USL
Announces 2006 PDL Alignments:
PDL
Grows to 59 teams
TAMPA,
FL United Soccer Leagues announced today the Premier
Development League alignment for the 2006 season. The PDL is
set for a league-high 59 teams next season.
The
PDL sees its membership rise by five with eight expansion
teams in Atlanta, Delaware, Ogden, San Fernando Valley, St.
Louis and Virginia Beach while Memphis and Toledo will not
return. The Nevada and Springfield franchises were also sold
and will be relocated to new California homes in Los Angeles
(San Gabriel) and San Francisco Bay, where the famed Seals who
made a run to the US Open Cup semifinals in 1997 will make a
return to USL after a five-year absence. The Northern Virginia
Royals of the USL Second Division also moved to the PDL for
2006.
We
are excited about the continued growth of the PDL and the
increasing level in the quality of play we see each year,
said PDL Director of Operations Steve Clamp.
The PDL continues to be the premier place for elite
collegiate and youth players to develop for future
professional careers.
The
biggest changes in the PDL for 2006 will be the three-division
alignments in the Eastern and Southern Conferences, where the
division winners and an overall wild card in each conference
will advance to the four-team conference playoff tournament at
the conclusion of the 16-game regular season.
2006
PDL Alignment
Central
Conference:
Great Lakes Division
Chicago Fire Premier, Cleveland Internationals, Fort Wayne
Fever, Indiana Invaders, Kalamazoo Kingdom, Michigan Bucks,
West Michigan Edge; Heartland
Division Boulder Rapids Reserve, Colorado
Springs Blizzard, Des Moines Menace, Kansas City Brass, Sioux
Falls SpitFire, St. Louis, Thunder Bay Chill
Eastern
Conference: Mid Atlantic Division
Northern Virginia Royals, Richmond Kickers Future, Virginia
Beach Submariners, West Virginia Chaos, Williamsburg Legacy;
New
England Division Albany
Admirals, Cape Cod Crusaders, Ottawa Fury, Rhode Island
Stingrays, Vermont Voltage; Northeast
Division Brooklyn Knights, Delaware Dynasty,
Ocean City Barons, Reading Rage, Westchester Flames
Southern
Conference: Mid South Division
Austin Lightning, DFW Tornados, El Paso Patriots, Laredo Heat,
New Orleans Shell Shockers; South
Atlantic Division Atlanta,
Augusta Fireball, Carolina Dynamo, Nashville Metros, Raleigh
Elite; Southeast Division
Ajax Orlando Prospects, Bradenton Academics, Central Florida
Kraze, Cocoa Expos, Palm Beach Pumas
Western
Conference: Northwest Division
Abbotsford Rangers, BYU Cougars, Cascade Surge, Ogden Outlaws,
Spokane Shadow, Yakima Reds; Southwest
Division Bakersfield Brigade, California Gold,
Fresno Fuego, Los Angeles (San Gabriel), Orange County Blue
Star, San Diego Gauchos, San Fernando Valley, San Francisco
Bay Seals, Southern California Seahorses
Schedules
for the PDL are to be announced in the coming weeks.
