The 1997 Premier Development Soccer League season was its 3rd. The season began in April 1997 and ended in August 1997.

Central Coast Roadrunners Central Coast Roadrunners were an American soccer team, founded in 1996. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2002, after which the team left th ...

successfully defended the championship, defeating the

Cocoa Expos Cocoa Expos was an American soccer team, founded in 1993. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2007, when the team left the league and the fra ...

3-2.

Spokane Shadow Spokane Shadow is an American soccer team, founded in 1996. The team competed in the National Premier Soccer League as well as the Evergreen Premier League, one of United States Adult Soccer Association's elite amateur leagues. From 1996 to 2005 ...

won the regular season title, winning 14 games to 2 losses.

Changes from 1996 season

Name changes

* Miami Tango changed their name to

Miami Breakers Breakers may refer to: Geography * A breaking wave on water Arts and entertainment *Breakers (Stephen King), ''Breakers'' (Stephen King), from the Dark Tower books *Breakers (TV series), ''Breakers'' (TV series), an Australian television series ...

. * Puget Sound Hammerheads merged with the D-3 Pro's Everett BigFoot to become Puget Sound BigFoot. * Southern California Gunners changed their name to Southern California Chivas.

New teams

6 teams were added for the season.

Teams Leaving

The

Nashville Metros The Nashville Metros were an American association football, soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1989, the team most recently played in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer P ...

were promoted to the

A League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

. The

Arizona Sahuaros Sporting Arizona FC is an American developmental soccer team based in Arizona that was founded in 1989. They compete in the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) Premier Division. History The club originally started in 1989 as the Phoenix Hearts ...

(formerly the Arizona Phoenix),

Austin Lone Stars The Austin Lone Stars were a soccer club that competed in the SISL, USISL and United Soccer Leagues from 1987 to 2000. The club originally started in 1987/88 as the Austin Sockadillos in the original indoor SISL league. They became the Austin Lo ...

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team establishe ...

(formerly Florida Strikers), and San Francisco Bay Seals were promoted to the D-3 Pro League. 6 teams folded after the 1996 season: * Birmingham Grasshoppers * Fontana Falcons * Oklahoma City Heat *

Orlando Lions The Orlando Lions were an American men's soccer team from Orlando, Florida which existed from 1985 to 1996. Over the years, the Lions competed at both the amateur and professional levels including some seasons as an independent team. The Lions ...

* Roanoke River Dawgs *

San Diego Top Guns The San Diego Top Guns were an American soccer team based in San Diego, California, that competed in the USISL. The team debuted in 1993. The team played its home matches at San Diego Mesa College San Diego Mesa College (Mesa College or Mesa) is ...

The Wichita Blue went on hiatus for this year, and the Willamette Valley Firebirds went on hiatus for the next two years.

Standings

Central Conference

Central Division

North Central Division

Eastern Conference

Mid-South Division

Southeast Division

Western Conference

Northwest Division

Southwest Division

Playoffs

Format

''Central Coast received a bye to the PDL Semifinals as the defending champion.''
''The top four teams from every division except the Southwest earn playoff spots. With Central Coast already receiving a bye, the top two teams from the Southwest Division will play each other, however if Central Coast is in the top two, then the third place team receives a playoff spot. The Division winners would then face each other in the Conference finals.''

Divisional brackets

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PDSL Finals Brackets

United Soccer Leagues (RSSSF)
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Honors

* Organization of the Year:

Kalamazoo Kingdom Kalamazoo Kingdom were an American soccer team, founded in 1996. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2006, when the team left the league and t ...

* Executive of the Year: Jeff Robbins,

* Fair Play Award: Detroit Dynamite

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pdsl 1997 Season

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...