Jersey Sky Blue News Release - www.skybluesoccer.com

Monday, February 4, 2008

BEDMINSTER, NJ -- Sky Blue Soccer announced today that defender Fanta Cooper will return for a second season with the organization’s W-League team Jersey Sky Blue - the first player announcement for Sky Blue’s 2008 squad. In the franchise’s debut season in 2007, Cooper starred in the center of a Sky Blue defense that led the W-League in least amount of goals allowed in the regular season.

A former W-League Defender of the Year award winner and a former W-League champion with the Chicago Cobras, Cooper helped Jersey Sky Blue limit the opposition to just six goals in 14 games during the 2007 season. Sky Blue recorded a 12-2 mark in its first-ever season with a berth in the W-League’s Eastern Conference playoffs.

"Fanta had a great season for us last year heading up our defense and I’m very glad to have her back with Sky Blue," said Jersey Sky Blue head coach Denise Reddy, who takes over in her first season as head coach after serving as an assistant coach with Sky Blue in 2007. "Fanta is a tenacious defender. The combination of her international experience, playing ability, and organizational skills makes her a prominent leader for Jersey Sky Blue."

In addition to playing with Jersey Sky Blue for the 2008 W-League season, Cooper will also heavily involved with the Sky Blue Soccer organization. She is a prominent member of the Sky Blue Soccer School staff and she is also currently maintaining a blog called "Fanta C’s World" in the FanZone section of the Sky Blue Soccer website, SkyBlueSoccer.com. She is also a leading prospect for the Sky Blue professional team that will be a part of the newly-formed Women’s Professional Soccer in 2009.

"I’m very happy that Fanta will remain a member of the Sky Blue Soccer organization in 2008," said Sky Blue Soccer president and CEO Thomas Hofstetter. "Not only will she be a valuable member of our W-League team but she’s also going to be an important component of our Sky Blue Soccer School."

Prior to joining Jersey Sky Blue for the 2007 W-League season, Cooper played for two seasons with Bälinge IF in Sweden’s Damallsvenskan. She also played for the Chicago Cobras for seven seasons helping the former W-League power to the 2000 W-League Championship and a spot in the championship game in 1999 and 2003. Cooper was the W-League Defender of the Year in 2003 and was also named to the W-League All-Tournament Team in 2000, 2003, and 2004.

The Oklahoma City, OK native put together an accomplished career at the Wisconsin-Milwaukee starting all 80 of the team’s games during her four years at the school from 1997-2000. Cooper twice earned Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year honors. She was a four-time All-MCC honoree with three first team selections and a three-time NSCAA and SoccerBuzz All-Great Lakes Region selection.

Following college, she was selected in the 2001 WUSA College Supplemental Draft prior to the league’s first year of existence. She played overseas in Sweden with Bälinge for the past two seasons. In 2005, she helped Bälinge to a 19-1-2 record in the women’s second division in Sweden to earn promotion for the team into that country’s top league.

Season tickets are available now through the Sky Blue Soccer website for Jersey Sky Blue’s second season in the W-League. Sky Blue will open the season on May 10 when it travels to Framingham, MA to face the Boston Renegades. Jersey Sky Blue opens its home schedule on May 31 when it hosts Boston in a return match at 7:30 pm at Drew University’s Ranger Stadium in Madison, NJ.

SKY BLUE PROFILE: Fanta Cooper
• Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK
• Birthdate: 5/7/1978
• Joined Jersey Sky Blue in 2007 leading the team to a 12-2 mark and a spot in the W-League playoffs
• Helped anchor a Sky Blue defense that led the W-League with just six goals against in 14 games
• Played for Bälinge IF in Sweden in 2005 and 2006 helping the team to a 19-1-2 record in Sweden’s second division to earn the team promotion into the Damallsvenskan
• Longtime member of the Chicago Cobras of the W-League from 1998 to 2004 helping the team to the W-League Championship in 2000
• Named the W-League Defender of the Year in 2003
• Earned All-W-League Team honors in 2003 and 2004 and to the W-League All-Tournament Team in 2000, 2003, and 2004
• Starred on the collegiate level at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• Started all 80 games over her four-year career recording 10 goals and eight assists including a career high five goals in 1999
• Named the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year in 1999 and 2000
• Earned All-MCC first team honors in 1998, 1999, and 2000 and second team honors in 1997
• Named to the MCC All-Tournament team in 1999 and 2000 and to the All-Newcomer team in 1997
• Named to the NSCAA and SoccerBuzz All-Great Lakes Region first team in 1998 and to the second team in 1999 and 2000
• On the scholastic level, earned all-conference honors three times at Westmoore High School in Oklahoma City