Fire Premier (PDL) in Final Four

[Jntg4]

The Chicago Fire PDL (12-3-2) continue their quest to lift their first-ever North American championship later today as they take on the Thunder Bay Chill (ON) in the Premier Development League’s Central Conference Final Four in Pontiac, MI (4:30pm CT on USLlive.com).
The team advanced to this stage by winning a midweek play-in match 3-0 over Forest City London at Toyota Park on Wednesday night. The dominant performance should give the team confidence heading into this weekend’s tough conference final four in suburban Detroit.
“The London match was a very strong performance,” said Fire PDL head coach Mark Spooner. “It took us a bit of time to settle in but once we got the first goal, we put our stamp on the match and didn’t look back. It’s the type of performance you want to be coming off of when you’re going into a stretch of possibly playing two big matches in as many days against top quality opposition.”
Surprising to some, the Fire PDL are the only team at this year’s Central Conference Final Four to never have lifted a PDL North American championship, though the team has been to the final twice in 2003 and 2009. The Fire’s opponents Friday night Thunder Bay (12-2-2) became the first Canadian side to win the PDL title in 2008 and were finalists in 2010. The hosting Michigan Bucks (12-2-2) won in 2006 and have appeared in the final in 2000 and 2007, with their Friday night counterparts Des Moines Menace (12-4-0) winning in 2005.
The most telling statistic regarding the PDL Central Conference’s strength may be that there has been a conference representative in every PDL North American Final dating back to 2001.
“Historically and currently, the strength of the four teams gathering in Pontiac this weekend is staggering,” said Spooner. “The winner of this final four will certainly be among the favorites for next weekend’s national final four tournament.”

Let's go Fire PDL!

 

[Jntg4]

Link is at the top of the quote section BTW, I embedded the links as the poster name. Just click Chicago-Fire.com.

 

[AE23]

what? how are you last in the MLS and in the final four in another league?

 

[Jntg4]

what? how are you last in the MLS and in the final four in another league?

It's our minor league team, they are an amateur team playing in the Premier Development League. Believe they are Tier 4 on the American Soccer pyramid.

 

[Jntg4]

The major league team is in the Final 4 of the U.S. Open Cup though.

 

[giaco]

what? how are you last in the MLS and in the final four in another league?

You know how some sports have developmental leagues and academies, right? The Chi Fire PDL is essentially the U-23 squad. They had a valient run this season and we even went to see them play in Madison, outside of Detroit and at UIC as well as Toyota Park. Good kids that appreciated the support and played their guts out. The first team may not be in a good place, but the future looks good for the young kids coming up.

 

[Jntg4]

You know how some sports have developmental leagues and academies, right? The Chi Fire PDL is essentially the U-23 squad. They had a valient run this season and we even went to see them play in Madison, outside of Detroit and at UIC as well as Toyota Park. Good kids that appreciated the support and played their guts out. The first team may not be in a good place, but the future looks good for the young kids coming up.

I'll admit that I haven't followed them much. Are there any specific names of any really promising prospects to look out for in the next year or so?