San Diego Spirit's Shannon MacMillan Finalist for Top U.S. Soccer Award

December 12, 2002 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
San Diego Spirit News Release


SAN DIEGO - San Diego Spirit forward Shannon MacMillan has been nominated for the prestigious U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year award for 2002. MacMillan joins six other U.S. National Team teammates in the running for U.S. Soccer's top award, given annually to a female player since 1985.

Voting by fans begins tomorrow at www.ussoccer.com. Online votes will be tallied and will be equivalent to 50 percent of the total votes. As in years past, 100 votes will be compiled from members of the national media and U.S. Soccer representatives, from National Team coaches to the National Board of Directors. Ballots will be accepted until Monday, January 6, 2003, at which time the votes will be tallied. Awards for U.S. Soccer Male Athlete of the Year and Young Male and Female Athletes of the Year are also up for grabs. U.S. Soccer will announce the winners of the four awards at separate press conferences in January.

Release Summary

- Spirit fans can vote starting tomorrow, Friday, Dec. 13, at www.ussoccer.com.

- MacMillan led the USA in scoring this year with 17 goals.

- MacMillan scored seven of the USA's eight goals at the prestigious Algarve Cup in Portugal.

MacMillan led the high-scoring U.S. team with an impressive 17 goals and three assists for 37 points during 2002. She scored in six of the team's first eight matches this year, kicking off the year with a hat trick and three assists against Mexico on Jan. 12. She also scored seven of the team's eight goals at the prestigious 2002 Algarve Cup in Portugal, including her second hat trick of the year in a 3-2 win over Denmark. MacMillan scored four goals in the 2002 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup, second to only Tiffeny Milbrett (7) and Cindy Parlow (5), who are also nominated for the award. MacMillan moved into sixth place on the all-time scoring lists with 52 goals and 43 assists for 147 points in 145 career caps and also led the Spirit in scoring for the second consecutive year, notching five goals and eight assists for 18 points.

U.S. Soccer's Chevy Male and Female Athletes of the Year awards are the oldest and most prestigious awards of their type. The finalists for each award were nominated on the basis of: a) competing and excelling at the highest level (both at the National Team level and the professional level) during the calendar year, b) exhibiting decorum on and off the field which reflects well on U.S. Soccer, and c) contributing toward the growth, development, credibility and popularization of soccer in the United States.

On the women's side, three players have won back-to-back Female Athlete of the Year awards, including Tiffeny Milbrett's current two-year streak from 2000 and 2001. Michelle Akers won the award in 1990 and 1991, while world's leading scorer Mia Hamm claimed the top prize an unprecedented five consecutive years from 1994-1998. Spirit defender Joy Fawcett won the award in 1988.

The U.S. Women's National Team will take on Japan on January 12, 2003, at 1 p.m. at Torero Stadium. For more information on tickets, please contact the Spirit at 877-476-2237 or Ticketmaster at 619-220-TIXS.



Women's United Soccer Association Stories from December 12, 2002


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