The 2012

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

season was the 18th season of the PDL. The regular season began on 22 April with a match between the Los Angeles Misioneros and Fresno Fuego, and ended with 14 matches on 15 July 2012. The regular season was followed by a postseason tournament of conference winners which determined the league's champion, Forest City London. Thirteen teams were added to the league and four teams dropped, bringing the total number of teams to 73 across nine divisions for 2012.

Changes from 2011

Name changes

* Abbotsford Mariners rebranded as Fraser Valley Mariners * Central Florida Kraze rebranded as Orlando City U-23 after its acquisition by USL Pro team Orlando City * Chivas El Paso Patriots rebranded as El Paso Patriots. * Los Angeles Blues 23 rebranded as Pali Blues * MPS Portland Phoenix rebranded as GPS Portland Phoenix * New Hampshire Phantoms rebranded as Seacoast United Phantoms * Tacoma Tide rebranded as Seattle Sounders FC U-23 after its acquisition by

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

team

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

. * West Texas United Sockers rebranded as West Texas Sockers

New teams

Thirteen new clubs joined the PDL this coming season.

Realignment

The

Nashville Metros The Nashville Metros were an American association football, soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1989, the team most recently played in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer P ...

were moved from the Southeast Division of the Southern Conference to the South Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference.Premier Development League 2012
Standings.

Folding/moving

*Four teams were announced as leaving the league prior to the beginning of the season: ** Akron Summit Assault –

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

** Baton Rouge Capitals –

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

Indiana Invaders The Indiana Invaders was an American soccer team based in South Bend, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1998, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes Divisio ...

–

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

** Rio Grande Valley Grandes –

McAllen, Texas McAllen is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Hidalgo County. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexican border. The city limits extend south to the Rio Grande, acros ...

Standings

2012 Premier Development League standings. Note: The first tie-breaker in PDL standings is head-to-head results between teams tied on points, which is why some teams with inferior goal differences finish ahead in the standings.

Central Conference

Great Lakes Division

Heartland Division

Eastern Conference

Mid Atlantic Division

Northeast Division

South Atlantic Division

Southern Conference

Mid South Division

Southeast Division

Western Conference

Northwest Division

Southwest Division

Conference Championships

As in prior years, each of the four conferences will hold a conference championship. In 2012, the location for each conference championship will be held the weekend of 20–22 July with the host team decided by a bidding process with preference given to the teams with the best records. The winner of the four conference championships will then compete in the PDL Championship held 27–29 July and 4 August.

Divisional Playoffs

Five of the divisions have additional matches in order for teams to qualify for the conference championship. In the Great Lakes Division the 2nd and 3rd place teams qualify for a play in match; however, the 3rd place River City Rovers ceded the match to Forest City London who qualified for the Central Conference Championship. In the Northwest Division, the top 4 teams qualify for a play-in match with the #4 seed playing at the home pitch of the top seed; and the #3 seed playing at the #2 seed. The winners of these matches then qualify for the Western Conference Championships. These matches were played on 7/14 and 7/15 with Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers U-23 teams winning. In the Eastern Conference, there are three divisions. The team with the best overall record in the conference qualifies for the Conference Championships directly, and, from that team's division, the 2nd and 3rd place teams compete in a play-in match. In 2012, Ocean City from the Mid Atlantic Division had the best overall all record. Therefore, 3rd place Jersey Expressed traveled to 2nd place Reading United on 17 July to determine the 2nd team from the Mid Atlantic that would qualify for the Conference Championships. Reading United won the match 3–1 with an extra time goal scored in the 119th minute and a penalty goal in stoppage time. The top two teams from the other two divisions will also compete in a play-in match. In the Northeast Division, the Ottawa Fury hosted the GPS Portland Phoenix on 17 July with Ottawa claiming victory after extra time 3–2. The Carolina Dynamo hosted the Real Maryland Monarchs in the South Atlantic play-in match, with Carolina easily cruising to a 5–0 victory. The Eastern Conference Championships which will be hosted by Carolina Dynamo.

Eastern Conference Championship

Central Conference Championship

Southern Conference Championship

Western Conference Championship

Bracket

PDL Championship

The 2012 PDL Championship consisted of 4 teams, the winner of each Conference Championship, with the semi-finals being held on Saturday, 28 July and the finals being played Saturday, 4 August. The host sites were determined following the completion of the Conference Championships.

Semi-finals

Championship

Awards

* Most Valuable Player: Sullivan Silva, ( THU) * Rookie of the Year: Adam Grinwis, ( MIB) * Defender of the Year: Kevin Cope, ( MIB) * Coach of the Year: Gary Parsons, ( MIB) * Goalkeeper of the Year: Adam Grinwis, ( MIB)

All-League and All-Conference Teams

PDL All-League Team Announced
(31 July 2012). PDL.USLSoccer.com.

Eastern Conference

F: Deshorn Brown ( REA) *, Alencar Junior ( WOR), David Neuberth ( RMD)
M: Christian Barreiro ( BAL), Jason Massie ( GPS), Stephen Okai ( REA)
D: Patrick Boucher ( CON), Marcello Castro ( OTT), Greg Cochrane ( REA), Sebastien Ibeagha (

CAR A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

) *
G: John McCarthy ( OCN)

Central Conference

F: Jordan Ayris (

LON Lon or LON may refer to: People * Lon (photographer), pseudonym of Alonzo Hanagan, also known as "Lon of New York" * Lon (name), a list of people with the given name, nickname or surname Fictional characters * Nero Wolfe supporting characters#Lon ...

), Sullivan Silva ( THU) *, Branden Stelmak ( CIN)
M: Tom Catalano ( MIB) *, Bryan Ciesiulka ( CHI), Jordan Green ( KCB) *
D: Sicelo Buthelezi ( THU), Kevin Cope ( MIB) *, Lorne Donaldson ( RCO), Peter Nechvatal ( KCB)
G: Adam Grinwis ( MIB) *

Western Conference

F: Jaime Chavez ( LAM), Mark Sherrod ( POR) *, Gyasi Zardes ( VCF)
M: Ben Fisk ( VAN), Matt Friesen ( KIT) *, Frankie López ( VCF)
D: James Farenhorst ( VAN), Stephen Mohn ( KIT), Conor Spence ( TUC), DeAndre Yedlin (

SEA A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

) *
G: Elliott Mitrou ( VIC)

Southern Conference

F: Karamba Janneh ( OCA), Chrispin Ochieng ( MIS), Kris Tyrpak ( AUS)
M: Juan de Dios Ibarra-Trevino ( AUS), Douglas dos Santos ( OCA), Kekuta Manneh ( AUS)
D: Taian de Souza ( PAN), Oumar Diakhite ( ORL), Max Gunderson ( LAR) *, Zack Pope ( AUS)
G: Alonso Jiménez ( WTX) ''* denotes All-League player''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pdl Season 2012

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...