| Season | 2008 | 
|---|---|
| Champions | Thunder Bay Chill | 
| ← 2007  2009 →  | |
The 2008 USL Premier Development League season was the 14th season of the PDL. The regular season started on April 26, 2008, and ended on July 20, 2008. The playoffs began on July 22, 2008, and ended with the PDL Championship Game on August 9, 2008.
Thunder Bay Chill finished the season as national champions, beating Laredo Heat on penalty kicks after a 1–1 tie in the PDL Championship game in Laredo, Texas on 9 August 2008.
Michigan Bucks finished with the best regular season record in the league, winning 13 out of their 16 games, suffering just one loss, and finishing with a +27 goal difference.
Yakima Reds striker Junior Garcia was the league's top scorer and MVP, knocking in 15 goals. Fresno Fuego's Fabricio Codeceira led the league with 13 assists, while Austin Aztex U23 keeper Miguel Gallardo enjoyed the best goalkeeping statistics, with a goals-against average of 0.615 per game, and keeping 9 clean sheets in his 13 games.
Changes from 2007
Name changes
- Abbotsford Rangers changed their name to the Abbotsford Mariners to reflect the name of their parent organization.
- Los Angeles Storm changed their name to the Los Angeles Legends to reflect the name of their parent organization.
- The expansion Austin Stampede were renamed the Aztex U23 after the Austin Aztex USL-1 franchise was announced for 2009 and acquired controlling interest in the PDL team.
New franchises
- Nine franchises joined the league this year, including six brand new teams:
| Team Name | Metro Area | Location | Previous Affiliation | 
|---|---|---|---|
|  Austin Aztex U23 | Greater Austin area | Round Rock, TX | expansion | 
|  Cincinnati Kings | Greater Cincinnati area | Wilder, KY | relegated from USL-2 | 
|  Houston Leones | Greater Houston area | Richmond, TX | expansion | 
|  Kalamazoo Outrage | Kalamazoo area | Kalamazoo, MI | expansion | 
|  New Hampshire Phantoms | Hillsborough County area | Manchester, NH | relegated from USL-2 | 
|  New Jersey Rangers | Northern New Jersey area | Denville, NJ | expansion | 
|  Newark Ironbound Express | Newark area | Newark, NJ | expansion | 
|  Panama City Pirates | Panama City area | Panama City Beach, FL | expansion | 
|  Vancouver Whitecaps Residency | Metro Vancouver area | Burnaby, BC | transferred from PCSL | 
Folding
- Five teams left the league prior to the beginning of the season:
Final standings
| Legend | 
|---|
| Team won the Division Title | 
| Team qualified for playoff berth | 
Central Conference
Great Lakes Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan Bucks | 16 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 40 | 13 | +27 | 41 | 
| 2 | Cleveland Internationals | 16 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 41 | 19 | +22 | 33 | 
| 3 | Toronto Lynx | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 28 | 21 | +7 | 26 | 
| 4 | Cincinnati Kings | 16 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 32 | −18 | 12 | 
| 5 | West Virginia Chaos | 16 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 32 | −15 | 10 | 
Midwest Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago Fire Premier | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 26 | 12 | +14 | 30 | 
| 2 | Kalamazoo Outrage | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 27 | 24 | +3 | 26 | 
| 3 | Indiana Invaders | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 21 | −1 | 22 | 
| 4 | Fort Wayne Fever | 16 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 33 | −17 | 11 | 
| 5 | West Michigan Edge | 16 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 18 | 40 | −22 | 10 | 
Heartland Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thunder Bay Chill | 16 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 42 | 17 | +25 | 40 | 
| 2 | Colorado Rapids U23's | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 34 | 25 | +9 | 27 | 
| 3 | Des Moines Menace | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 29 | 18 | +11 | 26 | 
| 4 | St. Louis Lions | 16 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 29 | 27 | +2 | 25 | 
| 5 | Kansas City Brass | 16 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 23 | 30 | −7 | 19 | 
| 6 | Springfield Demize | 16 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 48 | −40 | 0 | 
The top two teams in each division qualify for the playoffs. The Conference champion receives a bye into the Conference Semifinals, with the third place team from that division receiving a playoff berth.
Eastern Conference
Mid Atlantic Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reading Rage | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 32 | 12 | +20 | 35 | 
| 2 | Fredericksburg Gunners | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 27 | 23 | +4 | 24 | 
| 3 | Hampton Roads Piranhas | 16 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 22 | 23 | −1 | 21 | 
| 4 | Virginia Legacy | 16 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 16 | 31 | −15 | 16 | 
| 5 | Northern Virginia Royals | 16 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 20 | 34 | −14 | 14 | 
| 6 | Richmond Kickers Future | 16 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 17 | 27 | −10 | 12 | 
New England Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 16 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 33 | 16 | +17 | 31 | 
| 2 | Ottawa Fury | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 38 | 22 | +16 | 30 | 
| 3 | Vermont Voltage | 16 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 28 | 30 | −2 | 25 | 
| 4 | New Hampshire Phantoms | 16 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 14 | 28 | −14 | 13 | 
| 5 | Rhode Island Stingrays | 16 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 21 | 38 | −17 | 11 | 
Northeast Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brooklyn Knights | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 33 | 17 | +16 | 34 | 
| 2 | Newark Ironbound Express | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 33 | 17 | +16 | 30 | 
| 3 | Long Island Rough Riders | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 26 | +10 | 28 | 
| 4 | Westchester Flames | 16 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 23 | 
| 5 | Ocean City Barons | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 29 | 25 | +4 | 23 | 
| 6 | New Jersey Rangers | 16 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 12 | 42 | −30 | 8 | 
The Division Champions and the Second Place team with the most points qualify for the playoffs.
Southern Conference
Mid South Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin Aztex U23 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 25 | 11 | +14 | 31 | 
| 2 | Laredo Heat | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 33 | 15 | +18 | 28 | 
| 3 | El Paso Patriots | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 20 | +2 | 27 | 
| 4 | Mississippi Brilla | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 26 | 23 | +3 | 24 | 
| 5 | Baton Rouge Capitals | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 20 | 23 | −3 | 22 | 
| 6 | DFW Tornados | 16 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 17 | 20 | −3 | 21 | 
| 7 | New Orleans Shell Shockers | 16 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 18 | 28 | −10 | 18 | 
| 8 | Houston Leones | 16 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 17 | 38 | −21 | 11 | 
Southeast Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Central Florida Kraze | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 38 | 18 | +20 | 35 | 
| 2 | Bradenton Academics | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 37 | 13 | +24 | 34 | 
| 3 | Cary RailHawks U23's | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 40 | 29 | +11 | 29 | 
| 4 | Atlanta Silverbacks U23's | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 38 | 29 | +9 | 28 | 
| 5 | Panama City Pirates | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 35 | 20 | +15 | 24 | 
| 6 | Carolina Dynamo | 16 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 35 | 31 | +4 | 23 | 
| 7 | Nashville Metros | 16 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 12 | 42 | −30 | 9 | 
| 8 | Palm Beach Pumas | 16 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 62 | −53 | −1[lower-alpha 1] | 
Notes:
- ↑ Palm Beach deducted 4 points for failing to fulfil three fixtures.
Western Conference
Northwest Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tacoma Tide | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 46 | 23 | +23 | 34 | 
| 2 | Vancouver Whitecaps Residency | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 34 | 14 | +20 | 34 | 
| 3 | Yakima Reds | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 31 | 25 | +6 | 28 | 
| 4 | BYU Cougars | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 21 | 20 | +1 | 24 | 
| 5 | Ogden Outlaws | 16 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 21 | −3 | 20 | 
| 6 | Abbotsford Mariners | 16 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 26 | 32 | −6 | 18 | 
| 7 | Cascade Surge | 16 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 35 | −18 | 14 | 
| 8 | Spokane Spiders | 16 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 20 | 43 | −23 | 11 | 
Southwest Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Fernando Valley Quakes | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 30 | 
| 2 | Fresno Fuego | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 38 | 27 | +11 | 29 | 
| 3 | Ventura County Fusion | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 24 | 14 | +10 | 27 | 
| 4 | San Francisco Seals | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 21 | 17 | +4 | 27 | 
| 5 | San Jose Frogs | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 26 | 20 | +6 | 24 | 
| 6 | Los Angeles Legends | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 22 | 
| 7 | Bakersfield Brigade | 16 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 21 | −5 | 19 | 
| 8 | Orange County Blue Star | 16 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 24 | 31 | −7 | 18 | 
| 9 | Southern California Seahorses | 16 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 27 | −12 | 14 | 
| 10 | Lancaster Rattlers | 16 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 18 | 39 | −21 | 10 | 
The top two teams in each division qualify for the playoffs.
Playoffs
The Divisional Round for the Central Conference took place July 22–23, 2008, with the Conference Championships taking place between July 25–27. The PDL Semifinals took place on August 2, and the final was played on August 9.
Playoff bracket
Divisional round
|  Chicago Fire Premier | 0 – 2 |  Kalamazoo Outrage | 
|---|---|---|
| Cutshaw  52' | (Report) | Warmer  19'  42' (OG) Alvino  62' Muckey  63' | 
|  Thunder Bay Chill | 3 – 1 |  Colorado Rapids U23's | 
|---|---|---|
| Oliveira  9'  56' Coronado  33' Gold  60' Swartzendruber  74' Paterson  86' Putrus  90' Zendejas  90' | (Report) | Warner  7'  78' Schmoker  28' Charles  49'  84' Howlan  76' Hemmi  90' | 
|  Cleveland Internationals | 2 – 1 |  Toronto Lynx | 
|---|---|---|
| Williams  20' Nanchoff  26' Nagbe  54' Zemanski  83' | (Report) | DeAbreu  42' Scott  44'  54' Binstock  82' | 
Conference semifinals
|  Bradenton Academics | 1 – 2 |  Austin Aztex U23 | 
|---|---|---|
| Ingvarsson  17' Gavin  25' Bello  74' Maxwell  83' | (Report) | Papandrea  39'  66' Godbolt  56'  59' Bernard  64' Vincens  65' | 
|  Cape Cod Crusaders | 0 – 0 (AET) |  Brooklyn Knights | 
|---|---|---|
| Maloney  33' Munro  73' | (Report) | Damiani  27' Gonzales  82' Ortega  93' Dos Santos  108' | 
| Penalties | ||
| Munro  Maloney  Lynn  Vercollone  | 3 – 5 |  Matteo  Damiani  Guerra  Dos Santos  Kulkov | 
|  Central Florida Kraze | 1 – 2 |  Laredo Heat | 
|---|---|---|
| Araujo  45' Wolfe  54' Mattson  90' | (Report) | Cruz  21' Garcia  52'  90+' Mulamba  53'  63' Infante  87' | 
|  Reading Rage | 4 – 2 (AET) |  Newark Ironbound Express | 
|---|---|---|
| Ports  22' O'Connor  66' Burgess  67'  109' (PK) Taranto  74' Benson  92' | (Report) | Kotynski  4' Robinson  29' Karcz  30'  62' Grato  82' Bilbao  83' Chencinski  100' Stamatis  100' Ruesgen  102' | 
|  Cleveland Internationals | 0 – 2 |  Thunder Bay Chill | 
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | Putrus  17' Coronado  21'  45' Alvarado  27' Swartzendruber  66' Intermoia  82' | 
|  Vancouver Whitecaps Residency | 3 – 1 (AET) |  San Fernando Valley Quakes | 
|---|---|---|
| Leslie  65' Davies  69' Dosanjh  86' Edwini-Bonsu  90+6'  110' Russell  114'  116' Sandhu  118' | (Report) | Borak  72' Agwu  82'  84' Tracy  104' | 
|  Michigan Bucks | 1 – 3 (AET) |  Kalamazoo Outrage | 
|---|---|---|
| DeMartin  31' Morisset  39' Clark  120' | (Report) | Alvino  34' Oatley  86'  111'  120' Muckey  98' | 
|  Fresno Fuego | 0 – 3 |  Tacoma Tide | 
|---|---|---|
| Alvarado  32' Calvo  89' Nunes  89' | (Report) | Scott  18' Mueller  30' Schomaker  76' Tangney  90' | 
Conference finals
|  Laredo Heat | 3 – 1 |  Austin Aztex U23 | 
|---|---|---|
| Galvan  4' Mulamba  12'  68' Quinones  17' Cruz  26' Garcia  47'  51' Morales  80' | (Report) | Alvarez  4' Vega  5' Watson  26' (PK)  64' Godbolt  36'  41' | 
|  Reading Rage | 1 – 0 |  Brooklyn Knights | 
|---|---|---|
| Burgess  40'  45' Rowling  69' | (Report) | Matteo  40' Smith  43' Gonzalez  53' Damiani  61' Carrizo  77' Alvarado  90' | 
|  Kalamazoo Outrage | 0 – 4 |  Thunder Bay Chill | 
|---|---|---|
| Howard  10' | Milroth  11' Intermoia  20' Oliveira  45' (PK) Swartzendruber  59' C. Gold  75'  81' | 
|  Vancouver Whitecaps Residency | 4 – 1 |  Tacoma Tide | 
|---|---|---|
| Edwini-Bonsu  41'  64' Semenets  66' Russell  86' Johnstone  87' | (Report) | Mueller  46' Knapp  54' Agu  82' Schomaker  90' | 
PDL semifinals
|  Thunder Bay Chill | 2 – 1 |  Vancouver Whitecaps Residency | 
|---|---|---|
| Alvarado  52' Milroth  61'  79' Zendejas  90+4' | Leslie  41' Dosanjh  56' Davies  81' Edwini-Bonsu  89'  90+4'  90+4' | 
|  Laredo Heat | 2 – 0 |  Reading Rage | 
|---|---|---|
| Quinones  29' Ramos  41' Garcia  78' Humphrey  87' | O'Connor  50' Sanders  84' | 
PDL final
|  Laredo Heat | 1 – 1 (AET) |  Thunder Bay Chill | 
|---|---|---|
| Blackwell  33' Ibarra  46' Infante  83' Galvan  90' | (Report) | Putrus  34' Da Silva  44' Milroth  56'  76' Oliveira  63'  76' J. Gold  64' | 
| Penalties | ||
|  Galvan  Ordaz  Su | 1 – 4 | Oliveira  Swartzendruber  C. Gold  Intermoia  | 
Awards and All-League team
F: Carlos Araujo (Central Florida Kraze); Felix Garcia (Laredo Heat) (U19 Player of the Year); Junior Garcia (Yakima Reds) (league MVP)
M: Will Beaugé (Ottawa Fury); Fabricio Codeceira (Fresno Fuego); Adam Gazda (Reading Rage); Nate Jafta (Michigan Bucks)
D: Darrius Barnes (Cary RailHawks U23's); Mike Holody (Michigan Bucks); Norberto Papandrea (Austin Aztex U23) (Defender of the Year)
G: Miguel Gallardo (Austin Aztex U23) (Goalkeeper of the Year)
Coach: Wolfgang Suhnholz (Austin Aztex U23)