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. 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 4 teams dropped, bringing the total number of teams in the league to 73 for 2012.

Changes from 2011

Name changes

Thirteen new clubs joined the PDL this coming season.
Team NameMetro AreaLocationPrevious Affiliation
Austin AztexGreater AustinAustin, Texasexpansion
Baltimore BohemiansBaltimore areaBel Air, Marylandexpansion
Boston VictoryMetropolitan BostonQuincy, Massachusettsexpansion
Chicago InfernoChicago areaChicago, Illinoisexpansion
Connecticut FC AzulConnecticutHamden, ConnecticutUSASA
Ocala StampedeOcala, FloridaOcala, Floridaexpansion
Palmetto FC BantamsGreenwood, South CarolinaGreenwood, South Carolinaexpansion
Panama City Beach PiratesPanama CityPanama City Beach, Floridaexpansion
Southern West Virginia King's WarriorsRaleigh CountyBeckley, West Virginiaexpansion
Texas Dutch LionsGreater HoustonHolland, Texasexpansion
FC TucsonPima CountyTucson, ArizonaUSASA
VSI Tampa FlamesTampa Bay AreaTampa, Floridaexpansion
Worcester HydraWorcester, MassachusettsWorcester, Massachusettsexpansion

Realignment

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

Folding/moving

2012 Premier Development League 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

Heartland Division

Eastern Conference

Mid Atlantic Division

Northeast Division

South Atlantic Division

Southern Conference

Mid South Division

Southeast Division

Western Conference

Northwest Division

Southwest Division

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 July 20–22 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 July 27–29 and August 4.

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.
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 July 17 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 July 17 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.

Eastern Conference Championship

Central Conference Championship

Southern Conference Championship

Western Conference Championship

Bracket

PDL Championship

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

Semi-Finals

Championship

Awards

Eastern Conference

F: Deshorn Brown *, Alencar Junior, David Neuberth

M: Christian Barreiro, Jason Massie, Stephen Okai

D: Patrick Boucher, Marcello Castro, Greg Cochrane, Sebastien Ibeagha *

G: John McCarthy

Central Conference

F: Jordan Ayris, Sullivan Silva *, Branden Stelmak

M: Tom Catalano *, Bryan Ciesiulka, Jordan Green *

D: Sicelo Buthelezi, Kevin Cope *, Lorne Donaldson, Peter Nechvatal

G: Adam Grinwis *

Western Conference

F: Jaime Chavez, Mark Sherrod *, Gyasi Zardes

M: Ben Fisk, Matt Friesen *, Frankie López

D: James Farenhorst, Stephen Mohn, Conor Spence, DeAndre Yedlin *

G: Elliott Mitrou

Southern Conference

F: Karamba Janneh, Chrispin Ochieng, Kris Tyrpak

M: Juan de Dios Ibarra-Trevino, Douglas dos Santos, Kekuta Manneh

D: Taian de Souza, Oumar Diakhite, Max Gunderson *, Zack Pope

G: Alonso Jiménez
* denotes All-League player