1 - 1 in Orlando at the half. More to come!

Carolina and Central Florida are tied at the end of regular time, 1 - 1 - the last 10 minutes or so of the game saw pouring rain. More later.

do you have any more news on the game?? im dying to know what is going on right now

1 1/2 minutes left in the second overtime, 1 - 1 still. Update in another 10 minutes.

It looks like you registered on here just to send that message, which team are you for? Have fun on the forums, though us PDLers don't have much to talk about during the winter.

haha thanks. ya i did register just to post on this topic. its hard to find updated information on pdl teams, so i was excited to find this post. im for the dynamo!

Kraze 3 - 2 on PK. What a way to end the season for Carolina.

OrlandoSoccer was the one calling in, he said the Dynamo were much quicker in the first half and played more agressively, but the Kraze scored right before halftime. Second half was much closer and then the darned thing was all for not as the GKs decided it. That stinks but I guess there is no choice on the matter.

BTW do you know if the Dynamo took a bus or flew to the game? I am a 'midsouth person' living in Memphis, last week when El Paso traveled to the game, they took a bus 1700 miles (27 hours driving time). I think the USL should pay for travel and fly everyone in (over 200 miles) so the visitors have a chance as well . . so many times the visiting team that drives to the games cannot take some of their players and then you really never know who would win the game on equal terms (I am not an El Paso fan so I am not crying about it, just trying to think how things can be betrer).

Thanks for joining the boards and don't be a stranger.

Fanmaster, I'll have to ask to make certain, but I believe the Pats flew to Jacksonville(?) then bused it from there. I do not believe the team bused all the way from El Paso.

GAWD I'd hope so, cannot imagine them driving all that way. I am curious. I thought they were going all the way this year, they pretty much had their way with most teams and even the better ones they split with, including DFW and Boulder. They absolutely controlled the entire game at Memphis on the 2nd game of the season, the outcome was never in doubt.

hi guys, just got back and I am so excited that I can't sleep (well really my baby girl is still up thus I am). Anyway, great match. Dynamo were very good. But I think they were getting very tired near the end. Ryan MacIntosh (GK for Kraze) saved them many times, including the winning blocks in PK time.
I must add that the UCF Soccer Field is horrible for spectators. The Little league bleachers we had were over capacity and more people were standing in the track area in from of the stands. It was announced at the end of the match that Boulder will travel to Florida for the final. I hope USL makes the match NOT at UCF Soccer Field. Please...
In conclusion, great game and can't wait for next week.
Cya!

Congrats to CF on this win. I'd love to have an inside track to the final game. IF they (Boulder) get to travel with most of their team, they are going to be hard to beat. Just a guess but if CF plays Boulder at home, 3 - 1 Boulder wins. If they play anywhere else, Boulder wins bigger. Again it depends on who can come to the game, since CF is playing at home and it is before the college soccer starts, they can probably return their starts, whereas Boulder will not be able to. Many of CF plays at UCF. Anyway I think the game will be televised but in the last couple of games, it has been delayed. Again we will be relying on OrlandoSoccer for game updates. I will be traveling next weekend but I am pretty sure I can update the USLDiscussions anyway.

i have absolutly no idea if they drove or flew. i could find out tomorrow. that sucks that the dynamo lost! thanks for the updates. it was a life saver to know what the heck was going on.

The Dynamo coach told us before the game that they flew into Jacksonville on Friday and then drove the rest of the way. Cheaper tickets that way. According to the Central Florida staff, El Paso bused the entire way to Orlando for last weekend's first round. OrlandoSoccer is right about the lack of stands for the fans, but this certainly added to the atmosphere as the fans were lined up on the track and very close tot he action. Also, the field was perfect, much better than Showalter.

I read on the USL site that it was 2 - 1 PKs for Central Florida.

As far as the finals goes, it sounds like CF doesn't have a good place to hold it. It will be on TV so you can bet it will be in the most 'pleasing' place for the eyes, and with the best field. Sounds like Showalter doesn't have good turf and UCF doesn't have good stands. What is it like at the Boulder facility?

The Kraze staff told us after the game that they would be hosting the match at UCF next Saturday.

Well I have asked USL and the Kraze to NOT have the game at UCF but I of course will go where ever. Personally, I was scared that my daughter might fall thru the bleachers to her death. Seriously.
Also, when more fans are standing around the track then in the stands, there is a problem.

Oh well, hopefully we will know either way on Monday.

Go Kraze!

BTW flornatref which ref where you?
I hope I didn't yell at you too much. hahaha

Definitely, the seating is an issue the Kraze are going to have to look into before the next game. They will definitely have an even bigger crowd for the finals and must find some way to accomodate the fans. I was the senior assistant referee so I ran the line on the benches. The only time I heard a fan yell at me was in the second overtime. Some guy said I was slow. 115 minutes into the game and he is telling me I am slow. Go figure. Getting yelled at by the fans comes with the territory. Although you might not have yelled at me here, I am sure you yelled at me plenty of times during the Dallas-Central Florida game that I refereed. I never take it personal

I was at BigSoccer where I don't post and I saw some things that I thought I would throw out for your consumption. It was mentioned how UCF's field is much superior to Showalter's whick I agree with. It was also mentioned how Showalter is very narrow. You may not have noticed if you attended the game, but the Kraze narrowed UCF's field by six yards to make the width 70 yards. UCF's field normally for college season measures to World Cup standards (120x76). Home field advantage, narrow the field, take away some of the width, take away some of your opponenets speed on the wings. If you noticed, most of the game was played in the middle of the field which is more the Kraze style of play than the Dynamo's. I have also never seen so many PK's missed in a shootout before. 7 out of 10 were missed, and only one of those missed was not saved. In fact, the one that beat McIntosh was a perfect shot or he would have gotten that one, too.

If anyone from Boulder is reading this, you better start practicing on a narrow field.

Is that crazy or what? Well historically the home field wins these things, and it seems they are going out of their way this year to give them all the advantage.

Interesting about the PKs as well, the match report on the USL site said that only ONE of the PKs was missed and all the rest were 'saved'.

You watch, they will have cameras and people positioned during the finals match to make it look like there is a huge crowd.

Thanks for all this information, much more than we have known before. Nice to have a good network of fans out there, for any and all teams.

I didn't realize the field dimensions had been changed. Can they legally do that (well I guess flornatref would know since he IS the ref)?
That doesn't sound quite fair, but I guess if the league allows it and the refs so ok, then I guess everyone can do it.
Also I am starting to get the impression that some here think that the Kraze are being given an unfair advantage. Yes they are hosting, but what would be the difference if Boulder was hosting and the Kraze had to go to Boulder? None. This is PDL and its not likely that there will be a neutral spot for a PDL nat'l championship any time soon. Bottom line: someone has to host and the Kraze it this year.

And here is the USL's official list of PK for the end of the match:
PK Summary
Rd 1: CAR - Riley - Goal; CF - Steed - Saved (CAR 1 :: 0 CF)
Rd 2: CAR - Caugherty - Saved; CF - Vasquez - Saved (CAR 1 :: 0 CF)
Rd 3: CAR - Merritt - Saved; CF - Barber - Goal (CAR 1 :: 1 CF)
Rd 4: CAR - Storey - Missed; CF - Delgado - Saved (CAR 1 :: 1 CF)
Rd 5: CAR - Lowery - Saved:; CF - Robertson - Goal (CAR 1 :: 2 CF)

I believe that is what happened.
BTW flornatref which one are you?
Referees: Sean Hurd, Merritt Guthrie, Shane Moody, Afshin Shokoohi

OrlandoSoccer, I don't know if the USL WANTS Orlando to win but you said it yourself that they prob want it to be in Orlando so it will be cheaper for them to go. I don't think they have a 'thing' for the Kraze just because it is the Kraze. I cannot imagine, though, that the facilities in Boulder are worse than in Orlando.

I beleive they did not make the field narrower to HURT Carolina, I believe they made it narrow to match the one they are comfortable playing on. That is one of the things about soccer, the field has 'rules' as to length and width but no clear cut dimensions. Happens every day, a team that plays a narrow field gets to play on a wide one and they are not used to it, hurts their style of play. I think it hurts MORE when a team used to playing on a wide field has to lose that 10 yards.

I think the USL should have stricter standards for choosing the locations, such as seating, field conditions and field size, and perhaps lighting if it is going to be a night game.

I don't think the USL cares about the attendance either, I think they get 1/2 of the gate on the post season but that is pocket change. I would imagine they would get more people to attend at Boulder BUT the gain in revenue would be offset by the cost of THEIR travel to the final.

So sorry to imply that the Kraze was getting an unfair advantage because the USL wants THEM to win, they are just doing what is best for the USL and the Kraze just happen to be getting the best end of the deal. That is all there is to it.

OrlandoSoccer,

I am Shane Moody. As far as stricter guidlines for length of field, as long as it meets Federation minimum standards, I do not think USL would say anything, and trust me, the minimum is much less than 70 yards. Actually 70 is quite good for a lot of what USL teams play on. If you want to talk about home field advantage, think of the advantage Boulder would have if they played there. The altitude in Colorado is extremely high and takes several days to acclimate a body. Why do you think Fresno had such a poor outing. Have you ever seen how the ball moves quicker when MLS shows a game from Mile High Stadium? Anyways, I think it only fair that the regular season plays a role in who hosts semifinals and finals. The Kraze obviously had a better regular season than Boulder, thus earning a higher seed. They have earned the right to host if they can handle the proceedings. From a referee standpoint, the organization for the matches that the Kraze hosted both at Showalter and UCF (I was on crews at both) was very thorough and professional.

The Kraze normally play at Showalter Field. The field is beautiful ne year, ands the stands are sufficient.

The Kraze normally play at Showalter Field. The field is beautiful nearly all year (football tears them up, as can be noticed by the sand holes up parts the middle of the field, particularly about 20 yards out where extra points are kicked) and the stands are sufficient. The local high school football coach told the Kraze that they couldn't use the fields anymore to give the field 6 weeks of rest before football season. Knowing that winning on the road is difficult, the Kraze searched for another field and were reprieved by the UCF head coach (as was mentioned mny Kraze players have ties to UCF). The stands there aren't great, but the field is nice.

In regards to shortening the width.. the Kraze are undefeated at home, and it doesn't take an idiot to figure out why theyd make the dimensions of the field the same as their home field at Showalter. It isn't like they conspired against a speedy Carolina team to make the field narrower, that is just the size they have been used to playing on.

Yes, what he said.