Friday, July 27, 2007
TAMPA, FL – Every year the Premier Development League Conference Playoffs turn into a game of Survivor for the league’s top seeds. The playoff-bound Cape Cod Crusaders, former club of Survivor winner Ethan Zohn, know full well having won the tournament as eight and nine seeds and seeing an unbeaten season last year rendered meaningless with an opening round loss to 11-seed Westchester.
In fact, seven of the eight division champions from the 2006 regular season failed to advance from the conference playoffs last year as Westchester, Michigan (13th seed), Orange County (9th seed) and Laredo (5th seed), the lone surviving division champion, advanced to the league semifinals.
With the tradition of upsets in the first weekend of the PDL postseason, the unbeaten regular season champion Hampton Roads Piranhas will have the most pressure to break the trend, a paradox that has also sent the regular season champion into the offseason early in four of the last six years before the league semifinals. An additional stat that does not bode well for the Piranhas is the fact that the seven previous unbeaten teams all failed to win the league championship. The 1998 Jackson Chargers and 1994 Minnesota Thunder are the only unbeatens to even reach the final with the past five falling short.
The Michigan Bucks became the lowest seed to win the title last year at 13th overall knocking off the third-seeded Boulder Rapids Reserve (now Colorado Rapids U23), fourth-seeded Chicago Fire Premier and fifth-seeded Laredo Heat en route to capturing a long-awaited championship. The tables have turned, however, for the Bucks as they enter as the number three overall seed in their 11th playoff appearance.
TEAM BY TEAM PLAYOFF CAPSULES
(#) Overall seed in parenthesis based on points
Central Conference :: Great Lakes Division
Michigan Bucks (3): The defending league champion Bucks clinched their 11th playoff appearance July 14, won the division July 17. The Bucks will host the conference playoff tournament July 27-28. The Bucks made a big improvement on their overall playoff to 15-10-1 with last year’s run.
Chicago Fire Premier (15): The Fire Premier advanced to the playoffs for the seventh straight year July 14. The 2003 finalists have a postseason record of 6-6-0.
Central Conference :: Heartland Division
Thunder Bay Chill (7): The Chill advanced to the postseason for the first time in their eight-year history July 20 and captured the division title July 21. Thunder Bay enters the playoffs on a three-game win streak, including two over 2005 finalist Des Moines.
St Louis Lions (13): The second-year St Louis Lions earned their first postseason berth July 21. The club narrowly missed the playoffs last year despite a 12-game unbeaten run to close the season.
Eastern Conference :: Mid Atlantic Division
Hampton Roads Piranhas (1): The expansion Piranhas clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference July 14 and captured the PDL regular season title July 22, finishing with the eighth unbeaten record in PDL history. The Piranhas finished the season with a five-game win streak.
Ocean City Barons (12): The Barons clinched the second spot in the division July 18 and have been selected to play host to the Eastern Conference playoff tournament July 27-28. It is the club’s sixth postseason appearance for the club, which reached the USL Second Division final in 1999. Their overall PDL playoff record is 1-2-0.
Eastern Conference :: Northeast Division
Cape Cod Crusaders (8): The Crusaders locked up one of the two berths July 18. The two-time league champs are in the playoffs for the sixth straight year, ninth all-time. They won the division title July 21 and come into the postseason on a four-game unbeaten run. Their PDL playoff record is 9-4-0 for the 2002 and 2003 champions.
Brooklyn Knights (14): The Knights locked up one of the two berths July 18, returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2001. The Knights, who were on an eight-game unbeaten streak before falling to Cape Cod in their season finale, have lost the opener of their two previous playoff outings.
Southern Conference :: Mid South Divsision
Laredo Heat (6): The 2006 league finalist Heat locked up a return to the postseason July 14 and clinched the division title July 17. The Heat will host the conference playoff tournament July 27-28. The fourth-year club is in the playoffs for the third straight year and has a postseason record of 4-2-0. They are unbeaten in their last five games.
El Paso Patriots (16): The 2005 league finalist Patriots advanced to the playoffs for the third time in the last four years, 12th overall, on July 21. One of the oldest clubs in USL, the Patriots (9-8-1 in PDL playoffs) have been unable to capture a championship and will likely be using the Bucks’ run of last year for inspiration.
Southern Conference :: Southeast Division
Carolina Dynamo (4): The 2006 regular season champion Dynamo returned to the playoffs July 21, also capturing the division title. It is the 12th postseason appearance for the two-time champions (1993 and 1994), who spent six seasons in the professional flights after winning the titles. They come into the playoffs on a nine-game unbeaten streak and hold a record of 12-1-1.
Central Florida Kraze (5): The 2004 champion Kraze advanced to the postseason for the fourth time in five years July 22. After missing the playoffs last year, Central Florida returns with a 3-2-1 record in the postseason.
Western Conference :: Northwest Division
BYU Cougars (2): The Cougars locked up the division title July 14, returning to the playoffs for a second straight season. The fifth-year club went 1-1 in their postseason debut last year. BYU lost in just their second game of the season and never looked back, going unbeaten in the remaining 14.
Tacoma Tide (10): The second-year club clinched their first-ever postseason berth July 14 and enters the playoffs as the only team to have beaten BYU on the year.
Western Conference :: Southwest Division
Fresno Fuego (9): After missing the playoffs for the first time last year, Fresno returned for their fourth appearance by winning the division July 21. The Fuego will host the Western Conference playoff tournament July 27-28. Fresno heads into the playoffs on a four-game unbeaten run and has a playoff record of 3-3-0.
San Fernando Valley Quakes (11): The Quakes clinched their first-ever playoff berth while idle July 20. The second-year club finished the season on a 10-game unbeaten streak.
