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The 2008 USL Premier Development League season was the 14th season of the PDL. The regular season started on April 26, 2008, and ended on July 20, 2008. The playoffs began on July 22, 2008, and ended with the PDL Championship Game on August 9, 2008.
| Season | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Thunder Bay Chill |
← 2007 2009 → | |
Thunder Bay Chill finished the season as national champions, beating Laredo Heat on penalty kicks after a 1–1 tie in the PDL Championship game in Laredo, Texas on 9 August 2008.
Michigan Bucks 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 +27 goal difference.
Yakima Reds striker Junior Garcia was the league's top scorer and MVP, knocking in 15 goals. Fresno Fuego's Fabricio Codeceira led the league with 13 assists, while Austin Aztex U23 keeper Miguel Gallardo enjoyed the best goalkeeping statistics, with a goals-against average of 0.615 per game, and keeping 9 clean sheets in his 13 games.
Name changes
- Abbotsford Rangers changed their name to the Abbotsford Mariners to reflect the name of their parent organization.
- Los Angeles Storm changed their name to the Los Angeles Legends to reflect the name of their parent organization.
- The expansion Austin Stampede were renamed the Aztex U23 after the Austin Aztex USL-1 franchise was announced for 2009 and acquired controlling interest in the PDL team.
New franchises
- Nine franchises joined the league this year, including six brand new teams:
| Team Name | Metro Area | Location | Previous Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|
 Austin Aztex U23 |
Greater Austin area | Round Rock, TX | expansion |
 Cincinnati Kings |
Greater Cincinnati area | Wilder, KY | relegated from USL-2 |
| Houston Leones |
Greater Houston area | Richmond, TX | expansion |
 Kalamazoo Outrage |
Kalamazoo area | Kalamazoo, MI | expansion |
 New Hampshire Phantoms |
Hillsborough County area | Manchester, NH | relegated from USL-2 |
 New Jersey Rangers |
Northern New Jersey area | Denville, NJ | expansion |
| Newark Ironbound Express |
Newark area | Newark, NJ | expansion |
 Panama City Pirates |
Panama City area | Panama City Beach, FL | expansion |
 Vancouver Whitecaps Residency |
Metro Vancouver area | Burnaby, BC | transferred from PCSL |
Folding
- Five teams left the league prior to the beginning of the season:
| Legend |
|---|
| Team won the Division Title |
| Team qualified for playoff berth |
Central Conference
Great Lakes Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan Bucks | 16 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 40 | 13 | +27 | 41 |
| 2 | Cleveland Internationals | 16 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 41 | 19 | +22 | 33 |
| 3 | Toronto Lynx | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 28 | 21 | +7 | 26 |
| 4 | Cincinnati Kings | 16 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 32 | −18 | 12 |
| 5 | West Virginia Chaos | 16 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 32 | −15 | 10 |
Midwest Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago Fire Premier | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 26 | 12 | +14 | 30 |
| 2 | Kalamazoo Outrage | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 27 | 24 | +3 | 26 |
| 3 | Indiana Invaders | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 21 | −1 | 22 |
| 4 | Fort Wayne Fever | 16 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 33 | −17 | 11 |
| 5 | West Michigan Edge | 16 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 18 | 40 | −22 | 10 |
Heartland Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thunder Bay Chill | 16 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 42 | 17 | +25 | 40 |
| 2 | Colorado Rapids U23's | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 34 | 25 | +9 | 27 |
| 3 | Des Moines Menace | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 29 | 18 | +11 | 26 |
| 4 | St. Louis Lions | 16 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 29 | 27 | +2 | 25 |
| 5 | Kansas City Brass | 16 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 23 | 30 | −7 | 19 |
| 6 | Springfield Demize | 16 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 48 | −40 | 0 |
The top two teams in each division qualify for the playoffs. The Conference champion receives a bye into the Conference Semifinals, with the third place team from that division receiving a playoff berth.
Eastern Conference
Mid Atlantic Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reading Rage | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 32 | 12 | +20 | 35 |
| 2 | Fredericksburg Gunners | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 27 | 23 | +4 | 24 |
| 3 | Hampton Roads Piranhas | 16 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 22 | 23 | −1 | 21 |
| 4 | Virginia Legacy | 16 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 16 | 31 | −15 | 16 |
| 5 | Northern Virginia Royals | 16 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 20 | 34 | −14 | 14 |
| 6 | Richmond Kickers Future | 16 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 17 | 27 | −10 | 12 |
New England Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 16 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 33 | 16 | +17 | 31 |
| 2 | Ottawa Fury | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 38 | 22 | +16 | 30 |
| 3 | Vermont Voltage | 16 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 28 | 30 | −2 | 25 |
| 4 | New Hampshire Phantoms | 16 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 14 | 28 | −14 | 13 |
| 5 | Rhode Island Stingrays | 16 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 21 | 38 | −17 | 11 |
Northeast Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brooklyn Knights | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 33 | 17 | +16 | 34 |
| 2 | Newark Ironbound Express | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 33 | 17 | +16 | 30 |
| 3 | Long Island Rough Riders | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 26 | +10 | 28 |
| 4 | Westchester Flames | 16 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 23 |
| 5 | Ocean City Barons | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 29 | 25 | +4 | 23 |
| 6 | New Jersey Rangers | 16 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 12 | 42 | −30 | 8 |
The Division Champions and the Second Place team with the most points qualify for the playoffs.
Southern Conference
Mid South Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin Aztex U23 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 25 | 11 | +14 | 31 |
| 2 | Laredo Heat | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 33 | 15 | +18 | 28 |
| 3 | El Paso Patriots | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 20 | +2 | 27 |
| 4 | Mississippi Brilla | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 26 | 23 | +3 | 24 |
| 5 | Baton Rouge Capitals | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 20 | 23 | −3 | 22 |
| 6 | DFW Tornados | 16 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 17 | 20 | −3 | 21 |
| 7 | New Orleans Shell Shockers | 16 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 18 | 28 | −10 | 18 |
| 8 | Houston Leones | 16 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 17 | 38 | −21 | 11 |
Southeast Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Central Florida Kraze | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 38 | 18 | +20 | 35 |
| 2 | Bradenton Academics | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 37 | 13 | +24 | 34 |
| 3 | Cary RailHawks U23's | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 40 | 29 | +11 | 29 |
| 4 | Atlanta Silverbacks U23's | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 38 | 29 | +9 | 28 |
| 5 | Panama City Pirates | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 35 | 20 | +15 | 24 |
| 6 | Carolina Dynamo | 16 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 35 | 31 | +4 | 23 |
| 7 | Nashville Metros | 16 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 12 | 42 | −30 | 9 |
| 8 | Palm Beach Pumas | 16 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 62 | −53 | −1[lower-alpha 1] |
Western Conference
Northwest Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tacoma Tide | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 46 | 23 | +23 | 34 |
| 2 | Vancouver Whitecaps Residency | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 34 | 14 | +20 | 34 |
| 3 | Yakima Reds | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 31 | 25 | +6 | 28 |
| 4 | BYU Cougars | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 21 | 20 | +1 | 24 |
| 5 | Ogden Outlaws | 16 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 21 | −3 | 20 |
| 6 | Abbotsford Mariners | 16 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 26 | 32 | −6 | 18 |
| 7 | Cascade Surge | 16 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 35 | −18 | 14 |
| 8 | Spokane Spiders | 16 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 20 | 43 | −23 | 11 |
Southwest Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Fernando Valley Quakes | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 30 |
| 2 | Fresno Fuego | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 38 | 27 | +11 | 29 |
| 3 | Ventura County Fusion | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 24 | 14 | +10 | 27 |
| 4 | San Francisco Seals | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 21 | 17 | +4 | 27 |
| 5 | San Jose Frogs | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 26 | 20 | +6 | 24 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Legends | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 22 |
| 7 | Bakersfield Brigade | 16 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 21 | −5 | 19 |
| 8 | Orange County Blue Star | 16 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 24 | 31 | −7 | 18 |
| 9 | Southern California Seahorses | 16 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 27 | −12 | 14 |
| 10 | Lancaster Rattlers | 16 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 18 | 39 | −21 | 10 |
The top two teams in each division qualify for the playoffs.
The Divisional Round for the Central Conference took place July 22–23, 2008, with the Conference Championships taking place between July 25–27. The PDL Semifinals took place on August 2, and the final was played on August 9.
Playoff bracket
Divisional round
 Chicago Fire Premier | 0 – 2 | Kalamazoo Outrage |
|---|---|---|
Cutshaw  52' |
(Report) | Warmer 19'  42' (OG) Alvino 62' Muckey 63' |
 Thunder Bay Chill | 3 – 1 |  Colorado Rapids U23's |
|---|---|---|
| Oliveira 9' 56' Coronado 33' Gold 60' Swartzendruber 74' Paterson 86' Putrus 90' Zendejas  90' |
(Report) | Warner 7'  78' Schmoker 28' Charles 49' 84' Howlan 76' Hemmi 90' |
| Cleveland Internationals | 2 – 1 | Toronto Lynx |
|---|---|---|
| Williams 20' Nanchoff 26' Nagbe 54' Zemanski 83' |
(Report) | DeAbreu 42' Scott 44' 54' Binstock 82' |
Conference semifinals
| Bradenton Academics | 1 – 2 | Austin Aztex U23 |
|---|---|---|
| Ingvarsson 17' Gavin 25' Bello 74' Maxwell 83' |
(Report) | Papandrea 39' 66' Godbolt 56' 59' Bernard 64' Vincens 65' |
 Cape Cod Crusaders | 0 – 0 (AET) |  Brooklyn Knights |
|---|---|---|
| Maloney 33' Munro 73' |
(Report) | Damiani 27' Gonzales 82' Ortega 93' Dos Santos 108' |
| Penalties | ||
Munro  Maloney  Lynn Vercollone |
3 – 5 | Matteo Damiani Guerra Dos Santos Kulkov |
| Central Florida Kraze | 1 – 2 | Laredo Heat |
|---|---|---|
| Araujo 45' Wolfe 54' Mattson 90' |
(Report) | Cruz 21' Garcia 52' 90+' Mulamba 53' 63'Infante 87' |
 Reading Rage | 4 – 2 (AET) | Newark Ironbound Express |
|---|---|---|
| Ports 22' O'Connor 66' Burgess 67' 109' (PK) Taranto 74' Benson 92' |
(Report) | Kotynski 4' Robinson 29' Karcz 30' 62' Grato 82' Bilbao 83' Chencinski 100' Stamatis 100' Ruesgen 102' |
| Cleveland Internationals | 0 – 2 | Thunder Bay Chill |
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | Putrus 17' Coronado 21' 45' Alvarado 27' Swartzendruber 66' Intermoia 82' |
Referee: Clifton Ellis (USA)
| Vancouver Whitecaps Residency | 3 – 1 (AET) |  San Fernando Valley Quakes |
|---|---|---|
| Leslie 65' Davies 69' Dosanjh 86' Edwini-Bonsu 90+6' 110' Russell 114' 116' Sandhu 118' |
(Report) | Borak 72' Agwu 82' 84' Tracy 104' |
| Michigan Bucks | 1 – 3 (AET) | Kalamazoo Outrage |
|---|---|---|
| DeMartin 31' Morisset 39' Clark 120' |
(Report) | Alvino 34' Oatley 86' 111' 120' Muckey 98' |
Referee: Marc Lawrence (USA)
| Fresno Fuego | 0 – 3 |  Tacoma Tide |
|---|---|---|
| Alvarado 32' Calvo 89' Nunes 89' |
(Report) | Scott 18' Mueller 30' Schomaker 76' Tangney 90' |
Conference finals
| Laredo Heat | 3 – 1 | Austin Aztex U23 |
|---|---|---|
| Galvan 4' Mulamba 12' 68' Quinones 17' Cruz 26' Garcia 47' 51' Morales 80' |
(Report) | Alvarez 4' Vega 5' Watson 26' (PK) 64'Godbolt 36' 41' |
| Reading Rage | 1 – 0 | Brooklyn Knights |
|---|---|---|
| Burgess 40' 45' Rowling 69' |
(Report) | Matteo 40' Smith 43' Gonzalez 53' Damiani 61' Carrizo 77' Alvarado 90' |
| Kalamazoo Outrage | 0 – 4 | Thunder Bay Chill |
|---|---|---|
| Howard 10' |
Milroth 11' Intermoia 20' Oliveira 45' (PK) Swartzendruber 59' C. Gold 75' 81' |
Referee: Jason White (USA)
| Vancouver Whitecaps Residency | 4 – 1 | Tacoma Tide |
|---|---|---|
| Edwini-Bonsu 41' 64' Semenets 66' Russell 86' Johnstone 87' |
(Report) | Mueller 46' Knapp 54' Agu 82' Schomaker 90' |
PDL semifinals
| Thunder Bay Chill | 2 – 1 | Vancouver Whitecaps Residency |
|---|---|---|
| Alvarado 52' Milroth 61' 79'Zendejas 90+4' |
Leslie 41' Dosanjh 56' Davies 81' Edwini-Bonsu 89' 90+4' 90+4' |
| Laredo Heat | 2 – 0 | Reading Rage |
|---|---|---|
| Quinones 29' Ramos 41' Garcia 78' Humphrey 87' |
O'Connor 50' Sanders 84' |
Attendance: 1,693
Referee: Carlos Salas (USA)
PDL final
| Laredo Heat | 1 – 1 (AET) | Thunder Bay Chill |
|---|---|---|
| Blackwell 33' Ibarra 46' Infante 83' Galvan 90' |
(Report) | Putrus 34' Da Silva 44' Milroth 56' 76' Oliveira 63' 76'J. Gold 64' |
| Penalties | ||
| Galvan Ordaz Su |
1 – 4 | Oliveira Swartzendruber C. Gold Intermoia |
Attendance: 3,451
Referee: Jasen Anno (USA)
F: Carlos Araujo (Central Florida Kraze); Felix Garcia (Laredo Heat) (U19 Player of the Year); Junior Garcia (Yakima Reds) (league MVP)
M: Will Beaugé (Ottawa Fury); Fabricio Codeceira (Fresno Fuego); Adam Gazda (Reading Rage); Nate Jafta (Michigan Bucks)
D: Darrius Barnes (Cary RailHawks U23's); Mike Holody (Michigan Bucks); Norberto Papandrea (Austin Aztex U23) (Defender of the Year)
G: Miguel Gallardo (Austin Aztex U23) (Goalkeeper of the Year)
Coach: Wolfgang Suhnholz (Austin Aztex U23)
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