# 2005 PDL season

The 2005 PDL season was the 11th USL Premier Development League season. The season began in April and ended in August.
Des Moines Menace finished the season as national champions, beating El Paso Patriots 6–5 on penalty kicks, following a 0–0 draw in the PDL Championship game in El Paso, Texas on 13 August 2005.
Orange County Blue Star finished with the best regular season record in the league, winning 15 out of their 16 games, suffering just one loss, and finishing with a +39 goal difference.
Cape Cod Crusaders striker Andy Metcalf and Cocoa Expos forward Frederico Moojen were the league's top scorers, each knocking in 18 goals. Richmond Kickers Future's Christian Neagu led the league with 12 assists, while Orange County Blue Star keeper Nate Pena enjoyed the best goalkeeping statistics, with a goals-against average of 0.466 per game, and keeping 7 clean sheets in his 14 games.

## Changes from 2004
### Name changes

* Albany Blackwatch Highlanders became Albany Admirals
* South Jersey Barons became Ocean City Barons

### New franchises

* Seven new teams joined the league this year, including four brand new franchises:
| Team Name | Metro Area | Location | Previous Affiliation |
| Augusta FireBall | Augusta area | Augusta, GA | expansion |
| Bakersfield Brigade | Bakersfield area | Bakersfield, CA | expansion |
| California Gold | Modesto area | Modesto, CA | previously in USL Pro Select |
| Ottawa Fury | Ottawa area | Ottawa, ON | expansion |
| San Diego Gauchos | San Diego area | San Diego, CA | previously in USL Pro Select |
| Springfield Storm | Springfield area | Springfield, MO | expansion |
| Westchester Flames | northern suburban New York area | New Rochelle, NY | previously in USL Pro Select |

### Folding

* Eight teams left the league prior to the beginning of the season:
** Chesapeake Dragons – Germantown, Maryland
** Columbus Shooting Stars – Columbus, Ohio
** Indiana Blast – Indianapolis, Indiana
** Jersey Falcons – Jersey City, New Jersey
** Lafayette Swamp Cats – Lafayette, Louisiana
** New Jersey Stallions – Wayne, New Jersey
** St. Louis Strikers – St. Louis, Missouri
** Wisconsin Rebels – Menasha, Wisconsin

## Standings

* Legend
* Division champion
* Team qualified for playoff berth

### Central Conference
#### Great Lakes Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Chicago Fire Premier | 16 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 47 | 11 | +36 | 43 |
| 2 | Michigan Bucks | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 44 | 17 | +27 | 34 |
| 3 | Indiana Invaders | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 34 | 21 | +13 | 33 |
| 4 | Fort Wayne Fever | 16 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 32 | 46 | −14 | 21 |
| 5 | Kalamazoo Kingdom | 16 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 23 | 28 | −5 | 20 |
| 6 | West Michigan Edge | 16 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 30 | 35 | −5 | 19 |
| 7 | Cleveland Internationals | 16 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 28 | 31 | −3 | 18 |
| 8 | Toledo Slayers | 16 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 15 | 53 | −38 | 8 |

#### Heartland Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 16 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 53 | 18 | +35 | 40 |
| 2 | Des Moines Menace | 16 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 45 | 16 | +29 | 37 |
| 3 | Kansas City Brass | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 43 | 38 | +5 | 24 |
| 4 | Thunder Bay Chill | 16 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 29 | 37 | −8 | 19 |
| 5 | Springfield Storm | 16 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 24 | 40 | −16 | 16 |
| 6 | Colorado Springs Blizzard | 16 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 20 | 46 | −26 | 13 |
| 7 | Sioux Falls Spitfire | 16 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 25 | 46 | −21 | 10 |

### Eastern Conference
#### Mid Atlantic Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Richmond Kickers Future | 16 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 43 | 23 | +20 | 38 |
| 2 | Carolina Dynamo | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 41 | 27 | +14 | 28 |
| 3 | Raleigh CASL Elite * | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 40 | 29 | +11 | 27 |
| 4 | Augusta Fireball * | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 24 | 25 | −1 | 18 |
| 5 | West Virginia Chaos | 16 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 22 | 45 | −23 | 16 |
| 6 | Williamsburg Legacy | 16 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 23 | 32 | −9 | 15 |

#### Northeast Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 16 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 50 | 22 | +28 | 40 |
| 2 | Ocean City Barons | 16 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 47 | 21 | +26 | 37 |
| 3 | Ottawa Fury | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 42 | 29 | +13 | 27 |
| 4 | Albany Admirals | 16 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 31 | 29 | +2 | 25 |
| 5 | Vermont Voltage | 16 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 28 | 38 | −10 | 21 |
| 6 | Reading Rage | 16 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 27 | 24 | +3 | 20 |
| 7 | Rhode Island Stingrays | 16 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 35 | 44 | −9 | 19 |
| 8 | Brooklyn Knights | 16 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 25 | 54 | −29 | 13 |
| 9 | Westchester Flames | 16 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 23 | 47 | −24 | 9 |
* ↑ 1 point deducted

### Southern Conference
#### Mid South Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | El Paso Patriots | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 54 | 23 | +31 | 35 |
| 2 | Laredo Heat | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 32 | 26 | +6 | 27 |
| 3 | Austin Lightning | 16 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 33 | 36 | −3 | 23 |
| 4 | DFW Tornados | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 27 | 31 | −4 | 22 |
| 5 | Nashville Metros | 16 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 32 | 43 | −11 | 21 |
| 6 | New Orleans Shell Shockers | 16 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 21 | 31 | −10 | 19 |
| 7 | Memphis Express | 16 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 27 | 41 | −14 | 16 |

#### Southeast Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Cocoa Expos | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 40 | 26 | +14 | 35 |
| 2 | Central Florida Kraze | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 27 | 19 | +8 | 26 |
| 3 | Bradenton Academics | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 38 | 25 | +13 | 24 |
| 4 | Ajax Orlando Prospects | 16 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 23 | 44 | −21 | 12 |
| 5 | Palm Beach Pumas | 16 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 25 | 52 | −27 | 12 |

### Western Conference
#### Northwest Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Cascade Surge | 16 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 47 | 23 | +24 | 38 |
| 2 | Spokane Shadow | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 38 | 33 | +5 | 30 |
| 3 | Yakima Reds | 16 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 19 | 25 | −6 | 15 |
| 4 | Abbotsford Rangers | 16 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 21 | 44 | −23 | 9 |

#### Southwest Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Orange County Blue Star | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 8 | +38 | 45 |
| 2 | Southern California Seahorses | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 30 | 19 | +11 | 34 |
| 3 | Fresno Fuego | 16 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 36 | 27 | +9 | 31 |
| 4 | BYU Cougars | 16 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 32 | 27 | +5 | 25 |
| 5 | Bakersfield Brigade | 16 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 26 | 28 | −2 | 20 |
| 6 | Nevada Wonders | 16 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 19 | 37 | −18 | 15 |
| 7 | California Gold | 16 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 20 | 39 | −19 | 14 |
| 8 | San Diego Gauchos | 16 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 17 | 41 | −24 | 2 |
* ↑ 3 points deducted

## Playoffs

| Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | National Semifinals | National Semifinals | National Semifinals | | PDL Championship Game | PDL Championship Game | PDL Championship Game |
| NE1 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| MA2 | Raleigh CASL Elite | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| MA2 | Raleigh CASL Elite | 2 | MA2 | Raleigh CASL Elite | 1 | | | | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | MA2 | Raleigh CASL Elite | 1 | | | | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | MA1 | Richmond Kickers Future | 2 | | | | | | | |
| MA1 | Richmond Kickers Future | 5 | MA1 | Richmond Kickers Future | 2 | | | | | | | |
| NE2 | Ocean City Barons | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
| NE2 | Ocean City Barons | 4 | | | | MA1 | Richmond Kickers Future | 3 | | | | |
| | | | | | | MS1 | El Paso Patriots | 4 | | | | |
| MS1 | El Paso Patriots | 2 | | | | | | | MS1 | El Paso Patriots | 4 | | | | |
| SE2 | Central Florida Kraze | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| SE2 | Central Florida Kraze | 1 | MS1 | El Paso Patriots | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | MS1 | El Paso Patriots | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | MS2 | Laredo Heat | 0 | | | | | | | |
| SE1 | Cocoa Expos | 1 | MS2 | Laredo Heat | 0 | | | | | | | |
| MS2 | Laredo Heat | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| MS2 | Laredo Heat | 2 | | | | | | | | MS1 | El Paso Patriots | 0 (5) |
| | | | | | | | | | | HL2 | Des Moines Menace (PSO) | 0 (6) |
| GL1 | Chicago Fire Premier | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | HL2 | Des Moines Menace (PSO) | 0 (6) |
| HL2 | Des Moines Menace | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| HL2 | Des Moines Menace | 3 | HL2 | Des Moines Menace | 4 | | | | | | | |
| Central Conference | Central Conference | Central Conference | HL2 | Des Moines Menace | 4 | | | | | | | |
| Central Conference | Central Conference | Central Conference | GL2 | Michigan Bucks | 1 | | | | | | | |
| HL1 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 1 | GL2 | Michigan Bucks | 1 | | | | | | | |
| GL2 | Michigan Bucks | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
| GL2 | Michigan Bucks | 4 | | | | HL2 | Des Moines Menace | 2 | | | | |
| | | | | | | SW1 | Orange County Blue Star | 1 | | | | |
| SW1 | Orange County Blue Star | 2 | | | | | | | SW1 | Orange County Blue Star | 1 | | | | |
| SW3 | Fresno Fuego | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| SW3 | Fresno Fuego | 1 | SW1 | Orange County Blue Star | 3 | | | | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | SW1 | Orange County Blue Star | 3 | | | | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | NW | Cascade Surge | 0 | | | | | | | |
| NW | Cascade Surge | 2 | NW | Cascade Surge | 0 | | | | | | | |
| SW2 | Southern California Seahorses | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |