USL News Release
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
TAMPA, FL – United Soccer Leagues announced Wednesday the Defender of the Year and U-19 Player of the Year honors for the 2007 W-League season as voted on by team coaches and general managers, honoring Richmond’s Jaclyn Raveia and Toronto’s Adrienne Ruhe Lischke, respectively.
An All-Conference selection in 2004 with the Hampton Roads Piranhas, Raveia earned her first All-League honors by leading Richmond to the Central Conference playoffs for the second consecutive season. The seven-year W-League veteran and former WUSA defender played in nine games in her third season as a player-coach with the Kickers Destiny.
Raveia, a native of Fairfax, VA, finished her third season with the Destiny as a player/coach. A graduate of the University of Richmond, Raveia made nine appearances with the Destiny this season for 810 minutes and was named to the W-League Team of the Week on May 17th for leading the Destiny to a 2-0 season opening win in Hampton Roads. A defensive stalwart, Raveia led the Destiny to an unbeaten record at home this season, shutting out the opposition on five occasions during the 2007 campaign. Prior to her stint with the Destiny, Raveia spent three years in WUSA between the Carolina Courage and New York Power.
The Destiny secured a playoff berth for the second time in franchise history, representing the Atlantic Division in the Central Conference Playoffs. The Destiny concluded their fourth season, under the guidance of Head Coach Jesse Myers, with a record of 9-2-1 and 28 points, good for second place in the Central Conference standings.
At the age of 18, Toronto striker Ruhe Lischke left quite an impression in a talent laden conference, earning a spot in one of the coveted forward positions on the All-Conference team despite finishing equal to or behind four other players on the league scoring table with 20 points, which ranked tied for 12th in the league.
Ruhe Lischke’s eight goals and four assists while playing in all 12 games helped the Lady Lynx finish second in the division with a 7-3-2 record as she joined Swiss international and league scoring champion Lara Dickenmann (Jersey Sky Blue) and Washington Freedom standout Ali Andrzejeski on the All-Conference team, beating out Long Island’s Melissa Shulman (23 points), Rochester’s Gretchen Miller (21), Ottawa’s Anna Laue (21) and Washington’s Christie Welsh (20), who spent part of the season in the US National Team camp.
The Coach of the Year will be unveiled Thursday, August 2. The Most Valuable Player honor will be announced at the W-League Championship banquet Saturday, August 4.
2007 W-League Championship
The W-League Championship tournament in Rochester, NY at PAETEC Park is August 3 and 5, featuring the Atlanta Silverbacks facing the Seattle Sounders in the first semifinal Friday night followed by the host Rochester Rhinos taking on the Washington Freedom. Both games will be available on USL Live. The consolation and championship games are Sunday. The W-League Championship match will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel at 5:30 pm ET.
