A three-peat of the championship showdown between Laredo and Michigan was spoiled, but the team missing the final was a surprise based on how the season shook out during the regular season campaign. But the focus of the season would see one last shift to soccer north of the border.

Canadian soccer has had a minimal presence among the headlines in the PDL with the lone moment coming courtesy of the 2001 regular season champion and championship finalist Calgary Storm. When the Thunder Bay Chill and the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency sides squared off in the PDL Semifinals, ensuring a Canadian team in the final, the great white north was again in the mix.

Having seen a championship first in the PDL with a repeat final the year before when the Laredo Heat avenged their 2006 title game loss by claiming the crown in penalties, many would have expected the defending finalists to again be in the running. But the season played out a bit differently.

A new player came to the forefront in the Mid South with the expansion Austin Aztex coming out of the gates well with a record of 10-5-1 to win the division title. Unfortunately for the rookie franchise, postseason experience proved critical as the two would meet for the conference title in Florida with Laredo rallying to win 3-1 on the two-goal effort from league US youth international Felix Garcia. Laredo would go on to blank Reading 2-0 in the league semifinal to return to the championship.

On the other side of the ledger, the Michigan Bucks basically led from the opening kick to the final whistle, finishing with a 13-1-2 season and the regular season PDL title, edging out the Thunder Bay Chill (13-2-1) by a single point. The Bucks would suffer the curse of being the top postseason seed with a stunning 3-1 overtime exit to Kalamazoo in the conference semifinals, opening the door for Thunder Bay, who blanked Cleveland 2-0 and went on to cruise past Kalamazoo 4-0 to reach the PDL Semifinals.

Thunder Bay would play host to the expansion Vancouver side, who tied Tacoma at the top of the Northwest with 34 points, but finished second on tiebreakers. Having navigated the conference playoffs with impressive 3-1 and 4-1 wins over San Fernando Valley and Tacoma, the Whitecaps were arguably the stronger team on paper in the semifinal given the Chill’s limited quality in opposition through the season and playoffs.

But Thunder Bay proved the club’s new stature, completing its run from the division’s worst team in 2006 at 2-11-3 to a first-time playoff qualifier in 2007 to league finalist in 2008, downing the visitors 2-1 to face the defending champions on their home soil.

The Thunder Bay Chill endured all the elements in Laredo to cap one of the most remarkable turnarounds in league history to become the first-ever Canadian champions of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League. The visitors survived 100-degree heat, an initial deficit and a second half red card as they battled the defending champions to a 1-1 draw before capturing the title in penalties 4-1.

Two years ago, Thunder Bay only posted two wins on the season for a team-worst 2-11-3 record in nine years of play. Saturday night, it was two saves in penalties by Stephen Paterson that put the Chill down in PDL and USL history in front of 3,451 at Texas A&M International University.

Only 23 seconds into the second half, the Heat stunned Thunder Bay. Garcia received the ball in the penalty arc, chested it down and rifled a shot on the volley that crashed hard off the crossbar. The ball was cleared out to the left flank where Isaac Morales would send a shot back on goal that Stephen Paterson mishandled at the near post. The ball squirted between the netminder’s legs as he kneeled on the ground, allowing Juan Ibarra to knock it home from a yard out.

The Heat celebrated their first-ever lead in three consecutive championship games, having fallen behind by two in their 2-1 loss to Michigan in 2006 and battling the Bucks in a scoreless rematch decided by penalties last year, but it would not hold as Thunder Bay showed poise and calmly kept creating opportunities against the run of possession.

In the 56th minute, a turnover by the Heat could have been trouble for Laredo, but the cross from the right flank would not find anyone in the box. A corner in the 60th minute found Scott Milroth rising to meet it for Thunder Bay, but his header found the upper right corner of the goal frame and ricocheted out of play.

The Chill found the equalizer in the 63rd minute courtesy of second half sub Gustavo Oliveira, a team leader who has seen limited action of late due to injury. A ball played behind the defense from Jeremy Gold on the left side of the box allowed the charging Oliveira to chip the ball just off the endline over Cooper from an acute angle that found the back of the net, stunning the hometown fans, just 10 minutes after entering the match. For his efforts off the bench, the second-year Chill midfielder was named the Championship MVP. The PDL Assist Leader a year ago battled injury most of the season, but still managed the third most points with four goals and five assists in 409 minutes played over the course of 10 games. He scored twice in the playoff opener, a 3-1 win over Colorado, and netted a penalty in their 4-0 win over Kalamazoo while also setting up two others.

The challenge of claiming the title for Thunder Bay, however, became more difficult in the 75th minute when Milroth received a second yellow for taking down Morales as he raced up the left flank, leaving the visitors a man short for the remainder of regulation and eventual 30 minutes of overtime.

In the penalty kick tiebreaker, Cooper was unable to summon the heroics of a year ago when he made a critical stop in the sixth round. Instead it was Paterson making up for his earlier error with two saves. In the second round of spot kicks, Carlos Ordaz’s stutter step approach did not work as the shot, just off center, was stopped by Paterson. He then rescued the next shot, which came down the middle, with his foot as he dove to the side. The back-to-back saves combined with goals from all three of their previous shooters left defender Nolan Intermoia with a chance to clinch the title in the fourth round, and the defender did not disappoint, sending the PDL championship north of the border for the first time in league history.