PDL,playoffs

PDL,playoff schedules set

Postseason action begins Tuesday with PDL Divisional Round

USL News Release

Monday, July 21, 2008

TAMPA, FL – United Soccer Leagues announced Monday the Premier Development League playoff schedules set to begin midweek with the Divisional Rounds and continue with the Conference Championship tournaments on the weekend. The 19-team PDL playoff field begins play Tuesday.

Two of the three PDL Central Conference Divisional Round matches are set for Tuesday, July 22 with Thunder Bay playing host to the Colorado Rapids U-23 in the Heartland and the Kalamazoo Outrage visiting the Chicago Fire in the Midwest. Toronto takes on Cleveland in the final Divisional Round match Wednesday. The three winners will advance to the Central Conference tournament hosted by the conference regular season champion Michigan Bucks July 26-27.

The Eastern Conference and Southern Conference will hold their tournaments July 25-26. The Eastern Conference tournament will be hosted by top seed Reading, who face wild card Newark in the semifinals while Brooklyn takes on Cape Cod in the other. Top seed Central Florida will host the Southern Conference tournament, taking on the defending champion Laredo Heat as the Bradenton Academics face expansion Austin, who won the Mid South in their debut.

The Western Conference will round out the PDL conference playoffs in Fresno, where the Fuego will take on Northwest winner Tacoma while Vancouver battles Southwest Division Champion San Fernando Valley July 26. The conference final is July 27.

The four conference champions advance to the PDL Semifinals the following weekend for the right to play for the league title on August 9.

PDL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

Central Conference

7/22: Kalamazoo @ Chicago – 5:00 – Divisional Round

7/22: Colorado @ Thunder Bay – 7:30 – Divisional Round

7/23: Toronto @ Cleveland – 7:00 – Divisional Round

7/26: Divisional Winner 2 vs Divisional Winner 1 – 5:30 – Conference Semifinal

7/26: Divisional Winner 3 vs Michigan Bucks* – 7:30 – Conference Semifinal

7/27: Conference Championship – 7:00

Eastern Conference

7/25: Cape Cod vs Brooklyn – 5:30 – Conference Semifinal

7/25: Newark vs Reading* - 8:00 – Conference Semifinal

7/27: Conference Championship – 4:30

Southern Conference

7/25: Bradenton vs Austin – 5:00 – Conference Semifinal

7/25: Laredo vs Central Florida* - 7:30 – Conference Semifinal

7/26: Conference Championship – 7:00

Western Conference

7/26: Vancouver vs San Fernando Valley – 7:30 – Conference Semifinal

7/26: Fresno* vs Tacoma – 10:30 – Conference Semifinal

7/27: Conference Championship – 10:30

7/21/08