PDL Feature
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
TAMPA, Fla. – The PDL's Central Conference has been the domain of a handful of sides in the past few seasons, with Thunder Bay emerging last season from a tough conference championship weekend against 2012 champion FC London and perennial contender the Michigan Bucks. With a new season comes new alignment, however, and potential new challengers for the playoff positions.
GREAT LAKES DIVISION
Chicago Fire U-23 – The Fire’s development model, utilizing the club’s Super-20 and PDL teams to keep players within its system after they graduate the club’s academy, is paying dividends this season with Harry Shipp. The side should see some solid returnees this summer, with Chris Prince and Felipe Cortez potential leaders for Mark Spooner’s squad.
FC London – The defending division champions fell to Thunder Bay in last season’s conference championship game, but return a strong squad that will be aiming for a fifth consecutive trip to the playoffs. One player to watch, however, will be James Pucci, who scored 10 goals for the West Virginia Chaos a season ago, and will be relied upon to provide scoring punch.
K-W United – United missed out on a playoff place via tiebreakers last season, but with Stuart Neely newly introduced to replace the departed Brett Mosen as head coach, the side will be aiming for more this summer. Jay Chapman returns to the side to lead the defense, and may add to this three goals and two assists offensively, while both Nathan Ingham and Darrin Macleod return to form a strong goalkeeping tandem.
Michigan Bucks – After claiming three consecutive division titles, the Bucks were knocked from top spot by FC London a season ago. The club will be eager to return to the top of the tree, but Coach Demir Muftari will have to rebuild a squad that will be absent players such as Matt Walker and Kevin Cope, both of whom joined the professional ranks this season.
Pittsburgh Riverhounds U-23 – The lone newcomer to the division, the Riverhounds U-23 will try to make an impact in their first season in the league. Set to play at Highmark Stadium alongside the club’s USL PRO team, the U-23 side promises to offer a bridge for former members of the club’s youth academy to compete at a higher level.
Toronto Lynx – The Lynx came close to their first playoff appearance since 2008, only to fall in their final game of the season to K-W United. Duncan Wilde has boosted his squad for this season, however, with two key players from K-W arriving in Toronto this season in Liam Collins and William Grocott. Another to keep an eye on will be Mario Pinto Neto, who played a big role for Reading United last season.
HEARTLAND DIVISION
Chicago Inferno – The Inferno make the jump to the Heartland Division with some solid new additions to their roster, including the duo of goalkeeper Reece Richardson and forward Martin Lange, both of whom arrive from FC London. Gordy Gurson also returns after impressive workouts at the USL PRO Combine in January, and will be looking for a big season to boost his professional chances.
Des Moines Menace – The Menace will be aiming for a return to the playoffs after a two-year absence, and will have a strong chance to get there should they improve in attack after scoring 19 goals in 14 games a season ago. Nico Wright (3 goals) led the side last season, and returns alongside Brandon Fricke, while former Portland Timbers U-23s All-Conference goalkeeper David Meves appears set to start between the sticks.
Springfield Demize – With a new head coach in Ian Henry, the Demize have built what appears to be a solid roster as they aim for a first-ever berth in the postseason. Among the players joining the side this season are former New England Revolution man Brandon Manzonelli, while Eric Martin returns after leading the Demize with six goals last season.
St. Louis Lions – The Lions finished with their best point total since 2010 last season, and will be aiming to keep moving up the standings as Tony Glavin’s squad returns leading scorer Vadim Cojocov. The question will be whether the Lions can tighten up defensively, having conceded 28 goals in 14 games a season ago.
Thunder Bay Chill – The defending conference champions, who claimed their third PDL Championships appearance in four seasons last summer, will have another strong squad as it looks to claim a fifth consecutive division title. Led by Tony Colistro, the Chill will be hopeful that Marquette’s Axel Sjoberg returns defensively after earning All-League honors a season ago.
WSA Winnipeg – Eduardo Badescu’s side has shown glimpses of promise in its first two seasons, and will be looking to make a jump forward in year three. Last season’s leading scorer Moses Danto returns after eight goals last summer, but the key for Winnipeg will be to improve defensively and provide greater offensive support for Danto.