PEORIA, Ill. – Two years ago Bradley seniors Grant Campbell and Chris Cutshaw helped the Bradley Soccer team flirt with a national championship by playing significant roles on the team that reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 NCAA Tournament. On Saturday night, Campbell and Cutshaw will play for a national championship with their Chicago Fire Premier team.
The Chicago Fire Premier, featuring the two Bradley stars, will face the Ventura County Fusion in the Premier Development League North American Championship Match Saturday night in California. The match will be televised nationally on the Fox Soccer Channel.
The Premier Development League (PDL) is one of the nation's top amateur leagues and primarily features some of the nation's top collegiate players. Campbell and Cutshaw helped the Chicago Fire Premier to a 10-1-5 regular-season record for a runner-up finish in the Great Lakes Division of the PDL Central Conference. The duo also helped the Fire Premier become one of just four PDL teams to reach the main draw of the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
The Fire Premier (14-1-5 overall) reached the quarterfinals by knocking off London FC in the divisional opener July 24, then followed up by avenging its only PDL loss of the season by knocking off divisional champ Kalamazoo, 2-1, July 26. Cutshaw scored the tying goal on a 67th minute penalty kick at Kalamazoo.
Cutshaw scored an insurance goal in the second half of Friday's 3-0 victory against the Ocean City Barons in the quarterfinals. He assisted on the game-winning goal in Saturday's 2-1 overtime win versus the Cary (N.C.) Clarets in the semifinals to send the Chicago Fire Premier to the championship match for the first time since 2003.
The Chicago Fire Premier is an MLS Player Development program affiliated with Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire. The parent organization has become the first to field developmental teams that have reached the national championship tournament for the PDL and Super-20 League in the same season. Another current Bradley player, sophomore Bryan Gaul helped the Chicago Fire Premier Super-20 team to the national championship event in Rockford, Ill.
