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USL League Two

Organising body	United Soccer League
Founded	1995; 23 years ago (1995)
First season	1995
Country	United States
Other club(s) from	Canada
Confederation	U.S. Soccer
Divisions	11
Number of teams	74
Level on pyramid	4 (US) (unofficial) 4 (CAN) (unofficial)
Domestic cup(s)	U.S. Open Cup
Current champions	Calgary Foothills FC (2018)
Most championships	Michigan Bucks (3 titles)
Website	uslleaguetwo.com
2019 USL League Two season

United Soccer League divisions
Championship	League One	League Two
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PDL logo used until 2018

USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a development soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league has 74 teams competing in four conferences, split into eleven regional divisions. Unofficially, it is considered to be the fourth tier of competition, behind Major League Soccer, USL Championship, and USL League One. USL League Two is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.^[1]

Calgary Foothills FC are the current PDL champions, having defeated Reading United AC 4–2 in extra time in the 2018 PDL Championship game on August 4, 2018.

Competition format

The Premier Development League, as of the 2018 season, is divided into 4 conferences (Eastern, Southern, Central, and Western), comprising 11 divisions. The league season runs from May through July, with the playoffs decided through July and August. All teams play a balanced regular season schedule of 14 games, seven home and seven away, within their division. In conferences with two divisions, the division winner and runner-up advance to the conference semifinals, while in conferences with three divisions, the division winners and best second-place finisher advances to the conference semifinals.

Playoffs

The PDL Playoffs see all regular season division champions advance into the conference semifinals, with both runner-ups in two-division conferences and the lone best runner-up in three-division conferences also advancing to that round. All matches in the PDL Playoffs are played in single match elimination format, with the higher seeded team hosting the match, until a Champion is decided at a predetermined neutral location for a playoff weekend, in which both the semifinal and Championship matches are played.

History

1990s

In 1995 the United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) changed its name to the United States International Soccer League, and split into two leagues, one professional (the 'Professional League', which ultimately became the USL Second Division) and one amateur (the 'Premier League'). The purpose for the split was to expand into and improve the soccer capabilities of many urban areas throughout the United States and Canada, while offering current college soccer players the opportunity to continue playing during the summer months without losing their college eligibility. The inaugural season of the new USISL Premier League featured 27 teams, and the Richmond Kickers won the first title, beating the Cocoa Expos 3–1 in the championship game.^[2]Gabe Jones of the Austin Lone Stars was the league's top scorer and MVP.

The United States International Soccer League changed its name again in 1996, to the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues, and before the season, there was substantial movement of teams between the Pro League, the Premier League and the newly created Select League (which would later merge with the A-League, and eventually become the USL First Division). The Premier League grew to 34 teams in its second year, with the Central Coast Roadrunners from San Luis Obispo, California beating the San Francisco Bay Seals in the championship game to take the title.^[3]Pasi Kinturi of the Nashville Metros was the league's top scorer and MVP.

Brian Ching was the PDL Rookie of the Year in 1998

The Premier League renamed itself the Premier Development Soccer League (PDSL) in 1997, and the Central Coast Roadrunners repeated as national champions, the first team to do so, beating the Cocoa Expos in the PDSL championship game.^[4]Lester Felicia of the Jackson Chargers was the league's MVP, while Rodrigo Costa of the Detroit Dynamite was the leading scorer and the league's Rookie of the Year, tallying 21 goals and 2 assists for 44 points. In 1998 the PDSL took to the field with 33 teams, including four associate members from the Pacific Coast Soccer League who played shortened schedules after their PCSL season was over. In the championship game the San Gabriel Valley Highlanders upset regular season champions Jackson Chargers 3–2, taking the trophy to California for the third straight year. Rodrigo Costa of the Detroit Dynamite was the league MVP, Boniventure Manati of the Jackson Chargers was the league's top scorer, and a young striker by the name of Brian Ching from the Spokane Shadow was named Rookie of the Year.^[5]

In 1999 the umbrella USISL changed its name to the United Soccer Leagues, and the Premier Development Soccer League dropped the 'soccer' part of its name and became known as the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League, or PDL. The league took in several teams from the D3Pro league, expanding to 42 teams in six divisions. Expansion franchise Chicago Sockers ultimately won the league, beating Spokane Shadow 3–1 for the title in a tight championship game. Fabio Eidenwein of the Sioux City Breeze was named League MVP and was the top scorer, with 20 goals.^[6]

2000s

PDL logo used until 2010

The PDL expanded by a further eight franchises in 2000, and the Chicago Sockers won their second straight title, beating the Mid-Michigan Bucks in a close 1–0 championship game. The single goal was scored by Rodrigo Costa who, having received a pass from teammate Hamid Mehreioskouei, chipped Bucks goalkeeper Eric Pogue from 18 yards through a crowded penalty area. Fernando Salazar of the Los Angeles-based San Fernando Valley Heroes was the league's MVP, while his teammate Arshak Abyanli took the honors as top goalscorer.^[7]

The league grew from 41 to 44 teams in 2001 through the usual mix of relegation from D3Pro, teams folding and new franchises being added. In the semi-finals, the Westchester Flames defeated Sioux Falls Spitfire 5–1 and Calgary Storm defeated Des Moines Menace 2–1; in the final, Westchester defeated Calgary 3–1 to take their first league title.^[8] Des Moines and Chicago Fire Reserves dominated the 2002 regular season, but both teams stuttered in the playoffs; the PDL final saw the Cape Cod Crusaders defeating the Boulder Rapids Reserve 2–1 to bring the title to the Northeast for the second year in a row. 2002 also saw the debut of the soon-to-be PDL legend, Tomas Boltnar of Des Moines Menace, who secured an unprecedented triple-crown of PDL MVP, Top Scorer and Rookie of the Year.^[9]

The mid-2000s was a period of steady growth and consolidation for the PDL. A TV agreement with Fox Soccer Channel saw the PDL Championship game being broadcast live on national television in North America for the first time, and professional teams began investing in the league by adding U-23 development sides as an addition to their senior rosters. Cape Cod repeated as PDL champs in 2003, beating the Chicago Fire Reserves in the final^[10] (and despite the presence of Jürgen Klinsmann playing for Orange County Blue Star), while 2004 saw the title head to Florida for the first time as the Central Florida Kraze overcame perennial bridesmaids Boulder Rapids Reserve.^[11]

Des Moines Menace took the PDL Championship trophy back to Iowa in 2005 after beating the El Paso Patriots 6–5 on penalty kicks, following a 0–0 draw in the PDL Championship game.^[12][13] 2006 saw the beginning of two seasons of dominance for two teams: the Michigan Bucks and the Laredo Heat. Both teams made the PDL Final in 2006 and 2007, with the Bucks emerging victorious in '06 with a 2–1 win thanks to goals by Kenny Uzoigwe and Ty Shipalane,^[14][15] only for Laredo to get their revenge the following year with an epic penalty kicks win after a 0–0 tie in regulation time.

Laredo became the first team to make three consecutive PDL championship games in 2008, but fell at the final hurdle to Thunder Bay Chill, who became the first ever Canadian side to win the PDL following their 4–1 penalty shootout victory.^[16] The PDL had grown to 68 teams by 2009, and to reflect their growing reputation, introduced a new scheme called PDL-Pro, whereby certain teams would be allowed to act as professional clubs, paying players, while still adhering to NCAA collegiate eligibility rules, and the USL's own age restriction policy. Ventura County Fusion returned the PDL title to Southern California for the first time in over a decade with a stoppage-time victory over Chicago Fire Premier, and in doing so became the lowest-seeded team to claim the national title.^[17]

Locations of USL League Two franchises. Blue = Eastern Conference, Orange = Southern, Green = Central, Red = Western

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2010s

PDL logo used until 2015

The 2010s began with a record, as the Portland Timbers U23s ended the season as national champions, beating Thunder Bay Chill 4–1 in the 2010 PDL Championship game.^[18] The Timbers also had the best regular season record, winning all their 16 games, scoring 53 goals and conceding just six along the way. In doing so the Timbers became the first team to post a perfect PDL regular season record since the Jackson Chargers in 1998,^[19] the first regular season champion to win the playoffs since the Central Coast Roadrunners in 1996, and the first team in PDL history to go through an entire PDL regular season and playoff campaign without posting a loss or a tie. Portland Timbers U23s striker Brent Richards was named League MVP and Rookie of the Year for his stellar campaign with the national champions. Players from Canadian side Thunder Bay Chill led the majority of the statistical categories, with striker Brandon Swartzendruber leading the league with 15 goals, while his teammate Gustavo Oliveira led the league with 13 assists. Portland Timbers U23s goalkeeper Jake Gleeson enjoyed the best goalkeeping statistics, allowing just five goals in 15 games and earning with a 0.360 GAA average.^[20]

Western Conference teams dominated the league in 2011 for the third year in a row, with the Kitsap Pumas ending the season as national champions, beating Laredo Heat 1–0 in the 2011 PDL Championship game. Kitsap, who lost just one game and conceded just ten goals all season, were the second team from the Northwest Division to win the national title in a row, while Laredo were contesting their fourth championship game in six years. Kitsap also were the first PDL-Pro team to win the championship, a milestone for the league. Kitsap's Western Conference rivals Fresno Fuego had the best regular-season record, posting an unbeaten 13–0–3 record. Fresno midfielder Milton Blanco was named League MVP, after leading the league in points (38) and assists (14) and helping his team to the Southwest Division title. Two Michigan Bucks players – Stewart Givens and Mitch Hildebrandt – were given end-of-season awards as Defender of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year respectively, while their coach Gary Parsons was named Coach of the Year. Jake Keegan of the Westchester Flames was named Rookie of the Year after tallying 16 goals in 16 games to take the league goal-scoring crown. Keegan accounted for 64 percent of Westchester's goals in 2011 and also finished third in the league in points with 34.^[21]

The 2012 PDL season would see a resurgence of the Eastern Conference, as the Michigan Bucks would claim the regular season title, with Canadian rivals Forest City London winning their first ever PDL Championship in an East coast contest, defeating Carolina Dynamo 2–1.^[22] Canadian clubs would also have another strong season in 2013, with four of eight Canadian clubs finishing in the final eight and two, the Victoria Highlanders and Thunder Bay Chill, advancing to the semi-finals.^[23] After a final four finish in 2012, The Chill would repeat their strong season, winning the 2013 regular season title but falling to the Austin Aztex in the Championship final 3–1 in front of a crowd of 4,253 fans, the largest attendance for a final since 2007.^[24][25]

In 2014, the Michigan Bucks would claim their second PDL Championship, defeating the Kitsap Pumas 1–0 on August 3, 2014, following a strong regular season campaign with a record of 9–2–3.^[26]

With USL Pro re-branding as the United Soccer League in February 2015,^[27] the PDL dropped the "USL" descriptor from their name, simply operating as the "Premier Development League".

The 2015 season would see league newcomers, New York Red Bulls U-23, put forth a very strong showing, finishing first in the Mid Atlantic Division and making it all the way to the Championship Final, before falling to the lower-seeded K-W United FC, who emerged from the very competitive Great Lakes Division, fending off perennial contenders and rivals Forest City London and the defending champions Michigan Bucks on their path to the final. United would come away winners 4–3 over the Red Bulls on August 3, 2015 at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Washington to claim their first ever Championship and the third for a Canadian club.^[28][29]

Organization

As PDL seasons take place during the summer months, the player pool is drawn mainly from elite college soccer players seeking to continue playing high-level soccer during their summer break, which they can do while still maintaining their college eligibility, as the PDL is not considered a "professional" league.^[30]

Formerly, teams such as Laredo Heat, New Orleans Jesters, Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23, Kitsap Pumas and the Hollywood United Hitmen have been embracing at least partial professionalism through a new program called PDL-Pro, whereby teams can choose to employ players who are paid for their performances,^[31] but who still meet the age eligibility criteria. This does not contravene NCAA rules, which state that college players cannot play alongside professionals, but may play against them. What this also means, however, is that PDL-Pro teams cannot have any active NCAA players on their rosters, but may employ NAIA and community college players, ex-NCAA players who have already graduated, or other local players who do not play college soccer at all.

Currently, all PDL teams field amateur, U23 squads.

In addition, PDL squads often also include standout high school and junior club players, as well as former professionals seeking to continue competing at a high level, often having been forced to retire from top flight competition due to age or injury. PDL rules dictate that a maximum of eight players on each team's 26-man roster can be over 23 years old, while at least three players on each team's roster must be 18 or younger.

Increasingly, the PDL is seen as a 'shop window' for professional clubs looking to discover and identify aspiring professional players who may enter the MLS SuperDraft in future years. Many of the players currently playing in Major League Soccer and elsewhere began their careers in the PDL.

In May 2018, the league did not permit Calgary Foothills FC to sign Stephanie Labbé, a goalkeeper for the Canadian women's team, even though the team had offered her a position. The decision was made due to her gender.^[32][33] Labbé filed a lawsuit against the league.^[34]

Current clubs

Team	City/area	Stadium	Founded	Head coach
Eastern Conference
Northeast Division
Black Rock FC	Great Barrington, Massachusetts	Hotchkiss Athletic Fields	2013
Boston Bolts	Boston, Massachusetts	Alumni Field	2015	Brian Ainscough
AC Connecticut	Danbury, Connecticut	Westside Athletic Complex	2011	Alex Harrison
GPS Portland Phoenix	Portland, Maine	Memorial Stadium	2009	Craig Fannan
Seacoast United Phantoms	Portsmouth, New Hampshire	Amesbury Sports Park	1996	Alistair Bain
Westchester Flames	New Rochelle, New York	City Park Stadium	1999	Gus Skoufis
Western Mass Pioneers	Ludlow, Massachusetts	Lusitano Stadium	1998	Joe Calabrese
Mid Atlantic Division
Evergreen FC	Leesburg, Virginia	Evergreen Sportsplex	2015	Grady Renfrow
FA Euro New York	Brooklyn, New York	Belson Stadium	2012	Ferdinando De Matthaeis
Lehigh Valley United	Allentown, Pennsylvania	J. Birney Crum Stadium	2009	Andy Adlard
Long Island Rough Riders	South Huntington, New York	Hofstra University Soccer Stadium	1994	Flavio Ferri
New York Red Bulls U-23	Harrison, New Jersey	Red Bull Training Facility	2009	Rob Elliott
Ocean City Nor'easters	Ocean City, New Jersey	Carey Stadium	1996	John Thompson
Reading United AC	Reading, Pennsylvania	Gurski Stadium	1996	Alan McCann
South Atlantic Division
Carolina Dynamo	Greensboro, North Carolina	Macpherson Stadium	1993	Tony Falvino
Charlotte Eagles	Charlotte, North Carolina	Sportsplex at Matthews	1991	Luke Helmuth
Lionsbridge FC	Newport News, Virginia	Pomoco Stadium	2017	Chris Whalley
Myrtle Beach Mutiny	Myrtle Beach, South Carolina	North Myrtle Beach Park and Sports Complex	2011	Kyle Timm
North Carolina FC U23[35]	Cary, North Carolina	WakeMed Soccer Park	2017
Tobacco Road FC[36]	Durham, North Carolina	Durham County Stadium	2013	Cedric Burke
Southern Conference
Southeast Division
IMG Academy Bradenton	Bradenton, Florida	IMG Academy	1998	Scott Dean
Lakeland Tropics SC[37]	Lakeland, Florida	Thomas W. Bryant Stadium	2017	Eoghan Conlon
FC Miami City	Miami, Florida	Tropical Park Stadium	2014	Wagneau Eloi
Next Academy Palm Beach	Boca Raton, Florida	Corey Lewis Stadium	2015	Edson Leivinha
North County United	Port St. Lucie, Florida	South County Regional Stadium	2017	Peter Fuller
SIMA Águilas[38]	Montverde, Florida	Montverde Academy Center	2017
The Villages SC	Wildwood, Florida	Millennium Park	2016	Anderson DaSilva
Weston FC	Pembroke Pines, Florida	Broward College Soccer Field	2017
Deep South Division
Birmingham Hammers	Birmingham, Alabama	Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex	2013	Wolf Koch
Memphis City FC	Memphis, Tennessee	Christian Brothers University	2015	Mark Franklin
Mississippi Brilla	Clinton, Mississippi	Clinton High School	2006	Mark McKeever
Peachtree City MOBA	Peachtree City, Georgia	MOBA Soccer Academy	2016	Volker Harms
SC United Bantams	Columbia, South Carolina	SC United Soccer Center at Monticello Road	2012	Lee Morris
Tri-Cities Otters	Johnson City, Tennessee	Kermit Tipton Stadium	2016	David Strickland
Mid South Division
AHFC Royals	Houston, Texas	Campbell Road Sports Park	2017	Josh Gardner
Brazos Valley Cavalry F.C.[39]	Bryan, Texas	Nutrabolt Stadium	2017	James Clarkson
FC Cleburne	Cleburne, Texas	The Depot at Cleburne Station	2017	Paul Davenport[40]
Corpus Christi FC	Corpus Christi, Texas	Dugan Stadium	2017	Sebastian Giraldo
Houston FC	Houston, Texas	San Jacinto College	2017	Bruce Talbot
OKC Energy U23	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Norman North High School	2015	Jon Pearlman
Texas United	Grand Prairie, Texas	AirHogs Stadium	2017	Arez Ardalani
Central Conference
Great Lakes Division
Cincinnati Dutch Lions	Cincinnati, Ohio	NKU Soccer Stadium	2013	Paul Nicholson
Dayton Dutch Lions	West Carrollton, Ohio	DOC Stadium	2009	Dan Griest
Derby City Rovers	Louisville, Kentucky	King Louie’s Sports Complex	2010	Lee Chalmers
Michigan Bucks	Flint, Michigan	Atwood Stadium	1995	Gary Parsons
West Virginia Chaos	Charleston, West Virginia	Schoenbaum Stadium	2003	Chris Grassie
Heartland Division
Chicago FC United	Chicago, Illinois	Loyola Soccer Park	2017	Jamie Smith
Des Moines Menace	Des Moines, Iowa	Valley Stadium	1994	Alen Marcina
Kaw Valley FC	Lawrence, Kansas	Rock Chalk Park	2017	István Urbányi
St. Louis Lions	St. Louis, Missouri	Tony Glavin Soccer Complex	2006	Tony Glavin
Thunder Bay Chill	Thunder Bay, Ontario	Fort William Stadium	2000	Giovanni Petraglia
WSA Winnipeg	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex	2010	Eduardo Badescu
Western Conference
Northwest Division
Calgary Foothills FC	Calgary, Alberta	Foothills Composite High School	1972	Tommy Wheeldon
Lane United FC	Eugene, Oregon	Willamalane Center	2013	John Galas
Portland Timbers U23s	Salem, Oregon	McCulloch Stadium	2008	Aaron Lewis
Seattle Sounders FC U-23	Tacoma, Washington	Franklin Pierce High School	2006	Darren Sawatzky
TSS FC Rovers	Burnaby, British Columbia	Swangard Stadium	2017	Colin Elmes
Victoria Highlanders	Victoria, British Columbia	Royal Athletic Park	2008	David Dew
Mountain Division
Albuquerque Sol FC	Albuquerque, New Mexico	Ben Rios Field	2013	Justin Sells
Colorado Pride Switchbacks U23	Colorado Springs, Colorado	Washburn Field & Weidner Field	2018	Diego Zaltron
Colorado Rapids U-23	Commerce City, Colorado	Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Field #20	2017	Erik Bushey
Ogden City SC	Ogden, Utah	Spence Eccles Ogden Community Sports Complex	2017	Eric Landon
Southwest Division
Fresno FC U-23	Fresno, California	Fresno State Soccer & Lacrosse Stadium	2018	Andrew Donnery
FC Golden State Force	Whittier, California	Rio Hondo College	2016	Jon Spencer
Orange County SC U-23	Costa Mesa, California	Vanguard University Stadium	2011	Chris Volk
LA Galaxy SD Zest	San Diego, California	Multiple[41]	2016	Jaewoo Kim
San Francisco City FC	San Francisco, California	Kezar Stadium	2001	Paddy Coyne[42]
San Francisco Glens SC[43]	San Francisco, California	Boxer Stadium	1961	Javier Ayala-Hil
Santa Cruz Breakers FC[44]	Santa Cruz, California	Cabrillo College Stadium	1992	Mike Runeare
Southern California Seahorses	La Mirada, California	La Mirada High School	2001	Todd Elkins
Ventura County Fusion	Ventura, California	Ventura College	2006	Rudy Ybarra

Future teams

Champions

Championships

(Defunct teams in italics)

Playoff championships by team

Average attendance

Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at https://web.archive.org/web/20131208011525/http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html, and then averaging this league-wide.^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

• Official website