NEW YORK
- Major League Soccer today announced the finalists for its 2007 year-end awards. Winners for each award will be announced in the coming weeks, beginning with the Panasonic Goalkeeper of the Year and Fair Play winners on Wednesday, Oct. 31. The Honda MLS Most Valuable Player will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 15 at the ESPN Zone in Washington, D.C.
The 2007 awards announcements culminate on Saturday, Nov. 17 with the unveiling of the Best XI and MLS Newcomer of the Year, which will both be announced at the MLS Awards Gala.
The finalists, listed in alphabetical order below for each award, earned the most votes in polling of MLS players, general managers, coaches, referees and members of the media. The U.S. Soccer Foundation Humanitarian of the Year will be determined by the U.S. Soccer Foundation, Major League Soccer and MLS club representatives and will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 1.
Awards Finalists:
Panasonic Goalkeeper of the Year Finalists
Brad Guzan - Chivas USA
Pat Onstad - Houston Dynamo
Matt Reis - New England Revolution
Fair Play Finalists - Individual
Cobi Jones - LA Galaxy
Michael Parkhurst - New England Revolution
Eddie Pope - Real Salt Lake
MLS Comeback Player of the Year Finalists
Frankie Hejduk - Columbus Crew
Eddie Johnson - Kansas City Wizards
Pat Noonan - New England Revolution
Visa Defender of the Year Finalists
Michael Parkhurst - New England Revolution
Eddie Robinson - Houston Dynamo
Claudio Suarez - Chivas USA
OSI Referee of the Year Finalists
Brian Hall
Jair Marrufo
Alex Prus
Gatorade Rookie of the Year Finalists
Adam Cristman - New England Revolution
Maurice Edu - Toronto FC
Dane Richards - New York Red Bulls
MLS Coach of the Year Finalists
Dominic Kinnear - Houston Dynamo
Preki - Chivas USA
Tom Soehn - D.C. United
Honda MLS Most Valuable Player Finalists
Juan Pablo Angel - New York Red Bulls
Cuauhtemoc Blanco - Chicago Fire
Luciano Emilio - D.C. United
Newcomer of the Year
Juan Pablo Angel - New York Red Bulls
Cuauhtemoc Blanco - Chicago Fire
Luciano Emilio - D.C. United
Schedule of Awards Announcements:
Wednesday, October 31
Panasonic Goalkeeper of the Year
Fair Play Award Individual & Team
Thursday, November 1
U.S. Soccer Foundation & MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year
U.S. Soccer Foundation & MLS W.O.R.K.S. Team Humanitarian Award
Sierra Mist Goal of the Year Top Ten
Monday, November 5
Comeback Player of the Year
Visa Defender of the Year
OSI Referee of the Year
Wednesday, November 7
Gatorade Rookie of the Year
MLS Coach of the Year
Thursday, November 8
Sierra Mist Goal of the Year Five Finalists
Thursday, November 15
Honda MLS Most Valuable Player
Friday, November 16
Sierra Mist Goal of the Year
Saturday, November 17
Best XI
Newcomer of the Year
About Major League Soccer
Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and features many stars from the United States and around the world. The League's 12th championship game, MLS Cup 2007, takes place Nov. 18 in Washington, D.C. The 13 teams in MLS are: the Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Chivas USA, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Kansas City Wizards, Los Angeles Galaxy, Red Bull New York, New England Revolution, Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC. San Jose will begin play as the 14th team in 2008. For more information about MLS, log on to the League's official web site at www.MLSnet.com.
