| Michigan Bucks Press Release Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Contact: Kyle Karns (989) 781-6888 info@buckssoccer.com
BUCKS TO SEE FAMILIAR FACES IN PLAYOFFS
Conference Semis Pit Michigan v Boulder and Ft. Wayne v Chicago In Ft. Wayne The Premier Development League (PDL) Central Conference playoffs, to be held on Friday and Saturday at Hefner Field in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, will feature traditional rivals of the Bucks, the Chicago Fire Reserves (17-0-1) and the Boulder Rapids Reserves (13-4-1) from the Heartland Division, plus a Great Lakes Division foe, the Ft. Wayne Fever (11-4-1). Michigan sported a 1-1-1 record against the Fever this season and lost their only game with Chicago, 3-1. The Bucks (11-3-2) did not play Boulder this season; their only meeting in history was in the 2002 Conference Championship, which Boulder won in penalty kicks. Chicago beat the Bucks in the 2003 Conference Championship.
"There are only 16 teams left (out of 54 in the PDL), so you know each opponent is going to be strong, and that is certainly the case in the Central Conference," said Bucks coach Don Gemmell. Conference Championship tournaments will be held in the other three conferences as well this weekend, with Central Florida hosting for the Southern Conference, Fresno (CA) hosting the Western Conference and Carolina the Eastern Conference. The Bucks face Boulder at 6:00pm (ET), while host Ft. Wayne takes on Chicago at 8:30pm (ET) on Friday, July 23rd.
"I have been pretty hard on our guys this year, challenging them to perform to their ability, but the truth is they really showed me a lot of character these past three weeks. The pressure was pretty intense and they came through," said Gemmell of the team's season-ending six-game winning streak. If the Bucks had lost any of their last six games, they would have not only lost out on their seventh division title, but also missed the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history. "Having said that, I still believe we have yet to play our best soccer," added the Bucks' second-year coach. The conference semi-final winners will square off on Saturday in Ft. Wayne (8:30pm ET) for a chance to face the Western Conference champion on July 31st or August 1st in the PDL Semifinals. The PDL Championship, which will be nationally televised for the third consecutive year by Fox Sports World, will be played on August 7th.
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