USL News Release

Thursday, August 7, 2008

TAMPA, FL – It’s another double dose of exciting USL action on Fox Soccer Channel this week. In addition to the Seattle Sounders visiting their heated rival Portland Timbers at 11:00 pm ET Thursday on Fox Soccer Channel, the Thunder Bay Chill will take on the defending champion Laredo Heat for the PDL Championship Saturday live at 9:00 pm ET.

Since 2001, the old North American Soccer League rivals Timbers and Sounders (7-6-8, 29pts) have battled through 31 regular-season matches, including Portland’s first home match at PGE Park as a USL First Division club on May 11, 2001, and four playoff matches. The Timbers are 11-15-5 in regular-season matches against Seattle, but holds a 7-6-2 advantage at PGE Park against the Sounders. The Timbers are 1-0-1 against Seattle this season, including a 2-0 win April 26 at PGE Park.

The Sounders currently sit fifth in the table with a record of 7-6-8, trailing co-league leaders Charleston and Vancouver by five points. The Timbers are five points back of Seattle in seventh at 5-7-9. Seattle comes into the match with a 3-0-2 record in their last five and are 1-3-1 in their last five on the road. Portland have struggled of late with a record of 0-3-2 in their last five and have gone 0-2-3 in their last five at home.

PDL: Second of four USL championships on FSC

On Saturday, August 9, the Laredo Heat will play host to the Thunder Bay Chill in the Premier Development League Championship live at 9:00 pm ET on Fox Soccer Channel. Both teams will be out to make league history by claiming the title.

Having already made history as the first team to reach the PDL Championship game three straight years, the Laredo Heat will be looking to become the sixth team to repeat as league champion and the lowest seed to ever capture the title.

The 13th-seeded Michigan Bucks beat the Heat in the first of back-to-back meetings in 2006 to set the previous mark for lowest seed. The other five clubs to win back-to-back championships are the Cape Cod Crusaders (2002-03), Chicago Sockers (1999-00), Central Coast Roadrunners (1996-97), Carolina Dynamo (1993-94) and Colorado Comets (1989-90).

On the opposite side of the ledger, the Thunder Bay Chill, in their ninth year, have found unprecedented success in their franchise history and are looking to cap a remarkable two-year turnaround in which the club has gone from a record of 2-11-3 in 2006 to a mark of 17-2-1 overall in 2008. The Chill are only the second Canadian team to reach the final (Calgary 2001) and could be the first to win the PDL championship.

Canadian teams have only won five previous championships in overall USL history. The Montreal Impact have two USL First Division titles (1994, 2004) and the Vancouver Whitecaps have one USL-1 title (2006) and two W-League championships (2004, 2006).

Next USL on FSC Match: The game of the week returns to Friday night for next week’s contest as the Miami FC Blues visit the Carolina RailHawks August 15. The game is at 8:00 pm ET on Fox Soccer Channel.