USL Richmond Kickers

Burke sweeps team MVP honors

Published on September 10, 2008 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Richmond Kickers News Release


RICHMOND, VA - (Wednesday, September 10, 2008) - The Richmond Kickers announced today that midfielder Mike Burke has garnered both team awards, Player's Choice MVP and Supporter's Choice MVP, as voted by his teammates and by the fans respectively, following the 2008 campaign. Repeating as Supporter's Choice MVP for the fourth consecutive year, Burke sweeps the honors for the second time in his career, finishing with both of the team's top awards in 2006, after leading the Kickers to the USL-2 Second Division title.

Last year's USL-2 Most Valuable Player, Burke finished his ninth season with the Kickers second on the team in scoring with seven goals and eight assists for 22 points in 2008. Earning the USL-2 Assist Leader award for the second consecutive season, he was named to the USL-2 Team of the Week four times, garnering USL-2 Player of the Week honors twice. Last season, Burke eclipsed the Kickers all-time career assists leader to hold the sole position in the franchise with 48 overall. This year, the USL-2 MVP Finalist and All-League First Team midfielder leapfrogged into third place in the all-time career goals category with 33 and into second place in the all-time career games played category with 233. He continues to reside in third place on the Kickers all-time career points list with 114.

An advocate for youth player development, Burke also acts as a Technical Director with the Richmond Kickers Youth Soccer Club. He oversees the Advanced Development Soccer League (ADSL) program while coaching Richmond Kickers U-12 Girls Elite, U-9 Boys Central and U-10 Boys Central teams.

The Supporter's Choice MVP award dates back to the 2000 season when veteran defender Kevin Knight took the honors. That year, USL First Division Defender of the Year Scott Cannon and current Houston Dynamo forward Dwayne DeRosario shared the Player's Choice Award. In 2001, former Kickers forward Kevin Jeffrey secured both awards while current FC Dallas Assistant Coach Marco Ferruzzi did the same in 2002. The 2004 Defender of the Year Finalist Peter Luzak was honored as Player's Choice MVP while goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale received the Supporter's Choice award for the second consecutive year in 2004. Concluding the 2005 season, Burke earned Supporter's Choice MVP honors and Pascale garnered the Player's Choice award. After taking the USL-2 Championship MVP Award in 2006, Burke took both the Supporter's Choice and Player's Choice awards, earning the Supporter's Choice honor again in 2007 while current Carolina RailHawks (USL-1) midfielder Matt Watson was voted Player's Choice MVP.

Supporter's Choice MVP

2000: Kevin Knight

2001: Kevin Jeffrey

2002: Marco Ferruzzi

2003: Ronnie Pascale

2004: Ronnie Pascale

2005: Mike Burke

2006: Mike Burke

2007: Mike Burke

2008: Mike Burke

Player's Choice MVP

2000: Scott Cannon/Dwayne DeRosario

2001: Kevin Jeffrey

2002: Marco Ferruzzi

2003: Kevin Jeffrey

2004: Peter Luzak

2005: Ronnie Pascale

2006: Mike Burke

2007: Matt Watson

2008: Mike Burke

Check out the Richmond Kickers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



United Soccer League Championship Stories from September 10, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central