USL News Release

 

Tuesday, August 1, 2006

 

TAMPA, FL – United Soccer Leagues announced Tuesday the winners of its W-League 2006 Season statistical awards, honoring the Scoring Champion, Goal Scoring Champion, Goalkeeper of the Year and Assist Leader.

Western Mass Pioneers forward Kelly Shimmin took the top honors finishing as the Scoring Champion and Goal Scoring Champion this season with 41 points on 17 goals and seven assists. Her assists total also ranked sixth in the league.

The English striker out of Central Connecticut State University, where she finished as the second all-time leading scorer, finished two clear of Toronto’s Sylvia Forbes and Michigan’s Kristi Swaving and three ahead of teammate Katie Schoepfer in the W-League goal scoring table for the season.

Shimmin played briefly with the Boston Renegades in 2005, registering just one goal in three games.

A W-League veteran player and former WUSA forward, Keri Sarver of the Cleveland Internationals finished as the W-League Assist Leader with 12 on the season, finishing one ahead of Boston’s Lisa Stoia and two in front of Schoepfer and Michigan’s Asuka Kubota.

Sarver is in her ninth season in the league and third with the Internationals, a club she also serves as a staff coach for. She nearly doubled her career assist total, which stood at 18 coming into the season with a previous season high of seven in 2002 when she also finished with nine goals, ranking tied for third in assists and ninth in points.

Toronto Lady Lynx netminder Justine Bernier won the Goalkeeper of the Year honor with the league’s lowest goals against average at 0.25 for the campaign. The 17-year old second-year player registered seven shutouts in eight games played, giving up just two goals with a record of 5-1-2. She did not allow a goal in her only 45 minutes of action the previous season.

The W-League’s All Conference and All-League Teams will be announced Wednesday. The award winners for Defender of the Year, Coach of the Year, U19 Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player will be announced Thursday.

The W-League Championship is this coming weekend in Vancouver, British Columbia. The semifinals featuring Charlotte versus Ottawa and conference rivals Seattle versus Vancouver will be Friday, August 4. The games will be live on Fox Soccer Channel at 8:00 and 10:30 pm ET. The Championship game will be Sunday, August 6 and will be broadcast at 11:30 pm ET after the Barcelona-Chivas friendly.