The 2007 USL Premier Development League season was the 13th season of the PDL. The season started on April 28, 2007 and ended on July 25, 2007. The league consisted of 63 teams across eight divisions.
Laredo Heat finished the season as national champions, beating the Michigan Bucks on penalty kicks after a 0–0 tie in the PDL Championship game in Laredo, Texas on August 11, 2007.
Hampton Roads Piranhas finished with the best regular season record in the league, winning 14 out of their 16 games, suffering no losses, and finishing with a +36 goal difference.
Fresno Fuego striker Pablo Campos was the league's top scorer, knocking in 18 goals. Thunder Bay Chill's Gustavo Oliveira led the league with 15 assists, while Hampton Roads Piranhas keeper Evan Newton enjoyed the best goalkeeping statistics, with a goals-against average of 0.222 per game, and keeping 8 clean sheets in his 14 games.
Changes from 2006
Name changes The Williamsburg Legacy changed their name to the Virginia Legacy and unveiled a new logo on January 31, 2007. The Raleigh Elite changed their name to the Cary RailHawks U23's after forming a partnership with their USL First Division parent club Carolina RailHawks FC and unveiled a new logo on March 6, 2007. Tacoma FC changed their name to Tacoma Tide on March 8, 2007. The Virginia Beach Submariners were acquired by and renamed as the Hampton Roads Piranhas on April 6, 2007, after their parent club, the Virginia Beach Mariners, was terminated on March 30. The Boulder Rapids Reserve changed their name to the Colorado Rapids U23's on April 12, 2007, as well as their logo and colors, to reflect the changes undertaken by their parent club, the Colorado Rapids.
New franchises Ten teams joined the league this year, including seven brand new franchises: Team name Metro area Location Previous affiliation Baton Rouge Capitals Baton Rouge area Baker, LA expansion Fredericksburg Gunners Fredericksburg area Fredericksburg, VA expansion Long Island Rough Riders Long Island area New Hyde Park, NY previously in USL-2 Mississippi Brilla Jackson area Clinton, MS expansion Lancaster Rattlers Antelope Valley area Palmdale, CA expansion San Jose Frogs Silicon Valley area San Jose, CA previously in NPSL Spokane Spiders Spokane Valley area Spokane, WA expansion Springfield Demize Springfield area Springfield, MO expansion Toronto Lynx Toronto area Toronto previously in USL-1 Ventura County Fusion Ventura County area Ventura, CA expansion
Folding Six teams left the league prior to the beginning of the season: Ajax Orlando Prospects - Orlando, Florida Augusta Fireball - Augusta, Georgia California Gold - Modesto, California Colorado Springs Blizzard - Colorado Springs, Colorado Kalamazoo Kingdom - Kalamazoo, Michigan San Diego Gauchos - San Diego, California
Playoff format The top two teams in each division advance to the playoffs, with all playoff matchups consisting of one game. Each conference will hold separate playoffs at a host location. The format for each conference playoff consists of one division winner playing against the other division's second-place club, with winners advancing to the conference final. The winners of each conference play in the national semifinal, determined as such: Central vs Western, Eastern vs Southern. The winners of these matches play in the final match scheduled on August 11.
Current standings LegendDivision champion Team qualified for playoff berth
Central Conference
Great Lakes Division
Heartland Division
Eastern Conference
Mid Atlantic Division
Northeast Division
Southern Conference
Mid South Division
Southeast Division
Western Conference
Northwest Division
Southwest Division
Playoffs
Playoff bracket
Conference semifinals
Conference finals
National Semifinals
National final
Championship MVP: Felix Garcia (LAR)
Awards, All–Conference Teams and All-League team Year End Awards
Scoring Champion: Pablo Campos (Fresno Fuego) (18 Goals, 39 Points) Golden Boot: Pablo Campos (Fresno Fuego) (18 Goals) Assists Champion: Gustavo Oliveira (Thunder Bay Chill) (15 Assists) GAA Champion: Evan Newton (Hampton Roads Piranhas) MVP: Pablo Campos (Fresno Fuego) U19 Player of the Year: Evan Newton (Hampton Roads Piranhas) Defender of the Year: David Horst (Hampton Roads Piranhas) Goalkeeper of the Year: Evan Newton (Hampton Roads Piranhas) Coach of the Year: John Hall (Hampton Roads Piranhas)
Weekly awards Player of the Week Week Player Club Position Reason 3 Pietro ScalzulloSt. Louis LionsMidfielderTwo goals, assist in 3-2 win over Springfield Demize 4 Andrew WheelerHampton Roads PiranhasForward4 goals in 4–0 win vs Northern Virginia Royals 5 Nate JaftaMichigan BucksMidfielder 1 goal; 3 assists in pair of wins 6 Josh WhiteKansas City BrassDefender 2 game-winners led Brass to Open Cup berth 7 Stefan OstergrenCascade SurgeForward 3 goals in 3-1 win over Spokane Spiders 8 Jamie FairweatherToronto LynxDefender Two shutouts, goal in 2-0 win at Indiana Invaders 9 Kevin MeyerWestchester FlamesMidfielder 3 goals; 2 assists in win over Vermont Voltage 10 Alejandro TaylorCentral Florida KrazeForward 5 goals in pair of wins 11 Andrew HoxieVirginia LegacyForward 5 goals in pair of wins 12 Zach De FrancisBYU CougarsForward 3 goals, 1 assist in pair of wins 13 Kenny UzoigweMichigan BucksForward Three goals, two assists in win over West Michigan Edge 14 Brandon SwartzendruberThunder Bay ChillForward 5 goals in pair of wins over Des Moines Menace Team of the Week Week Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards 3 Cisneros (BAK) Herbert (CFK) Ashurst (BAK) Vega (LAR) Papandrea (AUS) Scalzullo (SLL) Glover (NAS) Ibarra (LAR) Sims (SFV) Draycott (VCF) Aguilera-Navarro (BAK) 4 Austin (WME) Sullivan (LIR) Viveros (YAK) McDonald (SJF) Delgado (CFK) Boltnar (DMM) Torres (AUS) Evans (RKF) Shaw (SFS) Wheeler (HRP) McCardle (NVR) 5 Fitzwater (REA) Dorri (KCB) Palácios (ELP) Quinn (NOS) Franklin (SFV) Boggs (BRA) Jafta (MIC) Stewart (IND) Neagu (FRG) Grella (LIR) Aguilera-Navarro (BAK) 6 Weant (CAR) White (KCB) Sgueglia (ALB) Boyle (OCB) Van Wagenen (BYU) Papandrea (AUS) Stacy (WME) Codeceira (FRE) Uzoigwe (MIC) Isaac (IND) Shilawski (CAR) 7 Austin (WME) Leathers (ATL) Gilkerson (HRP) Holody (MIC) Kim (SFV) Clayes (SLL) Putrus (TBC) Davies (NOS) Konicoff (WES) Draycott (VCF) Ostergren (CAS) 8 Bobonja (CFP) Martínez (ELP) Fairweather (TOR) Hoss (TAC) Wayne (VIR) Boyle (OCB) Galvan (LAN) Lapira (BRC) Pereira (COL) Moreira (BRA) Swartzendruber (TBC) 9 Boudreaux (BRC) Massey (BRA) Bindrup (BYU) Gilkerson (HRP) Drăgoi (BRK) Villalobos (LAS) Meyer (WES) Broadhead (OGD) O'Connor (REA) Heinemann (SLL) Leboo (KCB) 10 Healy (DEL) Danbusky (HRP) Botting (DFW) Demmin (MBR) Wiredu (TOR) Boltnar (Des Moines Menace) Clark (BYU) Frank (SJF) Andrews (FRD) Pierre-Louis (CCC) Taylor (CFK) 11 Sperry (CFP) Howard (KCB) Bolkan (WES) Zaher (SFV) Savage (CFK) Rowling (REA) Davies (NOS) McFadden (RIC) Hoxie (VIR) Shomaker (TAC) Gomez (BAK) 12 Connor (SFS) Quinn (NOS) Pollard (BRK) Sager (WES) Smith (CAS) Sipos (CLE) Codeceira (FRE) Bradford (SFS) Taylor (CFK) De Francis (BYU) Patterson (DMM) 13 Sokolowski (KCB) Van Wagenen (BYU) Leathers (ATL) Monro (CCC) McDonald (SJF) O'Brien (TAC) Salinas (CAD) Oliveira (TBC) Uzoigwe (MIC) Gonsalves (RIS) Judice (BRC) 14 Mitrovich (ATL) Marsh (CLE) Adams (CAD) Santiago (CFK) Schmidt (ABB) Jafta (MIC) Barrera (ELP) Evans (OCB) Campos (FRE) Swartzendruber (TBC) Barnett (CCC)
All- Conference Teams
Central Conference F: Tommy Heinemann (SLL), Saidi Isaac (IND), Kenny Uzoigwe (MIC)*, M: Tomas Boltnar (DMM), Keith Gorzcyca (CLE), Nate Jafta (MIC)*, Jake Stacy (WME) D: Mike Holody (MIC), Josh Howard (KCB)*, Josh White (KCB) G: Stephen Paterson (TBC) Honorable Mention: Neil Hlavaty, M, CHI; Jamie Fairweather, D, TOR; Matthew Tutich, M, CLE; PJ Wilson, F, FWF; Josh Fallin, D, COL; Omar Shoucair, M, SPR; Adam Douglas, D, SIO
Eastern Conference F: Dwight Barnett (CCC), Andrew Hoxie (VIR), Andrew Wheeler (HRP)*, M: Adrian Bumbut (FRD), Matia Damiani (BRO), KK Lima (HRP), Matt Narode (ALB) D: John Gilkerson (HRP), David Horst (HRP)*, Graham Munro (CCC), G: Evan Newton (HRP)* Honorable Mention: Byron Carmichael, F, OCB; Gary Higgins, F, REA; Jordan Evans, M, RKF; Guillermo Fonseca, M, DEL; Ryan Jenkins, G, NVR; Chris Whalley, M, WVC; Tom Clements, D, WES; Paul Robson, D, LIR; Bo Vučković, F, VER; Yan Klukowski, M, OTT; Jeff Gonsalves, F, RIS
Southern Conference F: Zak Boggs (BRA), Tony Judice (BRC), Tony Taylor (CFK) M: Bruno Guarda (DFW)*, Juan Ibarra (LAR), Ryan Roushandel (ATL), Shea Salinas (CAD) D: Dwyane Demmin (MIS)*, Jonathan Leathers (ATL), Anthony Santiago (CFK) G: Diego Restrepo (BRA) Honorable Mention: Omar Mora, G, ELP; Dustyn Brim, G, NOS; Norberto Papandrea, D, AUS; Andre Sherard, D, CAR; Tim McRae, D, PBP; Jeff Boynton, D, NAS; Salvatore Conigliaro, D, COA; ;
Western Conference F: Pablo Campos (FRE)*, Mark Draycott (VCF), Stefan Ostergren (CAS) M: Fabricio Codeceira (FRE), Sean Franklin (SFV)*, Ciaran O'Brien (TAC)*, Brock Trejo (BYU) D: Brad Peetoom (ABB), Luke Sassano (SJF), Hugh Van Wagenen (BYU), G: Kevin Guppy (SFV) Honorable Mention: Jonny Broadhead, D, OGD; Jake Moug, F, SPK; Jorge Lopez, D, YAK; Ross Schunk, F, LAS; Eric Conner, G, SFS; J.T. Searles * denotes All-League selection
All-League team F: Pablo Campos (FRE) (League MVP, Scoring Champion, and Golden Boot); Kenny Uzoigwe (MIB); Andrew Wheeler (HRP) M: Sean Franklin (SFV); Bruno Guarda (DFW); Nate Jafta (MIC); Ciaran O'Brien (TAC) D: Dwyane Demmin (MIS); David Horst (HRP) (Defender of the Year); Josh Howard (KCB) G: Evan Newton (HRP) (Goalkeeper of the Year, and U19 Player of the Year)
See also United Soccer Leagues 2007
References