Eighteen teams will compete in 2002 — a reduction of two from the 2001 season. The Calgary Storm, which finished second in the Premier Development League last season in preparation for its move to the A-League, debuts, and the Hampton Road Mariners return in place of the Nashville Metros. Also gone are the Long Island Rough Riders and Connecticut Wolves, who have moved to the D3 Pro League, and the San Diego Flash FC, a USL-owned club last season. A new San Diego D3 Pro League franchise will be announced in the coming weeks. The 2002 alignment: Eastern Conference: Northeast Division — Montreal Impact, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Rochester Raging Rhinos, Toronto Lynx; Southeast Division — Atlanta Silverbacks, Charleston Battery, Charlotte Eagles, Hampton Roads Mariners, Richmond Kickers. Western Conference: Central Division — Cincinnati Riverhawks, Indiana Blast, Milwaukee Rampage, Minnesota Thunder; Pacific Division — Calgary Storm, El Paso Patriots, Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps. Two-leg playoff series will return for the third consecutive season to narrow the 12-team playoff field (six teams in each conference) down to two for the A-League Championship scheduled for the weekend of September 27-29.