Gervais finalist for A-League Defender of the Year
September 15, 2004 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Montreal Impact News Release
MONTREAL, September 14, 2004 — Montreal Impact defender Gabriel Gervais has been named as one of the two finalists for the 2004 A-League Defender of the Year award. The A-League announced Tuesday the top two finalists each for the 2004 A-League Defender and Rookie of the Year Awards, to be unveiled at the A-League Championship Banquet in Laval Thursday evening.
Peter Luzak of the Richmond Kickers is the other finalist for the Defender of the Year honour. LuzakÂ’s teammate on the other end of the pitch, forward McColm Cephas, is a Rookie of the Year finalist along with Portland Timbers striker Alan Gordon.
The finalists for the Coach of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards will be announced Wednesday. All awards were voted on by A-League coaches and general managers.
The A-League Championship is Saturday, September 18 in Montreal at Claude Robillard Sports Complex at 7:00 pm and will be broadcast live on Fox Sports World, RDS and CKAC.
DEFENDER OF THE YEAR
The 2003 Defender of the Year, Gervais helped lead the Impact to a record year in 2004 as the team broke RochesterÂ’s 1998 single season shutout record of 18 with 19 during the regular season. The club went on to record three more in four post-season games for 22 of 32 games on the year. The clubÂ’s 15 goals allowed tied RochesterÂ’s 1998 league record for the fewest in a season of 21 or more games. Gervais was named to the A-League All-League First Team for the third straight season.
Luzak helped lead his Kickers to the postseason as the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Richmond finished tied for third in fewest goals allowed (29). In his fifth year with the club, he played every minute of the season (2,663) for Richmond and was named to the All A-League First Team for the first time. He has only missed three regular season games in the last four years for the club.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Cephas led the leagueÂ’s second best offense (44 goals) with 24 points on 10 goals and four assists. His outstanding professional debut led to a call up from the Liberian National Team for its recent qualification matches, where he earned his first cap in international play.
Gordon was among the A-League scoring leaders early on, scoring six goals in the clubÂ’s first five games of the season as the Timbers went on to lead the league in goals with 58. He finished the season as co-Goal Scoring Champion with former MLS standout Dante Washington of Virginia Beach with 17 goals on the year. He was third in points with 35.
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USL First Division Stories from September 15, 2004
- DeSantis and Sutton finalists for A-League awards - Montreal Impact
- Gervais finalist for A-League Defender of the Year - Montreal Impact
- Kickers Announce MVP Awards - Richmond Kickers
- Timbers' Howe, Gordon finalists for postseason honors - Portland Timbers
- Dante Washington Named Finalist for 2004 A-League Player of the Year - Virginia Beach Mariners
- 2004 A-League Coach of the Year, MVP Finalists announced - USL-1
- U.S. U-17 88Â’s Men's National Soccer Team returns to Florida after facing Silverbacks - Atlanta Silverbacks
- Battery sets winter schedule - Charleston Battery
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