# 2007 PDL season

The 2007 USL Premier Development League season was the 13th season of the PDL. The season started on April 28, 2007 and ended on July 25, 2007. The league consisted of 63 teams across eight divisions.
Laredo Heat finished the season as national champions, beating the Michigan Bucks on penalty kicks after a 0–0 tie in the PDL Championship game in Laredo, Texas on August 11, 2007.
Hampton Roads Piranhas finished with the best regular season record in the league, winning 14 out of their 16 games, suffering no losses, and finishing with a +36 goal difference.
Fresno Fuego striker Pablo Campos was the league's top scorer, knocking in 18 goals. Thunder Bay Chill's Gustavo Oliveira led the league with 15 assists, while Hampton Roads Piranhas keeper Evan Newton enjoyed the best goalkeeping statistics, with a goals-against average of 0.222 per game, and keeping 8 clean sheets in his 14 games.

## Changes from 2006
### Name changes

* The Williamsburg Legacy changed their name to the Virginia Legacy and unveiled a new logo on January 31, 2007.
* The Raleigh Elite changed their name to the Cary RailHawks U23's after forming a partnership with their USL First Division parent club Carolina RailHawks FC and unveiled a new logo on March 6, 2007.
* Tacoma FC changed their name to Tacoma Tide on March 8, 2007.
* The Virginia Beach Submariners were acquired by and renamed as the Hampton Roads Piranhas on April 6, 2007, after their parent club, the Virginia Beach Mariners, was terminated on March 30.
* The Boulder Rapids Reserve changed their name to the Colorado Rapids U23's on April 12, 2007, as well as their logo and colors, to reflect the changes undertaken by their parent club, the Colorado Rapids.

### New franchises

* Ten teams joined the league this year, including seven brand new franchises:
| Team Name | Metro Area | Location | Previous Affiliation |
| Baton Rouge Capitals | Baton Rouge area | Baker, LA | expansion |
| Fredericksburg Gunners | Fredericksburg area | Fredericksburg, VA | expansion |
| Long Island Rough Riders | Long Island area | New Hyde Park, NY | previously in USL-2 |
| Mississippi Brilla | Jackson area | Clinton, MS | expansion |
| Lancaster Rattlers | Antelope Valley area | Palmdale, CA | expansion |
| San Jose Frogs | Silicon Valley area | San Jose, CA | previously in NPSL |
| Spokane Spiders | Spokane Valley area | Spokane, WA | expansion |
| Springfield Demize | Springfield area | Springfield, MO | expansion |
| Toronto Lynx | Toronto area | Toronto | previously in USL-1 |
| Ventura County Fusion | Ventura County area | Ventura, CA | expansion |

### Folding

* Six teams left the league prior to the beginning of the season:
** Ajax Orlando Prospects - Orlando, Florida
** Augusta Fireball - Augusta, Georgia
** California Gold - Modesto, California
** Colorado Springs Blizzard - Colorado Springs, Colorado
** Kalamazoo Kingdom - Kalamazoo, Michigan
** San Diego Gauchos - San Diego, California

## Playoff format

The top two teams in each division advance to the playoffs, with all playoff matchups consisting of one game. Each conference will hold separate playoffs at a host location. The format for each conference playoff consists of one division winner playing against the other division's second-place club, with winners advancing to the conference final. The winners of each conference play in the national semifinal, determined as such: Central vs Western, Eastern vs Southern. The winners of these matches play in the final match scheduled on August 11.

## Current 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 | 2 | 3 | 48 | 15 | +33 | 36 |
| 2 | Chicago Fire Premier | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 23 | 17 | +6 | 28 |
| 3 | West Michigan Edge | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 21 | 24 | −3 | 23 |
| 4 | Toronto Lynx | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 22 |
| 5 | Indiana Invaders | 16 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 19 | 31 | −12 | 17 |
| 6 | Cleveland Internationals | 16 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 22 | 35 | −13 | 16 |
| 7 | Fort Wayne Fever | 16 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 21 | 38 | −17 | 13 |

#### Heartland Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Thunder Bay Chill | 16 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 35 | 17 | +18 | 33 |
| 2 | St. Louis Lions | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 39 | 24 | +15 | 30 |
| 3 | Kansas City Brass | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 26 | 28 | −2 | 29 |
| 4 | Des Moines Menace | 16 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 41 | 24 | +17 | 25 |
| 5 | Colorado Rapids U23's | 16 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 37 | 22 | +15 | 25 |
| 6 | Springfield Demize | 16 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 16 | 44 | −28 | 13 |
| 7 | Sioux Falls Spitfire | 16 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 15 | 41 | −26 | 11 |

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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Hampton Roads Piranhas | 16 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 42 | 6 | +36 | 44 |
| 2 | Ocean City Barons | 16 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 33 | 20 | +13 | 31 |
| 3 | Virginia Legacy | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 27 | 19 | +8 | 29 |
| 4 | Reading Rage | 16 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 30 | 29 | +1 | 25 |
| 5 | Fredericksburg Gunners | 16 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 31 | 22 | +9 | 23 |
| 6 | Richmond Kickers Future | 16 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 23 | 25 | −2 | 19 |
| 7 | Northern Virginia Royals | 16 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 15 | 48 | −33 | 11 |
| 8 | Delaware Dynasty | 16 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 20 | 35 | −15 | 11 |
| 9 | West Virginia Chaos | 16 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 20 | 37 | −17 | 10 |
* ↑ West Virginia was penalized 1 point for circumstances not released by the USL.

#### Northeast Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 16 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 35 | 15 | +20 | 33 |
| 2 | Brooklyn Knights | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 31 | 24 | +7 | 30 |
| 3 | Westchester Flames | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 34 | 17 | +17 | 26 |
| 4 | Long Island Rough Riders | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 26 | 22 | +4 | 24 |
| 5 | Albany Admirals | 16 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 20 | 27 | −7 | 23 |
| 6 | Vermont Voltage | 16 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 20 | 43 | −23 | 15 |
| 7 | Ottawa Fury | 16 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 21 | −4 | 14 |
| 8 | Rhode Island Stingrays | 16 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 19 | 33 | −14 | 13 |

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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Laredo Heat | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 29 | 12 | +17 | 34 |
| 2 | El Paso Patriots | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 19 | 17 | +2 | 26 |
| 3 | DFW Tornados | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 22 | 24 | −2 | 24 |
| 4 | Mississippi Brilla | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 30 | 21 | +9 | 23 |
| 5 | New Orleans Shell Shockers | 16 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 28 | 22 | +6 | 20 |
| 6 | Baton Rouge Capitals | 16 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 20 | 32 | −12 | 19 |
| 7 | Austin Lightning | 16 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 13 | 31 | −18 | 10 |

#### Southeast Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Carolina Dynamo | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 41 | 14 | +27 | 35 |
| 2 | Central Florida Kraze | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 47 | 21 | +26 | 34 |
| 3 | Atlanta Silverbacks U23's | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 32 | 14 | +18 | 34 |
| 4 | Bradenton Academics | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 39 | 19 | +20 | 28 |
| 5 | Cary RailHawks U23's | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 22 | 17 | +5 | 24 |
| 6 | Palm Beach Pumas | 15 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 20 | 36 | −16 | 11 |
| 7 | Nashville Metros | 16 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 12 | 32 | −20 | 9 |
| 8 | Cocoa Expos | 15 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 63 | −62 | 2 |
* ↑ Palm Beach was penalized 2 points for circumstances not released by the USL.

### Western Conference
#### Northwest Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | BYU Cougars | 16 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 37 | 14 | +23 | 41 |
| 2 | Tacoma Tide | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 36 | 23 | +13 | 32 |
| 3 | Ogden Outlaws | 16 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 23 | 22 | +1 | 21 |
| 4 | Abbotsford Rangers | 16 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 38 | 24 | +14 | 20 |
| 5 | Spokane Spiders | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 25 | 49 | −24 | 18 |
| 6 | Yakima Reds | 16 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 22 | 35 | −13 | 13 |
| 7 | Cascade Surge | 16 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 17 | 38 | −21 | 11 |

#### Southwest Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Fresno Fuego | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 41 | 28 | +13 | 32 |
| 2 | San Fernando Valley Quakes | 16 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 33 | 16 | +17 | 32 |
| 3 | San Jose Frogs | 16 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 24 | 16 | +8 | 31 |
| 4 | Ventura County Fusion | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 27 | 19 | +8 | 30 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Storm | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 23 | 25 | −2 | 23 |
| 6 | San Francisco Seals | 16 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 23 | −5 | 20 |
| 7 | Southern California Seahorses | 16 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 26 | 24 | +2 | 20 |
| 8 | Bakersfield Brigade | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 22 | 29 | −7 | 18 |
| 9 | Orange County Blue Star | 16 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 18 | 27 | −9 | 13 |
| 10 | Lancaster Rattlers | 16 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 23 | 48 | −25 | 7 |

## Playoffs
### Playoff bracket

| 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 | Hampton Roads Piranhas | 1 (5) | | | | | | | | | | |
| NE2 | Brooklyn Knights (AET/PSO) | 1 (6) | | | | | | | | | | |
| NE2 | Brooklyn Knights (AET/PSO) | 1 (6) | NE2 | Brooklyn Knights | 1 | | | | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | NE2 | Brooklyn Knights | 1 | | | | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | NE1 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 0 | | | | | | | |
| NE1 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 5 | NE1 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 0 | | | | | | | |
| MA2 | Ocean City Barons | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| MA2 | Ocean City Barons | 0 | | | | NE2 | Brooklyn Knights | 1 (4) | | | | |
| | | | | | | GL1 | Michigan Bucks (AET/PSO) | 1 (5) | | | | |
| GL1 | Michigan Bucks | 4 | | | | | | | GL1 | Michigan Bucks (AET/PSO) | 1 (5) | | | | |
| HL2 | St. Louis Lions | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| HL2 | St. Louis Lions | 1 | GL1 | Michigan Bucks | 3 | | | | | | | |
| Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | GL1 | Michigan Bucks | 3 | | | | | | | |
| Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | GL2 | Chicago Fire Premier | 0 | | | | | | | |
| HL1 | Thunder Bay Chill | 1 | GL2 | Chicago Fire Premier | 0 | | | | | | | |
| GL2 | Chicago Fire Premier | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| GL2 | Chicago Fire Premier | 3 | | | | | | | | GL1 | Michigan Bucks | 0 (3) |
| | | | | | | | | | | MS1 | Laredo Heat | 0 (4) |
| MS1 | Laredo Heat | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | MS1 | Laredo Heat | 0 (4) |
| SE2 | Central Florida Kraze | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| SE2 | Central Florida Kraze | 0 | MS1 | Laredo Heat | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Central Conference | Central Conference | Central Conference | MS1 | Laredo Heat | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Central Conference | Central Conference | Central Conference | SE1 | Carolina Dynamo | 1 | | | | | | | |
| SE1 | Carolina Dynamo | 1 | SE1 | Carolina Dynamo | 1 | | | | | | | |
| MS2 | El Paso Patriots | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| MS2 | El Paso Patriots | 0 | | | | MS1 | Laredo Heat | 1 | | | | |
| | | | | | | SW1 | Fresno Fuego | 0 | | | | |
| NW1 | BYU Cougars | 2 | | | | | | | SW1 | Fresno Fuego | 0 | | | | |
| SW2 | San Fernando Valley Quakes | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| SW2 | San Fernando Valley Quakes | 0 | NW1 | BYU Cougars | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | NW1 | BYU Cougars | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | SW1 | Fresno Fuego | 3 | | | | | | | |
| SW1 | Fresno Fuego (AET) | 4 | SW1 | Fresno Fuego | 3 | | | | | | | |
| NW2 | Tacoma Tide | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |