The 2012
USL Premier Development League
USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league sy ...
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
* Abbotsford Mariners rebranded as
Fraser Valley Mariners[PDL Schedule, Alignment Released](_blank)
/ref>
* Central Florida Kraze rebranded as Orlando City U-23 after its acquisition by USL Pro
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, ...
team Orlando City
* Chivas El Paso Patriots rebranded as El Paso Patriots
El Paso Patriots was an American soccer team based in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1989, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Mid South Division of the Southe ...
.Seattle Sounders FC U-23
Sound FC is an American soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington. Founded in 2006, the team most recently played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.
History
2006–2009: Playoffs
The Tacoma team was introduced int ...
after its acquisition by Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...
team Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...
.West Texas Sockers
West Texas FC is an American soccer team based in Midland, Texas, United States. Founded in 2008, the team plays in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Lone Star Conference of the Sou ...
New teams
Thirteen new clubs joined the PDL this coming season.
Realignment
The Nashville Metros
The Nashville Metros were an American 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 Pyramid, in the South ...
were moved from the Southeast Division of the Southern Conference to the South Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference.[Premier Development League 2012](_blank)
Standings.
Folding/moving
*Four teams were announced as leaving the league prior to the beginning of the season:Akron, Ohio
Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...
** Baton Rouge Capitals – Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of count ...
** Indiana Invaders
The Indiana Invaders was an American soccer team based in South Bend, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1998, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes Divis ...
– South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...
** Rio Grande Valley Grandes
Rio Grande Valley Grandes was an American association football, soccer team based in Edinburg, Texas, United States. Founded in 2010, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in ...
– McAllen, Texas
McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits exte ...
Standings
2012 Premier Development League standings.
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 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.
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 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.
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, 28 July and the finals being played Saturday, 4 August. The host sites were determined following the completion of the Conference Championships.
Semi-Finals
Championship
Awards
* Most Valuable Player: Sullivan Silva
Sullivan Oliveira Silva (born 14 July 1988) is a Brazilian Association football, footballer currently playing for Thunder Bay Chill in USL League Two.
Career
Youth and amateur
After attending the Gonealves Ledo school in his native Brazil, Sil ...
, ( THU)
* Rookie of the Year: Adam Grinwis, (MIB
The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit ...
)
* Defender of the Year: Kevin Cope, (MIB
The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit ...
)
* Coach of the Year: Gary Parsons, (MIB
The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit ...
)
* Goalkeeper of the Year: Adam Grinwis, (MIB
The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit ...
)
All-League and All-Conference Teams
PDL All-League Team Announced
(31 July 2012). PDL.USLSoccer.com.
Eastern Conference
F:
Deshorn Brown
Deshorn Dwayne Brown (born 22 December 1990), is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a forward for USL Championship club Sacramento Republic.
Club career Early and collegiate
A native of Jamaica, Brown attended St. Elizabeth Tech ...
(
REA) *, Alencar Junior (
WOR), David Neuberth (
RMD)
M:
Christian Barreiro
Christian Andreas Barreiro (born December 14, 1990) is an American soccer player who most recently played for Puerto Rico Islanders in the North American Soccer League.
Career College and Amateur
Barreiro spent all four years of his collegiate ca ...
(
BAL),
Jason Massie (
GPS),
Stephen Okai
Stephen Okai (born 27 September 1989) is a former Ghanaian footballer and current coach.
Career College & Amateur
Okai played four years of college soccer at the University of Mobile. Okai won the National Player of the Year award in NAIA and wa ...
(
REA)
D: Patrick Boucher (
CON), Marcello Castro (
OTT
Ott, OTT or O.T.T. may refer to:
Entertainment
* OTT (group), a pop band from the late 1990s
* Ott (record producer), British record producer and musician
* "O.T.T" (song), a song by Fugative
* ''O.T.T.'' (television series), a UK TV programme f ...
),
Greg Cochrane (
REA), Sebastien Ibeagha (
CAR
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as t ...
) *
G:
John McCarthy (
OCN)
Central Conference
F: Jordan Ayris (
LON Lon or LON may refer to:
People
* Lon (photographer), pseudonym of Alonzo Hanagan, also known as "Lon of New York"
* Lon (name), a list of people with the given name, nickname or surname
Fictional characters
* Lon Cohen, a character in the Ne ...
),
Sullivan Silva
Sullivan Oliveira Silva (born 14 July 1988) is a Brazilian Association football, footballer currently playing for Thunder Bay Chill in USL League Two.
Career
Youth and amateur
After attending the Gonealves Ledo school in his native Brazil, Sil ...
(
THU) *, Branden Stelmak (
CIN)
M: Tom Catalano (
MIB
The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit ...
) *,
Bryan Ciesiulka (
CHI
Chi or CHI may refer to:
Greek
*Chi (letter), the Greek letter (uppercase Χ, lowercase χ);
Chinese
* ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter
* Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon
* Chi (surname) (池, pinyin: ''chí ...
), Jordan Green (
KCB) *
D: Sicelo Buthelezi (
THU), Kevin Cope (
MIB
The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit ...
) *,
Lorne Donaldson (
RCO RCO may refer to:
* Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office
*Recovery Consistency Objective, in computing
* Regional Currency Office
*Remote Communications Outlet
*Rifle combat optic
The Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG) is a series of prism ...
), Peter Nechvatal (
KCB)
G:
Adam Grinwis (
MIB
The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit ...
) *
Western Conference
F:
Jaime Chavez (
LAM
Lam or LAM may refer to:
Organizations
* Laguna Art Museum, California, US
* Lam Eng Rubber, a Malaysian manufacturer
* Lam Research, American semiconductor equipment company
* LAM Mozambique Airlines, flag carrier airline of Mozambique
* Librar ...
),
Mark Sherrod (
POR) *,
Gyasi Zardes (
VCF)
M:
Ben Fisk
Benjamin Anthony Fisk-Routledge (born February 4, 1993) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a left winger for Canadian Premier League club Cavalry FC.
Club career Vancouver Whitecaps
Fisk played for a host of local clubs be ...
(
VAN
A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...
), Matt Friesen (
KIT
Kit may refer to:
Places
*Kitt, Indiana, US, formerly Kit
* Kit, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province
* Kit Hill, Cornwall, England
People
* Kit (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Kit (surname)
Animals
* Young animals:
...
) *, Frankie López (
VCF)
D: James Farenhorst (
VAN
A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...
), Stephen Mohn (
KIT
Kit may refer to:
Places
*Kitt, Indiana, US, formerly Kit
* Kit, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province
* Kit Hill, Cornwall, England
People
* Kit (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Kit (surname)
Animals
* Young animals:
...
), Conor Spence (
TUC),
DeAndre Yedlin (
SEA
The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...
) *
G: Elliott Mitrou (
VIC
Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...
)
Southern Conference
F:
Karamba Janneh (
OCA
OCA or Oca may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions
* The ancient town and bishopric Oca in Asia Minor (present Asia Turkey), now a Latin Catholic titular see
* The former Spanish Oca, modern Villafranca Montes de Oca, also see of a medieval bis ...
), Chrispin Ochieng (
MIS),
Kris Tyrpak (
AUS)
M: Juan de Dios Ibarra-Trevino (
AUS),
Douglas dos Santos
Douglas dos Santos (born 18 February 1982), simply known as Douglas, is a retired Brazilian professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
Career
Prior to being signed for Al Wasl FC for R$11m, Douglas was owned by two clubs; e ...
(
OCA
OCA or Oca may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions
* The ancient town and bishopric Oca in Asia Minor (present Asia Turkey), now a Latin Catholic titular see
* The former Spanish Oca, modern Villafranca Montes de Oca, also see of a medieval bis ...
),
Kekuta Manneh (
AUS)
D: Taian de Souza (
PAN),
Oumar Diakhite (
ORL),
Max Gunderson
Max Gunderson (born November 5, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender.
Career
Gunderson played four years of college soccer at the University of the Incarnate Word between 2008 and 2011. He also played for USL ...
(
LAR Lar or LAR may refer to:
Places
;India
* Lar, Uttar Pradesh, a town in Deoria District
* Lar (Jammu and Kashmir), a town
* Lata (region), also known as Lar, former region of southern Gujarat
;Iran
* Lar, Iran, a city in Fars Province
* Lar, Ea ...
) *,
Zack Pope
Zack Pope (born March 20, 1986, in Austin, Texas) is an American soccer player.
Career
Youth and amateur
Pope attended Stony Point High School, and played college soccer at Duke University on a partial soccer scholarship, graduating with a p ...
(
AUS)
G:
Alonso Jiménez (
WTX)
''
* denotes All-League player''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pdl Season 2012
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
4