# 2003 PDL season

The 2003 USL Premier Development League season was the 9th PDL season. The season began in April 2003 and ended in August 2003.
Cape Cod Crusaders finished the season as national champions for the second time, beating Chicago Fire Reserves 2–0 in the PDL Championship game. New Orleans Shell Shockers finished with the best regular season record in the league, winning 16 out of their 18 games, suffering just 2 losses, and finishing with a +35 goal difference.
Cape Cod Crusaders striker Joseph Ngwenya and Vermont Voltage forward Bo Vuckovic were the league's top scorers, each knocking in 17 goals. Des Moines Menace midfielders Tomas Boltnar and Joseph Kabwe and Nashville Metros Ben Buerger led the league with 10 assists each, while Indiana Invaders keeper Christopher Sawyer enjoyed the best goalkeeping statistics, with a goals-against average of 0.287 per game, and Richmond Kickers Future keeper kept 7 clean sheets and had a GAA average of 0.568 in his 12 games.

## Changes from 2002
### New franchises

* Thirteen teams joined the league this year, including twelve brand new franchises:
| Team Name | Metro Area | Location | Previous Affiliation |
| Abbotsford Rangers | Abbotsford area | Abbotsford, BC | expansion |
| Albany Blackwatch Highlanders | Albany area | Schenectady, NY | expansion |
| BYU Cougars | Provo area | Provo, UT | expansion |
| Columbus Shooting Stars | Columbus area | Columbus, OH | expansion |
| Fort Wayne Fever | Fort Wayne area | Fort Wayne, IN | expansion |
| Fresno Fuego | Fresno area | Fresno, CA | expansion |
| Jersey Shore Boca | Jersey Shore area | Toms River, NJ | expansion |
| Nevada Wonders | Carson City area | Carson City, NV | expansion |
| New Orleans Shell Shockers | New Orleans area | New Orleans, LA | expansion |
| St. Louis Strikers | St. Louis area | St. Louis, MO | expansion |
| South Jersey Barons | Greater Trenton area | Trenton, NJ | previously in D3 Pro |
| Toledo Slayers | Toledo area | Maumee, OH | expansion |
| West Virginia Chaos | Charleston area | Charleston, WV | expansion |

### Folding

* Ten teams left the league prior to the beginning of the season:
** Central Coast Roadrunners - San Luis Obispo, California
** Chicago Eagles Select - Chicago, Illinois
** Chico Rooks - Chico, California (left to join the newly formed National Premier Soccer League)
** Dayton Gemini - Dayton, Ohio
** Denver Cougars - Commerce City, Colorado
** Los Angeles Heroes - Los Angeles, California
** Santa Barbara Sharks - Santa Barbara, California (folded during the 2002 season)
** Seattle Sounders Select - Seattle, Washington (folded during the 2002 season)
** Tampa Bay Hawks - Tampa, Florida
** West Michigan Edge - Grand Rapids, Michigan (spending season on hiatus)

## 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 | Mid-Michigan Bucks | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 40 | 16 | +24 | 43 |
| 2 | Indiana Invaders | 18 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 31 | 19 | +12 | 35 |
| 3 | Fort Wayne Fever | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 30 | +2 | 29 |
| 4 | Kalamazoo Kingdom | 18 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 29 | 39 | −10 | 21 |
| 5 | Toledo Slayers | 18 | 2 | 13 | 3 | 22 | 45 | −23 | 9 |
| 6 | Columbus Shooting Stars | 18 | 2 | 14 | 2 | 28 | 43 | −15 | 8 |

#### Heartland Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Chicago Fire Reserves | 18 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 60 | 17 | +43 | 46 |
| 2 | Des Moines Menace | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 48 | 23 | +25 | 37 |
| 3 | Thunder Bay Chill | 18 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 34 | 31 | +3 | 31 |
| 4 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 18 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 32 | 29 | +3 | 31 |
| 5 | Kansas City Brass | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 35 | 48 | −13 | 21 |
| 6 | St. Louis Strikers | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 39 | 53 | −14 | 21 |
| 7 | Sioux Falls Spitfire | 18 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 42 | 48 | −6 | 18 |
| 8 | Wisconsin Rebels | 18 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 11 | 71 | −60 | 1 |

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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Richmond Kickers Future | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 41 | 12 | +29 | 43 |
| 2 | Williamsburg Legacy | 18 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 35 | 22 | +13 | 32 |
| 3 | Raleigh CASL Elite | 18 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 22 | 23 | −1 | 26 |
| 4 | Chesapeake Dragons | 18 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 19 | 32 | −13 | 22 |
| 5 | West Virginia Chaos | 18 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 18 | 54 | −36 | 10 |
| 6 | Greenville Lions | 18 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 23 | 41 | −18 | 8 |
* ↑ 3 points deducted

#### Northeast Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Vermont Voltage | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 37 | 21 | +16 | 39 |
| 2 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 64 | 30 | +34 | 38 |
| 3 | Brooklyn Knights | 18 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 46 | 26 | +20 | 36 |
| 4 | South Jersey Barons | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 62 | 31 | +31 | 34 |
| 5 | Rhode Island Stingrays | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 45 | 28 | +17 | 34 |
| 6 | Albany Blackwatch Highlanders | 18 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 36 | 43 | −7 | 19 |
| 7 | Jersey Shore Boca * | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 23 | 44 | −21 | 12 |
| 8 | Jersey Falcons | 18 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 31 | 85 | −54 | 10 |
| 9 | Worcester Kings | 18 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 21 | 62 | −41 | −3 |
* ↑ 6 points deducted

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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | New Orleans Shell Shockers | 18 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 53 | 18 | +35 | 48 |
| 2 | Memphis Express | 18 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 48 | 25 | +23 | 35 |
| 3 | Nashville Metros | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 41 | 21 | +20 | 33 |
| 4 | Texas Spurs | 18 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 44 | 28 | +16 | 31 |
| 5 | Austin Lightning | 18 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 31 | 42 | −11 | 28 |
| 6 | Houston Toros | 18 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 21 | 60 | −39 | 11 |
| 7 | Louisiana Outlaws | 18 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 23 | 46 | −23 | 10 |

#### Southeast Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Cocoa Expos | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 36 | 27 | +9 | 27 |
| 2 | Central Florida Kraze | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 38 | 26 | +12 | 23 |
| 3 | Bradenton Academics | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 32 | 24 | +8 | 21 |
| 4 | Palm Beach Pumas | 14 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 23 | 55 | −32 | 6 |
* ↑ 1 point deducted

### Western Conference
#### Northwest Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Spokane Shadow | 18 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 38 | 14 | +24 | 44 |
| 2 | Cascade Surge | 18 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 32 | 27 | +5 | 35 |
| 3 | Yakima Reds | 18 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 30 | 26 | +4 | 28 |
| 4 | Abbotsford Rangers * | 15 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 21 | 33 | −12 | 12 |
| 5 | Calgary Storm Prospects * | 15 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 14 | 31 | −17 | 7 |

#### Southwest Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Fresno Fuego | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 23 | +27 | 42 |
| 2 | Orange County Blue Star | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 52 | 29 | +23 | 42 |
| 3 | Southern California Seahorses | 18 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 34 | 29 | +5 | 32 |
| 4 | BYU Cougars | 18 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 21 | 52 | −31 | 7 |
| 5 | Nevada Wonders | 18 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 13 | 51 | −38 | 5 |

## 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 | Richmond Kickers Future | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| NE2 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
| NE2 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 4 | NE2 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 4 | | | | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | NE2 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 4 | | | | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | NE1 | Vermont Voltage | 2 | | | | | | | |
| NE1 | Vermont Voltage | 5 | NE1 | Vermont Voltage | 2 | | | | | | | |
| MA2 | Williamsburg Legacy | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| MA2 | Williamsburg Legacy | 2 | | | | NE2 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | | MS2 | Memphis Express | 0 | | | | |
| MS1 | New Orleans Shell Shockers | 4 | | | | | | | MS2 | Memphis Express | 0 | | | | |
| SE2 | Central Florida Kraze | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| SE2 | Central Florida Kraze | 1 | MS1 | New Orleans Shell Shockers | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | MS1 | New Orleans Shell Shockers | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | MS2 | Memphis Express | 2 | | | | | | | |
| SE1 | Cocoa Expos | 2 | MS2 | Memphis Express | 2 | | | | | | | |
| MS2 | Memphis Express | 5 | | | | | | | | | | |
| MS2 | Memphis Express | 5 | | | | | | | | NE2 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | HL1 | Chicago Fire Reserves | 0 |
| HL1 | Chicago Fire Reserves | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | HL1 | Chicago Fire Reserves | 0 |
| GL2 | Indiana Invaders | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| GL2 | Indiana Invaders | 0 | HL1 | Chicago Fire Reserves | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Central Conference | Central Conference | Central Conference | HL1 | Chicago Fire Reserves | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Central Conference | Central Conference | Central Conference | GL1 | Mid-Michigan Bucks | 0 | | | | | | | |
| GL1 | Mid-Michigan Bucks | 1 | GL1 | Mid-Michigan Bucks | 0 | | | | | | | |
| HL2 | Des Moines Menace | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| HL2 | Des Moines Menace | 0 | | | | HL1 | Chicago Fire Reserves | 3 | | | | |
| | | | | | | SW2 | Orange County Blue Star | 1 | | | | |
| SW1 | Fresno Fuego | 1 | | | | | | | SW2 | Orange County Blue Star | 1 | | | | |
| NW1 | Spokane Shadow | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| NW1 | Spokane Shadow | 0 | SW1 | Fresno Fuego | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | SW1 | Fresno Fuego | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | SW2 | Orange County Blue Star | 2 | | | | | | | |
| SW2 | Orange County Blue Star | 2 | SW2 | Orange County Blue Star | 2 | | | | | | | |
| NW2 | Cascade Surge | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |