USL News Release
July 28, 2010
TAMPA, Fla. – United Soccer Leagues has announced the finalists for the 2010 W-League Honors. The awards for Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Defender of the Year and Coach of the Year will be presented, along with the award for Goalkeeper of the Year, at Friday night’s Awards Banquet at the 2010 W-League Championship Presented by Umbro in Santa Clarita, California.
Nine W-League teams are represented among the list of finalists, with five nominees participating in the W-League Championship final four Thursday and Saturday in Santa Clarita. Among the finalists for Most Valuable Player is 2004 league MVP Kelly Parker of the Buffalo Flash, who led the W-League in both goals and total points this season. Parker will face stiff competition from Melissa Tancredi of the Vancouver Whitecaps and Rashidah Sherman of the New York Magic, who is also a Rookie of the Year finalist. The other rookie nominees come from a pair of rookie teams - Morgan Kennedy of the Colorado Rush and Cherelle Khassal of the Santa Clarita Blue Heat.
Finalists for Defender of the Year are Christie Shaner of the Pali Blues, Gabriela Toulouse of the Washington Freedom Futures and the 2008 winner, Sue Weber of the Long Island Rough Riders. The list of Coach of the Year finalists includes three of the four 2010 W-League finalists: Hubert Busby, Jr. of the Western Conference champion Vancouver Whitecaps, Jesse Kolmel of the regular season champion Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues (recently named an assistant coach of Sky Blue FC of WPS), and Aaron Lines of the Central Conference champion Buffalo Flash. Also up for the award is Washington Freedom Futures bench boss Win Puffer.
Votes for the Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year awards are submitted by W-League team management. Rookie of the Year finalists are determined by All-Conference voting, while the Defender of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year are chosen based on total All-Conference votes.
2010 W-League Award Finalists
Most Valuable Player
Kelly Parker, Buffalo Flash
Rashidah Sherman, New York Magic
Melissa Tancredi, Vancouver Whitecaps
Rookie of the Year
Morgan Kennedy, Colorado Rush
Cherelle Khassal, Santa Clarita Blue Heat
Rashidah Sherman, New York Magic
Defender of the Year
Christie Shaner, Pali Blues
Gabriela Toulouse, Washington Freedom Futures
Sue Weber, Long Island Rough Riders
Coach of the Year
Hubert Busby, Jr., Vancouver Whitecaps
Jesse Kolmel, Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues
Aaron Lines, Buffalo Flash
Win Puffer, Washington Freedom Futures
