2011 PDL season

The 2011 USL Premier Development League season was the 17th season of the PDL. The regular season began on April 29, 2011, when the Los Angeles Blues 23 played Fresno Fuego, and ended on July 24. The league consisted of 64 teams across nine divisions with the addition of the South Atlantic division. The playoffs began on Tuesday, July 26 and concluded with the PDL Championship Game on August 6. As in previous years, the PDL Championship Game was broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel in the United States, with commentary by Steve Bell and Keith Tabatznik.

USL Premier Development League

Official 2011 PDL Championship logo
Season	2011
Champions	Kitsap Pumas (1st Title)
Regular Season Champions	Fresno Fuego (1st Title)
Matches played	512
Goals scored	1,643 (3.21 per match)
Best Player	Milton Blanco Fresno Fuego
Top goalscorer	Jake Keegan Westchester Flames (16 Goals)
Best goalkeeper	Mitch Hildebrandt Michigan Bucks
Biggest home win	7–1, Real Colorado Foxes over Springfield Demize
Biggest away win	11–1 Jersey Express S.C. over Brooklyn Knights
Highest scoring	12 goals, Jersey Express S.C. 11–1 Brooklyn Knights
← 2010 2012 →

The Kitsap Pumas ended the season as national champions, beating Laredo Heat 1–0 in the 2011 PDL Championship game. The playoffs were held at the home of the Pumas in Bremerton, Washington.

Fresno Fuego had the best regular-season record, posting an unbeaten 13–0–3 record. Fresno midfielder Milton Blanco was named League MVP, after leading the league in points (38) and assists (14) and helping his team to the Southwest Division title. Two Michigan Bucks players - Stewart Givens and Mitch Hildebrandt - were given end-of-season awards as Defender of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year respectively, while their coach Gary Parsons was named Coach of the Year. Jake Keegan of the Westchester Flames was named Rookie of the Year after tallying 16 goals in 16 games to take the league goal-scoring crown. Keegan accounted for 64 percent of Westchester's goals in 2011 and also finished third in the league in points with 34.^[1]

Changes from 2010

Name changes

• Hampton Roads Piranhas rebranded as Virginia Beach Piranhas^[2]
• Los Angeles Azul Legends rebranded as Los Angeles Misioneros^[3]
• Newark Ironbound Express rebranded as Jersey Express^[4]

New franchise

• Ten franchises were announced as joining the league this year:

Team Name	Metro Area	Location	Previous Affiliation
Akron Summit Assault[5]	Akron area	Akron, OH	expansion
Fredericksburg Hotspur[6]	Fredericksburg area	Fredericksburg, VA	expansion
Hamilton Rage[7]	Hamilton area	Hamilton, ON	expansion
FC Jax Destroyers	Jacksonville area	Jacksonville, FL	expansion
Los Angeles Blues 23[8]	West Los Angeles area	Pacific Palisades, CA	expansion
North Sound SeaWolves[9]	Snohomish County area	Everett, WA	expansion
Real Maryland Monarchs[10]	Montgomery County area	Rockville, MD	from USL Second Division
Rio Grande Valley Grandes[11]	Rio Grande Valley area	Edinburg, TX	expansion
River City Rovers[12]	Louisville area	Louisville, KY	expansion
WSA Winnipeg[13]	Winnipeg area	Winnipeg, MB	expansion

Folding/moving

• Thirteen teams were announced as leaving the league prior to the beginning of the season:
  • Albany BWP Highlanders - Schenectady, New York
  • Atlanta Blackhawks - Alpharetta, Georgia
  • Cleveland Internationals - Medina, Ohio
  • Dayton Dutch Lions - Bellbrook, Ohio - left to join USL Pro^[14]
  • DFW Tornados - Frisco, Texas
  • Hollywood United Hitmen - Los Angeles, California - left to join National Premier Soccer League
  • Houston Leones - Richmond, Texas
  • Kalamazoo Outrage - Kalamazoo, Michigan^[15]
  • Lancaster Rattlers - Lancaster, California - left to join National Premier Soccer League^[16]
  • Rio Grande Valley Bravos - Brownsville, Texas - left to join Southern Premier Soccer League, changed name to RGV Ocelots^[17]
  • Rochester Thunder - Rochester, Minnesota^[18]
  • Spokane Spiders - Spokane, Washington
  • Yakima Reds - Yakima, Washington

Standings

Key to colours in group tables
Team won the Division Title
Team qualified for playoff berth

Note: The first tie-breaker in PDL standings is head-to-head results between teams tied on points, which is why some teams with inferior goal differences finish ahead in the standings.

Central Conference

Great Lakes Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Michigan Bucks	16	12	2	2	38	9	+29	38
2	Chicago Fire Premier	16	11	3	2	28	10	+18	35
3	Forest City London	16	9	5	2	32	23	+9	29
4	Indiana Invaders	16	6	7	3	25	26	−1	21
5	Akron Summit Assault	16	5	8	3	23	28	−5	18
6	Hamilton Rage	16	5	8	3	20	27	−7	18
7	Toronto Lynx	16	5	9	2	15	25	−10	17
8	Cincinnati Kings	16	2	7	7	23	33	−10	13
9	River City Rovers	16	2	8	6	16	37	−21	12

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Heartland Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Thunder Bay Chill	16	12	2	2	31	9	+22	38
2	Des Moines Menace	16	12	4	0	41	20	+21	36
3	Real Colorado Foxes	16	11	2	3	49	23	+26	36
4	Kansas City Brass	16	4	8	4	28	36	−8	16
5	St. Louis Lions	16	4	7	5	25	24	+1	13[a]
6	WSA Winnipeg	16	3	12	1	15	44	−29	10
7	Springfield Demize	16	1	12	3	12	45	−33	6

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

1. St. Louis Lions deducted four points for league rules infringement.

Eastern Conference

Mid Atlantic Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Long Island Rough Riders	16	12	1	3	42	13	+29	39
2	Reading United	16	12	2	2	41	14	+27	38
3	Jersey Express	16	11	2	3	45	12	+33	36
4	Westchester Flames	16	6	6	4	25	33	−8	22
5	Central Jersey Spartans	16	4	8	4	24	31	−7	16
6	Bermuda Hogges	16	4	9	3	17	31	−14	15
7	Ocean City Nor'easters	16	2	6	8	20	25	−5	14
8	New Jersey Rangers	16	5	10	1	15	32	−17	12[a]
9	Brooklyn Knights	16	1	13	2	15	53	−38	5

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

1. New Jersey Rangers deducted four points for league rules infringement.

Northeast Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	MPS Portland Phoenix	16	8	3	5	24	11	+13	29
2	New Hampshire Phantoms	16	7	6	3	25	20	+5	24
3	Western Mass Pioneers	16	6	5	5	18	20	−2	23
4	Ottawa Fury	16	4	7	5	22	31	−9	17
5	Vermont Voltage	16	3	7	6	12	21	−9	15

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

South Atlantic Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Carolina Dynamo	16	11	4	1	37	14	+23	34
2	Northern Virginia Royals	16	10	5	1	20	13	+7	31
3	Real Maryland Monarchs	16	8	6	2	29	20	+9	26
4	West Virginia Chaos	16	7	5	4	32	23	+9	25
5	Virginia Beach Piranhas	16	3	10	3	13	32	−19	12
6	Fredericksburg Hotspur	16	2	11	3	10	39	−29	9

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Southern Conference

Mid South Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Laredo Heat	16	11	3	2	35	13	+22	35
2	Chivas El Paso Patriots	16	10	3	3	24	22	+2	33
3	Baton Rouge Capitals	16	8	7	1	26	20	+6	25
4	New Orleans Jesters	16	7	7	2	23	27	−4	23
5	West Texas United Sockers	16	5	11	0	20	35	−15	15
6	Rio Grande Valley Grandes	16	3	11	2	19	29	−10	11

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Southeast Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Mississippi Brilla	16	12	2	2	39	14	+25	38
2	Central Florida Kraze	16	11	3	2	34	23	+11	35
3	Bradenton Academics	16	8	6	2	34	27	+7	26
4	Jax Destroyers	16	3	9	4	22	37	−15	13
5	Nashville Metros	16	3	10	3	15	31	−16	12
6	Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy	16	2	11	3	17	30	−13	9

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Western Conference

Northwest Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Kitsap Pumas	16	12	1	3	42	9	+33	35[a]
2	Victoria Highlanders	16	9	4	3	29	16	+13	30
3	Vancouver Whitecaps Residency	16	8	5	3	24	21	+3	27
4	Portland Timbers U23's	16	6	6	4	34	21	+13	22
5	Abbotsford Mariners	16	6	7	3	22	25	−3	21
6	North Sound SeaWolves	16	4	8	4	20	34	−14	16
7	Washington Crossfire	16	3	8	5	22	39	−17	14
8	Tacoma Tide	16	1	10	5	21	49	−28	8

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

1. Kitsap Pumas deducted four points for league rules infringement.

Southwest Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Fresno Fuego	16	13	0	3	43	15	+28	42
2	Ventura County Fusion	16	10	0	6	38	10	+28	36
3	Orange County Blue Star	16	9	5	2	45	31	+14	29
4	Southern California Seahorses	16	8	5	3	22	24	−2	27
5	BYU Cougars	16	4	8	4	15	21	−6	16
6	Los Angeles Blues 23	16	4	10	2	17	37	−20	14
7	Ogden Outlaws	16	2	10	4	18	36	−18	10
8	Los Angeles Misioneros	16	1	13	2	16	40	−24	5

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

League post-season tournament

Division matches for qualification

Northeast Division Eastern Conference       NE1 MPS Portland Phoenix 0 NE2 New Hampshire Phantoms 1

Mid Atlantic Division Eastern Conference       MA2 Reading United 0 MA3 Jersey Express 1

South Atlantic Division Eastern Conference       SA1 Carolina Dynamo 1 SA2 Northern Virginia Royals 0

Great Lakes Division Central Conference       GL2 Chicago Fire Premier 3 GL3 Forest City London 0

Bracket

Conference Semifinals

Conference Finals

Semi-Finals

Finals

SE1

Mississippi Brilla

3

MS2

Chivas El Paso Patriots

0

SE1

Mississippi Brilla

2 (6)

Southern Conference

MS1

Laredo Heat

2 (7)

MS1

Laredo Heat

1

SE2

Central Florida Kraze

0

MS1

Laredo Heat

4

MA1

Long Island Rough Riders

1

MA1

Long Island Rough Riders

3

NE2

New Hampshire Phantoms

1

MA1

Long Island Rough Riders

3

Eastern Conference

MA3

Jersey Express

2

MA3

Jersey Express

2

SA1

Carolina Dynamo

1

MS1

Laredo Heat

0

NW1

Kitsap Pumas

1

SW1

Fresno Fuego

3

NW2

Victoria Highlanders

1

SW1

Fresno Fuego

0

Western Conference

NW1

Kitsap Pumas

1

NW1

Kitsap Pumas

1

SW2

Ventura County Fusion

0

NW1

Kitsap Pumas

3

HL1

Thunder Bay Chill

1

GL1

Michigan Bucks

3

HL2

Des Moines Menace

2

GL1

Michigan Bucks

1

Central Conference

HL1

Thunder Bay Chill

2

HL1

Thunder Bay Chill

1

GL2

Chicago Fire Premier

0

Conference Quarterfinals

Chicago Fire Premier	3–0	Forest City London
Vaz 37' 68' Mallace 51'	Report 1 Report 2	Ivanovic  31' Hemming  57' Bibby  59' Dillon  74'

July 26, 2011
7:00PM EST

Toyota Park
Bridgeview, IL

Attendance: 50

Referee: Miguel Panduro Jr. (USA)

---

Carolina Dynamo	1–0	Northern Virginia Royals
Ibeagha  18' Lovejoy 24'	Report	Smith  45' O'Reilly  62' Sheta  75' Onwuka  87'

July 26, 2011
7:00PM EST

Macpherson Stadium
Browns Summit, NC

Attendance: 2,519

Referee: Danny Thornberry (USA)

---

Reading United	0–1	Jersey Express
	Report	Youhill 50' Dacres  88' Niouky  90+'

July 26, 2011
8:00PM EST

Don Thomas Stadium
Reading, PA

Attendance: 300

Referee: John Douglas (USA)

---

MPS Portland Phoenix	0–1	New Hampshire Phantoms
Theissen  70' Massie  70'	Report	Tsonis 32' Schram  51' Hilton

July 26, 2011
8:15PM EST

Memorial Stadium
Portland, ME

Attendance: 300

Referee: Guido Gonzalez (USA)

Conference semifinals

Jersey Express	2–1	Carolina Dynamo
Niouky 27'  33' Coulibaly 33' Konopelsky  52' Rodrigues  90'	Report	Tweed-Kent 38' Delbono  78' Robinson  90'

July 29, 2011
5:30PM EDT

Cy Donnelly Stadium
South Huntington, NY

Attendance: 145

Referee: Yevgeniy Mednikov (USA)

---

Thunder Bay Chill	1–0	Chicago Fire Premier
Gonzalez 37' Putrus  27' Pereira  55' Neto  81' Intermoia  90'	Report	Raj  65'

July 29, 2011
5:30PM EDT

Ultimate Soccer Arenas
Pontiac, MI

Referee: Giuseppi Agusta (USA)

---

Laredo Heat	1–0	Central Florida Kraze
Galvan  45' Ibarra 55' Lara  90'	Report	Tshimpaka  21' Centofanti  67' Mendoza  76' Gutierrez  90'

July 29, 2011
6:00PM EDT

Harper Davis Stadium
Jackson, MS

Referee: Thaj Huynh (USA)

---

Long Island Rough Riders	3–1	New Hampshire Phantoms
Sarle 18' 27' 53'	Report	Adam 43' DeDeus  60' Goodwin  73'

July 29, 2011
8:00 PM EDT

Cy Donnelly Stadium
South Huntington, NY

Attendance: 387

Referee: Hernan Aguilar (USA)

---

Michigan Bucks	3–2 (AET)	Des Moines Menace
Catalano 90' Alashe 105' Caldwell 111'	Report 1 Report 2[permanent dead link]	Sosa 45' 103'

July 29, 2011
8:00PM EDT

Ultimate Soccer Arenas
Pontiac, MI

Attendance: 944

Referee: Marc Lawrence (USA)

---

Mississippi Brilla	3–0	Chivas El Paso Patriots
Aduny 11' Reis  21' Luak 30' Azira  57' Palmer 74'	Report 1 Report 2	Salas  35' Garvia  52'

July 29, 2011
8:30PM EDT

Harper Davis Stadium
Jackson, MS

Attendance: 1,412

Referee: Jack Damrill (USA)

---

Kitsap Pumas	1–0	Ventura County Fusion
Burke 11' Besagno  56' Scott  59' Meredith  90'	Report 1 Report 2	Barrera  62' Singh  88'

July 30, 2011
1:00 PM EDT

Chukchansi Park
Fresno, CA

Referee: Ezequiel Molina (USA)

---

Fresno Fuego	3–1	Victoria Highlanders
Reinhart 10' 83' 90'	Report 1 Report 2	Dixon 19' Vamdenbodmen  43' Voegeli  72' Burbrary  90'

July 30, 2011
3:30 PM EDT

Chukchansi Park
Fresno, CA

Attendance: 2,369

Referee: Chris Hutchison (USA)

Conference finals

Long Island Rough Riders	3–2	Jersey Express
Detelj 7' Sarle 33' Mulligan  52' Arikian  66' Barea  69' 84'	Report	Edwards  43' Ovenseri 50' 56' Niouky  90'

July 30, 2011
5:00PM EDT

Cy Donnelly Stadium
South Huntington, NY

Attendance: 826

Referee: Ayodeji Obisesan (USA)

---

Michigan Bucks	1–2	Thunder Bay Chill
Givens 11' Caldwell  84' Hunt  90+'	Report	Oliveira 8' Pereira  49' Robertson  82' Neto 86'  86' Vilalva  90+'

July 30, 2011
7:30PM EDT

Ultimate Soccer Arenas
Pontiac, MI

Attendance: 796

Referee: Artem Sher (USA)

---

Mississippi Brilla	2–2 (AET)	Laredo Heat
Buffington  31' Palmer 90+' Luak 97'	Report 1 Report 2	Garcia 11'  36' Mulamba  37' Ordaz  45' Ibarra  76' Collozo  76' Frias  78' Estrada  81' Fuentes  102' Begines 116'
Penalties
	6–7

July 30, 2011
8:30PM EDT

Harper Davis Stadium
Jackson, MS

Attendance: 1,027

Referee: Jared Peeler (USA)

---

Fresno Fuego	0–1	Kitsap Pumas
Cignetti  49' Grousis  60'	Report 1 Report 2[permanent dead link] Report 3	Hyde  8'  90' 89' Besagno  35'

July 31, 2011
3:00PM EDT

Chukchansi Park
Fresno, CA

Attendance: 2,573

Referee: Said Ravenfar (USA)

PDL Semifinals

Long Island Rough Riders	1–4	Laredo Heat
Gabriele 69' Lopez  69' Sarle  70'  77' Hole  82'	Report 1 Report 2	Bayona 38' Ibarra 64' Lopez 85' Escovar 90'

August 5, 2011
8:00PM EDT

Bremerton Memorial Stadium
Bremerton, WA

Attendance: 1,122

Referee: Ezequiel Molina (USA)

---

Kitsap Pumas	3–1	Thunder Bay Chill
Burke 60' Friesen 72' 90'	Report 1 Report 2	Robertson  8' Oliveira 34' Petrus  47'

August 5, 2011
10:30PM EDT

Bremerton Memorial Stadium
Bremerton, WA

Referee: (USA)

PDL Final

Kitsap Pumas	1–0	Laredo Heat
Christner 11'	Report

August 6, 2011
7:30PM EDT

Bremerton Memorial Stadium
Bremerton, WA

Attendance: 1,257^[19]

Referee: (USA)

Award Winners and Finalists

MVP: Milton Blanco (FRE) (winner), Mitch Hildebrandt (MIC), Chandler Hoffman (OCB)
Rookie of the Year: Albert Edward (RCR), Brian Holt (REA), Jake Keegan (WES) (winner)
Defender of the Year: Dillon Barna (VCF), Stewart Givens (MIC) (winner), Wilson Neto (TBC)
Goalkeeper of the Year: Mitch Hildebrandt (MIC)
Coach of the Year: Tony Colistro (TBC), Pete Fewing (KIT), Gary Parsons (MIC) (winner)^[20]

All-League and All-Conference teams

Eastern Conference

F: Hakan Ilhan (CAR), Jake Keegan (WES)*, Dominick Sarle (LIR)
M: Keishen Bean (BER), Jason Massie (POR), Stephen Okai (REA)
D: Matthew Baker (REA), Brian Fekete (POR), Shaun Foster (JER), Kyle Manscuk (OTT)
G: Brian Holt (REA)

Central Conference

F: Adam Mena (IND), Branden Stelmak (CIN), Brandon Swartzendruber (TBC)
M: Tom Catalano (MIC), Albert Edward (RCR), John Sosa (DMM)*
D: Kevin Cope (CHI), Stewart Givens (MIC)*, Jonathan Raj (CHI), Wilson Neto (TBC)*
G: Mitch Hildebrandt (MIC)*

Southern Conference

F: Moses Aduny (MIS), Esteban Bayona (LAR), Achille Campion (BRC)
M: Michael Azira (MIS), Enrique Cervantes (EPP), Jonathan Mendoza (CFK)*
D: Carlos Ordaz (LAR), Guilherme Reis (BRD), Daniel Sackman (CFK), Hugo Samano Contreras (EPP)
G: Keneil Baker (CFK)

Western Conference

F: Milton Blanco (FRE)*, Chandler Hoffman (OCB)*, Brent Richards (POR)
M: Danny Barrera (VCF)*, Nikolas Besagno (KIT), Jose Cuevas (FRE)
D: Dillon Barna (VCF)*, Fernando De Alba (LAB), Ryan Kawulok (POR), Daniel Scott (KIT)*
G. Bryan Meredith (KIT)

* denotes All-League player

See also

• 2011 USL Pro season
• 2011 W-League Season