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The Kickaround: PDL-NPSL rankings

07/06/2012, 10:54pm CDT
By ERIC ANDERSON

I'm not exactly sure what to make of this, but for the first time I have come across national rankings for teams in the USL Premier Development League and National Premier Soccer League.

The July 1 rankings are from U.S. Soccer Report, a Twitter account that launched June 30. I sent an email to the address listed on the account to try to get a little more information, but I haven't gotten a response.

So with the caveat that I have no idea who is doing these rankings or what their background is, I offer up this information: the Madison 56ers are ranked 11th among the 121 teams that play in those leagues – 73 in the PDL and 48 in the NPSL.

The 56ers, who led the Midwest Region Central Conference with a 7-1-0 record, are the sixth NPSL side in the rankings, behind No. 4 San Diego Flash (West Region), No. 5 FC Sonic (Northeast), No. 8 Georgia Revolution (Southeast), No. 9 New York Red Bulls Under-23 (Northeast) and No. 10 Chattanooga FC (Southeast).

The only other Midwest team in the rankings is No. 15 Detroit City FC, which leads the Great Lakes Conference standings. A trio of PDL clubs lead the rankings: The Michigan Bucks are first, followed by the Thunder Bay Chill and Ocean City Nor'easters.

There are some Wisconsin connections to two of those top-five teams.

Marquette teammates Paul DillonAxel Sjoberg and Sebastian Jansson play for the Chill (11-1-0), who have clinched the PDL Central Conference Heartland Division title. Dillon has played in all 12 matches on the backline and ranks second on the team in minutes, while fellow defender Sjoberg has two goals and an assist in 11 games. Jansson, a midfielder, has one goal in seven appearances.

Meanwhile, forward Andy Adlard (Brookfield East) is playing for FC Sonic (9-1-0) in Allentown, Penn. Adlard, a former Indiana standout who spent half of the 2011 season with Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew, is now a coach for the Lehigh Valley United club.

The 23-year-old had trials with the Carolina RailHawks of the second-division North American Soccer League and the Harrisburg City Islanders of third-division USL Pro earlier this season. Adlard also made one appearance for the Philadelphia Union in an MLS Reserve League match, starting and playing 67 minutes in a 2-2 draw with the Red Bulls on May 13.

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