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 19 July 2009. The PDL Championship Game was held on 8 August 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 8 August, 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, 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] [edit] Changes From 2008 [edit] Name Changes - Cary Railhawks U23's changed their name to the Cary Clarets to reflect their new association with English Championship team Burnley.
- New Orleans Shell Shockers rebranded themselves as the New Orleans Jesters, having terminated their sponsorship deal with the Shell Oil Company.
[edit] New Franchises - Eleven franchises have been announced as joining the league this year:
| 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 | [edit] On hiatus - One team went on hiatus due to home stadium renovations:
[edit] Folding - Nine teams have been announced as leaving the league prior to the beginning of the season:
[edit] 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 [edit] Central Conference [edit] Great Lakes Division [edit] Heartland Division [edit] Eastern Conference [edit] Mid Atlantic Division [edit] Northeast Division [edit] Southern Conference [edit] Mid South Division Note: Austin finish in third place as a result of winning the head-to-head season series 2-0-1 against El Paso.[4] [edit] Southeast Division [edit] Western Conference [edit] Northwest Division [edit] Southwest Division [edit] Playoffs [edit] 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. [edit] Bracket
[edit] Divisional Semifinals
[edit] Divisional Finals
[edit] Conference Finals
[edit] PDL Semifinals
[edit] PDL Championship [edit] 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] [edit] Most Valuable Player [edit] U19 Player of the Year [edit] Defender of the Year [edit] Goalkeeper of the Year [edit] Coach of the Year [edit] All-League and All-Conference Teams [edit] Central Conference F: Andre Akpan, CHI; Teal Bunbury, ROC; Tom Oatley*, KAL
M: Dave Hertel*, MIC; Nolan Intermoia, TB; Brad Stisser, COL
D: Anthony Dibiase, LON; Bonivenger Misiko*, FW; Wilson Neto, TB; Brian Wurst, KC
G: James 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 [edit] 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; Matt Marcin, M, RI; Timothy Murray, G, NH; Ian Stowe, M, VIR [edit] 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; Tomislav Krizanovic, F, CF; Wilford Loizeau, M, ATL; Felipe Lowall, M, BR; Ryan McDonald, D, NAS; Jorge Muniz, G, EP [edit] 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 [edit] See also [edit] References |
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