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.”
Friday’s Opponent
Thunder Bay
The Fire were rewarded for their 3-0 win vs. Forest City on
Wednesday with a game against 2010 North American runners-up Thunder Bay Chill
Friday night. Founded in 2000, the club spent it’s first seven years as mostly
an afterthought, never making the PDL playoffs. They all of a sudden became a
PDL juggernaut in 2007 beginning a streak of five straight postseason
appearances which have resulted in the 2008 PDL championship and 2010 finals
appearance.
They’re known for their physicality and ability to play well
down a man (or two). It was at Friday night’s host venue, Ultimate Soccer
Arenas, where this writer witnessed the Chill go down two men in the first half
at the same stage of the PDL playoffs against the Cleveland Internationals on
July 26, 2008. With no fear in them, playing 9v11, the side still managed a 2-0
win, a victory which helped propel them to the 2008 PDL Championship.
As one of the
only summer sporting options in the northern Ontario city, the Chill have also
shown an ability to get fans to travel the long distances around the Great
Lakes region for important matches
The team is the only one in this weekend’s tournament that
the Fire haven’t yet faced this season. The side defeated the “Iowa Menace”
(the Des Moines Menace in disguise) 1-0 in the first round of the Lamar Hunt
U.S. Open Cup on June 14 before dropping two divisional games to the Michigan
Bucks (2-0 May 30; 1-0 July 20).
Despite having not seen Thunder Bay this year, Spooner has
an idea of what they’ll bring Friday night.
“Thunder Bay have been a revelation in the PDL over the last
few years. They play high tempo, high energy soccer. They have a lot of
experience as they utilize all the available over 23 spots on their roster. We
know they’re a very physical team and are prepared for a tough match.”
If the Fire win, the team will take on the winner of the
night’s second match between Michigan and Des Moines (7:00pm CT) in the Central
Conference Final on Saturday at 6:30pm CT. All three matches will be streamed
live via USLlive.com.
Jeff Crandall is the
Team Writer for the Chicago Fire. Follow him on Twitter @JefeCrandall.
