Eastern Conference
In the Drivers Seat - New Hampshire Phantoms, Fredericksburg Gunners, Brooklyn Knights
The Phantoms are on top of the table now, but that position could change drastically by the time they play their final qualifying match on May 25 rolls around. The Phantoms May 25 game against Brooklyn could likely be produce an Open Cup berth for either team. No matter what, New Hampshire will be alive until that match, as they cannot fall fewer then two points behind any of the remaining teams. The monkey wrench in the whole prospect are the Fredericksburg Gunners. The Gunners match on May 11 versus Rhode Island was postponed, and at this time it is unclear if it will be rescheduled in time for the Open Cup qualifying deadline.
|
Undefeated PDL clubs missing
the U.S. Open Cup
|
| Team |
Year |
Record |
Finish |
| Atlanta Silverbacks u23 |
2007 |
2-0-2 |
2nd, Southeast |
| Cape Cod Crusaders |
2007 |
2-0-2 |
2nd, Mid Atlantic |
| Hampton Roads Piranhas |
2007 |
3-0-1 |
2nd, Northeast |
| Indiana Invaders |
2007 |
2-0-2 |
2nd, Great Lakes |
| Williamsburg Legacy |
2006 |
2-0-2 |
4th, Eastern |
| Augusta Fireball |
2006 |
2-0-2 |
3rd, Southern |
| Southern California Seahorses |
2005 |
4-0-0 |
3rd, Western |
| Michigan Bucks* |
2004 |
2-0-1 |
4th, Central |
| Vermont Voltage |
2003 |
2-0-2 |
5th, Eastern |
| Cape Cod Crusaders |
2003 |
2-0-2 |
4th, Eastern |
| Mid Michigan Bucks |
2002 |
3-0-1 |
3rd, Central |
| Chicago Fire Reserves |
2002 |
3-0-1 |
4th, Central |
| Indiana Invaders |
2002 |
3-0-1 |
5th, Central |
| Texas Rattlers |
2001 |
3-0-1 |
2nd, Central |
| Lafayette Lightning |
2001 |
2-0-2 |
5th, Central |
| Denver Cougars |
2001 |
3-0-1 |
4th, Western |
| New York Freedoms |
2000 |
2-0-2 |
5th, Group 3 |
| Spokane Shadow |
2000 |
2-0-2 |
4th, Group 1 |
| Colorado Comets |
1999 |
4-0-0 |
2nd, Central |
|
Notes
Number of USOC spots allocated to PDL
4, 1999-2001 ; 5, 2002 ; 6, 2003, 8, 2004-Present
From 1999-2002, bonus points were awarded for goals
*-Michigan’s final qualifying match was postponed,
and not rescheduled by the qualifying deadline
as they were mathmatically eliminated.
|
Decent Shot - Vermont Voltage, Cape Cod Crusaders, Reading Rage
Two of these teams could wind up with nine points, which might be enough to get in with losses by clubs ahead of them. Cape Cod will know their fate before the others, as they play their final two games within the next few days. The Crusaders play both of their games on the road, tomorrow at Rhode Island, and two days later at Vermont. Reading will host Hampton Roads tomorrow as well, before traveling to Northern Virginia on May 24. Should Vermont get by Cape Cod, a big showdown with Brooklyn awaits at home on May 24
Need Help - Westchester Flames, Ocean City Barons, Newark Ironbound Express
Westchester are the most helpless of the three, as they have completed their qualifying run and can only watch and wait. Westchester sits with seven points, and no fewer then four teams are behind them within two points. Ocean City and Newark face a slightly better chance, having the opportunity to finish with eight points each. History will be against them, however, as no PDL team has qualified for the Open cup with less than three wins under the current format*. The two teams will also need losses by the teams in front of them to make it through.
*-In 1998, the Cascade Surge and Bradenton Academics qualified with 2-2 records, but played in smaller groups and had bonus points for goals added to their point total.
Long shots - Richmond Kickers Future, Rhode Island Stingrays, Hampton Roads Piranhas
All three sit near the bottom with one point, and can only gain a maximum of seven points. Any of these teams will need a tremendous amount of help to find their way to the U.S. Open cup this year.
Key Matches
|
May 21
|
Cape Cod Crusaders
|
at
|
Rhode Island Stingrays
|
7:00
|
|
May 21
|
Hampton Roads Piranhas
|
at
|
Reading Rage
|
6:00
|
|
May 22
|
Richmond Kickers Future
|
at
|
Newark Ironbound Express
|
8:00
|
|
May 23
|
Cape Cod Crusaders
|
at
|
Vermont Voltage
|
7:30
|
|
May 23
|
Fredericksburg Gunners
|
at
|
Hampton Roads Piranhas
|
8:00
|
|
May 23
|
Richmond Kickers Future
|
at
|
Ocean City Barons
|
7:30
|
|
May 24
|
Brooklyn Knights
|
at
|
Vermont Voltage
|
7:30
|
|
May 24
|
Reading Rage
|
at
|
Northern Virginia Royals
|
7:00
|
|
May 25
|
Brooklyn Knights
|
at
|
New Hampshire Phantoms
|
2:00
|
Central Conference
In the Drivers Seat - Cleveland Internationals, St. Louis Lions
The Cleveland Internationals are in an unfamiliar spot after two games, holding a 2-0-0 record, and maximum tiebreaker goals and goal difference. The only other time they have gotten off to a similar start was in 2005, when they went 2-0-1 in their first three games. Cleveland face a winnable match versus West Virginia on May 24, but their final match at home against the Michigan Bucks will likely determine who moves on to the Open Cup. The St. Louis Lions are the other perfect team in the conference and look to have an easier path then Cleveland, at least on paper. The Lions will face a pair of 0-0-2 clubs on back to back days, Springfield at home on May 24, and then away to Kansas City the next day.
Decent Shot - Michigan Bucks, Chicago Fire
Both of these 1-0-0 teams will find out shortly how their qualifying prospects will look heading into this coming weekend. They will take the field in the next few days, and also face the challenging prospect of playing three matches in less than a week’s time. The Bucks begin their week of matches tomorrow at West Michigan, and conclude on Memorial Day traveling to Cleveland for what could be a winner-takes-all match up. After hosting Ft. Wayne, the Fire will spend a few days in Michigan against Kalamazoo on May 23, and West Michigan two days later
Need Help - Des Moines Menace, Colorado Rapids u23’s, Kalamazoo Outrage, West Michigan Edge, Fort Wayne Fever
Kalamazoo and West Michigan both face teams in the top four of the standings, and have a chance to help themselves. West Michigan has the best chance to directly effect their fortunes, as they face both Chicago and Michigan at home during the week. Kalamazoo will face Chicago at home on May 23, and then will travel to face Indiana on Memorial Day, although a loss to Chicago would render the holiday match up as just another regular season PDL clash. Des Moines and Colorado have the longest shot out of this group, having played three games already and sitting at six points. One of the clubs, or both, will be eliminated for sure when they face off on May 24 in Boulder. Another factor going against Des Moines is their season opening 2-1 loss to St. Louis, which will come into play in the unlikely event the two teams are tied by themselves on points. Ft. Wayne (0-1-0) have a difficult path, playing three games in the span of five days, two of which will be on the road. The Fever open tonight at the Chicago Fire, then host the Indiana Invaders two days later, then hit the road again to face the Michigan Bucks on May 24.
Long shots - West Virginia Chaos, Springfield Demize, Indiana Invaders, Kansas City Brass, Cincinnati Kings
Having only one point after two matches, West Virginia will need all the right results in order to get into the Open Cup. Springfield and Indiana are both pointless after two games, and along with Cincinnati (three points after three games), face an unrealistic hope of Open Cup qualification.
Key Matches
|
May 20
|
Fort Wayne Fever
|
at
|
Chicago Fire
|
7:00
|
|
May 21
|
Michigan Bucks
|
at
|
West Michigan Edge
|
7:00
|
|
May 22
|
Indiana Invaders
|
at
|
Fort Wayne Fever
|
7:00
|
|
May 23
|
Chicago Fire
|
at
|
Kalamazoo Outrage
|
7:00
|
|
May 24
|
Cleveland Internationals
|
at
|
West Virginia Chaos
|
7:00
|
|
May 24
|
Des Moines Menace
|
at
|
Colorado Rapids U23s
|
7:00
|
|
May 24
|
Fort Wayne Fever
|
at
|
Michigan Bucks
|
4:00
|
|
May 24
|
Springfield Demize
|
at
|
St. Louis Lions
|
6:00
|
|
May 25
|
St. Louis Lions
|
at
|
Kansas City Brass
|
6:00
|
|
May 26
|
Chicago Fire
|
at
|
West Michigan Edge
|
5:00
|
|
May 26
|
Kalamazoo Outrage
|
at
|
Indiana Invaders
|
7:30
|
|
May 26
|
Michigan Bucks
|
at
|
Cleveland Internationals
|
7:00
|
Southern Conference
Mid South Division
In the Drivers Seat - Austin Aztex, Laredo Heat
Decent Shot & Need Help - Mississippi Brilla
After May 23, Mississippi Brilla will know exactly what they need to do in order to make their U.S. Open Cup debut. On that night, Austin and Laredo will meet to decide the Mid South Division qualifying leader, as both clubs are even at seven points. A draw would be the best result for Mississippi, enabling them to pass both Austin and Laredo on points and skip the tiebreakers. Should Laredo win, Mississippi would need to rely on the goal difference and goals scored tiebreakers to get through. Should Austin win, the prospects are more difficult. Should Austin win by three or more goals, Brilla would be eliminated, as they would not be able to match the Aztex goal difference. PDL tiebreakers dictate that only +/- 3 goals be counted towards goal difference and goals scored, due to the unbalanced nature of the qualifying schedules. Mississippi finish their qualifying with back to back away games at Houston and DFW Tornadoes this weekend.
Key Matches
|
May 23
|
Austin Aztex
|
at
|
Laredo Heat
|
9:15
|
|
May 24
|
Mississippi Brilla
|
at
|
Houston Leones
|
6:00
|
|
May 25
|
Mississippi Brilla
|
at
|
DFW Tornadoes
|
8:30
|
Southeast Division
In the Drivers Seat - Central Florida Kraze
Decent Shot - Bradenton Academics
Long shots - Carolina Dynamo, Nashville Metros
The Central Florida Kraze are nearly in as the Southeast Division qualifier. Trailing them are the Carolina Dynamo with nine points, due finished with qualifying. Carolina’s only hope is that Bradenton or Nashville fail to take maximum points from their final two matches, and that the Kraze lose their final match. Bradenton and Nashville will know more about their fate tomorrow night, as the two clubs face each other at Nashville. A draw would knock both clubs out of contention, and the only way Nashville can get in is to win both matches, and hope the tiebreakers work in their favor.
All Central Florida needs is a draw on Memorial Day versus Bradenton and they are in. Should Bradenton win over Nashville, a holiday victory will send them to the Open Cup.
Key Matches
|
May 21
|
Bradenton Academics
|
at
|
Nashville Metros
|
8:00
|
|
May 24
|
Palm Beach Pumas
|
at
|
Nashville Metros
|
8:00
|
|
May 26
|
Central Florida Kraze
|
at
|
Bradenton Academics
|
5:30
|
Western Conference
Northwest Division
In the Drivers Seat - BYU Cougars
Decent Shot - Yakima Reds, Ogden Outlaws
Need Help - Tacoma Tide
In a unique twist, all four teams left alive play each other this weekend, with BYU holding the upper hand going in. The Cougars have an unblemished record heading into the weekend, but may not clinch a spot in the Cup until Saturday. Should BYU defeat Yakima on Friday, and Ogden and Tacoma play to a draw, the Cougars would get in. Should Yakima defeat BYU on Friday night, prepare for yet another wild Northwest finish on Saturday night!
Key Matches
|
May 23
|
BYU Cougars
|
at
|
Yakima Reds
|
10:05
|
|
May 23
|
Ogden Outlaws
|
at
|
Tacoma Tide
|
10:05
|
|
May 24
|
BYU Cougars
|
at
|
Tacoma Tide
|
10:05
|
|
May 24
|
Ogden Outlaws
|
at
|
Yakima Reds
|
10:05
|
Southwest Division
Drivers Seat & Needs Help - San Jose Frogs
Decent Shot - Los Angeles Legends
The Southwest Division has the simplest scenario this week, and could end up in a lottery draw at the end. San Jose are finished with 10 points. Los Angeles trails them by three. Los Angeles loses, the Frogs are in the Cup. For the Legends to get in the easy way, they need to defeat San Fernando Valley by two or more goals on May 23. To get in the hard way, they would need to score at least three goals while only winning by one. This would leave the two clubs tied on points, goal difference and goals scored, and a lottery draw would be used to determined who qualifies. The last time a lottery draw was used to determine a PDL qualifier was in 2006, when Des Moines and Boulder finished tied at 3-0-1 for second in the Central Conference. Des Moines won the lottery draw and moved on to the U.S. Open Cup.
Key Match
