League Names Three Palace Players To All-League Teams

Published on August 19, 2008 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Crystal Palace Baltimore News Release


Baltimore, MD - Crystal Palace FC USA are pleased to announce that midfielder Shintaro Harada has received USL2 All-League First Team honors, while Gary Brooks and Matthew Mbuta have been named to the All-League Second Team. The league also announced that Pat Healey is in the running for the USL2 Rookie of the Year award and that Jim Cherneski and Pete Medd are finalists for USL2 Coach of the Year.

One of the most consistent players for Palace and in the league, the former Japanese A-League player had a marvelous year anchoring the defense as well as filling his more natural midfield role periodically. This season also saw him score his first goals for the club. He received USL-2 Player of the Week honors on four occasions.

"When I heard the news, I felt great but also amazed!" remarked Harada on the award. "Last year I won second team honors and so this year I really wanted to make it to the first team." He continued: "It would have been awesome if we had become champions along with it. But I appreciate all the other players on the team. I couldn't make the best eleven without their help."

"Nobody deserves this award more than Shintaro," said Palace Co-Manager Pete Medd. "He's a great professional and he's had a great year - he trains hard every day, he does exactly what you ask of him. He's even switched positions multiple times, but he's such a high quality player. We think he's one of top three or four players in the league, so we were actually a bit surprised he wasn't nominated in the MVP category."

Rookie of the Year finalist Pat Healey was the 2007 CAA Men's Soccer Player of the Year. He joined Palace after originally being drafted by the Kansas City Wizards in the MLS supplemental draft. The Baltimore native has shown tremendous progress this season playing as both an attacking midfielder and as a striker. Healey finished the season as Palace's second highest goal scorer with eight goals in all competitions.

Medd stated: "Healey's got a veteran mind. He possesses excellent vision, so he's always playing two steps ahead of everyone else on the field. He may not have shown up in the assists stats, but he was the architect of many of our goals this season."

Healey had this to say about his nomination: "It would be a great honor to win. I've put in a lot of work, but you can't win an award like that without your teammates, so it helps to be part of a good team."

Palace Co-Managers Pete Medd and Jim Cherneski retained the same core of players from the squad that finished fifth in their inaugural season last year, but they also brought in several new faces. The result was a fourth-place finish in the 2008 league table, advancement to the semi-finals of the playoffs and, perhaps most significantly, an upset victory over the New York Red Bulls in the third round of the US Open Cup. The New England Revolution just squeaked past Palace on penalties in the semi-finals but the performances in the Cup and the league showed how far Palace had come since last season.

The full list of players as announced by USL:

USL-2 All-League First Team

G - Terry Boss (Charlotte Eagles)

D - Brady Bryant (Charlotte Eagles)

D - Sascha Gorres (Richmond Kickers)

D - Mark Schulte (Cleveland City Stars)

D - Steve Shak (Charlotte Eagles)

M - Mike Burke (Richmond Kickers)

M - Floyd Franks (Cleveland City Stars)

M - Shintaro Harada (Crystal Palace Baltimore)

F - Jorge Herrera (Charlotte Eagles)

F - Boyzzz Khumalo (Pittsburgh Riverhounds)

F - Dustin Swinehart (Charlotte Eagles)

USL-2 All-League Second Team

G - Ronnie Pascale (Richmond Kickers)

D - Dustin Bixler (Harrisburg City Islanders)

D - Trevor McEachron (Richmond Kickers)

D - Federico Molinari (Western Mass Pioneers)

D - Dame Walters (Wilmington Hammerheads)

M - Trey Alexander (Wilmington Hammerheads)

M - Justin Evans (Pittsburgh Riverhounds)

M - Matthew Mbuta (Crystal Palace Baltimore)

F - Gary Brooks (Crystal Palace Baltimore)

F - Sallieu Bundu (Cleveland City Stars)

F - Jeff Deren (Western Mass Pioneers)

The finalists for the Defender of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards were unveiled as follows:

Defender of the Year: Brady Bryant (Charlotte), Sascha Gorres (Richmond), Mark Schulte (Cleveland), Steve Shak (Charlotte)

Rookie of the Year: Pat Healey (Crystal Palace Baltimore), Stanley Nyazamba (Richmond)

Coach of the Year: Leigh Cowlishaw (Richmond), Jim Cherneski/Pete Medd (Crystal Palace Baltimore), Mark Steffens (Charlotte)

Most Valuable Player: Mike Burke (Richmond), Jorge Herrera (Charlotte), Dustin Swinehart (Charlotte)

The winners of the league awards will be announced at the USL2 Championship banquet on Friday August 22nd in Cleveland.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 19, 2008


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