Phantoms Open Eastern PDL Schedule

Big Local Game With Crusaders Looms

January 24, 2008

TAMPA, FL � In their first season in the PDL, the New Hampshire Phantoms will be the first of the three New England teams to kick off the 2008 USL Premier Development League regular season when they host the Long Island Rough Riders on May 3.

A week later, the Phantoms, which moved down from the USL's Second Division this offseason, travel to Cape Cod in the Crusaders first match of the year on May 10. That same day, the Rhode Island Stingrays open their season at Richmond Kickers Future.

The full 2008 PDL schedule was announced by United Soccer Leagues Thursday. The regular season will open April 26 with the 2007 PDL semifinalist Fresno Fuego playing host to the San Francisco Seals and conclude on July 20.

As has become traditional due to the favorable weather conditions, the PDL season will open in California as the defending regular season Southwest Division champions take on the Seals. A week later, the season gets into full swing as 11 more games mark the opening of play for the Southern and Eastern Conferences. The Central Conference will begin play May 10.

The defending PDL champion and 2006 runner-up Laredo Heat will open the season on the road when they visit the Mississippi Brilla May 9. The 2006 PDL champion and 2007 runner-up Michigan Bucks will open their campaign for a third straight championship appearance May 17 when they play host to the West Virginia Chaos. If Laredo or Michigan reaches the final, it would be the first time in league history that the same team reached the championship game three consecutive years.

The playoffs will begin almost immediately with the expanded Central Conference format in which seven teams will move onto the postseason, marking the first conference equivalent playoff system featuring more than four participants for the first time since the divisional playoffs in 1998. The four Conference Championship Tournaments will be held July 25-27 with the PDL Semifinals August 1-2 and the PDL Championship Saturday, August 9. All playoff hosts are determined via a bid process.

Central Conference Playoffs: The regular season conference champion receives a bye to the conference tournament semifinals. The remaining top two teams in each division will play a divisional round midweek to determine the three other qualifiers for the conference tournament. The number one seed will play the lowest seeded non-divisional opponent in the conference tournament semifinals. The winner of the conference championship advances to the PDL Semifinals.

Click here for the complete 2008 PDL schedule.

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