Wednesday, August 6, 2003

 

TAMPA, FL - United Soccer Leagues announced today the Defender, Rookie and Coach of the Year for the 2003 Premier Development League and W-League seasons.

A pair of Chicago Cobras were honored in the W-League as Fanta Cooper was named the Defender of the Year and Mike Nesci was announced as the Coach of the Year. Winning the Rookie of the Year honor was Stacey Stocco of the Boston Renegades.

In her sixth year with Chicago, Fanta Cooper has been a mainstay on the roster. She has helped lead the team to three semifinal appearances in the last four years, including the W-1 championship in 2000, yet had never been previously honored for her outstanding play in the W-League. The Oklahoma City native from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has tallied two goals and eight assists over the past six seasons in the league. She led the team in minutes played this season at 1,098, seeing action in all 12 games.

Joining a club that has never missed the playoffs after it had won the W-1 Championship in 2000 would seem an easy task for a head coach. However, Nesci was taking the reigns of a roster in 2001 that had been decimated by players moving onto the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), which was kicking off that season. In all, seven players from the championship side were drafted by the WUSA, including three-time scoring champion Charmaine Hooper. The club moved to the W-2 and rebounded well, reaching the semifinals and finishing third. When the leagues merged back together in 2002, he led the team to the postseason only to be knocked out in the first round. The 2003 Cobras stormed through the Midwest Division with a 10-1-1 record, which was fourth-best in the league, and then knocked off the 2002 runners-up and 2001 W-2 champion Charlotte Lady Eagles in the Central Conference Final to advance to the W-League Championship tournament in Virginia Beach.

The two-time defending champion Boston Renegades continued their domination of the Eastern Conference with a 13-0-1 record on the year and an amazing 60 goals for and five against. Helping lead the way was midfielder Stacey Stocco, who was honored as the 2003 W-League Rookie of the Year. The Australian U19 National Team player was second on the team in scoring and was in the top ten in the league with eight goals (eighth) and five assists (eighth) for 21 points (ninth). She was also the lone player on the squad to play in all 14 games this season, logging 1,167 minutes, which ranked 13th in the league.

Three newcomers to the Premier Development League took home some of the league's top honors this year with Jose Luis Delgadillo of the expansion Fresno Fuego winning the Defender of the Year award, Eric Vasquez of the Central Florida Kraze winning the Rookie of the Year award and expansion New Orleans Shell Shockers skipper Kenny Farrell winning the Coach of the Year award.

The Fuego got off to a roaring start in their first season and continue to excel, reaching the postseason and a Fourth Round Lamar Hunt US Open Cup match against Major League Soccer's defending champion Los Angeles Galaxy after upsetting the A-League's El Paso Patriots. Helping to lead the team to these achievements has been the 2003 PDL Defender of the Year Jose Luis Delgadillo. Delgadillo was the lone player on the squad to play in every match this season, logging a team-high 1,548 minutes. He also tallied two goals and an assist on the year.

The 2003 PDL Rookie of the Year Eric Vasquez was one of the leading contributors to the Central Florida Kraze reaching the postseason for the first time in the team's six-year history this season. The Miami native from the University of Central Florida was the team's second leading scorer with 12 points on three goals and six assists on the year and played a critical role in the midfield.

Although he is new to the PDL, the 2003 PDL Coach of the Year Kenny Farrell of the New Orleans Shell Shockers is not new to USL. Farrell also serves as the director of the Lafreniere Soccer Club, a three-year member of the Super Y-League and powerhouse youth club in the Mid South, and is a member of the Super Y-League Executive Committee. Farrell helped found and lead the expansion Shell Shockers to the regular season title with an impressive 16-2-0 record with a team that blended players from Lafreniere, the local universities and the local ISLANO League, a popular Hispanic soccer league. Farrell has played for Salem State College in Massachusetts, as well as for Shelbourne Football Club in the Premier League of Ireland. As a coach, he heads up the Louisiana State Olympic Development Team (ODP). He is also the Director of Coaching at the Lafreniere Soccer Association.

The three awards were voted on by general managers and coaches from the teams in their respective leagues. The Most Valuable Players will be announced Thursday, August 8.

Defender of the Year: Fanta Cooper, Chicago Cobras

Rookie of the Year: Stacey Stocco, Boston Renegades

Coach of the Year: Mike Nesci, Chicago Cobras

Defender of the Year: Jose Luis Delgadillo, Fresno Fuego

Rookie of the Year: Eric Vasquez, Central Florida Kraze

Coach of the Year: Kenny Farrell, New Orleans Shell Shockers