# 1997 PDSL season

The 1997 Premier Development Soccer League season was its 3rd. The season began in April 1997 and ended in August 1997.
Central Coast Roadrunners successfully defended the championship, defeating the Cocoa Expos 3-2. Spokane Shadow won the regular season title, winning 14 games to 2 losses.

## Changes from 1996 season
### Name changes

* Miami Tango changed their name to Miami Breakers.
* Puget Sound Hammerheads merged with the D-3 Pro's Everett BigFoot to become Puget Sound BigFoot.
* Southern California Gunners changed their name to Southern California Chivas.

### New teams

6 teams were added for the season.
| Team | Area | Location | Previous affiliation |
| Alabama Saints | Birmingham area | Birmingham, AL | expansion |
| Cascade Surge | Willamette Valley Area | Salem, OR | from USISL Pro League |
| Cincinnati Riverhawks | Greater Cincinnati area | Cincinnati, OH | expansion |
| San Gabriel Valley Highlanders | Greater Los Angeles area | Glendale, CA | expansion |
| Southwest Florida Manatees | Southwest Florida area | Cape Coral, FL | expansion |
| Yakima Reds | Yakima area | Yakima, WA | from USISL Pro League |

### Teams Leaving

The Nashville Metros were promoted to the A League. The Arizona Sahuaros (formerly the Arizona Phoenix), Austin Lone Stars, Fort Lauderdale Strikers (formerly Florida Strikers), and San Francisco Bay Seals were promoted to the D-3 Pro League.
6 teams folded after the 1996 season:
* Birmingham Grasshoppers
* Fontana Falcons
* Oklahoma City Heat
* Orlando Lions
* Roanoke River Dawgs
* San Diego Top Guns
The Wichita Blue went on hiatus for this year, and the Willamette Valley Firebirds went on hiatus for the next two years.

## Standings
### Central Conference
#### Central Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Lincoln Brigade | 16 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 34 | 23 | +11 | 32 | Division champion |
| 2 | Omaha Flames | 16 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 42 | 29 | +13 | 21 | Qualified for playoff berth |
| 3 | Sioux City Breeze | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 26 | 38 | −12 | 24 | Qualified for playoff berth |
| 4 | Des Moines Menace | 16 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 29 | 27 | +2 | 19 | Qualified for playoff berth |
| 5 | Colorado Springs Stampede | 16 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 23 | 33 | −10 | 18 | |
| 6 | Twin Cities Tornado | 16 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 29 | 39 | −10 | 11 | |
* 1 2 Lincoln and Twin Cities were both penalized 6 points.
* ↑ Des Moines was penalized 3 points.

#### North Central Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Mid-Michigan Bucks | 16 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 41 | 24 | +17 | 36 | Division champion |
| 2 | Detroit Dynamite | 16 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 41 | 20 | +21 | 28 | Qualified for playoff berth |
| 3 | Kalamazoo Kingdom | 16 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 26 | Qualified for playoff berth |
| 4 | Grand Rapids Explosion | 16 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 35 | 27 | +8 | 22 | Qualified for playoff berth |
| 5 | Michigan Madness | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 11 | 66 | −55 | 1 | |
* 1 2 3 Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Michigan were all penalized 3 points.
* ↑ Kalamazoo was penalized 6 points.

### Eastern Conference
#### Mid-South Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Cincinnati Riverhawks | 15 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 48 | 28 | +20 | 30 | Division champion |
| 2 | Jackson Chargers | 16 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 50 | 25 | +25 | 28 | Qualified for playoff berth |
| 3 | Lexington Bluegrass Bandits | 16 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 45 | 22 | +23 | 26 | Qualified for playoff berth |
| 4 | Alabama Saints | 16 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 31 | 34 | −3 | 15 | Qualified for playoff berth |
| 5 | Chattanooga Express | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 18 | 54 | −36 | 13 | |
* ↑ Game between Cincinnati and Tucson was unable to be rescheduled before season's end, games was cancelled because it had no impact on playoffs.
* 1 2 Chattanooga and Jackson were both penalized 3 points.
* ↑ Lexington was penalized 6 points.

#### Southeast Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Cocoa Expos | 16 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 46 | 23 | +23 | 34 | Division champion |
| 2 | South Florida Future | 16 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 42 | 22 | +20 | 31 | Qualified for playoff berth |
| 3 | West Florida Fury | 16 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 32 | 23 | +9 | 26 | Qualified for playoff berth |
| 4 | Miami Breakers | 16 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 41 | 24 | +17 | 24 | Qualified for playoff berth |
| 5 | Southwest Florida Manatees | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 9 | 74 | −65 | 0 | |
* 1 2 Cocoa and South Florida were both penalized 3 points.
* ↑ West Florida was penalized 6 points.

### Western Conference
#### Northwest Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Spokane Shadow | 16 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 16 | +21 | 42 | Division champion |
| 2 | Yakima Reds | 16 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 21 | Qualified for playoff berth |
| 3 | Cascade Surge | 16 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 23 | Qualified for playoff berth |
| 4 | Bellingham Orcas | 16 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 26 | 40 | −14 | 18 | Qualified for playoff berth |
| 5 | Puget Sound BigFoot | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 27 | 39 | −12 | 13 | |
* 1 2 Cascade and Puget Sound were both penalized 3 points.

#### Southwest Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | San Gabriel Valley Highlanders | 16 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 43 | 20 | +23 | 36 | Division champion |
| 2 | Central Coast Roadrunners | 16 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 34 | 17 | +17 | 34 | Bye into semifinals as defending champion |
| 3 | Tucson Amigos | 15 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 18 | 41 | −23 | 16 | Qualified for playoff berth |
| 4 | Southern California Chivas | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 16 | 32 | −16 | 10 | |
* 1 2 Southern California and Tucson were both penalized 3 points
* ↑ Game between Cincinnati and Tucson was unable to be rescheduled before season's end, games was cancelled because it had no impact on playoffs.

## Playoffs
### Format

Central Coast received a bye to the PDL Semifinals as the defending champion. The top four teams from every division except the Southwest earn playoff spots. With Central Coast already receiving a bye, the top two teams from the Southwest Division will play each other, however if Central Coast is in the top two, then the third place team receives a playoff spot. The Division winners would then face each other in the Conference finals.

### Divisional brackets

| Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Central Finals | Central Finals | Central Finals |
| NC1 | Mid-Michigan Bucks | 4 | | | | | | |
| NC4 | Grand Rapids Explosion | 3 | | | | | | |
| NC4 | Grand Rapids Explosion | 3 | NC1 | Mid-Michigan Bucks (AET/PSO) | 0 (1) | | | |
| North Central Division | North Central Division | North Central Division | NC1 | Mid-Michigan Bucks (AET/PSO) | 0 (1) | | | |
| North Central Division | North Central Division | North Central Division | NC3 | Kalamazoo Kingdom | 0 (0) | | | |
| NC2 | Detroit Dynamite | 0 | NC3 | Kalamazoo Kingdom | 0 (0) | | | |
| NC3 | Kalamazoo Kingdom (AET) | 1 | | | | | | |
| NC3 | Kalamazoo Kingdom (AET) | 1 | | | | NC1 | Mid-Michigan Bucks | 3 |
| | | | | | | C4 | Des Moines Menace | 0 |
| C1 | Lincoln Brigade | 0 | | | | | | | C4 | Des Moines Menace | 0 |
| C4 | Des Moines Menace | 4 | | | | | | |
| C4 | Des Moines Menace | 4 | C4 | Des Moines Menace | 6 | | | |
| Central Division | Central Division | Central Division | C4 | Des Moines Menace | 6 | | | |
| Central Division | Central Division | Central Division | C2 | Omaha Flames | 0 | | | |
| C2 | Omaha Flames | 5 | C2 | Omaha Flames | 0 | | | |
| C3 | Sioux City Breeze | 3 | | | | | | |
| Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Eastern Finals | Eastern Finals | Eastern Finals |
| SE1 | Cocoa Expos | 5 | | | | | | |
| SE4 | Miami Breakers | 2 | | | | | | |
| SE4 | Miami Breakers | 2 | SE1 | Cocoa Expos | 3 | | | |
| Southeast Division | Southeast Division | Southeast Division | SE1 | Cocoa Expos | 3 | | | |
| Southeast Division | Southeast Division | Southeast Division | SE3 | West Florida Fury | 1 | | | |
| SE2 | South Florida Future | 0 | SE3 | West Florida Fury | 1 | | | |
| SE3 | West Florida Fury | 4 | | | | | | |
| SE3 | West Florida Fury | 4 | | | | SE1 | Cocoa Expos | 2 |
| | | | | | | MS2 | Jackson Chargers | 1 |
| MS1 | Cincinnati Riverhawks | 7 | | | | | | | MS2 | Jackson Chargers | 1 |
| MS4 | Alabama Saints | 4 | | | | | | |
| MS4 | Alabama Saints | 4 | MS1 | Cincinnati Riverhawks | 0 | | | |
| Mid-South Division | Mid-South Division | Mid-South Division | MS1 | Cincinnati Riverhawks | 0 | | | |
| Mid-South Division | Mid-South Division | Mid-South Division | MS2 | Jackson Chargers | 3 | | | |
| MS2 | Jackson Chargers (AET) | 1 | MS2 | Jackson Chargers | 3 | | | |
| MS3 | Lexington Bluegrass Bandits | 0 | | | | | | |
| Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Western Finals | Western Finals | Western Finals |
| NW1 | Spokane Shadow (AET/PSO) | 4 (1) | | | | | | |
| NW4 | Bellingham Orcas | 4 (0) | | | | | | |
| NW4 | Bellingham Orcas | 4 (0) | NW1 | Spokane Shadow | 2 | | | |
| Northwest Division | Northwest Division | Northwest Division | NW1 | Spokane Shadow | 2 | | | |
| Northwest Division | Northwest Division | Northwest Division | NW2 | Yakima Reds | 0 | | | |
| NW2 | Yakima Reds | 1 | NW2 | Yakima Reds | 0 | | | |
| NW3 | Cascade Surge | 0 | | | | | | |
| NW3 | Cascade Surge | 0 | | | | NW1 | Spokane Shadow | 0 |
| | | | | | | SW1 | San Gabriel Valley Highlanders | 1 |
| SW1 | San Gabriel Valley Highlanders | bye | | | | | | | SW1 | San Gabriel Valley Highlanders | 1 |
| | | | SW1 | San Gabriel Valley Highlanders | 2 | | | |
| Southwest Division | Southwest Division | Southwest Division | SW1 | San Gabriel Valley Highlanders | 2 | | | |
| Southwest Division | Southwest Division | Southwest Division | SW2 | Tucson Amigos | 1 | | | |
| SW2 | Tucson Amigos | bye | SW2 | Tucson Amigos | 1 | | | |

### PDSL Finals Brackets

| PDSL Semifinals | PDSL Semifinals | PDSL Semifinals | PDSL Finals | PDSL Finals | PDSL Finals |
| NC1 | Mid-Michigan Bucks | 0 | | | |
| H | Central Coast Roadrunners | 2 | | | |
| H | Central Coast Roadrunners | 2 | H | Central Coast Roadrunners | 2 |
| | | | SE1 | Cocoa Expos | 1 |
| SW1 | San Gabriel Valley Highlanders | 0 (0) | SE1 | Cocoa Expos | 1 |
| SE1 | Cocoa Expos (AET/PSO) | 0 (1) | PDSL Third Place | PDSL Third Place | PDSL Third Place |
| | | | NC1 | Mid-Michigan Bucks | 2 |
| | | | SW1 | San Gabriel Valley Highlanders | 3 |

## Honors

* Organization of the Year: Kalamazoo Kingdom
* Executive of the Year: Jeff Robbins, Spokane Shadow
* Fair Play Award: Detroit Dynamite