CHICAGO - The Chicago Fire Premier Development League (PDL) team earned its ninth straight berth to the National Playoffs by virtue of their 2-1 win over the Michigan Bucks last Saturday, July 11th in Pontiac, Michigan. This is the PDL's ninth straight playoff berth in nine seasons, an unprecedented accomplishment in the league.
The Fire PDL clinched their National Playoff berth with their 2-1 win over the Michigan Bucks. The game was won in the 86th minute with a goal by Andre Akpan (Harvard University) and an assist by Rich Balchan (Indiana University). The two players teamed up earlier in the game in the 14th minute to produce a goal by Akpan and an assist by Balchan.
"Saturday was a big win over the Michigan Bucks," says Fire PDL captain Mark Blades (Northwestern University). "Beating them on the road gave us great momentum that will carry us into the playoffs. We're playing very well as a team and are looking forward to our playoff games."
"It's a proud accomplishment to hold a record of qualifying for the playoffs every season of our existence. Each season, a new crop of top college players comes to the Fire to help them develop into professionals. The fact that while they do that, we've had incredible on field success is a great thing for the players and entire Fire organization," says John Dorn, Chicago Fire Player Development and Director of Fire PDL.
The Fire PDL team holds an impressive all-inclusive record of 114-19-19 in nine seasons, which is the best record of all 68 teams in the PDL league. Also noteworthy is the fact that 73 Fire PDL players in the previous eight seasons have moved on to professional ranks, including 14 current MLS players. The Fire PDL will compete in the Great Lakes Division of the National Playoffs to be held beginning July 23rd, with exact locations and times to be determined. Please visit www.chicagofirepremier.com for more playoff details.
