Final USL-1 Awards announced

September 28, 2007 - USL First Division (USL-1) News Release


SEATTLE, WA - United Soccer Leagues announced the final award winners for the 2007 USL First Division season, honoring the Defender of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year and Most Valuable Player at the USL-1 Championship Banquet. The USL-1 Final between Seattle and Atlanta is Saturday at 10:00 pm ET on Fox Soccer Channel.

In a quirky twist, a representative from each of the semifinalist clubs make up the four award winners as voted on by the league's coaches and general managers.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Sebastien Le Toux (Seattle Sounders)

The first-year Sounder striker picked up right where Rookie of the Year and co-Goal Scoring Champion Cam Weaver left off last season, finishing tied for the league lead in goals with 10 in 24 games for the Goal Scoring Championship. With two assists, he also finished second in the league in points with 22, one point shy of the Scoring Championship, as he guided Seattle to the regular season title.

The co-Goal Scoring Champion made his debut with the Sounders four games into the season and scored his first goal in the following match, a 2-2 draw on the road against rival Portland. His speed proved a dangerous weapon for the Sounders and Le Toux was critical in their campaign to capture the Commissioner's Cup as the regular season champion, registering six game-winners on the season - five of them in 1-0 decisions. He capped the season with a hat-trick in the next to last game of the season to move into the tie for the league lead. In the playoffs, Le Toux became the marked man for the opposition, enabling the rest of the team to take advantage as they downed Carolina in the quarterfinals 3-0 on aggregate and slipped by Puerto Rico in penalties after a 3-3 semifinal series draw on aggregate.

The 23-year-old Le Toux previously played for FC Lorient in the French League 2 and Stade Renais Football Club in the French First Division. Earlier this year, Le Toux was on trial with FC Dallas of MLS before finding his way to the Sounders first invitational training camp.

Le Toux is the fourth Sounder to win the USL-1 MVP honor, the most from any team in the history of the league. Previous winners were current teammate Leighton O'Brien (2002), USL Hall of Famer Mark Baena (1998) and Peter Hattrup (1995).

COACH OF THE YEAR

Gavin Wilkinson (Portland Timbers)

Since the league began announcing the finalists for league awards in 2004, Wilkinson is only the second rookie head coach to be a finalist for the honor. Unlike 2004's Nick DeSantis, who took over a Montreal squad that finished tied for first in the league (second on tiebreakers) the previous year, the former New Zealand international (38 caps) took over a club that finished tied for last place in the league in 2006 and helped guide it to the biggest turnaround in league history, finishing second this season with a record of 14-5-9, three points back of the Sounders. Ultimately, Wilkinson led the club to the semifinals where they were knocked out via penalty kick tiebreakers by Atlanta after a 1-1 series draw on aggregate. The former defender is an original member of the Timbers inaugural 2001 squad and was the only player to see action in its first six seasons, playing part-time last year while serving as an assistant coach. Wilkinson is the second Timbers coach to win the honor with the club's first coach Bobby Howe claiming the honor in 2004.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Jay Needham (Puerto Rico Islanders)

Drafted by DC United, the Hermann Trophy finalist out of Southern Methodist University joined the Islanders despite being drafted in the third round of the MLS SuperDraft by DC United and became a fixture in the back line for the club. He was one of three players, along with fellow defender and All-League selection Marco Velez, on the club to log over 2,000 minutes on the season. He also provided a goal and two assists. He went on to help lead the Islanders to the semifinals before being eliminated in a penalty kick tiebreaker by Seattle after a 3-3 series draw on aggregate. The sixth-seed Islanders stunned the third-seeded Montreal Impact 5-3 on aggregate in the quarterfinals to register their first playoff series win. He is the second player from Puerto Rico to receive the honor in three years, following goalkeeper Dan Kennedy, who won the honor two years ago.

DEFENDER OF THE YEAR

David Hayes (Atlanta Silverbacks)

A key player in the league since his debut with Milwaukee in 2001, Hayes received the first All-League honor of his career two weeks ago. A critical member of the team's back line with his aggressive play, Hayes was also a key contributor offensively for the club, finishing tied for the team lead in goals with league Scoring Champion Dan Antoniuk. His four assists also put him tied for seventh in the league in points. Hayes helped lead the Silverbacks to the championship game with a 3-2 aggregate quarterfinal series victory over Rochester and the penalty kick decision over second-place Portland in the semifinals after a 1-1 aggregate draw. Hayes is the first Silverbacks player to earn one of the top league awards since the club's inception in 1999.



USL First Division Stories from September 28, 2007


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