United Soccer Leagues announced the 2009 regular season schedule for the Premier Development League. The season opens with three Opening Night matches on May 1st. The Northern Virginia Royals open the season with a Friday night road match against the Reading Rage on May 9th.
The Royals return home the following afternoon (May 10th) at 4:00PM to open Hellwig Memorial Park for USL action against PDL newcomers Cary Clarets. The newly created Sprinturf stadium field is the permanent home of the Royals and their sister team, the Northern Virginia Majestics.
Northern Virginia is slated to face a full summer of top opponents in the difficult Mid Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Division rivals this summer also include former USL champions Carolina Dynamo, nearby Fredericksburg Gunners, Hampton Roads Piranhas, Virginia Legacy, and the West Virginia Chaos.
Each team plays a 16-game schedule. Four of the 16 matches for the clubs based in the United States will also count for qualification into the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. The format and dates for the tournament will be announced at a later time by the US Soccer Federation.
The season wraps up July 19 with the playoffs beginning the following weekend with the return of the Divisional Championship playoffs (July 24-26) for the first time since 1998 with each division seeing three teams advance to the postseason. The second seed will face the third seed in the First Round with the winner advancing to face the top seed from the regular season in the championship. The eight division champions will advance to the PDL Elite Eight Weekend (July 31-August 2), where PDL Quarterfinals and Semifinals will be held. The divisional winners from Eastern and Central Conference will be grouped in one half of the bracket in one location while the Southern and Western winners comprise the other half at another locale. The PDL Quarterfinals will pit the top seed versus the fourth seed in the bracket, and two versus three. The winners of the PDL Semifinals will square off in the PDL Championship Saturday, August 8 on Fox Soccer Channel. Divisional playoff hosts are based on overall seeding, pending availability, with all other playoff site locations determined by bid.
[+] 2009 NORTHERN VIRGINIA ROYALS SCHEDULE
