2012 PDL season

The 2012 USL Premier Development League season was the 18th season of the PDL. The regular season began on 22 April with a match between the Los Angeles Misioneros and Fresno Fuego, and ended with 14 matches on 15 July 2012.^[3] The regular season was followed by a postseason tournament of conference winners which determined the league's champion, Forest City London. Thirteen teams were added to the league and four teams dropped, bringing the total number of teams to 73 across nine divisions for 2012.^[3]

USL Premier Development League

Season	2012
Champions	Forest City London (1st Title)
Regular Season Champions	Michigan Bucks (3rd Title)
Matches played	584
Goals scored	1,702 (2.91 per match)
Best Player	Sullivan Silva Thunder Bay Chill
Top goalscorer	Deshorn Brown Reading United AC Sullivan Silva Thunder Bay Chill (13 Goals Each)
Best goalkeeper	Gary Parsons Michigan Bucks
Biggest home win	2 tied: Austin Aztex 7–0 Texas Dutch Lions 24 May 2012 Austin Aztex 7–0 West Texas Sockers 6 July 2012
Biggest away win	Ventura County Fusion 6–0 Fresno Fuego 31 May 2012
Highest scoring	WSA Winnipeg 6–3 Springfield Demize 14 July 2012
Longest winning run	11 wins: Thunder Bay Chill
Longest unbeaten run	13 matches: 3 tied: Carolina Dynamo, Michigan Bucks, Ventura County Fusion
Longest winless run	16 matches: Fraser Valley Mariners
Longest losing run	13 losses: Fraser Valley Mariners
Highest attendance	8,174 Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23 at Portland Timbers U23 1 June 2012
Lowest attendance	0 Michigan Bucks at Chicago Fire Premier 1 July 2012[1]
Average attendance	487[2]
← 2011 2013 →

Changes from 2011

Name changes

• Abbotsford Mariners rebranded as Fraser Valley Mariners^[3]
• Central Florida Kraze rebranded as Orlando City U-23 after its acquisition by USL Pro team Orlando City
• Chivas El Paso Patriots rebranded as El Paso Patriots.^[3]
• Los Angeles Blues 23 rebranded as Pali Blues^[4]
• MPS Portland Phoenix rebranded as GPS Portland Phoenix^[5]
• New Hampshire Phantoms rebranded as Seacoast United Phantoms^[3]
• Tacoma Tide rebranded as Seattle Sounders FC U-23 after its acquisition by Major League Soccer team Seattle Sounders FC.^[3]
• West Texas United Sockers rebranded as West Texas Sockers^[3]

New teams

Thirteen new clubs joined the PDL this coming season.^[3]

Team Name	Metro Area	Location	Previous Affiliation
Austin Aztex	Greater Austin	Austin, Texas	expansion[6]
Baltimore Bohemians	Baltimore area	Bel Air, Maryland	expansion[7]
Boston Victory	Metropolitan Boston	Quincy, Massachusetts	expansion[8]
Chicago Inferno	Chicago area	Chicago, Illinois	expansion[6]
Connecticut FC Azul	Connecticut	Hamden, Connecticut	USASA[9]
Ocala Stampede	Ocala, Florida	Ocala, Florida	expansion[10]
Palmetto FC Bantams	Greenwood, South Carolina	Greenwood, South Carolina	expansion[11]
Panama City Beach Pirates	Panama City	Panama City Beach, Florida	expansion[12]
Southern West Virginia King's Warriors	Raleigh County	Beckley, West Virginia	expansion[13]
Texas Dutch Lions	Greater Houston	Holland, Texas	expansion[14]
FC Tucson	Pima County	Tucson, Arizona	USASA[15]
VSI Tampa Flames	Tampa Bay Area	Tampa, Florida	expansion[16]
Worcester Hydra	Worcester, Massachusetts	Worcester, Massachusetts	expansion[17]

Realignment

The Nashville Metros were moved from the Southeast Division of the Southern Conference to the South Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference.^[5]

Folding/moving

• Four teams were announced as leaving the league prior to the beginning of the season:^[3]
  • Akron Summit Assault – Akron, Ohio
  • Baton Rouge Capitals – Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  • Indiana Invaders – South Bend, Indiana
  • Rio Grande Valley Grandes – McAllen, Texas

Standings

2012 Premier Development League standings.^[18][19]

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	13	1	2	46	10	+36	41
2	Forest City London	16	7	5	4	28	21	+7	25
3	River City Rovers	16	7	7	2	24	32	−8	23[a]
4	Cincinnati Kings	16	6	7	3	28	33	−5	21
5	Chicago Fire Premier	16	6	7	3	22	26	−4	21
6	Toronto Lynx	16	6	8	2	22	25	−3	20
7	Hamilton Rage	16	4	9	3	23	35	−12	15
8	Chicago Inferno	16	4	9	3	21	32	−11	15

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

1. Although River City Rovers qualified for post season play, they ceded the match that was to be played 7/17 to Forest City London.

Heartland Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Thunder Bay Chill	16	13	2	1	41	10	+31	40
2	Real Colorado Foxes	16	8	4	4	19	19	0	28
3	Des Moines Menace	16	8	5	3	30	22	+8	27
4	Springfield Demize	16	5	7	4	23	29	−6	19
5	Kansas City Brass	16	6	9	1	30	31	−1	19
6	WSA Winnipeg	16	3	8	5	15	28	−13	14
7	St. Louis Lions	16	3	11	2	16	35	−19	11

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Eastern Conference

Mid Atlantic Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Ocean City Nor'easters	16	13	3	0	36	13	+23	39
2	Reading United	16	11	2	3	33	11	+22	36
3	Jersey Express	16	10	3	3	33	16	+17	33
4	New Jersey Rangers	16	8	5	3	28	25	+3	27
5	Long Island Rough Riders	16	6	7	3	26	22	+4	21
6	Baltimore Bohemians	16	5	7	4	20	24	−4	19
7	Brooklyn Knights	16	5	9	2	31	37	−6	17
8	Central Jersey Spartans	16	4	10	2	13	31	−18	14
9	Bermuda Hogges	16	4	10	2	17	38	−21	14
10	Westchester Flames	16	2	12	2	20	40	−20	8

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Northeast Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Ottawa Fury	16	10	3	3	30	14	+16	33
2	GPS Portland Phoenix	16	10	4	2	29	17	+12	32
3	Western Mass Pioneers	16	6	4	6	18	11	+7	24
4	Worcester Hydra	16	6	5	5	23	19	+4	23
5	Connecticut FC Azul	16	6	5	5	24	14	+10	23
6	Seacoast United Phantoms	16	5	6	5	14	20	−6	20
7	Vermont Voltage	16	3	11	2	21	34	−13	11
8	Boston Victory	16	3	11	2	6	36	−30	11

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

South Atlantic Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Carolina Dynamo	16	11	1	4	37	10	+27	37
2	Real Maryland Monarchs	16	8	4	4	33	22	+11	28
3	West Virginia Chaos	16	8	5	3	22	22	0	27
4	Nashville Metros	16	7	6	3	24	15	+9	24
5	Fredericksburg Hotspur	16	6	8	2	23	34	−11	20
6	Palmetto FC Bantams	16	4	5	7	16	18	−2	19
7	Northern Virginia Royals	16	5	7	4	14	23	−9	19
8	King's Warriors	16	4	10	2	17	24	−7	14
9	Virginia Beach Piranhas	16	3	10	3	16	34	−18	12

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Southern Conference

Mid South Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Laredo Heat	16	10	3	3	31	15	+16	33
2	Austin Aztex	16	9	5	2	40	13	+27	29
3	El Paso Patriots	16	7	7	2	26	24	+2	23
4	Texas Dutch Lions	16	5	9	2	22	47	−25	17
5	New Orleans Jesters	16	3	6	7	26	34	−8	16
6	West Texas Sockers	16	3	7	6	18	30	−12	15

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Southeast Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Ocala Stampede	16	11	3	2	35	20	+15	35
2	Orlando City U-23	16	8	3	5	31	17	+14	29
3	Bradenton Academics	16	8	6	2	23	14	+9	26
4	Mississippi Brilla	16	8	7	1	32	25	+7	25
5	VSI Tampa Flames	16	7	5	4	23	20	+3	25
6	Panama City Beach Pirates	16	6	7	3	19	19	0	21
7	Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy	16	3	10	3	10	39	−29	12
8	FC JAX Destroyers	16	1	11	4	17	36	−19	7

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Western Conference

Northwest Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Seattle Sounders FC U-23	16	11	2	3	33	17	+16	36
2	Portland Timbers U23's	16	10	4	2	35	16	+19	32
3	Kitsap Pumas	16	10	4	2	29	18	+11	32
4	Washington Crossfire	16	8	7	1	17	21	−4	25
5	Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23 (J)	16	7	6	3	35	20	+15	24
6	Victoria Highlanders	16	6	6	4	21	18	+3	22
7	North Sound SeaWolves	16	4	12	0	16	40	−24	12
8	Fraser Valley Mariners	16	0	15	1	4	40	−36	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
(J) Juan de Fuca Plate

Southwest Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Ventura County Fusion	16	12	2	2	42	13	+29	38
2	FC Tucson	16	9	3	4	21	16	+5	31
3	Fresno Fuego	16	8	5	3	28	24	+4	27
4	Los Angeles Misioneros	16	5	4	7	29	23	+6	22
5	Ogden Outlaws	16	6	7	3	21	27	−6	21
6	BYU Cougars	16	6	8	2	27	25	+2	20
7	Orange County Blue Star	16	5	6	5	30	26	+4	20
8	Southern California Seahorses	16	3	10	3	21	36	−15	12
9	Pali Blues	16	2	11	3	16	45	−29	9

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Conference Championships

As in prior years, each of the four conferences will hold a conference championship. In 2012, the location for each conference championship will be held the weekend of 20–22 July with the host team decided by a bidding process with preference given to the teams with the best records. The winner of the four conference championships will then compete in the PDL Championship held 27–29 July and 4 August.^[20]

Divisional Playoffs

Five of the divisions have additional matches in order for teams to qualify for the conference championship.

In the Great Lakes Division the 2nd and 3rd place teams qualify for a play in match; however, the 3rd place River City Rovers ceded the match to Forest City London who qualified for the Central Conference Championship.

In the Northwest Division, the top 4 teams qualify for a play-in match with the #4 seed playing at the home pitch of the top seed; and the #3 seed playing at the #2 seed. The winners of these matches then qualify for the Western Conference Championships. These matches were played on 7/14 and 7/15 with Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers U-23 teams winning.

Northwest Division Western Conference       NW1 Seattle Sounders FC U-23 3 NW4 Washington Crossfire 1

Northwest Division Western Conference       NW2 Portland Timbers U23's 2 NW3 Kitsap Pumas 1

In the Eastern Conference, there are three divisions. The team with the best overall record in the conference qualifies for the Conference Championships directly, and, from that team's division, the 2nd and 3rd place teams compete in a play-in match. In 2012, Ocean City from the Mid Atlantic Division had the best overall all record. Therefore, 3rd place Jersey Expressed traveled to 2nd place Reading United on 17 July to determine the 2nd team from the Mid Atlantic that would qualify for the Conference Championships. Reading United won the match 3–1 with an extra time goal scored in the 119th minute and a penalty goal in stoppage time.

The top two teams from the other two divisions will also compete in a play-in match. In the Northeast Division, the Ottawa Fury hosted the GPS Portland Phoenix on 17 July with Ottawa claiming victory after extra time 3–2. The Carolina Dynamo hosted the Real Maryland Monarchs in the South Atlantic play-in match, with Carolina easily cruising to a 5–0 victory. The Eastern Conference Championships which will be hosted by Carolina Dynamo.^[21]

Northeast Division Eastern Conference       NE1 Ottawa Fury 3 NE2 GPS Portland Phoenix 2

Mid Atlantic Division Eastern Conference       MA2 Reading United 3 MA3 Jersey Express 1

South Atlantic Division Eastern Conference       SA1 Carolina Dynamo 5 SA2 Real Maryland FC 0

Seattle Sounders FC U-23 v Washington Crossfire

14 July 2012	Seattle Sounders FC U-23	3–1	Washington Crossfire	Franklin Pierce High School Tacoma, WA
7:00PM PDT	DeLeon 10', 36' Sanchez 79'  79'	Report	Fisk  25' Sanchez  39' Besagno  47' McCluskey 54' (o.g.)	Attendance: 213

Portland Timbers U23's v Kitsap Pumas

15 July 2012	Portland Timbers U23's	2–1	Kitsap Pumas	Gladstone High School Gladstone, OR
7:00PM EDT	Sherrod 2' Ribeiro  62' Farfan 69'	Report	Sampson 7'  70' Johnson  56' Medina  58'	Attendance: 1,052 Referee: Farhad Dadko

Ottawa Fury v GPS Portland Phoenix

17 July 2012	Ottawa Fury	3–2 (a.e.t.)	GPS Portland Phoenix	Algonquin College Soccer Complex Ottawa, ON
7:00PM EDT	Basso  33' Campbell 66' Beauge 105' (pen.) Rodriguez 106'	Report	Woodruff  30' 120+' Anderson 87' Dietriech  113' Massie  113'	Attendance: 265 Referee: Marvin Mohring

Reading United v Jersey Express

17 July 2012	Reading United	3–1 (a.e.t.)	Jersey Express	Shirk Stadium Reading, PA
7:00PM EDT	Christianson 39' Raj  102'  110' Marini 119' Okai 120' (pen.) Wyatt  120'	Report	Niouky  27'  119' N'Guessan  57' Keegan 75' Hines  80' Foster  104' Watson  107'	Attendance: 316 Referee: Ryan Dos Reis

Carolina Dynamo v Real Maryland FC

17 July 2012	Carolina Dynamo	5–0	Real Maryland FC	Macpherson Stadium Browns Summit, NC
7:00PM EDT	Ilhan 15' Malcolm 26' McCready 31' Smith 69', 77' S. Ibeagha  84'	Report	Andrews  65' Forbess  78'	Attendance: 1,589 Referee: Daniel Fitzgerald

Eastern Conference Championship

Ocean City Nor'easters v Ottawa Fury

21 July 2012	Ocean City Nor'easters	0–1	Ottawa Fury	Macpherson Stadium Browns Summit, NC
4:00PM EDT	Tweneboa  33' Davis  34'	Report	Campbell 6' Curran  57'	Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Brandon Marion

Carolina Dynamo v Reading United

21 July 2012	Carolina Dynamo	1–1 (a.e.t.) (8–7 p)	Reading United	Macpherson Stadium Browns Summit, NC
7:00PM EDT	Simonin  22' Ilhan 32' Smith  54'	Report	Wyatt  11' Rodriguez 88' Christianson  81'	Attendance: 1,938 Referee: Jordan Smith
	Penalties
	McCready Sloan Nyepon Reittinger Gomez Reifschneider S. Ibeagha Root Dunker Ford		Peckham Neumann Cardona Farfan Cochrane Wyatt Baker McCarthy Rodriguez Martin

Carolina Dynamo v Ottawa Fury

22 July 2012	Carolina Dynamo	1–0	Ottawa Fury	Macpherson Stadium Browns Summit, NC
6:00PM EDT	Smith  46' Reifschneider  76' S. Ibeagha  88' 90' Dunker  88'	Report	Beattie  51' Castro  56' Crick  65'	Referee: Matt Jocaitis

Central Conference Championship

Michigan Bucks v Real Colorado Foxes

21 July 2012	Michigan Bucks	1–0	Real Colorado Foxes	Ultimate Soccer Arenas Pontiac, MI
6:00PM EDT	Crnkić 31'	Report	Donaldson  62' Schaffe  70' Tapphorn  89'	Attendance: 814 Referee: Artm Sher

Thunder Bay Chill v Forest City London

21 July 2012	Thunder Bay Chill	0–1	Forest City London	Ultimate Soccer Arenas Pontiac, MI
8:00PM EDT	Neto  74'  76'	Report	Ayris 62' Lange  85'	Attendance: 814 Referee: Margaret Domka

Michigan Bucks v Forest City London

22 July 2012	Michigan Bucks	1–2	Forest City London	Ultimate Soccer Arenas Pontiac, MI
6:00PM EDT	St. Louis  17' Boyden  64' Catalano 73' Grant  79'	Report	Ayris 21' Lange 67' Da Cruz  88'	Attendance: 781 Referee: Connor Williams

Southern Conference Championship

Laredo Heat v Orlando City U-23

20 July 2012	Laredo Heat	1–2	Orlando City U-23	Trinity Catholic High School Ocala, FL
5:30PM EDT	Frias  30' Moreno  30' Ibarra  40' Vallejo 53' (pen.)	Report	Russo 29' Helm  32' 49' Reynolds  44' Toby  55' Aduny  72'	Attendance: 905 Referee: Josh Thompson

Ocala Stampede v Austin Aztex

20 July 2012	Ocala Stampede	2–3	Austin Aztex	Trinity Catholic High School Ocala, FL
8:00PM EDT	Diaz  37' dos Santos 45' De Oliveira 54'	Report	Shelton 14'  38' Manneh 36', 70' Cook  45'	Attendance: 905 Referee: Agostino Minsola

Orlando City U-23 v Austin Aztex

22 July 2012	Orlando City U-23	4–2	Austin Aztex	Trinity Catholic High School Ocala, FL
5:00PM EDT	Helm 13' MacDonald  23' Toby  35' Reynolds 45+1' Fairhurst 80' Aduny 90+5'	Report	Manneh 11' (pen.) Pope  26' Shelton 90+2'	Attendance: 155 Referee: Rob Mauws

Western Conference Championship

Ventura County Fusion v Portland Timbers U23's

21 July 2012	Ventura County Fusion	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Portland Timbers U23's	Ventura College Ventura, CA
5:00PM PDT	Muñoz 93'	Report	Granger  41'	Attendance: 1,527 Referee: Reed Christy

Seattle Sounders FC U-23 v FC Tucson

21 July 2012	Seattle Sounders FC U-23	2–1	FC Tucson	Ventura College Ventura, CA
7:30PM PDT	Monge  24' Jones 55' Morris 64' Quinn  65'	Report	Toia 47' McQuown  88'	Attendance: 1,100 Referee: Robert Sarfaraz

Ventura County Fusion v Seattle Sounders FC U-23

22 July 2012	Ventura County Fusion	0–2	Seattle Sounders FC U-23	Ventura College Ventura, CA
5:00PM PDT	Daly  7' Pontius  7' McGlynn  90'	Report	Jones 58' Cox 81'  83'	Attendance: 1,088 Referee: Magic Berenji

Bracket

Conference Semifinals (20–21 July)

Conference Finals (22 July)

Semi-Finals (28 July)

Championship (4 August)

SE1

Ocala Stampede

2

MS2

Austin Aztex

3

MS2

Austin Aztex

2

Southern Conference

SE2

Orlando City U-23

4

MS1

Laredo Heat

1

SE2

Orlando City U-23

2

SE2

Orlando City U-23

1

SA1

Carolina Dynamo

2

MA1

Ocean City Nor'easters

0

NE1

Ottawa Fury

1

NE1

Ottawa Fury

0

Eastern Conference

SA1

Carolina Dynamo

1

SA1

Carolina Dynamo (AET)

2

MA2

Reading United

1

SA1

Carolina Dynamo

1

GL2

Forest City London

2

SW1

Ventura County Fusion (AET)

1

NW2

Portland Timbers U23's

0

SW1

Ventura County Fusion

0

Western Conference

NW1

Seattle Sounders FC U-23

2

NW1

Seattle Sounders FC U-23

2

SW2

FC Tucson

1

NW1

Seattle Sounders FC U-23

2

GL2

Forest City London

3

GL1

Michigan Bucks

1

HL2

Real Colorado Foxes

0

GL1

Michigan Bucks

1

Central Conference

GL2

Forest City London

2

HL1

Thunder Bay Chill

0

GL2

Forest City London

1

PDL Championship

The 2012 PDL Championship consisted of 4 teams, the winner of each Conference Championship, with the semi-finals being held on Saturday, 28 July and the finals being played Saturday, 4 August. The host sites were determined following the completion of the Conference Championships.

Semi-finals

Carolina Dynamo v Orlando City U-23

28 July 2012	Carolina Dynamo	2–1	Orlando City U-23	Macpherson Stadium Browns Summit, NC
7:00PM EDT	Smith 34' Sloan 43'	Report	Russo 24' Fairhurst  39' Graydon  90'	Attendance: 2,801 Referee: Kai Goodrinch

Forest City London v Seattle Sounders FC U-23

28 July 2012	Forest City London	3–2	Seattle Sounders FC U-23	German Club London, ON
7:30PM EDT	Spearman  45' Haworth 46' Da Cruz 51' Ayris  76' Lewis 83'	Report	Morris 21'  44' Yedlin  24' Sanchez 34'	Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Arthur Korbiel

Championship

Carolina Dynamo v Forest City London

4 August 2012	Carolina Dynamo	1–2	Forest City London	Macpherson Stadium Browns Summit, NC
7:00PM EDT	Smith 26' Okwuonu  75' Nyepon  90'	Report Report Report Report	Haworth 31' Ayris  57' 76'	Attendance: 4,301 Referee: Mark Goralz

Awards

^[22]

• Most Valuable Player: Sullivan Silva, (THU)
• Rookie of the Year: Adam Grinwis, (MIB)
• Defender of the Year: Kevin Cope, (MIB)
• Coach of the Year: Gary Parsons, (MIB)
• Goalkeeper of the Year: Adam Grinwis, (MIB)

All-League and All-Conference Teams

^[23][24]

Eastern Conference

F: Deshorn Brown (REA) *, Alencar Junior (WOR), David Neuberth (RMD)
M: Christian Barreiro (BAL), Jason Massie (GPS), Stephen Okai (REA)
D: Patrick Boucher (CON), Marcello Castro (OTT), Greg Cochrane (REA), Sebastien Ibeagha (CAR) *
G: John McCarthy (OCN)

Central Conference

F: Jordan Ayris (LON), Sullivan Silva (THU) *, Branden Stelmak (CIN)
M: Tom Catalano (MIB) *, Bryan Ciesiulka (CHI), Jordan Green (KCB) *
D: Sicelo Buthelezi (THU), Kevin Cope (MIB) *, Lorne Donaldson (RCO), Peter Nechvatal (KCB)
G: Adam Grinwis (MIB) *

Western Conference

F: Jaime Chavez (LAM), Mark Sherrod (POR) *, Gyasi Zardes (VCF)
M: Ben Fisk (VAN), Matt Friesen (KIT) *, Frankie López (VCF)
D: James Farenhorst (VAN), Stephen Mohn (KIT), Conor Spence (TUC), DeAndre Yedlin (SEA) *
G: Elliott Mitrou (VIC)

Southern Conference

F: Karamba Janneh (OCA), Chrispin Ochieng (MIS), Kris Tyrpak (AUS)
M: Juan de Dios Ibarra-Trevino (AUS), Douglas dos Santos (OCA), Kekuta Manneh (AUS)
D: Taian de Souza (PAN), Oumar Diakhite (ORL), Max Gunderson (LAR) *, Zack Pope (AUS)
G: Alonso Jiménez (WTX)

* denotes All-League player