2002 PDL season

USL Premier Development League
Season	2002
Champions	Cape Cod Crusaders
	← 2001 2003 →

The 2002 USL Premier Development League season was the 8th PDL season. The season began in April 2002 and ended in August 2002.

Cape Cod Crusaders finished the season as national champions, beating Boulder Rapids Reserve 2–1 in the PDL Championship game. Des Moines Menace finished with the best regular season record in the league, winning 15 out of their 18 games, suffering no losses, and finishing with a +49 goal difference.

Changes from 2001

Name changes

Boulder Nova became Boulder Rapids Reserve
Lafayette Lightning became Austin Lightning
San Fernando Valley Heroes became Los Angeles Heroes

New franchises

Twelve teams joined the league this year, including eight brand new franchises:

Team Name	Metro Area	Location	Previous Affiliation
Calgary Storm Select	Calgary area	Calgary, Alberta	expansion
Chico Rooks	northern Sacramento Valley area	Chico, CA	previously in D3 Pro
Houston Toros	Houston area	Houston, TX	expansion
Memphis Express	Memphis area	Memphis, TN	expansion
Nashville Metros	Nashville area	Nashville, TN	previously in A-League
Raleigh CASL Elite	Raleigh area	Cary, NC	expansion
Rhode Island Stingrays	Providence area	East Providence, RI	previously in D3 Pro
Richmond Kickers Future	Richmond area	Richmond, VA	expansion
Santa Barbara Sharks	Santa Barbara area	Santa Barbara, CA	expansion
Williamsburg Legacy	Williamsburg area	Williamsburg, VA	expansion
Wisconsin Rebels	Fox River Valley area	Menasha, WI	returned from hiatus
Worcester Kings	Worcester area	Worcester, MA	expansion

Promoted

The Calgary Storm were promoted to the A-League.
The New York Freedom and Westchester Flames were promoted to USL Pro Select.

Folding

Eight teams left the league prior to the beginning of the season:

Standings

Legend
Division champion
Team qualified for playoff berth
Team folded during the season

Central Conference

Great Lakes Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	BP	Pts
1	Chicago Fire Reserves	18	14	3	1	43	15	+28	7	64
2	Mid-Michigan Bucks	18	11	5	2	48	36	+12	9	55
3	West Michigan Edge	18	11	6	1	49	28	+21	8	53
4	Kalamazoo Kingdom	18	9	8	1	37	32	+5	6	43
5	Indiana Invaders	18	8	7	3	32	25	+7	5	40
6	Dayton Gemini	18	3	12	3	26	48	−22	3	18

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Heartland Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	BP	Pts
1	Des Moines Menace	18	15	0	3	68	19	+49	11	74
2	Boulder Rapids Reserve	18	11	3	4	49	23	+26	6	54
3	Sioux Falls Spitfire	18	9	6	3	34	33	+1	6	45
4	Chicago Eagles Select	18	6	11	1	37	38	−1	5	30
5	Kansas City Brass	18	5	12	1	39	56	−17	6	27
6	Thunder Bay Chill	18	5	12	1	35	58	−23	5	26
7	Denver Cougars	18	4	9	5	25	45	−20	3	24
8	Wisconsin Rebels	18	1	17	0	11	76	−65	0	4

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Eastern Conference

Mid Atlantic Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	BP	Pts
1	Williamsburg Legacy	18	14	4	44	26	+18	9	65
2	Raleigh CASL Elite	18	11	7	42	35	+7	7	51
3	Richmond Kickers Future	18	9	9	40	37	+3	4	40
4	Chesapeake Dragons	18	5	13	27	44	−17	4	24
5	Greenville Lions	18	4	14	22	57	−35	4	20

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Northeast Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	BP	Pts
1	Vermont Voltage	18	14	2	2	48	18	+30	8	66
2	Cape Cod Crusaders	18	12	4	2	39	17	+22	8	58
3	Rhode Island Stingrays	18	8	9	1	38	38	0	7	40
4	Worcester Kings	18	6	12	0	29	51	−22	4	28
5	Brooklyn Knights	18	6	12	0	23	36	−13	3	27
6	Jersey Falcons	18	5	12	1	25	42	−17	2	23

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Southern Conference

Mid South Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	BP	Pts
1	Memphis Express	18	12	4	2	45	19	+26	10	60
2	Texas Spurs	18	12	6	0	48	30	+18	8	56
3	Austin Lightning	18	8	8	2	36	42	−6	6	40
4	Nashville Metros	18	7	9	2	37	34	+3	6	36
5	Louisiana Outlaws	18	5	12	1	39	38	+1	7	28
6	Houston Toros	18	4	13	1	27	60	−33	2	19

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Southeast Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	BP	Pts
1	Tampa Bay Hawks	18	14	4	0	51	27	+24	8	64
2	Bradenton Academics	18	10	7	1	43	31	+12	7	48
3	Central Florida Kraze	18	9	8	1	34	33	+1	6	43
4	Palm Beach Pumas	18	7	11	0	32	42	−10	5	33
5	Cocoa Expos	18	4	13	1	35	61	−26	7	24

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Western Conference

Northwest Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	BP	Pts
1	Spokane Shadow	18	11	6	1	39	23	+16	8	53
2	Cascade Surge	18	9	9	0	31	32	−1	4	40
3	Calgary Storm Select	18	5	10	3	21	44	−23	2	25
4	Yakima Reds	18	5	11	2	30	33	−3	5	27
5	Seattle Sounders Select	14	9	3	2	33	22	+11	4	42^[a]

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

^ Folded during the season

Southwest Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	BP	Pts
1	Chico Rooks	18	13	4	1	40	22	+18	8	61
2	Southern California Seahorses	18	11	7	0	43	28	+15	6	50
3	Orange County Blue Star	18	7	9	2	29	26	+3	5	35
4	Los Angeles Heroes	18	6	10	2	24	38	−14	4	30
5	Central Coast Roadrunners	18	5	13	0	19	37	−18	3	23
6	Santa Barbara Sharks	13	3	10	0	20	37	−17	3	15^[a]