# 2004 PDL season

The 2004 USL Premier Development League season was the 10th PDL season. The season began in April 2004 and ended in August 2004.
Central Florida Kraze finished the season as national champions, beating Boulder Rapids Reserve 1–0 in the PDL Championship game. Chicago Fire Reserves finished with the best regular season record in the league, winning 17 out of their 18 games, suffering no losses, and finishing with a +66 goal difference.
El Paso Patriots striker Julio Frias was the league's top scorer, with 25 goals, while DFW Tornados midfielder Mark Rowland led the league with 11 assists. Chicago Fire Reserves keeper Brad Guzan enjoyed the best goalkeeping statistics, with a goals-against average of 0.39 per game in his 13 games.

## Changes from 2003
### Name changes

* Louisiana Outlaws changed their name to Lafayette Swamp Cats.
* Mid-Michigan Bucks changed their name to Michigan Bucks.
* Texas Spurs changed their name to Dallas-Fort Worth Tornados.

### New franchises

* Ten teams joined the league this year, including four brand new franchises:
| Team Name | Metro Area | Location | Previous Affiliation |
| Ajax Orlando Prospects | Orlando area | Orlando, FL | expansion |
| Carolina Dynamo | Greensboro area | Greensboro, NC | previously in Pro Select |
| Cleveland Internationals | Cleveland area | Cleveland, OH | expansion |
| Colorado Springs Blizzard | Colorado Springs area | Colorado Springs, CO | expansion |
| El Paso Patriots | El Paso area | El Paso, TX | previously in A-League |
| Indiana Blast | Indianapolis area | Indianapolis, IN | previously in A-League |
| Laredo Heat | Laredo area | Laredo, TX | expansion |
| New Jersey Stallions | northern New Jersey area | Wayne, NJ | previously in Pro Select |
| Reading Rage | Greater Reading area | Reading, PA | previously in Pro Select |
| West Michigan Edge | Grand Rapids area | Kentwood, MI | returned from hiatus |

### Folding

* Five teams left the league prior to the beginning of the season:
** Calgary Storm Prospects - Calgary, Alberta
** Greenville Lions - Greenville, South Carolina
** Houston Toros - Houston, Texas
** Jersey Shore Boca - Toms River, New Jersey
** Worcester Kings - Worcester, Massachusetts

## 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 | Michigan Bucks | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 47 | 16 | +31 | 35 |
| 2 | Fort Wayne Fever | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 47 | 32 | +15 | 34 |
| 3 | Indiana Invaders | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 51 | 34 | +17 | 33 |
| 4 | Kalamazoo Kingdom | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 30 | 25 | +5 | 26 |
| 5 | Toledo Slayers | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 33 | 36 | −3 | 18 |
| 6 | West Michigan Edge* | 15 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 26 | 50 | −24 | 12 |
| 7 | Cleveland Internationals* | 16 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 19 | 53 | −34 | 7 |
| 8 | Columbus Shooting Stars | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Heartland Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Chicago Fire Reserves | 18 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 73 | 7 | +66 | 52 |
| 2 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 51 | 28 | +23 | 40 |
| 3 | Des Moines Menace | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 51 | 29 | +22 | 36 |
| 4 | Thunder Bay Chill | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 33 |
| 5 | St. Louis Strikers | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 34 | 63 | −29 | 21 |
| 6 | Kansas City Brass | 18 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 36 | 60 | −24 | 19 |
| 7 | Colorado Springs Blizzard | 18 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 36 | 48 | −12 | 17 |
| 8 | Sioux Falls Spitfire | 18 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 45 | 57 | −12 | 16 |
| 9 | Indiana Blast | 18 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 38 | 56 | −18 | 16 |
| 10 | Wisconsin Rebels | 18 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 26 | 71 | −45 | 7 |

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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Carolina Dynamo | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 58 | 37 | +21 | 34 |
| 2 | Williamsburg Legacy | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 35 | 27 | +8 | 33 |
| 3 | Richmond Kickers Future | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 48 | 31 | +17 | 31 |
| 4 | Raleigh CASL Elite | 18 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 26 | 44 | −18 | 23 |
| 5 | Chesapeake Dragons | 18 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 35 | 55 | −20 | 13 |
| 6 | West Virginia Chaos | 18 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 25 | 46 | −21 | 13 |

#### Northeast Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | South Jersey Barons | 18 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 50 | 15 | +35 | 46 |
| 2 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 38 | 15 | +23 | 39 |
| 3 | Albany Blackwatch Highlanders | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 45 | 23 | +22 | 39 |
| 4 | Rhode Island Stingrays | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 55 | 34 | +21 | 30 |
| 5 | Reading Rage | 18 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 26 |
| 6 | Brooklyn Knights | 18 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 34 | 39 | −5 | 25 |
| 7 | New Jersey Stallions | 18 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 19 | 43 | −24 | 13 |
| 8 | Vermont Voltage | 18 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 11 | 58 | −47 | 7 |
| 9 | Jersey Falcons | 18 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 18 | 68 | −50 | 5 |
* ↑ 1 point deducted

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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | El Paso Patriots | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 64 | 23 | +41 | 45 |
| 2 | DFW Tornados | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 52 | 19 | +33 | 41 |
| 3 | Memphis Express | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 37 | 23 | +14 | 36 |
| 4 | Nashville Metros | 18 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 31 | 32 | −1 | 23 |
| 5 | New Orleans Shell Shockers | 18 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 26 | 54 | −28 | 15 |
| 6 | Lafayette Swamp Cats | 18 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 19 | 52 | −33 | 13 |
| 7 | Austin Lightning | 18 | 2 | 13 | 3 | 21 | 46 | −25 | 9 |
| 8 | Laredo Heat * | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 15 | −3 | 7 |
* ↑ 1 point deducted
* ↑ 1 point deducted

#### Southeast Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Central Florida Kraze | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 46 | 19 | +27 | 43 |
| 2 | Cocoa Expos | 18 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 39 | 26 | +13 | 35 |
| 3 | Ajax Orlando Prospects | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 47 | 26 | +21 | 34 |
| 4 | Bradenton Academics | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 35 | 34 | +1 | 24 |
| 5 | Palm Beach Pumas | 18 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 18 | 67 | −49 | 6 |

### Western Conference
#### Northwest Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Cascade Surge | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 40 | 23 | +17 | 34 |
| 2 | Spokane Shadow | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 36 | 31 | +5 | 34 |
| 3 | Abbotsford Rangers | 16 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 22 | 36 | −14 | 13 |
| 4 | Yakima Reds | 16 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 27 | 37 | −10 | 11 |

#### Southwest Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Orange County Blue Star | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 39 | 21 | +18 | 39 |
| 2 | Fresno Fuego | 18 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 46 | 27 | +19 | 35 |
| 3 | Southern California Seahorses | 18 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 41 | 34 | +7 | 27 |
| 4 | BYU Cougars | 18 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 36 | 35 | +1 | 25 |
| 5 | Nevada Wonders | 18 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 29 | 44 | −15 | 19 |

## 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 | South Jersey Barons | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| MA2 | Williamsburg Legacy | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| MA2 | Williamsburg Legacy | 1 | NE1 | South Jersey Barons | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | NE1 | South Jersey Barons | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | MA1 | Carolina Dynamo | 3 | | | | | | | |
| MA1 | Carolina Dynamo | 3 | MA1 | Carolina Dynamo | 3 | | | | | | | |
| NE2 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| NE2 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 2 | | | | MA1 | Carolina Dynamo | 1 (1) | | | | |
| | | | | | | SE1 | Central Florida Kraze (PSO) | 1 (2) | | | | |
| MS1 | El Paso Patriots | 4 | | | | | | | SE1 | Central Florida Kraze (PSO) | 1 (2) | | | | |
| SE2 | Cocoa Expos | 5 | | | | | | | | | | |
| SE2 | Cocoa Expos | 5 | SE2 | Cocoa Expos | 1 | | | | | | | |
| Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | SE2 | Cocoa Expos | 1 | | | | | | | |
| Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | SE1 | Central Florida Kraze | 3 | | | | | | | |
| SE1 | Central Florida Kraze | 4 | SE1 | Central Florida Kraze | 3 | | | | | | | |
| MS2 | DFW Tornados | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| MS2 | DFW Tornados | 2 | | | | | | | | SE1 | Central Florida Kraze | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | | | HL2 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 0 |
| HL1 | Chicago Fire Reserves | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | HL2 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 0 |
| GL2 | Fort Wayne Fever | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| GL2 | Fort Wayne Fever | 1 | HL1 | Chicago Fire Reserves | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Central Conference | Central Conference | Central Conference | HL1 | Chicago Fire Reserves | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Central Conference | Central Conference | Central Conference | HL2 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 1 | | | | | | | |
| GL1 | Michigan Bucks | 2 | HL2 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 1 | | | | | | | |
| HL2 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| HL2 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 3 | | | | HL2 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 3 | | | | |
| | | | | | | SW2 | Fresno Fuego | 0 | | | | |
| SW1 | Orange County Blue Star | 3 | | | | | | | SW2 | Fresno Fuego | 0 | | | | |
| NW2 | Spokane Shadow | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| NW2 | Spokane Shadow | 2 | SW1 | Orange County Blue Star | 1 | | | | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | SW1 | Orange County Blue Star | 1 | | | | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | SW2 | Fresno Fuego | 2 | | | | | | | |
| NW1 | Cascade Surge | 1 | SW2 | Fresno Fuego | 2 | | | | | | | |
| SW2 | Fresno Fuego | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |