salvador Luna, RGV; Debola Ogunseye*, MIS
M: Danny Galvan, LAR;Greg Mulamba, LAR; Gary Stopforth, NO
D: Jamie Cunningham, AUS; Dwyane Demmin, MIS; Thomas Wharf, PAN; Chris Williams*, NO
G: Ryan Cooper, LAR
Honorable Mention: Jay Ambrosy, M, HOU; Lief Craddock, G, WTU; Janrai Gravely, G, DFW; Tommy Krizanovic, F, CF; Wilfrid Loizeau, M, ATL; Felipe Lowall, M, BR; Ryan McDonald, D, NAS; Jorge Muniz, G, EP

Western Conference

F: Rory Agu, TAC; Brent Whitfield, LA; Ryan Youngblood, POR
M: Ely Allen, SEA; Tomislav Colic, SC; Michael Farfan, LA; Armando Ochoa*, HU
D: Nick Cardenas, OGD; Mark Lee, KIT; Dan Scott*, SEA
G: Dustyn Brim, KIT
Honorable Mention: Richie Bindrup, M, BYU; Zach Brunner, G, LAN; Jason Devinish, M, VIC; Gagandeep Dosanjh, M, VAN; Eddie Gutierrez, M, FRE; Anthony Hamilton, F, VEN; Jacob Hustedt, M, BAK; Kristjan Johannson, G, ABB; Kristopher Minton, G, ORC; Vinicius Oliveira, F, YAK; John Prugh, F, SPO; Steve Reese, G, CSC

* denotes All-League selection

See also

References