Western Mass Pioneers

The 2011 US Open Cup qualifying process for the Premier Development League begins April 30 when the Central Florida Kraze play host to Fort Lauderdale Schulz. The match marks the beginning of what is arguably the most intense opening to any league season, making it the most pressure-packed portion of the PDL schedule league-wide. The task of qualifying can be more daunting than the professional opponents awaiting them in the tournament proper.

In the upcoming 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.

Here is the Eastern Conference portion of the four-part series of breakdowns:

Eastern Conference Qualifying Breakdown

US Open Cup qualifying for the PDL Eastern Conference, the lone conference with three divisions and berths, opens with four games on May 7 and a fifth the following evening.

A year ago, this conference, which spans the Atlantic coast from Maine to North Carolina, was basically evenly split with nine and eight-team groups. By carving out a third division, the balance has been eliminated. The new ‘metro’ Mid Atlantic division with eight teams in the greater New York City / New Jersey area and an exception from Pennsylvania has twice as many teams as its Northeast Division counterpart, which has four, and is two more than the South Atlantic, which is at six.

The most stunning result of the shifting is arguably the competitive imbalance between the divisions as the Mid Atlantic has five teams with impressive winning records over a four-year Open Cup qualifying span while the other two divisions have a combined two teams with winning records.

Mid Atlantic Division
Brooklyn Knights, Central Jersey Spartans, Jersey Express, Long Island Rough Riders, New Jersey Rangers, Ocean City Nor’easters, Reading United AC, Westchester Flames

With three teams from New York and four from New Jersey, the eight-team grouping’s lone outsider is Reading United AC. The club also happens to be the side which advanced from this particular group the past two years, although the Mid Atlantic division has previously been largely comprised of teams from what is now the South Atlantic. Most of the current composition was primarily in what was then the Northeast, which sent Ocean City as its representative two years ago.

Reading leads what could be considered part of the quintet of power teams among the division with the two recent trips to the tournament and a four-year record of 11-2-3 in qualifying that hit its peak with a 4-0-0 effort last year. Matching that record were the Long Island Rough Riders, who qualified last year out of the Northeast. The five-time tournament entrants from New York also qualified in 2007 with a perfect 4-0-0 record. Last year’s two qualifiers, however, are not slated to face one another in qualifying this year in what would have been a marquee match-up.

The other three power teams are the Ocean City Nor’easters (9-2-5), Jersey Express (8-2-2) and Brooklyn Knights (7-5-4). The trio of New Jersey, Central Jersey and Westchester has just a combined seven wins between them over the past eight qualifying campaigns (last four years) as the first two are recent expansion sides.

Of the power five, the fourth-year Express are the only club that has not yet qualified for the tournament. The other four have reached the US Open Cup on 13 combined occasions.

Reading and Brooklyn kick off the division’s qualifying slate with the lone match May 7. After that, both clubs will only face one more team from the power quintet as Brooklyn takes on Long Island and Reading closes against Ocean City. Jersey also were fortunate to only find two power teams on the fixture list with games against Long Island and Ocean City, who will both have to face three of their power peers.

MID-ATLANTIC DIVISION	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA		GF	GD
Brooklyn Knights	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0
Central Jersey Spartans	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0
Jersey Express	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0
Long Island Rough Riders	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0
New Jersey Rangers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0
Ocean City Nor’easters	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0
Reading United AC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0
Westchester Flames	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0

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	Reading United AC	at	Brooklyn Knights	7:00
May 8	Westchester Flames	at	New Jersey Rangers	6:00
May 11	Long Island Rough Riders	at	Brooklyn Knights	7:00
May 14	Westchester Flames	at	Jersey Express	7:00
May 15	New Jersey Rangers	at	Reading United AC	6:00
May 18	Reading United AC	at	Westchester Flames	7:30
May 19	Central Jersey Spartans	at	Long Island Rough Riders	8:00
May 20	Ocean City Nor’easters	at	Reading United AC	7:30
May 21	Jersey Express	at	Long Island Rough Riders	7:30
May 22	Brooklyn Knights	at	Central Jersey Spartans	4:00
May 22	New Jersey Rangers	at	Ocean City Nor’easters	6:00
May 25	Central Jersey Spartans	at	New Jersey Rangers	8:00
May 27	Ocean City Nor’easters	at	Jersey Express	8:00
May 28	Brooklyn Knights	at	Westchester Flames	7:30
May 29	Long Island Rough Riders	at	Ocean City Nor’easters	6:00
May 30	Jersey Express	at	Central Jersey Spartans	5:00

Northeast Division
MPS Portland Phoenix, Seacoast United Phantoms, Vermont Voltage, Western Mass Pioneers

The combined win total of the last four years of PDL qualifying for the division – 10 – falls short of two individual teams in the Mid Atlantic. In this grouping everyone is basically on equal footing as no team has more than three PDL qualifying campaigns in the past four years.

MPS Portland Phoenix was an expansion team a year ago while the Western Mass Pioneers were playing their first season in the league having dropped down from the professional third division. The move down was one that the Seacoast United Phantoms (formerly New Hampshire Phantoms) had made two years prior. The Vermont Voltage, longtime PDL members, were making their return after a year’s absence from play.

The veteran trio is familiar with one another from their extensive USL history, but the Pioneers, Phantoms and Voltage have limited history meeting on competitive terms like this.

Kicking off the group’s schedule is a May 7 contest between host Portland and the Phantoms, who played to a 1-1 draw in last year’s qualifier in New Hampshire. Portland , however, would later win at home in dominating fashion, 5-0, in league play.

The smallest fixture list among the nine groups with only eight games comes to a close May 28 when the Phantoms play host to the Voltage, who swept the season series a year ago with two victories – neither of them qualifiers.

NORTHEAST DIVISION	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA		GF	GD
MPS Portland Phoenix	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0
Seacoast United Phantoms	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0
Vermont Voltage	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0
Western Mass Pioneers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0

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	Seacoast United Phantoms	at	MPS Portland Phoenix	6:00
May 14	Western Mass Pioneers	at	Seacoast United Phantoms	4:00
May 14	Vermont Voltage	at	MPS Portland Phoenix	6:00
May 20	Seacoast United Phantoms	at	Western Mass Pioneers	7:00
May 21	MPS Portland Phoenix	at	Vermont Voltage	7:00
May 25	Western Mass Pioneers	at	Vermont Voltage	7:00
May 27	MPS Portland Phoenix	at	Western Mass Pioneers	7:00
May 28	Vermont Voltage	at	Seacoast United Phantoms	7:00

South Atlantic Division
Carolina Dynamo, Fredericksburg Hotspur, Northern Virginia Royals, Real Maryland Monarchs, Virginia Beach Piranhas, West Virginia Chaos

This grouping may be a new creation, but for four of these clubs, they are no strangers to one another. What is new is the addition of expansion Fredericksburg Hotspur and former professional third division club Real Maryland Monarchs.

The Monarchs are the newest club in this group to make the transition to the PDL. The only other two teams of the six with US Open Cup tournament experience are also former professional clubs. Along with the Carolina Dynamo and Northern Virginia Royals, the three have 12 appearances in the tournament, but only a pair of trips by the Dynamo in 2004 and 2006 came via qualifying out of the PDL. Carolina played in the tournament five times before joining the league in 2004 and Northern Virginia twice before the switch in 2006. Real Maryland has been an automatic entrant as a pro team the past three years.

Despite last qualifying for the tournament in 2006, the Dynamo have been in the running the past four years with a combined record of 9-4-2, never suffering more than one loss in each of their efforts. Located centrally along the Atlantic coast, Carolina has found itself also shifting divisions and conferences, having previously been a member of the Southeast group prior to 2008.

Carolina’s success overshadows that of its three group-mates with PDL experience as the trio of Northern Virginia, Virginia Beach and West Virginia have fewer wins combined (7) over the last four years than the Dynamo. Carolina, though, will have to play the four experienced clubs in the group with the expansion side missing from its slate. The first contest comes May 14 at home against West Virginia.

The opening night of qualifying, though, is heavy on the Virginias with all four clubs hailing from the two states as Fredericksburg visits Virginia Beach and West Virginia plays host to Northern Virginia May 7. But while Fredericksburg may have avoided drawing Carolina in the fixture list, the new club will have a difficult task at the finish with back-to-back games on the road against Northern Virginia and at home versus Real Maryland.

SOUTH ATLANTIC DIVISION	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA		GF	GD
Carolina Dynamo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0
Fredericksburg Hotspur	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0
Northern Virginia Royals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0
Real Maryland Monarchs	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0
Virginia Beach Piranhas	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0
West Virginia Chaos	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	+0

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	Fredericksburg Hotspur	at	Virginia Beach Piranhas	7:00
May 7	Northern Virginia Royals	at	West Virginia Chaos	7:00
May 14	Real Maryland Monarchs	at	Virginia Beach Piranhas	5:30
May 14	West Virginia Chaos	at	Carolina Dynamo	7:00
May 15	West Virginia Chaos	at	Fredericksburg Hotspur	2:00
May 15	Northern Virginia Royals	at	Real Maryland Monarchs	4:00
May 21	Carolina Dynamo	at	Real Maryland Monarchs	7:00
May 21	Virginia Beach Piranhas	at	West Virginia Chaos	7:30
May 22	Carolina Dynamo	at	Northern Virginia Royals	7:00
May 28	Virginia Beach Piranhas	at	Carolina Dynamo	7:00
May 29	Fredericksburg Hotspur	at	Northern Virginia Royals	7:00
May 30	Real Maryland Monarchs	at	Fredericksburg Hotspur	5:00

Central Conference (Coming Soon)

Great Lakes Division: Akron Summit Assault, Chicago Fire, Cincinnati Kings, Indiana Invaders, Michigan Bucks, River City Rovers
Heartland Division: Des Moines Menace, Kansas City Brass, Real Colorado Foxes, Springfield Demize, St Louis Lions

Southern Conference (Inside Look +)

Mid South Division: Baton Rouge Capitals, Chivas El Paso Patriots, Laredo Heat, New Orleans Jesters, RGV Grandes FC, West Texas United Sockers
Southeast Division: Central Florida Kraze, FC Jaxy Destroyers, Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy, IMG Bradenton Academics, Mississippi Brilla, Nashville Metros

Western Conference (Coming Soon)

Northwest Division: Kitsap Pumas, North Sound SeaWolves, Portland Timbers U23, Tacoma Tide, Washington Crossfire
Southwest Division: BYU Cougars, Fresno Fuego, LA Blues 23, Los Angeles Legends, Ogden Outlaws, Orange County Blue Star, Southern California Seahorses, Ventura County Fusion