# 2002 PDL season

The 2002 USL Premier Development League season was the 8th PDL season. The season began in April 2002 and ended in August 2002.
Cape Cod Crusaders finished the season as national champions, beating Boulder Rapids Reserve 2–1 in the PDL Championship game. Des Moines Menace finished with the best regular season record in the league, winning 15 out of their 18 games, suffering no losses, and finishing with a +49 goal difference.

## Changes from 2001
### Name changes

* Boulder Nova became Boulder Rapids Reserve
* Lafayette Lightning became Austin Lightning
* San Fernando Valley Heroes became Los Angeles Heroes

### New franchises

* Twelve teams joined the league this year, including eight brand new franchises:
| Team Name | Metro Area | Location | Previous Affiliation |
| Calgary Storm Select | Calgary area | Calgary, Alberta | expansion |
| Chico Rooks | northern Sacramento Valley area | Chico, CA | previously in D3 Pro |
| Houston Toros | Houston area | Houston, TX | expansion |
| Memphis Express | Memphis area | Memphis, TN | expansion |
| Nashville Metros | Nashville area | Nashville, TN | previously in A-League |
| Raleigh CASL Elite | Raleigh area | Cary, NC | expansion |
| Rhode Island Stingrays | Providence area | East Providence, RI | previously in D3 Pro |
| Richmond Kickers Future | Richmond area | Richmond, VA | expansion |
| Santa Barbara Sharks | Santa Barbara area | Santa Barbara, CA | expansion |
| Williamsburg Legacy | Williamsburg area | Williamsburg, VA | expansion |
| Wisconsin Rebels | Fox River Valley area | Menasha, WI | returned from hiatus |
| Worcester Kings | Worcester area | Worcester, MA | expansion |

### Promoted

* The Calgary Storm were promoted to the A-League.
* The New York Freedom and Westchester Flames were promoted to USL Pro Select.

### Folding

* Eight teams left the league prior to the beginning of the season:
** Colorado Springs Ascent - Colorado Springs, Colorado
** Miami Strike Force - Miami, Florida
** North Jersey Imperials - Paramus, New Jersey
** Okanagan Predators - Kelowna, British Columbia
** San Gabriel Valley Highlanders - Glendale, California
** Twin Cities Phoenix - Edina, Minnesota
** West Dallas Kings - Dallas, Texas
** Wichita Jets - Wichita, Kansas

## Standings

* Legend
* Division champion
* Team qualified for playoff berth
* Team folded during the season

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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Chicago Fire Reserves | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 43 | 15 | +28 | 7 | 64 |
| 2 | Mid-Michigan Bucks | 18 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 48 | 36 | +12 | 9 | 55 |
| 3 | West Michigan Edge | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 49 | 28 | +21 | 8 | 53 |
| 4 | Kalamazoo Kingdom | 18 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 37 | 32 | +5 | 6 | 43 |
| 5 | Indiana Invaders | 18 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 5 | 40 |
| 6 | Dayton Gemini | 18 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 26 | 48 | −22 | 3 | 18 |

#### Heartland Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Des Moines Menace | 18 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 68 | 19 | +49 | 11 | 74 |
| 2 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 49 | 23 | +26 | 6 | 54 |
| 3 | Sioux Falls Spitfire | 18 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 34 | 33 | +1 | 6 | 45 |
| 4 | Chicago Eagles Select | 18 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 37 | 38 | −1 | 5 | 30 |
| 5 | Kansas City Brass | 18 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 39 | 56 | −17 | 6 | 27 |
| 6 | Thunder Bay Chill | 18 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 35 | 58 | −23 | 5 | 26 |
| 7 | Denver Cougars | 18 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 25 | 45 | −20 | 3 | 24 |
| 8 | Wisconsin Rebels | 18 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 11 | 76 | −65 | 0 | 4 |

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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Williamsburg Legacy | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 44 | 26 | +18 | 9 | 65 |
| 2 | Raleigh CASL Elite | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 42 | 35 | +7 | 7 | 51 |
| 3 | Richmond Kickers Future | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 4 | 40 |
| 4 | Chesapeake Dragons | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 27 | 44 | −17 | 4 | 24 |
| 5 | Greenville Lions | 18 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 22 | 57 | −35 | 4 | 20 |

#### Northeast Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Vermont Voltage | 18 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 48 | 18 | +30 | 8 | 66 |
| 2 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 39 | 17 | +22 | 8 | 58 |
| 3 | Rhode Island Stingrays | 18 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 7 | 40 |
| 4 | Worcester Kings | 18 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 29 | 51 | −22 | 4 | 28 |
| 5 | Brooklyn Knights | 18 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 23 | 36 | −13 | 3 | 27 |
| 6 | Jersey Falcons | 18 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 25 | 42 | −17 | 2 | 23 |

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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Memphis Express | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 45 | 19 | +26 | 10 | 60 |
| 2 | Texas Spurs | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 48 | 30 | +18 | 8 | 56 |
| 3 | Austin Lightning | 18 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 36 | 42 | −6 | 6 | 40 |
| 4 | Nashville Metros | 18 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 37 | 34 | +3 | 6 | 36 |
| 5 | Louisiana Outlaws | 18 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 39 | 38 | +1 | 7 | 28 |
| 6 | Houston Toros | 18 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 27 | 60 | −33 | 2 | 19 |

#### Southeast Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Tampa Bay Hawks | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 51 | 27 | +24 | 8 | 64 |
| 2 | Bradenton Academics | 18 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 43 | 31 | +12 | 7 | 48 |
| 3 | Central Florida Kraze | 18 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 34 | 33 | +1 | 6 | 43 |
| 4 | Palm Beach Pumas | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 32 | 42 | −10 | 5 | 33 |
| 5 | Cocoa Expos | 18 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 35 | 61 | −26 | 7 | 24 |

### Western Conference
#### Northwest Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Spokane Shadow | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 39 | 23 | +16 | 8 | 53 |
| 2 | Cascade Surge | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 31 | 32 | −1 | 4 | 40 |
| 3 | Calgary Storm Select | 18 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 21 | 44 | −23 | 2 | 25 |
| 4 | Yakima Reds | 18 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 30 | 33 | −3 | 5 | 27 |
| 5 | Seattle Sounders Select | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 33 | 22 | +11 | 4 | 42 |
* ↑ Folded during the season

#### Southwest Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Chico Rooks | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 40 | 22 | +18 | 8 | 61 |
| 2 | Southern California Seahorses | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 43 | 28 | +15 | 6 | 50 |
| 3 | Orange County Blue Star | 18 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 29 | 26 | +3 | 5 | 35 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Heroes | 18 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 24 | 38 | −14 | 4 | 30 |
| 5 | Central Coast Roadrunners | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 19 | 37 | −18 | 3 | 23 |
| 6 | Santa Barbara Sharks | 13 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 37 | −17 | 3 | 15 |
* ↑ Folded during the season

## 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 |
| MA1 | Williamsburg Legacy | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| NE2 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| NE2 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 2 | NE2 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 1 | | | | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | NE2 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 1 | | | | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | MA2 | Raleigh CASL Elite | 0 | | | | | | | |
| NE1 | Vermont Voltage | 0 | MA2 | Raleigh CASL Elite | 0 | | | | | | | |
| MA2 | Raleigh CASL Elite | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| MA2 | Raleigh CASL Elite | 1 | | | | NE2 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 3 | | | | |
| | | | | | | SE2 | Bradenton Academics | 2 | | | | |
| MS1 | Memphis Express | 0 | | | | | | | SE2 | Bradenton Academics | 2 | | | | |
| SE2 | Bradenton Academics | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| SE2 | Bradenton Academics | 1 | SE2 | Bradenton Academics | 3 | | | | | | | |
| Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | SE2 | Bradenton Academics | 3 | | | | | | | |
| Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | SE1 | Tampa Bay Hawks | 2 | | | | | | | |
| SE1 | Tampa Bay Hawks | 4 | SE1 | Tampa Bay Hawks | 2 | | | | | | | |
| MS2 | Texas Spurs | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| MS2 | Texas Spurs | 2 | | | | | | | | NE2 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | HL2 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 1 |
| HL1 | Des Moines Menace | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | HL2 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 1 |
| GL2 | Mid-Michigan Bucks | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| GL2 | Mid-Michigan Bucks | 3 | GL2 | Mid-Michigan Bucks | 0 (6) | | | | | | | |
| Central Conference | Central Conference | Central Conference | GL2 | Mid-Michigan Bucks | 0 (6) | | | | | | | |
| Central Conference | Central Conference | Central Conference | HL2 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 0 (7) | | | | | | | |
| GL1 | Chicago Fire Reserves | 1 | HL2 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 0 (7) | | | | | | | |
| HL2 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| HL2 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 3 | | | | HL2 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 2 | | | | |
| | | | | | | SW2 | Southern California Seahorses | 1 | | | | |
| SW1 | Chico Rooks | 0 | | | | | | | SW2 | Southern California Seahorses | 1 | | | | |
| NW2 | Cascade Surge | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| NW2 | Cascade Surge | 1 | NW2 | Cascade Surge | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | NW2 | Cascade Surge | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | SW2 | Southern California Seahorses | 3 | | | | | | | |
| NW1 | Spokane Shadow | 0 | SW2 | Southern California Seahorses | 3 | | | | | | | |
| SW2 | Southern California Seahorses | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |