US Open Cup qualifying for the Premier Development League is already underway for 2011 as the season began on April 30. It is arguably the most exciting portion of the event for the league as the task of qualifying can be more daunting than the professional opponents awaiting them in the tournament proper.
In the 2011 edition of the tournament, the PDL will be represented by a record nine clubs after seven consecutive years with eight representatives. With nine berths available, the league will send one from each division based on four league contests that will double as qualification matches – a format long established by the parent United Soccer Leagues.
The Western Conference has a new set of dominant teams in recent years, as the Kitsap Pumas (back-to-back Northwest representatives) and Ventura County Fusion (2009 PDL champions, 2010 Southwest representative) look to make their mark by qualifying for the US Open Cup once again in 2011. 11 other teams have other ideas, and that includes the Portland Timbers U23s, who have to be scratching their heads at last year’s results. They finished 16-0 in the regular season, and won another four straight in the playoffs to finish as PDL champion with a perfect 20-0 record, the first in history. Yet they fell short to the Pumas on account of goal differential. They will surely be looking for another shot as they look to extend their streak.
Here is the how the Western Conference is currently shaping up:
Northwest Division
Final Results – Pending Fifth Match [+]
The much anticipated meeting between the Portland Timbers U23s and Kitsap Pumas, who both finished the qualifying slate 4-0-0 a year ago with Kitsap advancing via tiebreakers, finished in a surprising scoreless draw. But both teams held serve the rest of the way, defeating each of their other opponents. The final game pitted the Timbers against the Tacoma Tide, where a potential 2-0 Timbers victory would lead to a coin flip. They did exactly that. The Pumas and Timbers are tied on points, head-to-head, goal difference (+7), and goals scored (7). The first time a lottery was conducted was back in 2006, when the Des Moines Menace and Boulder Rapids Reserve finished dead even at second place in the Central Conference at 3-1 with a +5 GD and 7 goals scored. At the time, the top two in the conference qualified, and the Michigan Bucks won first place with a 4-0 record. The Menace won the lottery, and rode that all the way to the Third Round, which ended in a 2-1 loss to the Kansas City Wizards.
But Kitsap Pumas General Manager Ben Pecora had a great idea. The teams were to meet again at Portland’s Jeld-Wen Field on Friday anyway, why not make it a tiebreaker, to settle the score on the field? The Timbers, the USL, and US Soccer all agreed to it, and they will play on Friday, June 3 with the final US Open Cup spot on the line. If the game is tied after regulation, the match for regular season purposes will count as a draw, but the Open Cup spot will be decided by a penalty shootout.
| NORTHWEST DIVISION | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GF | GD | |
| Kitsap Pumas | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 7 | +7 | |
| Portland Timbers U23s | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 7 | +7 | |
| North Sound SeaWolves | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | -3 | |
| Tacoma Tide | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 5 | -5 | |
| Washington Crossfire | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 2 | -6 |
Top team qualifies for the US Open Cup
Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention
Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes
USL Premier Development League tiebreakers
(1) Head-to-head record based on total points in Open Cup qualifiers
(2) Total wins in Open Cup qualifying games
(3) Goal difference (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)
(4) Goals scored (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)
(5) Lottery conducted by the USL
All times Eastern
| May 7 | Washington Crossfire | 0:0 | North Sound SeaWolves | 10:00 |
| May 13 | North Sound SeaWolves | 2:2 | Tacoma Tide | 10:00 |
| May 14 | Washington Crossfire | 0:3 | Kitsap Pumas | 4:00 |
| May 15 | Portland Timbers U23s | 6:0 | Washington Crossfire | 9:00 |
| May 21 | Portland Timbers U23s | 0:0 | Kitsap Pumas | 10:00 |
| May 23 | Tacoma Tide | 2:2 | Washington Crossfire | 10:00 |
| May 25 | North Sound SeaWolves | 0:2 | Portland Timbers U23s | 2:00 |
| May 27 | Kitsap Pumas | 6:1 | Tacoma Tide | 10:00 |
| May 29 | Kitsap Pumas | 1:0 | North Sound SeaWolves | 6:00 |
| May 29 | Tacoma Tide | 0:2 | Portland Timbers U23s | 8:00 |
| FIFTH MATCH TIEBREAKER | ||||
| June 3 | Kitsap Pumas | at | Portland Timbers U23s | 2:00 |
Southwest Division
Final Results
The Fresno Fuego finished qualifying with a perfect 4-0 record after defeating the Ogden Outlaws 4-1 on May 21. They then had to wait a week for fellow unbeaten Ventura County Fusion to play its final match as the Fusion were capable of finishing level, but better on tiebreakers. On Saturday night, the holiday weekend news was cause for celebration in Los Angeles while their rivals to the north experienced disappointment. Ventura County blanked the Southern California Seahorses , 4-0, with Mark Magee scoring two goals that propelled the Fusion past Fresno in the tiebreakers, clinching the US Open Cup berth from the division. Southern California was also 3-0 in the battle of unbeatens, but had been previously eliminated due to the tiebreaker scenario with Fresno.
| SOUTHWEST DIVISION | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GF | GD | |
| Ventura County Fusion | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 21 | 3 | 12 | +12 | |
| Fresno Fuego | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 13 | 3 | 11 | +10 | |
| Southern California Seahorses | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 5 | +1 | |
| Orange County Blue Star | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 8 | +1 | |
| Ogden Outlaws | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 3 | -6 | |
| BYU Cougars | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | -4 | |
| Los Angeles Misioneros | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 1 | -9 | |
| Los Angeles Blues 23 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 2 | -6 |
Top team qualifies for the US Open Cup
Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention
Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes
USL Premier Development League tiebreakers
(1) Head-to-head record based on total points in Open Cup qualifiers
(2) Total wins in Open Cup qualifying games
(3) Goal difference (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)
(4) Goals scored (+/- 3 goals maximum for each USOC qualifier)
(5) Lottery conducted by the USL
All times Eastern
| May 1 | Orange County Blue Star | 4:0 | Los Angeles Misioneros | 8:00 |
| May 7 | Los Angeles Blues 23 | 0:5 | Orange County Blue Star | 8:00 |
| May 7 | Ventura County Fusion | 6:1 | Los Angeles Misioneros | 8:00 |
| May 12 | BYU Cougars | 0:2 | Fresno Fuego | 10:00 |
| May 13 | Los Angeles Blues 23 | 0:4 | Ventura County Fusion | 10:00 |
| May 14 | Los Angeles Misioneros | 0:1 | So. California Seahorses | 7:30 |
| May 14 | Ogden Outlaws | 2:4 | Fresno Fuego | 10:00 |
| May 20 | Fresno Fuego | 3:0 | BYU Cougars | 10:00 |
| May 20 | Orange County Blue Star | 2:7 | Ventura County Fusion | 10:00 |
| May 21 | Fresno Fuego | 4:1 | Ogden Outlaws | 8:00 |
| May 21 | So. California Seahorses | 2:0 | Los Angeles Blues 23 | 10:00 |
| May 24 | Ogden Outlaws | 0:0 | BYU Cougars | 9:30 |
| May 25 | So. California Seahorses | 2:0 | Orange County Blue Star | 8:00 |
| May 28 | BYU Cougars | 1:0 | Ogden Outlaws | 8:00 |
| May 28 | Los Angeles Misioneros | 0:2 | Los Angeles Blues 23 | 10:00 |
| May 28 | Ventura County Fusion | 4:0 | So. California Seahorses | 10:00 |